And then suddenly it struck me...

Halloween is just a few days away. It feels like it has been years since I have gotten swept up in the big cobwebby strawbroom that is the Halloween season. Back in Michigan, when not snowing, this is a wonderful time of year, all beautiful colors, hay rides, cinnamon sugar donuts and hot cider, yards full of spooky ghost-lit paraphrenalia. I used to read and write nightmares for two months straight, watched every movie in the horror section of the local video store. I imagined long conversations with Ray Bradbury and Bela Lugosi. I wandered around the cemetery my uncle lived in for inspiration and reflection. Anyway, after I moved to NYC, all that kind of dwindled. It was no longer so easy to determine the seasons. (There were only two, really: hot and dirty, cold and dirty). No one has a yard, let alone a farm, and Krispy Kreme doesn't do an old fashioned sugar donut. I even quit reading and viewing the scaregreats. So, this year, in my new environment, I have been becoming gradually more aware that Halloween is nearly upon us, and in fact, just moments ago, the nostalgic certainty of it leapt upon my neck like a mangy cat.

As a side note, one of the champions of dark fiction and Autumn mythos, Ray Bradbury, is alive and well and still writing. If you haven't ever read anything of his, by all means, pick something up. Incidentally, I know a fellow who works at a puppetry arts center in Atlanta who has been part of a project to bring The Martian Chronicles to the puppet stage. He has actually been in touch with Bradbury, who seems very pleased with the idea. I hope they are able to put it together. If you'd like to check out some info on Bradbury, go to www.raybradbury.com.

And now, a short list of recommended reading/viewing for this fine holiday season:

The Halloween Tree (Bradbury): It's A Christmas Carol for the Samhain set.

Werewolf (ed. Pronzini): A source of some of the best werewolf stories out there.

Hell House (Matheson): Very, very scary (don't be fooled by the film adaptations). Paranormal goings on in a large mansion; one of the great haunted house books.

Carrion Comfort (Simmons): Run to this book. It's an epic horror novel, and it works.

The October Country (Bradbury): One of his great compilations of short stories. Also, check out Long, After Midnight and I Sing The Body Electric.

28 Days Later (film): Zombie films are my heart, so to speak. This one really hits its mark.

Susperia (dir. Argento, film): This is a classic Itailian horror picture, complete with Raven, Goblins soundtrack, and the tormented ingenue.

The Exorcist: Director's Cut (dir. Friedkin, film): Believe it or not, I never saw the new cut of this. I shall have to rememdy that this weekend.

Also, there is a plethora of good music to be listened to out there: Tangerine dream, Bartok, the Goblins, any old horror movie soundtracks, Night On Bald Mountain, Tom Waits' Black Rider, Thriller (if you must, and I know many of you must).

That should keep you busy.

Or, if you prefer lighter fare, like my wife, there is no shame in a little Bunnicula and some Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown...