This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northwestern chapter.
Halloween is almost here! And with Halloween comes the best of fall: flannels, apple cider, and your scariest movies and books! To get you ready for the best of the season, we’re here with some classics and maybe some newer recommendations to help get your ~spooky~ on.
Nobody puts baby in a corner (except for the Blair Witch she might tbh)
MOVIES
- Scream. With the semi-recent death of Wes Craven, “Master of Horror,” it feels important to pay homage to his legacy in the slasher film genre. The movie Scream turned the traditional slasher film on its head, with characters who are very aware of the tropes that guide horror and the roles they play in the scenes that take place. Beginning with the brutal murder of Drew Barrymore, watch the movie in its whole for great scenes featuring smart, scary humor and the beginning of Courtney Cox and David Arquette’s whirlwind romance.
- The Blair Witch Project. This movie, like Craven’s Scream, is super smart, with the goal of tricking audiences into believing the events that unfold are real. When three teen documentarians try to uncover the secrets of the Blair Witch legend, they mysteriously disappear, but their footage is recovered, and what they captured will have you pulling your favorite blanket over your eyes for cover.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street. Another Wes Craven classic, this time featuring a young Johnny Depp, so you’ll for sure have some eye candy for those few moments when you aren’t covering your eyes. Almost psychological in nature, the movie explores death when we are at are most vulnerable: sleeping. The murderer, Freddie Krueger, wears an ugly striped sweater, a fedora, and knives for a hand, so if you need last minute spooky costume inspiration, look no further.
- Halloween. The most classic of any slasher film out there, Halloween is a must on your spooky movie list, and not just because of the name. If you love the show Scream Queens, watch the movie that gave Jaime Lee Curtis her start in screaming. When an escaped murderer/mental patient comes to town on Halloween, none of the town’s local teenagers are safe. If you’re feeling especially brave, watch the whole series and see Michael Myers’ brand of crazy for hours.
Try and tell me the killer in “Scream” isn’t scary …
BOOKS
- Dangerous Girls, Abigail Haas. With Netflix’s recent release of their Amanda Knox documentary, you might want to pick up this book about a teen girl who is murdered in Aruba and the following trial of her best friend for the murder. Based loosely on both the Amanda Knox case and the disappearance of Natalie Holloway on a class trip to Aruba, this psychological thriller will engage readers’ imaginations just like the cases it was inspired by.
- The Merciless, Danielle Vega. When Sofia shows up at a new school, she’s just hoping to make friends. But the girls she meets have something darker than she ever imagined planned for their extracurricular activities. Their performing an “exorcism” on a girl in a basement, but what they call salvation looks more like torture. I dare you to read this one with the lights off, because it is seriously freaky.
- Survive the Night, Danielle Vega. By the same author as The Merciless, Survive the Night takes place in an underground rave in the New York City Subway system. But when a body is discovered, everyone looks for an exit, discovering every manhole sealed shut. They’re trapped, and someone is hunting them, picking off party goers one by one.
- They all Fall Down, Roxanne St. Claire. In this Young Adult horror novel, the narrative starts off cheesy and almost campy: A high school that releases a list of the 10 hottest girls in school. *rolls eyes* But it quickly becomes more than that, as the girls on the list start to die, with deaths that look seemingly accidental, it’s hard to tell if its murder or coincidence. But as our heroine starts receiving veiled threats for trying to figure it out, secret societies and strange men reveal themselves, driving to a super dramatic climax where literally everything is revealed (and it’s beyond crazy).
- Literally Anything by Stephen King. The man is the master of horror, the Wes Craven of the horror book genre. From classics like The Shining and Carrie, to the more recently released Mr. Mercedes, the all-star author’s narratives are likely to chill you to the bone.
The Prom is all fun and games until a telekinetic teenager hits the scene…
****BONUS****
If you are in need of a little nostalgia this Halloween season, pick up Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and relive all those slumber parties in 5th grade when you couldn’t sleep because some girl brought this book and you literally died inside from fear.
This ilustration on the book cover haunted my dreams.
Images provided by: The Dissolve, Bloody Disgusting, GameStop, Imgur