I don’t know about you, but Halloween is my favorite time of the year. I just love the sea of orange and reds outside. Plus, after night falls, I get my kicks by walking through my cozy neighborhood and looking at all the spooky decorations. It’s such a frightful thrill. But, what I love most of all, is all the great fear-themed media that is everywhere. From horror movies to books and radio shows, I consume it all with gusto.

Now, during my break from researching the arcane and other matters, I have decided to share some simple Halloween recommendations for you. Hope you enjoy!

MOVIES:

It is not Halloween unless you sit down on your big, clean couch and gorge on popcorn while watching freaky films. Picking the five best horror films for Halloween is an impossible task, so instead here are the five movies that I watch the most on Halloween.

  1. Halloween (1978) — Isn’t it obvious from title? John Carpenter’s masterpiece, which helped spawn the entire slasher genre, is the perfect movie for Halloween. Set in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois (but filmed in Southern California–notice the palm trees), Halloween is about Michael Myers, an escaped lunatic who returns to his home town in order to butcher up some babysitters. If you have not seen this film, then you cannot consider yourself a fright film fanatic.
  2. Dracula (1931) — This is the granddaddy of them all. Tod Browning’s 1931 film was such a big hit that Universal Studies churned out a slew of great horror films between 1931 and 1935, including Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, and many others. Bela Lugosi shines as the Transylvanian count in this gothic gem. If you have ever done an impression of Count Dracula, then you were probably doing an impression of Lugosi playing Dracula.
  3. The Devil Rides Out (1968)–Great Britain’s Hammer Film Productions kept traditional horror alive during the 1950s and 60s. Their crowning achievement is 1968’s The Devil Rides Out. Based on the excellent novel by Dennis Wheatley, this film stars Christopher Lee as a white warlock who goes to war against a Satanic coven in order to save a beautiful woman’s life.
  4. Return of the Living Dead (1985) — Night of the Living Dead created the genre, and Dawn of the Dead is rightfully considered its apex, but I personally think that Return of the Living Dead is the best zombie movie ever made. Not only is it the film that convinced people that zombies prefer brains, but it also a wonderful mix of comedy and splatterpunk. A real treat for trick or treat time.
  5. The House of the Devil (2009) — This indie horror film by Ti West is a slow burn, but worth it. One of the few fantastic horror films to come out of an era marked by endless trash, The House of the Devil is the perfect mixture of retro and contemporary. Plus, the main lead is a real qt who sadly housesits for a couple of evil freaks.

READS:

Want something other than movies for Halloween? Never fear–here are some excellent reads for you.

  1. “The Call of Cthulhu” by H.P. Lovecraft — Forget everything about Cthulhu squishies or plushies. The original story from 1927 is a masterclass of dread and suspense. Lovecraft, the titan of twentieth century horror, is writer that cannot be missed.
  2. “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe— Madness, murder, and a messy eye. Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” still has the ability to scare readers hundreds of years after its publication.
  3. “Who Goes There?” by John W. Campbell — “Who Goes There?” inspired one of the greatest sci-fi horror films of all time with John Carpenter’s The Thing. The original novella is a study in atmosphere and insanity, as the indescribable alien in Antarctica uses its jelly-like body to transform into everything it eats. SPOOKY!
  4. “The Horror from the Mound” by Robert E. Howard — Best known for his Conan the Barbarian character, Robert E. Howard was also one heck of a good horror writer. One of his best stories is “The Horror from the Mound,” a 1933 chiller set in rural Texas. Farmer Steve Brill investigates why his neighbor Juan Lopez is so scared of an earthen mound. What he finds is beyond the scope of rationality.
  5. “The Last Feast of the Harlequin” by Thomas Ligotti — Ligotti is a writer of dense, deeply philosophical terror tales. His most anthologized story, “The Last Feast of the Harlequin,” concerns a strange rite involving clowns and masks that will give you nightmares for days. Don’t read unless your made of tough stuff.

SOUNDS:

Finally, let’s talk about scary sounds. For me, I blast heavy metal during Halloween. Of course, I listen to metal every day, but I focus on the really macabre stuff during this time of year. I recommend atmospheric black metal like Order of Nosferat and Tartaros, as well as melodic black metal like Dissection and others. You can’t go wrong with death metal either, and doom metal has plenty of Halloween-themed bands. You cannot go wrong with goth rock either, so turn up Bauhaus, .45 Grave, or Christian Death.

If metal is not your thing, then check out cryptwave, a sub-set of dungeon synth that is focused on Halloween ambience.

Finally, there is also plenty of old-time horror radio programs for free on YouTube. My favorite resource is the Late Late Horror Show, which has literally hundreds of spooky radio programs from the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s.

I hope this article helps you to make the most of your Halloween this year. Comment below with your own recommendations. After all–frens should help frens to maximize the spoopiness for the season!