Pleasantly Spooky Halloween
Discover the best pleasantly spooky Halloween books, from Mary Shelley's *Frankenstein* and Ray Bradbury's *The Halloween Tree* to *Tam Lin* and *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell*—a curated list of eerily enchanting fiction, history, and YA reads.
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Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
A timeless, terrifying tale of one man’s obsession to create life—and the monster that became his legacy. “If ever a book needed to be placed in context, it’s Frankenstein” (The New York Times Book Review). ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP A timeless, terrifying tale of one man's obsession to create life—and the monster that became his legacy. EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: • A concise introduction that gives readers important background information • A chronology of the author’s life and work • A timeline of significant events that provides the book’s historical context • An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations • Detailed explanatory notes • Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work • Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction • A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader’s experience Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world’s finest books to their full potential. SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON
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The Great Mortality
by John Kelly
La moria grandissima began its terrible journey across the European and Asian continents in 1347, leaving unimaginable devastation in its wake. Five years later, twenty-five million people were dead, felled by the scourge that would come to be called the Black Death. The Great Mortality is the extraordinary epic account of the worst natural disaster in European history -- a drama of courage, cowardice, misery, madness, and sacrifice that brilliantly illuminates humankind's darkest days when an old world ended and a new world was born.
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The Halloween Tree
by Ray Bradbury
ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT, eight trick-or-treaters gather at the haunted house by the edge of town, ready for adventure. But when Something whisks their friend Pip away, only one man, the sinister Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, can help the boys find him. "If you want to know what Halloween is, or if you simply want an eerie adventure, take this mysteryhistory trip. You couldn't ask for better than master fantasizer Ray Bradbury," raves The Boston Globe. Originally published in 1972, this handsome hardcover reissue celebrates its 35th anniversary. It's the perfect gift for fans of Harry Potter and Philip Pullman.
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Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
Magician, Mr. Norrel of Hurtfew Abbey, uses his powers against Napoleon and the French in 1806 and is soon challenged by Jonathan Strange, a novice magician, who becomes obsessed with the Raven King, the twelfth-century founder of English magic and bizarre forms of magic.
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Tam Lin
by Pamela Dean
In the ancient Scottish ballad "Tam Lin," headstrong Janet defies Tam Lin to walk in her own land of Carterhaugh . . . and then must battle the Queen of Faery for possession of her lover’s body and soul. In this version of "Tam Lin," masterfully crafted by Pamela Dean, Janet is a college student, "Carterhaugh" is Carter Hall at the university where her father teaches, and Tam Lin is a boy named Thomas Lane. Set against the backdrop of the early 1970s, imbued with wit, poetry, romance, and magic, Tam Lin has become a cult classic—and once you begin reading, you’ll know why. This reissue features an updated introduction by the book’s original editor, the acclaimed Terri Windling.
