And here are some books to add to your reading list, compiled by Sharon Lynn. You can find out more about her here.
First and foremost, mysteries by Blackbird Writers that take place in the Fall or are Autumn or Halloween themed. Add these to your reading list! After you get your reading in place, it’s time to chat about movies.
Halloween Themed:
Death Overdue by Allison Brook
Circle of Nine: 3 book series by Valerie Biel
Fall Themed:
Five-Alarm Fudge (Fudge Shop Mystery Series) by Christine DeSmet
When the Dead People Brought a Dish-to-Pass (Mischief in Moonstone Series) by Christine DeSmet
Take Place in Autumn:
Death of the City Marshal by Anne Louise Bannon
Death of the Chinese Field Hands by Anne Louise Bannon
A Palette for Love and Murder by Saralyn Richard
Stalking Ground by Margaret Mizushima
Best Kept Secrets by Tracey S. Phillips
Movies!
Now that your reading list is in order, it’s time for your viewing pleasure: movies!
I like my entertainment fun, so my favorite sub-genre is Comedy/Horror when it comes to scary movies. Specifically, those films that came out when I was in college – the totally gnarley 80s.
Winner: American Werewolf in London (1981). This movie was the first thing I saw when returning from a summer spent in England. There were so many things I would not have done (including a midnight train home from Edinburgh) if I had seen it before I left.
The opening shot of a full moon over the Scottish moors is so spooky until the song Blue Moon by The Marcels makes you laugh out loud. The film won Rick Baker an Oscar for the first Academy Award offered for special effects makeup.
The ending is admittedly a letdown, but the rest of the film is worth a watch.
Runners up: Fright Night (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987).
What favorite Halloween movie are you looking forward to watching with tub of popcorn?
Short story author Sharon Lynn’s latest story, Final Curtain, appears in the newest Malice Domestic anthology, Mystery Most Theatrical. Find her at sharonlwrites.com, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
I feel like I hit the jackpot with the lists you offered. Thank you!
My daughter is all about Hocus Pocus (1993) and the Halloween Town series because those were on TV every year when she was growing up. I’m a fan of the big dark theater and loved it when Lost Boys was at my favorite cinema last year!
Yay! Thanks so much for the list of books and the movie recs, Sharon! Love this!
As soon as I finish Jeff Nania’s Figure 8, your book is next on my list! Along with Death Overdue 🙂 With so many great books to read, I’m like a kid in a candy store.
Great topic, Sharon! I’m going way back when Universal Studios Hollywood was making monster movie mayhem with the likes of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lon Chaney, Jr. There is a tie for first place for my favorite Halloween movie from that era; The Wolf Man made famous by Lon Chaney, Jr.; and, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The comedy duo also meet Dracula and the Wolf Man in that film, but who cares about verisimilitude in movie titles! Both movies are in stunning black and white, which show up the shadowy noir aspects of the subject matter. I can’t get enough of these two films.