Traci Thomas shares 34 book picks for Halloween weekend
The host of “The Stacks” lists 20 fiction titles and 14 nonfiction works to read before Oct. 31.
By Marco Alvarez ·
Traci Thomas, host and creator of “The Stacks,” released a list of 34 horror books for readers to enjoy during the Oct. 30 and 31 weekend. The recommendations cover three categories: fiction, horror anthologies, and nonfiction. The list is intended for listeners and readers seeking stories that create a sense of fear or dread.
The fiction section contains 20 titles. The list includes Stephen King’s “Carrie” and Ira Levin’s “Rosemary’s Baby.” Other authors on the list are Toni Morrison, Shirley Jackson, Joyce Carol Oates, and Carmen Maria Machado. Several entries are translations, including “Tender Is the Flesh” by Agustina Bazterrica and “The Vegetarian” by Han Kang. The list also features short story collections by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Carmen Maria Machado.
Thomas recommended three horror anthologies. “Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology” and its sequel, “Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II,” were edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams edited “Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror.” Cynthia Pelayo edited “Something Followed Us Home: Tales of Latiné Horror.”
The nonfiction category includes 14 works. Lizzie Johnson’s “Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire” is one entry. Ben Wickey wrote “More Weight: A Salem Story.” Wright Thompson’s “The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi” is also included. The list covers historical events and true crime stories.
Philip Gourevitch’s “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda” is on the list. Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry wrote “Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders.” Daniel James Brown’s “The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party” is included. Heather Ann Thompson wrote “Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy.”
Iris Chang’s “The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II” is another nonfiction pick. Richard Lloyd Parry wrote “People Who Eat Darkness: Murder, Grief and a Journey into Japan’s Shadows.” The list is available for readers looking for specific titles to read before the holiday weekend ends.
