It's no surprise that most Halloween stories delve into the dark corners and shadows of life. That premise is in the very name of the holiday. Originally known as All Hallows' Eve, it's celebrated just before All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day — two holidays meant to honor the dead. For thousands of years, people all over the world have remembered the lost with candles, rituals, costumes, and revelry.

The best Halloween stories produce tingles up the back of the neck, while also, maybe, breaking one's heart just a little bit. After all, good scares and sorrow often go hand-in-ghostly-hand.

In this episode, we get curious about Halloween traditions and explore the lore around classic creepy creatures., Then we recommend books that celebrate the spirit (and spirits) of Halloween, including stories for self-proclaimed scaredy-cats, titles that should come with a 'don't read this at night' warning label,' and a few in-between. Trick or treat!

We also talk to horror legend Steve Bissette, illustrator of 'The Swamp Thing' and writer of both fiction and non-fiction works that'll scare the pants off you.

For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes at http://strongsenseofplace.com/podcasts/2020-10-19-halloween.

Books we talked about include:

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