Top Ten Tuesday (7)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the Broke and the Bookish where a new top ten list is posted each week. This week is: Top Ten Books To Read During Halloween.

1. Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
There is no way this book wasn't ending up on this list. I brought it last Halloween (partly for the cover) and it is brilliant. If you haven't read her other Poirot books you'll be missing a few things, but I'd only read one and still really enjoyed this. It features Ariadne Oliver as a character who plays off Poirot really well.

2. The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff
This has made several of my TTT lists already, but it's placed here because (a) it's scary, (b) it's written by a screenwriter so is similar to watching a horror movie, and (c) it's scary!

3. I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lori Duncan
This has very little in common with the movie, and I didn't realise just how old it was until I realised the war they were talking about was in Vietnam. It stands the test of time really well and it has a creepy whodunnit vibe throughout.

4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Come on - creepy ghosts, haunted moors and mist? Throw in the Kate Bush song Heathcliff and you've got a Halloween special. I read this a couple of years ago and surprised myself by actually enjoying it. It's got amazing atmosphere that would really suit the Halloween season.

5. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Also known as The Scottish Play by actors who are too superstitious to use the actual title in a theatre. It fits pretty well with the Halloween theme with witches, murder and mayhem.

6. Dracula by Bram Stoker
Pretty much what I'm likely to be reading for Halloween. I've never read it before but it made the list because it is basically the original vampire novel. Also I've been lucky enough to visit Whitby in Yorkshire where his boat crashes and that is a very creepy place.

7. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Purely based on the title alone, this is the ideal Halloween read. I don't think my copy remain unread until then because it sounds awesome! Also look at the cover - doesn't that just scream Halloween?

8. Possess by Gretchen McNeil
Another one on my Halloween reading list, this time about demons. I saw some great reviews for this and loved the cover, but it was the teaser video that really got me to pick up a copy. The video can be found here and is uber-creepy.

9. The Hollow by Jessica Verday
Beautiful, haunting and atmospheric this is the ideal Halloween read and it comes with the added bonus of snippets of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow at the start of each chapter. I loved it and read it in a day, which is impressive even for me as it's over 500 pages.

10. Anything by Edgar Allan Poe
"Quoth the Raven, nevermore" Poe has written some of the creepiest poems and short stories around, and while I haven't read all of them I've been impressed with those I have read.