Scary Books to Read This Season

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As Halloween fast approaches, you might be wondering about some scary books to get you into the holiday spirit.  Something that will chill your bones.  People have been talking a lot about the new “It” movie, and how it scares the wits out of people, but if you’ve already seen it, or would rather just stay home and read, here are some terrifying books:

Ghost Story (Peter Straub): A book titled “Ghost Story” could be pretty cheesy in the hands of the wrong writer, yet Straub is able to make it anything but.  It’s the story of a group of old men who gather to tell ghost stories, only to be set upon by the horrors of their past.  

The Exorcist (William Peter Blatty): While it’s since become a cliche of pop culture, “The Exorcist” movie caused a sensation when it first hit theaters.  A level of graphic and terrifying as yet unseen in film, it sent audience members over the edge.  And the book it’s based off of is even scarier and more graphic.  

House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski): This book takes the horror cliché of a haunted house and delivers it in a truly unique way.  It uses unusual page layout and style, meant to disorient the reader.  The way that text is arranged on the page is meant to mirror events in the story and create a unique effect mirroring agoraphobia and claustrophobia.  

The Witches of Worm (Zilpha Keatley Snyder): While the story of a girl who buys a kitten and nurses it back to health has a lot of potential for a heart-warming tale, “The Witches of Worm” is anything but.  After the main character, a girl named Jessica, buys a kitten, she comes under its malevolent spell, and begins to act increasingly violent towards her family.  It’s a creepy enough story to get banned from school libraries.  

Diary (Chuck Palahniuk): Chuck Palahniuk is known, for good reason, for deeply disturbing books.  This one, about an aspiring artist who becomes embroiled in a generations-old conspiracy theory as her deeply disturbed husband falls into a coma and reveals his dark side, is written in a diary-style format that gives it a special degree of spookiness.  

Voices in the Night (Steven Millhauser): This collection of short stories take unique and terrifying looks at daily life.  Whether it’s a look at gossip in a small town or a man obsessed with his wife’s image in a mirror, these are stories guaranteed to spook you.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Alvin Schwartz): This trilogy of ghost stories might be meant for children, and indeed some of them can come across as a bit hokey, but what truly makes them are the illustrations by Stephen Gammell, which are able to make everything from a staircase to a mouse look creepy.  

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Haunted Places Around New York

Maria Haymandou’s latest blog post is here!

If you can’t find it in New York, indeed you can’t find it anywhere.  And if you’re looking for a place to catch ghosts, then New York has got your covered.  Here are some of the famous allegedly haunted locations in New York City:

Merchant’s House Museum: This historic townhouse in Noho was long home to the Tredwell’s, a wealthy merchant family.  While the house is now a museum, legend has it that the last Tredwell to occupy the home, Gertrude, still haunts the home.  Reports of strange sights, sounds, and smells abound.  

McCarren Park Pool: After a small girl allegedly drowned at McCarren Park Pool, her ghost has been seen around the premise.  There are no public records of this alleged death, but the child has been seen roaming the area at night screaming for help, and paranormal investigators have noticed strange activity in the water such as drops in temperature.  

St. Marks’ Church-in-the-Bowery: The historic St. Mark’s church in the East Village was once the home of Pieter Stuyvesant, the notoriously cantankerous peg-legged Dutch governor of “New Amsterdam”, whose remains are buried in the churchyard.  According to legend, the devout Calvinist Stuyvesant is angry that his home and resting place is bitter that his home and resting place is now a “heretical” Episcopalian church, and now haunts the grounds.  Parishioners have reported seeing his apparition around the grounds, and some claim to hear him singing Dutch Calvinist hymns when everybody else is singing in English.  

The Ear Inn: The Ear Inn, one of the oldest bars in New York, was once a popular spot for sailors and longshoremen.  One sailor, Mickey, got hit by a car in front of the bar and died, and his ghost now flirts with women at the bar.  

The Dakota: The Dakota apartment building is famous for housing many extremely rich and famous people, among them John Lennon, who was killed in the building.  Residents, Lennon included, have claimed to see the ghost of a young girl wandering the halls.  Other people have reported seeing John Lennon’s ghost as well.  

The Octagon: During the 19th century, Roosevelt Island’s Octagon was an insane asylum, where patients were severely mistreated.  While the presence of ghosts in the upscale high-rise is a topic of debate, some residents have reported strange phenomena, and all the ingredients for a real haunting are certainly there.  

Landmark Tavern: The nearly 150 year-old Landmark Tavern started its life out as a waterfront saloon for Irish immigrant dock workers.  Even as the character of Hell’s Kitchen has changed dramatically, some former patrons have stuck on.  Some famous ghosts include a Confederate veteran who was stabbed to death and a young Irish girl who died from cholera or typhoid.  

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