Slow night at the library, as you would expect. Wishing I was home and marathoning some spooky movies.

But since it’s only 7:30 and I can count the number of people using the library on one hand, time for some Halloween reading/viewing nostalgia:

(full disclosure: I am not a horror movie person, I get scared too easily. Every now and then I will try one if the movie is very well reviewed, but usually I wuss out and just hide behind my hands until it’s all over)

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz, Illustrated by Stephen Gammell: The pictures in this series were more upsetting than the stories and many of them haunt me until this day! And it’s a children’s book! Good stuff though.

Twilight Zone: Back in the day, the Sci Fi channel used to marathon Twilight Zone on Halloween night and I watched many episodes after the trick or treating had ended. Didn’t matter that they were in black and white, they disturbed me enough to know that if you can tell a story well, you don’t need fancy special effects to creep out your audience, just a good director/editor/actors.

Garfield Halloween Special: I don’t remember a lot about this except that Odie and Garfield get separated from John while trick or treating and it got way too creepy for little kid me. I think I watched this maybe twice as a child before deciding it was too upsetting to be part of the regular Halloween playlist. A quick Google search reveals I am not alone in being traumatized.>

Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror series: I own season 1-6 on DVD and they are always fun to rewatch this time of year. A good balance of comedy, homage, and spooky stories. If I’m home on Halloween, I watch these for sure!

Poltergeist: Not the scariest movie and I know it didn’t age well, but I still love it and it gives me chills every time the camera does that weird zoom thing in the hallway and you see it stretch out before JoBeth Williams, separating her from her screaming children.

Cabin in the Woods: This is about as scary as I get. I adore this movie because it takes all the horror tropes and cliches and just has a good time with them. Plus, Joss (yes you’re shocked, I know).

Okay, that’s all I can think of off the top of my head — what are you watching this Halloween?