Reading ghost stories is a great way to bond with your children, whether they’re into the picture book ghost story or a nightly ongoing chapter book. Instilling a love of reading within your children early on is crucial to encouraging your kids to have a passion for learning and self-education later in life. If you take the steps now to reinforce nightly reading, then your child will get smarter each day. The motif of Halloween is a great motivator since there are so many fascinating books about ghosts, ghost hunters, monsters and the supernatural. Whether your son or daughter is in pre-k or tenth grade, there’s a huge selection of classic tales to inspire their interest in reading.
If you have little ones, then you’ll want to get them in the mood for Halloween fun, yet you don’t want to scare them silly with stories about ghosts. Theatrical storyteller Mary Jo Maichack plays guitar and fiddle on her audio CD, while combining folklore and “howlarious” Halloween jokes. She’ll offer kids a variety of voices, from a Hungarian ghost to a goofy vampire to comprise a funny version of Halloween. The “Ghosthunters series,” by Cornelia Funke, combines humor, illustrations and gross stuff for seven-to-nine-year-olds to enjoy.
“Fungus the Bogeyman,” by Raymond Briggs, is a good picture book stuffed with puns and illustrations that’ll have your little ones roaring with laughter as they follow a monster through his daily routine. “It’s Halloween!,” by Jack Prelutsky, includes thirteen separate poems about Halloween and isn’t really a ghost story, but will certainly gets the kids in the mood. There is also a great collection of audio books and stories at www.surfnetkids.com/audiobooks/short_stories/ that may be suitable for your children.
If you want to get your adult fix of ghostly stories this Halloween, then you’ll get chills reading “The Shining” by the master of macabre, Stephen King. “Books of Blood” by Clive Barker offers a collection of short stories that will get you in the mood for Halloween horror. Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories are timeless classics that will never lose their appeal, causing shivers to creep down your spine and your heart beat to rise. Also recommended are “The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton,” “Dagon and Other Macabre Tales” by HP Lovecraft, “Cold Hand In Mine: Strange Stories” by Robert Aickman and “Ghost Story” by Peter Straub.
Another way to experience ghost stories is by listening to audiobooks, which, in some ways, can create a more haunting experience. At www.talking-book-store.com, you can get 20 of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories read by Vincent Price for $16.95 or “The Complete Stories of M.R. James,” for 3 hours and 40 minutes of narration by David Collings. At www.audible.com, which is one of the biggest libraries of downloadable audiobooks, you will find Halloween horror classic collections with Ambrose Bierce, HG Wells, Charles Dickens, Clara Riddell, Rudyard Kipling, Daniel Defoe and more. Visit www.simplyudiobooks.com for a great collection that includes Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” “The Monkey’s Paw,” “The Ghost Ship,” “The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde,” Edgar Allan Poe’s “Bernice,” Braham Stoker’s “Dracula,” “The Spectral Ship” and “The Flying Dutchman.” As well, at www.vintagehorror.com and www.themonsterclub.com, you will find offerings of old time radio shows of Halloween horror as well.