Staff Recommendations – October 2004

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These recommendations were posted October 2004

For October, in honor of the spookiest month of the year, we offer ten selections with elements of horror, the unexplained, and the supernatural.

A Guide to the Ghosts of Lincoln
by Alan Boye (917.822 Boy)

Interested in reading about the history of ghosts and spooky occurrences right here in the Capitol City? Alan Boye’s popular A Guide to the Ghosts of Lincoln is just the ticket for you! Covering the famous (the C.C. White building ghost on the Wesleyan campus) to the obscure, with side stops for specters elsewhere in the surrounding county, this is a fascinating exploration of some truly weird and creepy Lincoln history. Try to walk by some of the sites described in this book and see if you feel a chill!

( This book has gone through three different editions. The link above takes you to the current (3rd) edition, from 2003. The Lincoln City Libraries also still own copies of the first edition (1983), second edition (1987), and a Video Program taped at the library, in which author Boye discusses the writing of this book. )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Rated by — Anonymous
Visitor to the BookGuide site

Rated by — Anonymous
Visitor to the BookGuide site

Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Ray Bradbury (Bradbury)

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” Ray Bradbury’s classic dark fantasy novel is a masterwork of American fiction. This novel is an unforgettable coming-of-age tale that explores friendship, fear and loss with a sense of poignancy and wonder. The arrival of a creepy and mysterious carnival in Green Town, Illinois during a blustery October leads to a battle between Good and Evil, and to life-changing choices for two teenagers on the brink of adulthood. Incredibly atmospheric!

( official Ray Bradbury web site ) | ( official Internet Movie Database Page for the 1983 film version )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

House of Leaves
by Marc Danielewski (Danielewski)

This book is indescribable! A multi-layered horror story with a shifting perspective, told in an amazing experimental style. A combination of traditional narrative, with journal entries, historical footnotes, interview transcripts, stories within stories, and numerous other storytelling devices. Chilling in its matter-of-fact-like explorations of the unexplained. Like nothing else!

( official House of Leaves web site )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

The Night Stalker Companion: A 25th Anniversary Tribute
by Mark Dawidziak (791.457 NigYd)

This is an authoritative guide to the classic 1970s horror/thriller show (which was one of the inspirations for The X-Files) starring Darren McGavin. This detailed book, featuring information about the origins of the original two tv-movies and the short-lived series, is an affectionate tribute, which no true fan should miss! Tons of photos and a hefty episode guide.

( Kolchak: The Night Stalker episode guide at epguides.com )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett (Gaiman)

Armageddon has never seemed so humorous as in this darkly comic fantasy by Gaiman (American Gods, and the Sandman graphic novels) and Pratchett (the Discworld series). Fans of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series should appreciate the humor in this novel. An Angel and a Demon, both of whom enjoy living on Earth too much to really look forward to Armageddon, attempt to prevent it from happening in this contemporary comedy of errors tour de farce.

( official Neil Gaiman web site ) | ( official Terry Pratchett web site )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

The Stand: Complete and Uncut Edition
by Stephen King (King)

Stephen King’s 1978 masterwork was re-released in a massive new edition in 1991, complete with sections removed from the original version. This is a battle between Good and Evil on a personal scale, in King’s traditional style. A must for fans of contemporary mythic horror novels.

( official Stephen King web site )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

The Lathe of Heaven
by Ursula K. Leguin

“A man can dream, can’t he?” A classic science fiction novel exploring the nature of reality and the powers of the human mind. Filled with very poignant moments and searing social commentary. Unforgettable!

(Also available in audiobook format, as well as a 2001 tv-movie that takes liberties with the plot. Try to track down the original 1980 PBS tv-movie version for a more faithful adaptation, or request it through our Interlibrary Loan Department.)

( official Ursula K. Leguin web site ) | ( Internet Movie Database page for the 2001 tv-movie ) | ( Internet Movie Database page for 1980 PBS tv-movie )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Rated by — Anonymous
Visitor to the BookGuide site

The Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux (Leroux)

The movie and broadway musical are probably more well known than the book that they were based on, but this is a stirring novel of hope, despair and prejudice.

(Also available in several other translations, as well as multiple audiobook editions and even an animated juvenile format.)

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library

At the Mountains of Madness
by H.P. Lovecraft (Lovecraft)

Though often imitated, there is truly only one H.P. Lovecraft, and At the Mountains of Madness is perhaps his most lasting work of longer fiction. Lovecraft is an expert at creating eerie settings, and then trapping his characters in situations where there is something unspeakably horrific waiting in a puddle of ectoplasmic slime around the next corner…or perhaps the corner after that. Though the plots of Lovecraft’s work may appear somewhat dated now, most readers should still be able to appreciate Lovecraft’s classic horror style.

( official H.P. Lovecraft Archive web site )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

The Hound of the Baskervilles
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (DVD Doyle)

Jeremy Brett is considered by many fans to be the ultimate Sherlock Holmes, and this 2-hour episode of the PBS Mystery series adapts one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous Holmes stories in excellent form.

(Also available from Lincoln City Libraries in numerous print and audio formats.)

( Official web site of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle literary estate )

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

last updated March 2020
* Please Note: The presence of a link on this site does not constitute an endorsement by Lincoln City Libraries.