31 Days Of Scares – Day 23 – 5 Short Stories To Read On Halloween

short stories to read on Halloween – Credit: https://rowshark.tumblr.com/

We’re just about a week away from Halloween 2013 and our 31 Days of Scares is sadly nearing its end. But with a week to go, we wanted to give you enough time to go to the library, or download if you prefer, to pick up these five great short stories to read on Halloween night. Once the trick ‘r treaters stop knocking at the door, dim the lights, pour a snifter of Scotch, light a pipe, and do things old school — read a story.

Most folks entertain themselves with horror movies on Halloween night, which is fine; we do it too and we’re not going to give that up anytime soon. What we are suggesting, however, is that you add something a little different to the loot of fun.

No.5 “Young Goodman Brown”

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Written in 1835, set in 17th century Puritan New England, Nathaniel Hawthorne penned “Young Goodman Brown” to convey a sense of depravity in all mankind. For me, he states that evil exists in all of us, or as Rob Zombie would put it, “The Devil is in all of us.” The story is rife with Christian references that point to purity, but all of that gets lost by the end.

It might not be the most terrifying story today, but try to imagine a midnight stroll through the dark woods with Satan at your side. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

No.4 “The Black Cat”

Edgar Allan Poe

A list of horrific short stories would hardly be complete without an entry from Edgar Allan Poe. With so many Poe classics to choose from, I have selected “The Black Cat” simply because, by title alone, it echoes Halloween.

First published in 1843, “The Black Cat” is about girls. No, goth girls. No, joking aside, it’s about, as far as I’m concerned, a man who succumbs to alcoholism (no, not from Poe) and becomes psychopathically cruel. Through a series of events, which includes a cat or two, the man kills his wife, walls her up in the cellar, and only gets caught because of guilt and arrogance.

It’s a fast and furious read that’ll get under your skin.