Emma Keeling – Content Editor
It’s October 1st and it’s time to get in the spooky mood! The past few years, I’ve realized my love for scary things, including literature. I’ve been curating my spooky season reading list this past month, waiting until today to share it with you. I invite you to read along with me, take a recommendation from me, or create your own scary list!
Dracula by Bram Stoker
I’m sure you’ve heard of Dracula before – it’s, like, the OG of vampire stories. I had to read this book for my ninth-grade honor’s English class. You may be asking, what 14-year-old would enjoy a Gothic horror novel written by an Irish author in 1897? Well, me, and it’s still my favorite horror classic. Dracula is the story of Count Dracula, told through documents provided by himself and many other intertwined characters. While this certainly won’t be the easiest read of the season, to be retold the classic, eerie story of Count Dracula will be well worth it.
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
For the past two hundred years, the Owens women have been subjected to whispers and rumors of witchcraft in their little town in Massachusetts. However, two Owens sisters, Gillian and Sally, feel they must escape their cooky aunts who raised them and their bullying small town. This is the story of how these two sisters are separated, and how they whimsically come together again. This is on my Halloween book haul list because I’ve recently read Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman, which is the story of an earlier Owens woman, and it was so well written and intriguing! I also like the witchier side of Halloween, so this novel will be perfect for me, and it might be for you, too!
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
This novel caught my attention at a little bookstore I was in by one, the bright purple cover and amazing title and by two, the opening line on the inside cover – “The story begins in 1618, in the German duchy of Wurttemburg.” This is the story of Katharina, an illiterate widow living in Germany, 1618. This was when the Thirty Years’ War began, and a plague was spreading. During it all, Katharina is accused of being a witch and faces turmoil from everyone around her, and she must fight to stay alive. This story combines real history with imagination and is said to provoke and entertain. I’m a big fan of historical fiction, and witchy things, so I’m excited to read this one closer to Halloween!
Billy Summers by Stephen King
If you’ve read any of my other posts, you could see that most of them have a Stephen King tucked in there somewhere, if not in my biography at the end of the post, claiming he’s my favorite author. I first saw Billy Summers at an airport on the way home from my summer vacation and said “What?! King has a new book out?” Unbeknownst to me, airports usually have very new material. I instantly got excited and ordered it right away. Billy Summers is a hitman genius, only hired for jobs that deal with truly evil people. But now, he wants out of the business. However, he must do one last hit before leaving the field, and it might not turn out quite as well as the others have. I’m excited to read King’s newest novel because throughout his career, King has only gotten better at his master storytelling.
Emma Keeling is a fourth-year student at BGSU studying Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Her favorite genres of book include mystery and horror and her favorite author is Stephen King. She can usually be found curled up on the couch studying, reading, or watching movies. To easily contact Emma, email her at emmamk@bgsu.edu.
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