Chills and thrills for Halloween
Halloween is almost here and the days are getting shorter — which means more time to read spooky tales under the cover of night. Here are six new titles to read by jack-o’-lantern light (and we have even more online). “The Ghost Box” edited by Patton Oswalt (Hingston & Olsen, $31.63)
“The Ghost Box” is a creepy black box full of ghost stories edited by comedian, actor and horror fan Patton Oswalt. Unpack the stylish, individually bound minibooks by George R.R. Martin and more and follow along with Oswalt’s read-alongs, released daily on Facebook through Oct. 31. “Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell With Your Coven” by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman (Quirk Books, $15.99)
Looking for some DIY magic? “Basic Witches” taps into the power of positive thinking and selfcare. With spells for establishing boundaries and making peace with your body, the practical mantras and rituals in “Basic Witches” help banish toxic vibes and summon the sorcery to lead an empowered life. Pair with a cauldron of rosé. “Lost Envoy: The Tarot Deck of Austin Osman Spare” edited by Jonathan Allen (Strange Attractor Press, $40.95) Part of a British occult revival during the early 20th century, Austin Spare was a prolific outsider artist with a lifelong interest in mysticism. (He was also an acquaintance of Aleister Crowley.) In 2013, long after Spare’s death, his hand-painted tarot cards were discovered in London’s Magic Circle Museum. “Lost Envoy” reproduces this mysterious deck. “Strange Weather” by Joe Hill (William Morrow, $27.99) Joe Hill, bestselling author (and son of horror legend Stephen King) presents four novellas in this new book. Laced with uncommon menace — an apocalyptic rain of nails, a Polaroid camera that erases memories — these stories are rooted in the anxieties of modern life. “The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine” by Lindsey Fitzharris (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $27)
Not for the faint of heart, this aptly titled book recounts in vivid, gory detail the gruesome reality of 19th-century surgery and its transformation by Joseph Lister, a British surgeon who pioneered antiseptic surgery. The harrowing history’s chapters include “The Sutured Gut” and “They’re All Dead.” “The Art of Horror Movies: An Illustrated History” edited by Stephen Jones (Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, $40)
This coffee-table book journeys through the history of horror films with more than 600 film posters and ephemera and a forward by John Landis, director of “An American Werewolf in London” and Michael Jackon’s “Thriller.”