My absolute FAVORITE month is here – October! Not only does that mean sweater weather, corn mazes, apple cider donuts, and posting up in front of a wood-burning stove, it also means Halloween. Since I never pass up the opportunity to go all-out with a theme, I love to read seasonal books this month, particularly those of a more macabre nature. So in the spirit (pun intended) of the greatest (in my opinion) time of the year, I’ve pulled together a few of my favorite spooky stories and their creepy-but-stylish movie counterparts.
Read: ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ by Washington Irving
This one is an oldie – 1820! – but a goody. Everyone knows the story (no? Just me? Okay) of the Headless Horseman, who rises from the dead every Halloween to reclaim the noggin that was blown off by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War. Schoolmaster Ichabod Crane arrives from Connecticut and competes with local beefcake Brom Bones for the hand of the young Katrina van Tassel. After Crane attends the van Tassel’s harvest party, where Bones regales the crowd with ghost stories, he’s chased on horseback by a figure with no head. Crane then disappears, leaving the reader to wonder if he was imagining his terror, or if he was spirited away by the Headless Horseman. I prefer the latter ending.
See: ‘Sleepy Hollow,’ directed by Tim Burton
The Hollywood version of this classic is decidedly juicier than the original tale, thanks to Tim Burton’s ghoulish direction. Johnny Depp is a quirky (and good-looking) city doctor, rather than the lanky school teacher of Irving’s story, and the the terror unleashed on Sleepy Hollow by the Headless Horseman is real – not a figment of Crane’s imagination. The film is a costume-lover’s dream, with Burton-treated bodices, corsets, and ruffles at every turn.
(Bonus points if you’ve ever seen the 1949 animated Disney version starring Bing Crosby as the voice of Ichabod Crane, which is actually much closer to the original tale. Even now I still want to wear Katrina van Tassel’s pink dress.)
Read: ‘The Shining’ by Stephen King
Oh boy, where do I begin. I’m someone whose literary interests can lean toward the lurid or gruesome, so Stephen King is one of my favorite writers, no matter the season. I read The Shining about once a year, and it never fails to scare me. Something about Jack Torrance and his family, alone in the ominous Overlook Hotel, becoming the victims of both cabin fever and a building with a malevolent streak, is thrilling and chilling. As King’s third and most famous novel, this is an absolute go-to for me in October.
See: ‘The Shining,’ directed by Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest directors of all time, and it shows in The Shining. Shelley Duvall’s outfits aren’t much to talk about (hellooo, frumpy!), but the movie itself is a joy to watch. From the shock of seeing those twins at the end of the hallway, to the slow-motion take of blood cascading out of the elevator, to the camera following Danny around the halls of the Overlook on his tricycle, every scene is art from start to finish.
Read: ‘The Virgin Suicides’ by Jeffrey Eugenides
Honestly, this book is one that I’ve a read a million times, at all different points of the year, but for some reason it particularly resonates in the fall. Maybe it’s because the story of the Lisbon sisters’ adolescence brings me back to my high-school years, or because the writing naturally lends itself to the steely grey days of autumn. It’s not a spooky story per se, but the subject matter is truly disturbing, and Eugenides’s haunting prose definitely gives me the chills.
See: ‘The Virgin Suicides,’ directed by Sofia Coppola
If the book is haunting, then the movie is just eerie. The first time I saw it, in 1999, I was blown away by the hazy filter, the dreamy soundtrack composed entirely by Air, and Sofia Coppola’s mastery of the material. The production of the movie is so stylish, and I haven’t even gotten to the clothes. Obviously, the focus is on Lux Lisbon, played by the ever-brilliant Kirsten Dunst, whose school uniform I still covet to this day. Her smocked floral tops are so modern almost 20 years later, and she even manages to take her homemade prom dress from dowdy to downright ethereal.
Honorable Mention: ‘Halloween’
Okay, okay. This was never a book. BUT THE 70S FASHION IS JUST TOO GOOD. Jamie Lee Curtis’s blue button-down top and high-waisted flared denim? The platforms? The sweater vests?! Please. Someone should write a book about THAT.
