Halloween is rapidly approaching. A few weeks ago, the first neighborhood decorations came out of the garages and now cobwebs, caskets, and giant inflatable pumpkins and spiders amuse passerby. Some neighborhoods are known for their elaborate Christmas light displays, mine goes wild for Halloween. There will be several haunted houses, much moody music and eerie nature soundtracks, fog machines, and tons and tons of candy. My kids beg to go home before we even make it all the way around the block, because their bags get too heavy. My son is torn every year between the desire to trick or treat and the desire to pass out the candy at our door.
So for me, it’s always a bit disconcerting to see the Christmas books on the shelves in October. Why so early? Well, that’s simple, right? Because they sell well. Look at the USA Today bestseller list and you’ll see a few Christmas romances on there. In October.
But what about Halloween? It’s such a fun holiday. Where are the anthologies with that theme? I wrote a Halloween story to help launch Avon’s e-publishing imprint and I had great fun with it, but there are quite a lot of Halloween-themed e-books. Where are the print ones? And are there any non-erotic, non-paranormal ones?
Tonight, as my kids chatted excitedly about what they wanted to dress up as (my daughter already has two new costumes, but is thinking she might wish to be something else after all, and my son just can’t make up his mind) and whether they could somehow find a way to give out the candy at the same time they’re trick or treating for it, I thought about the dearth of Halloween-themed books in the bookstores. Why is that? I guess they don’t sell, but I’m not sure why.
Is it because the holiday is somewhat naughty and therefore the premises lean toward the more risqué? Not so heartwarming, maybe? Perhaps the character-in-disguise premise is used enough? I have a new book coming out on Tuesday that features a disguised hero and it’s not related to Halloween (o’course not, it’s historical. *g*) I was able to think of only one story I’d read that had a costume in the premise and it was a novella (”Sinderella” by Kimberly Randall — which I enjoyed immensely) in a non-Halloween, non-paranormal anthology (SINFUL).
Am I just missing them? How do you feel about holiday-themed books? Do you like to read them?
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I don’t think you’re missing them — I can’t think of any either, at least not in print. [ponder] Torquere Press (primarily an e-publisher) is doing a blitz of Halloween short stories, but I can’t think of any Halloween print anthologies I’ve seen ever, and I’ve been buying romances since ‘75. Which isn’t to say I haven’t missed some of course, but it does seem odd that there would be so few that we could just miss them all.
(And since when has naughty deterred romance writers??
)
Halloween is a fun holiday and an anthology wouldn’t have to be about the holiday itself per se; a collection of spooky or paranormal stories would be just as Halloweenish. A collection of ghost stories or vampire stories or were stories, or a collection of stories where the membrane between this world and the next thins and tears and whatever the writers can think of comes to pass — there are a lot of ways to do it. Weird that no one has. Or have they? If so, hopefully some other commenters will mention them.
Angie
I love Halloween and can’t stand to see Christmas stuff out in the middle of October, soon the stores will be pushing it back to August. We do put out our Christmas lights early. That’s only because I would rather put them out in 75 degree weather than when it’s cold, yes it is warm here in early November . So our Christmas lights will go up in about two to three weeks.
Off the top of my head, Bewitched is the only print anthology that comes to mind, though I’m certain I’ve seen others in the past.
Can’t think of a single one…
However, I usually dip into the paranormals for my Halloween reads. Same spooky feelings but I can read them year round.
I do love holiday themed books, but you are so right that there really aren’t specific Halloween themed books. I wish there were. I’d lap that up like a kid with a bag full of fun size Snicker bars and dark chocolate M&Ms
I confess to having made and early purchase of two really nice Christmas ornaments last night when I was picking up some mums and pumpkins for my back porch. I couldn’t help it. They’re so pretty, and from now through the end of the year I’m all about decorating and doing holiday things.
But it would be really cool to have a good Halloween romance novel to read on the chilly, stormy nights we’ve been having.
If I remember right, Lori Foster’s first Temptation had the heroine in costume at a Halloween party and the hero didn’t know who she really was.
I love Halloween stories. I’d buy a non-erotic, non-paranormal romance with that theme!
:grin:Oh, I love Christmas! I’m hoping to put up our tree today! ‘Course, we live in Alaska and there’s already snow on the ground. That kinda helps put me in the mood a little earlier than ya all.:grin:
Weirdly: A Collection of Strange Stories is out in e-format from Wild Child Publishing - if you’ll forgive the pimp.
Personally, I don’t read holiday themed books near holidays ( though I enjoy them at other times) For holiday reading I tend to resort to re-reading traditional tales.
Okay, I lied (and got a hand slap for it).
I do know of a Halloween novel.
Ghoulish Love By Michelle Libby
http://champagnebooks.com/bookstore/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=53
All about a Halloween hater who hooks up with a Halloween lover.
When I wrote for Zebra Regencies I remember a whole lot of the ‘Kitten’ Anthologies… remember the three story anthologies with kittens in them? I wrote a Christmas one, but there were lots of Hallowe’en ones - Bewitching Kittens, Enchanting Kittens, Magical Kittens.
But I’m sure that’s not what you meant!
However, I did find a page at myshelf.com devoted to hallowe’en books, romances included:
http://www.myshelf.com/holiday/pages/halloween.htm#romance
The funny thing is that I don’t buy Christmas-theme books in October. I see them on the shelves, but I don’t bother to pick them up. I’m all about paranormals. That’s what I’m in the mood for. By the end of November, I’ll start browsing for Christmas-theme romances.
I would think that Halloween would be a perfect holiday for paranormals and erotica. But maybe that’s just me.
I love holiday-themed books, and Halloween is my favorite holiday! I tend to go back to re-read my favorite witchcraft-based romances (like Nora Roberts’ Key series) and a book I picked up at RWA this past summer: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. This book is so amazingly well-written that I’ve read it FOUR times in the past few months–and my “keeper” shelf is rather small. Allen literally weaves a spell around the reader with this story; I couldn’t put it down. I keep wanting to share it with my friends, but I can’t seem to bring myself to part with it–even for a little while.
I would love to see some Halloween-based anthologies, but I prefer the classic ghost, witch, and things-that-go-bump-in-the-night supernatural stories over shape-shifters and werewolves. In other words, I prefer spooky to weird (exclusively my perspective, of course).
Great post! Yeah, Halloween is such a fun holiday, but I realize now that I sort of like it more for it’s “hominess,” if that makes sense. I like the kid-focus, the kid decor, the squeal of the kids when they’re delighted or frightened by someone’s well-decked house. The candy. Suburia. Pumpkin patches. All that. So Halloween-themed books could easily have a “warm” feel to them, in my mind. Maybe I just love fall in general. Didn’t Eric Selinger recently write about the odd absence of fall-focused books, when in fact that season seems wonderfully romantic? I think he’s right about that. Bring on the fall anthologies!
This is awesome! Thank you.
Sylvia
It is. There are a bunch of erotic paranormal Halloween stories. Ellora’s Cave has a full series devoted to Halloween (not all are paranormal, but all are erotic): Tricks and Treats
Halloween has always been a favorite holiday for me. I luv costumes in general, theater costumes, halloween costumes. And running wild when I was kid on halloween night was the best. I think one reason non-paranormal sweet halloween stories are on the decline now, is because of the recent bruhaha over halloween being an evil holiday. There is no more celebration in the schools here of halloween, no costumes — just fall festivities, so that no religious toes get stepped on. I think that’s translated over to what gets published these days. So Halloween ends up in the naughty trick or treat realm and/or the paranormal, which is a natch.
I like Thanksgiving and Christmas themed books, especially anthologies. I don’t think I’d pick up a Halloween themed book because even when I participated, I never saw it as a holiday, so to speak. Moreso as a fun fall day, like a festival.
But I too hate that the Christmas stuff is out so early. I saw stuff as early as October 1st. What next? Labor Day or 4th of July? Maybe everyone should do what one on my childhood friend’s family did. They simply threw a sheet over their Christmas tree and left the rest of the decorations up all year.
I have one of the Ellora’s Cave Halloween Quickies - it’s not paranormal. It was fun to write!
I agree, it’s way too early to have Christmas stuff out!
there is a
As much as I enjoy a good paranormal (Christine Feehan seems to be my current fav) I can get a little fed up that most of the ‘newest sensations’ in romance seem to involve vampires, witches, and werewolves (oh my!) I really would like to back to pure, reality based romance.
When it comes to books relating to Halloween I usually pull out the old gothic stuff like The Mysteries of Udolpho, Frankenstein and Dracula. I don’t know if you have heard of the R.I.P. II challenge in bookblog land, but you may want to look at the Stainless Steel Droppings blog (I believe the guidelines are found in the September archive). Other than paranormal romances I can’t think of what else will go along with the holiday.
[...] I LOVE holiday-themed books, Sylvia. You’re right…there need to be more set around Halloween. My best romance happened at Halloween 24 years ago–I met my husband while working in a High School haunted house! Of course, I can also say I met him at a brothel…the old condemned hose we used for the fundraiser had been known as one of our town’s old bawdy houses…. [...]
I have a short story out for Halloween, but it’s an e-release! I love to buy stories for all the different holidays, and don’t mind picking up Christmas books all fall long and setting them aside to read later. As for Halloween, I used to always find at least one Regency Halloween title–but they seem few and far between recently.
(warning: shameless plug)
Whiskey Creek Torrid just put out a print (and e-book) collection of 7 erotic romance short stories called “Samhain Scorchers”. We have ghosts and shifters, gargoyles, vampires–something for just about every paranormal fixation
I love the spooky cover they gave us, too! It’s available through the publisher’s website (and mine).
Also, I just finished another spooky anthology I really enjoyed–”No Rest for the Witches”. Mary Janice Davidson, Lori Handeland, Cheyenne McCray and Christine Warren = good stuff
Bethany