Book suggestions for Halloween

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burlingtonbertram
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Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by burlingtonbertram »

Now that Autumn's liver-spotted and withered fingers have crept about our necks, does anyone want to suggest good reads for the approaching Eve Of All Hallows? Not necessarily horrific; I'm perfectly happy with a hint of the supernatural myself. Thought it best to start early so that if I see anything I fancy, I have time to get a copy. Anyway, I will set the ball rolling:-

My favourite novel of all is “Mist Over Pendle” by Robert Neill. I have three copies at home, the most tattered of which I got in the mid 80's. It is held together with reams of tape. At a rough estimate, I must have read it fifty or sixty times.

It was first published in 1951 and I believe that it has never been out of print. In the USA it is entitled “The Elegant Witch”. I have read other books by Neill but didn't find them to be a patch on this one.

“Mist Over Pendle” is an 'imagining' of the events leading to the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612. The twelve accused were all from the Pendle Hill area in Lancashire. The Clerk to the Court, Thomas Potts, published his account of the trial in his “The Wonderfull Discoverie Of Witches in the Countie Of Lancaster”.

Mist Over Pendle is a wonderfully evocative account of life amongst the gentry, yeomen and the peasantry of rural Lancashire in the time of James I.

The young Margery, brought up in a strict, puritan household, is sent to stay with her cousin Roger, a gentleman living in Lancashire. Margery and Roger together confront the local coven of witches who commit murder by both poison and spells.

The passages that spring most to mind are: the 'swimming of the witch' at Wheathead; a north-country Christmas with the Hebers; the infant left exposed on the hilltop at Halloween; the escape of the Massing Priest; the coven assembled at Malkin Tower.

This is not a horror story but a version of real events that tell of the fear of witchcraft and the supernatural. As a historical novel it is very well written, capturing a way of life bound by the seasons, superstition, and religion.

So; anyone got any other suggestions?
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Domino
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Domino »

How about 'The Casting of the Runes' by M. R. James. Or for those with stronger nerves, H. P. Lovecraft's 'The Lurking Fear'.
Then again, Bertie, I doubt that your average Blytonian wants to be scared even at Halloween.

Dave
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Poppy »

I was hoping to get a copy of Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party for Halloween, which sounds intriguing. :D
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

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Domino wrote:How about 'The Casting of the Runes' by M. R. James. Or for those with stronger nerves, H. P. Lovecraft's 'The Lurking Fear'.
Then again, Bertie, I doubt that your average Blytonian wants to be scared even at Halloween.

Dave
I'd forgotten M.R. James; I did have a paperback of short stories kicking around somewhere. Must have a hunt around for it.
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

The two books which spring to mind for me each feature a memorable pumpkin character:

Knock Three Times! by Marion St. John Webb - A menacing magic pumpkin leads Molly and Jack through the trunk of a tree and into a strange world.

The Marvellous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum - Tip goes adventuring with Jack Pumpkinhead, who is made out of wood with a pumpkin for a head.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Katharine »

I'm not keen on supernatural stories, so maybe I'll settle for some of the Worst Witch books. I've never read them, although I keep meaning to. If not, I'll just keep reading the HP I've got on the go at the moment.

Can anyone think of an Enid Blyton story set at Halloween? I know there are several bonfire settings.
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by shadow »

If you enjoyed Mist over Pendle then I can recommend Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt. Goes into a lot of detail and I found it better written than Mist over Pendle.
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Lucky Star »

There are two Secret Seven books that are set at Halloween and are very redolent of the atmosphere of the occasion. One is Secret Seven Fireworks and the other Im afraid I can't recall at the moment but it's the one where they dress Peter up as a Guy which is a very memorable scene. I think I shall read one of those come October 31st.
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Moonraker »

I was hoping to get a copy of Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party for Halloween, which sounds intriguing.
Poppy, I just knew you'd beat me in recommending this excellent book! I hope you soon find a copy (it is still in print) and read it in time for All Hallow's Eve.
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by burlingtonbertram »

Katharine wrote:I'm not keen on supernatural stories, so maybe I'll settle for some of the Worst Witch books. I've never read them, although I keep meaning to. If not, I'll just keep reading the HP I've got on the go at the moment.

Can anyone think of an Enid Blyton story set at Halloween? I know there are several bonfire settings.
Yes, it would be good for some Enid Blyton or other children's author suggestions. I have Secret Seven Fireworks although strictly speaking that is Bonfire Night so just a tad later.

Shadow's suggestion of "Daughters of the Witching Hill" looks like it might be an option for me.

Katharine mentioning the Worst Witch reminded me of the Lizzie Dripping stories that the BBC televised in 1973 and 1975. I was somewhere between 3 and 5 at the time and absolutely petrified of the witch. I picked up a copy of Lizzie Dripping and the Witch the other year, just to 'exorcise some demons'. What a harmless, inoffensive little story it turned out to be. It's amazing what scares you as a young child.
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Katharine »

I remember Lizzie Dripping, but was a bit older, so wasn't scared by it. I'd love to see it again.
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I recall a child or children in the TV programme singing:

"Lizzie Dripping, Lizzie Dripping, don't look now, your something's slipping!"

But I don't remember what the something was!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by burlingtonbertram »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:I recall a child or children in the TV programme singing:

"Lizzie Dripping, Lizzie Dripping, don't look now, your something's slipping!"

But I don't remember what the something was!
Fibs I think.
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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Thanks, BurlingtonBertram!
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

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Re: Book suggestions for Halloween

Post by Spitfire »

Mist Over Pendle sounds fascinating.
burlingtonbertram wrote:
Domino wrote:How about 'The Casting of the Runes' by M. R. James. Or for those with stronger nerves, H. P. Lovecraft's 'The Lurking Fear'.
Then again, Bertie, I doubt that your average Blytonian wants to be scared even at Halloween.

Dave

I'd forgotten M.R. James; I did have a paperback of short stories kicking around somewhere. Must have a hunt around for it.
Not heard of H.P. Lovecraft or 'The Lurking Fear' - I'll look that up in a moment.

I love M.R. James and have read my old paperback Collected Ghost Stories countless times. 'The Casting of the Runes' is one of the best but they're all good. I enjoy reading them as much to immerse myself in the era they bring to life than for the delicious cold thrill of the supernatural. I love M.R. James' style and the way he sets up his characters in ordinary, pragmatic routines which are interrupted with an unpleasant sense that something uncanny is abroad; a feeling which grows to proportions of horror before the story reaches it's climax.
burlingtonbertram wrote:“Mist Over Pendle” is an 'imagining' of the events leading to the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612. The twelve accused were all from the Pendle Hill area in Lancashire. The Clerk to the Court, Thomas Potts, published his account of the trial in his “The Wonderfull Discoverie Of Witches in the Countie Of Lancaster”.
Although nothing to do with witchcraft, this reminds me of two of M.R. James' stories - 'Martin's Close' which is an account of a murder trial in the seventeenth century and 'The Rose Garden', a curious, uncomfortable tale involving a high-profile trial and a restless spirit.

I would also highly recommend Dickens' The Signalman - always worth a re-read if you've read it before!
Lucky Star wrote:There are two Secret Seven books that are set at Halloween and are very redolent of the atmosphere of the occasion. One is Secret Seven Fireworks and the other Im afraid I can't recall at the moment but it's the one where they dress Peter up as a Guy which is a very memorable scene. I think I shall read one of those come October 31st.
The other is Good Work, Secret Seven. I've always preferred Fireworks myself, as I find the scene at the end in the fog so atmospheric, but a readathon which we held a few years ago to compare the two books put me firmly in a minority in my preference!!

I think if I were wanting to choose something to suit shorter days and dark evenings I'd go for Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier.
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