12 Thrillers for your Halloween holiday

Before you fly away for your Halloween and All Souls’ Day holiday, drop by your favorite bookstore and pick up a book that’s perfect for the season and for your vacation spot. If you’re hard-pressed to find something that suits your taste, perhaps these suggestions by fellow book lovers will help. Set your fear (or your funny bone) on fire

If you’re heading for the beach with friends or family, exchanging stories by an evening seaside bonfire on Halloween night will make for good, clean fun. If you’ve just about exhausted your store of ghost stories, surprise your companions with some new artillery. Zombies vs Unicorns is a hilarious short story anthology edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier that attempts to answer the question “Which is better, the Zombie or the Unicorn?" It’s an actual literary grudge match involving some of the most talented authors in the young adult genre today like Meg Cabot, Garth Nix, Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld and Naomi Novik. “Even if you couldn’t care less about zombies or unicorns," says Paolo Chikiamco, a fiction writer and founder of rocketkapre.com, “by the end of the book, you’ll be heavily invested in the debate." For those who prefer traditional horror with a local flavor, The Special Horror Issue of the Digest of Philippine Genre Stories edited by Yvette Tan will serve you 5 bite-size creepy tales that are also perfect for a fire-side storytelling session. Writer Kenneth Yu, publisher of the Digest and himself a contributor to various local and international fiction anthologies, recommends Tan’s own horror collection, Waking the Dead and Other Stories, as an alternative. Why so grave? An integral part of any vacation itinerary this season is a visit (but in most cases, a camp out) to the cemetery to spend time with family and the dearly departed on All Souls’ Day. When your wallet is finally empty after losing countless rounds of pusoy dos against your uncles or when your music player is as dead as the person buried under the ground you’re sitting on, a good book should help you pass the time until the next round of prayers. Neil Gaiman will grab your attention from the very first line and will never let it go in the multi-award-winning The Graveyard Book, the story of an orphan boy who is adopted and raised by the occupants of a graveyard. Gaiman’s light, vivid, and often humorous writing will keep you entertained until your mother tells you it’s time to light a fresh batch of candles. For a heavier dose of horror and gore, there’s The Monstrumologist. Art teacher and sci-fi/fantasy enthusiast Gary Mayoralgo recommends this first book in Rick Yancey’s series about a 12-year-old apprentice to a scientist who studies monsters precisely because much of the action takes place in a creepy graveyard in England in the 1800’s. And no matter how much you tell yourself that it’s fiction, the book’s almost scientific approach to the existence of monsters will have you looking over your shoulder for the rest of the night. Don’t forget to bring a flashlight. Get the chills as you chill-out Most people will likely take advantage of the long weekend to drive to their favorite chill-out spots to recharge and unwind, and that comfortable chair on the deck of your Tagaytay resthouse overlooking Lake Taal is the perfect spot to curl up for a few hours to read; have a blanket ready, though, as it might get even chillier. Stephen King’s first collection of short stories, Night Shift, contains some of his most popular works like Children of the Corn, Graveyard Shift, and Jerusalem’s Lot. It was first published in 1976, but Kenneth Yu believes it was “spooky then, and is still spooky now." It takes some effort to find this book, but you may get lucky. If your luck runs out trying to find that, grab The Historian instead; major bookstores have this one in stock. Elizabeth Kostova’s debut novel about a young woman who discovers that her family is connected to Vlad the Impaler a.k.a. Dracula is not so much horrifying as it is eerie. Kostova’s writing brings to life a dark world of ancient monasteries, libraries, chilling European settings, and family secrets—all that without spilling much blood, which is a surprise for a novel that involves the most famous bloodsucker of all time. The book is rather lengthy, but it should be good reading for those who are just lounging around. Sleepless in the Province If your vacation will take you to your family’s ancient ancestral home in the provinces, one book you can bring with you is The Best of H.P. Lovecraft. Not only will this expand your horizons when it comes to the horror genre, but your old family home is a great setting in which to read Lovecraft’s tales. A horror enthusiast who prefers to go by the name Anton Zarnak (maybe he’s from the secret Cult of Cthulhu?) recommends this for those who may want to take a break from the horror staples of vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. Lovecraft “is a master stylist who carefully chooses each word to create a specific atmosphere and build tension." Lovecraft’s writing is not for everyone, though, so if you want something more familiar but no less atmospheric, get a copy of Dead Until Dark, the first book of Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries series, better known as the basis for the HBO Original Series, True Blood. The first season of True Blood was loosely based on Dead Until Dark, but don’t think there’s nothing new to read in the book if you’ve already watched the series 10 times over. Harris’ own account of telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse’s encounters with the supernatural while attempting to solve a string of murders in her fictional Louisiana hometown is a different experience from watching True Blood, but is no less entertaining because of Harris’ dark sense of humor and her detailed descriptions of the setting and the characters. If you’re caught up on all 3 seasons of True Blood and you would like to get a taste of what may happen in season 4, you can instead pick up the fourth book, Dead to the World. The show generally follows its own storylines but it should still incorporate much of the book, so it will be fun to visualize what Alexander Skarsgård’s Eric Northman (or for the guys, Anna Paquin’s Sookie) will possibly go through next season. Home is where the horror is Staying home during the holidays? Read Storm Front by Jim Butcher to get a taste of the paranormal in an urban setting. Paolo Chikiamco singles out this first book of the Dresden Files series among other urban fantasy offerings because of its wisecracking protagonist: “There are few first person perspectives as endearing as that of Harry Dresden, Wizard for Hire." For mature readers who want something different, Anton Zarnak offers up The Terror, Dan Simmons’ fictional take on what happened to the lost Arctic expedition led by Sir John Franklin in the 1800’s, and whose “convincingly detailed account of the mariners’ suffering is harrowing in places." Also, there’s a monster involved. It’s probably best not to bring this book if you’re going to the beach or will be on a cruise. There’s always a good book for any kind of vacation, so make sure to leave room in your bags for one. Whether you're heading for the beach, the province or just staying at home, these books will help you chill out, or chill you out during your Halloween holiday. - GMANews.TV