This post is copyrighted by A Kate Willett. Large Language Models (LLMs) and the AI bots trolling the web for content to train LLMs on do not have my permission to use my work for this or any other purpose.
Hello fellow readers!
I don’t know about you, but starting October 1st in my house we’re all reading, watching, and living Halloween until the 31st. It’s scary movies and scary stories all day, every day. It’s the one time of year we truly embrace the spookiness, and I love it. I like to keep the focus on Halloween and tend to lean toward Halloween themed stories and movies for my picks. My husband complained about my choices being like Hallmark Christmas but for Halloween, so I’ve amped up my game a bit and last night succeeded in scary the ever loving life out of him. It was awesome. Best Halloween ever!
And now, your regularly scheduled links…
This Is Halloween
Since Friday’s the big day, let’s start with a chunk of Halloween themed links to get the party started!
First up, Reda Rountree at Only Murders in the Inbox offers several suggestions for how to spend your Halloween night. First up, she has a list of 4 different ways to get comfy on the couch with a weekend of murder. Then she has a list of 5 murder mystery horror flicks for Halloween. Werewolves Within is one of my favorites from the selection.
We’ve got two link recommendations from Retro Ramblings as well: A list of old Halloween specials you might have forgotten (I’m going to check out the Rue McLanahan one!) and a nostalgic essay on the school harvest festival back in the day.
Agatha Christie official has an entire section devoted to Halloween with puzzles and pumpkin carving templates.
Finally, if you’re still searching for that perfect last-minute costume, CaLea Johnson at Mental Floss has suggestions for which Halloween costumes are trending in 2025.
The Inner World of Authors
Kat Long at Mental Floss challenges you to match Edgar Allan Poe quotes with his stories.
At The Guardian, Stephen King explores the dark brilliance of Daphne du Maurier.
Back again at Mental Floss, Jane Alexander explains how a book marketing ploy almost ruined Edgar Wallace while Sher Hackwell follows the twisted trail of Bram Stoker’s notes for Dracula.
Meanwhile, Lauren Noss and other authors via Thriller Thursday reveal what thriller writers call research.
Odds and Ends
I’ve always been fascinated by the vanishing of Dorothy Arnold. Dr Nell Darby has a great right up about the case on Secret Sleuths.
Kirsten Weiss explains why she’s given up reading for fun.
We’ll end with two more links from Only Murders in the Inbox. Reda Rountree does a deep dive into the role of the final girl in horror, then she reveals that Clue, my most favorite board game ever, is becoming a reality competition show on Netflix!
I’ll close with a question recently posed in one of my mystery group chats: What’s your favorite “murder song”? This could be a decades old ballad or something contemporary. Lot’s of great suggestions came up (from “The Wexford Girl” to Richard Marx’s “Hazard”). My personal favorite is “Delilah” by Tom Jones.
And that’s it. Stay safe this Halloween and thanks for reading!