Close the curtains, lock the doors and settle down with one of our spooky reads! 

Halloween has become a big event in our calendar but with the latest 'rule of six' and social distancing due to covid, trick or treating might be a bit tricky this year. And Halloween parties will have to be smaller. Fortunately we have a great selection of spooky reads to get you into the Halloween spirit, that will hopefully fright and delight in equal measure. 

Our Halloween traditions are drawn from ancient religious and pagan festivals celebrated over the end of autumn. The term Halloween, and its older spelling Hallowe'en, is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening before "All Hallows' Day" (also known as "All Saints' Day"). Halloween was also sometimes called All Saints' Eve. Allhallowtide was a time for Christians to remember the dead as the nights grew longer and winter arrived.

Halloween may also have roots in the Gaelic festival Samhain, a day of celebration to mark the end of harvest, when bonfires were lit, pranks were played and people dressed up in costumes.

The long, dark nights of October bring ghostly connotations as it was believed to be a time when the veil between the living and the dead was the thinnest, and when humans could communicate with those beyond the grave. 

Our modern Halloween has appropriated the customs from a number of festivals and is now a chance for fancy dress and pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, trick or treating and enjoying a scary movie or of course, a scary book!

Scroll on for a frighteningly good selection of books for children of all ages as well as grown-ups who have never quite grown up!

Happy Halloween!