The Four Weeks of Halloween: Recent Episodes
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What’s the right Halloween for you? Drop in every Thursday in October and we’ll read you a seasonal poem or two, and share book, movie, and comics recommendations that you can use to shape the Halloween season into something that's fun for you and yours, whatever your personal fright level.
Recommended in this episode
Poem
The Adventures of Isabelby Ogden Nash
Movies
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
Spooky, barely
Coco (2017)
Spooky, at most
Books
Mommy? by Maurice Sendak
Spooky, some scary (mostly the price—it can be hard to find)
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Spooky
Terry Jones Fairy Tales by Terry Jones
Occasionally Spooky
Games
Grim Fandango
Spooky, grown-up themes
Podcasts
Scary Stories for Creepy Kids
Spooky
Music
“Frankenstein” by The Edgar Winter Group
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music
“Fury of Godzilla” from Godzilla, the King of All Monsters by Akira Ifukube
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music
“Main Title” from Godzilla, the King of All Monsters by Akira Ifukube
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music
“The Murder” from Psycho by Bernard Herrmann
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube Music / Amazon Music
Recommended in this episode
Poem
Selections from Mother Goose (The Original Volland Edition)
Movies
Practical Magic (1998)
Spooky, some scary (abuse)
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Spooky at most
Spirited Away (2001)
Spooky, some scary
Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)
Scary, some horrifying
Books
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Spooky, some scary (abuse)
Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
Spooky
Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson
Spooky
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 1: Charmed Life/The Lives of Christopher Chant, by Diana Wynn Jones
Spooky
Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Diasaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer
Scary (actual history)
Comics
Archie Horror, an imprint of Archie Comics
Spooky to Scary, with touches of Horrifying
Archie vs. Predator IIby Alex De Campi & Robert Hack, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Jack Morelli
Spooky to Scary, with touches of Horrifying
Podcasts
The Lovecraft Investigations: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
Scary
In Our Time: The Salem Witch Trials
Scary (actual history)
Errata
In this podcast, Jamie mistakenly refers to the Archie in Archie vs. Predator II as a “robotic” Archie. It is in fact a Predator modified to look like Archie. We regret the error. We regret it so, so much.
Recommended in this episode:
We introduced a rating system for the fright level of our recommendations:
Spooky (Maybe some jump scares, but it’s more about the mood.)
Scary (Real frights, but nothing too graphic or disturbing.)
Horrifying (Blood, monsters, madness. You are warned.)
Poem
Haunted Houses by Carl Sandberg
Movies
Housebound (2014)
Mostly spooky, some scary stuff
Beetlejuice (1998)
Mostly spooky, some scary images/characters played for laughs
Books
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (also available as a graphic novel)
Spooky
Amphigorey by Edward Gorey
Spooky
Comics
The Me You Love in the Dark by Skottie Young & Jorge Corona
Scary, with touches of Horrifying
Locke and Key by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
No rating from us—we haven’t read it yet
Podcasts
Too Scary, Didn’t WatchSpooky to Horrifying—but told second-hand to someone who doesn’t like scary stuff.
Also mentioned
Wikipedia is your friend, often with full synopses you can check out if you want to know what a book or movie has got planned for you.
Recommended in this episode:
Poem
Theme in Yellow by Carl Sandberg
Movies
Van Helsing (2004)
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Books
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (also on Kindle)
also mentioned:
The Weird edited by Anne and Jeff VanderMeer
Stories to Keep you Alive Despite Vampires by Ben Acker (also on Kindle)
Comics
The Dark Horse Book of Horror edited by Dark Horse Comics (available on Hoopla Digital)
Podcasts
Camp Monsters podcast
Also mentioned:
Dracula (1931)
The Mummy (1932)
Aliens (1986)
Bullit (1968)
Only The End of the World Again by Neil Gaiman (available in the collection Shadows Over Innsmouth edited by Stephen Jones, and as a graphic novel from Dark Horse or Hoopla Digital)