For adults and children over the age of 10, I would recommend some classics:

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. Still vibrant and scary, this short story was written by Irving in 1820, and survives as one of the earliest examples of truly American fiction. The story tells of a superstitious young school master, Ichabod Crane, whose courtship of the young Katrina Van Tassel, sets off a competition with the town bully. The hapless Crane also runs afoul of the local ghost of a headless Hessian soldier, with a penchant for midnight rides. If you haven’t read this story since you were required to for school, it’s time to pull it down from the shelf and read it again!

“The Halloween Tree” by Ray Bradbury. One of the undisputed deans of American science fiction and fantasy, Mr. Bradbury has given us some of the creepiest and most readable stories for the season. In this book, we meet 8 young boys who are all meeting to go trick or treating together. On the way to their meeting place, young Pip is whisked away by a great, dark Something. The boys meet the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud, who takes them on a journey through time and space to save their friend. From a funeral procession in ancient Egypt, Druidic rites, witch trials in Medieval Europe, and the catacombs of Mexico on the Day of the Dead, the boys learn about the origins of Halloween and how attitudes about death have been influenced it, while trying to save their friend.

“Something Wicked This Way Comes”, also by Ray Bradbury. This novel introduces us to two 13 year-old boys in a small midwestern town, who are conflicted about their upcoming 14th birthdays. On October 23, various townspeople tell the boys that they can feel that something is about to happen. The boys are delighted to learn that a carnival has set up just outside of town and are determined to be among the first to attend. The carnival, a sinister group, led by Mr. Dark, promises that a visit to Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show can make all one’s deepest desires come true. And wishes do come true, but always at a heavy price. In the case of this story, I will also heartily recommend the movie, for which I have linked the trailer here. It has brilliant performances by Jonathon Pryce and Jason Robards, and character actor, Royal Dano, and stays true to the feeling of the novel.

Just for fun, you may want to add the book “Halloween”, by Jerry Seinfeld. This picture book is based on Jerry’s own holiday experiences as a child. From pajama costumes to the quality of treats, he makes us smile remembering our own youth. This is a perfect book to share with younger children, aged 4 and up.

The legends of headless horsemen actually date back centuries earlier, when beheading was a common form of capital punishment. One of the original stories is probably a German legend, and reports of sightings of this horseman date from the 1600’s. Again in the late 18th century, a headless horseman reportedly roamed the countryside of France, frightening travelers and residents alike. This unfortunate soul was very likely the victim of the guillotine, the invention that turned the French Revolution into a frantic and hysterical bloodbath.

The United States, aside from being the fictional location of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, was also the site of another frightening tale, that had it’s origins in fact. The brush country of south Texas in the 1800’s was a dangerous place. Prior to statehood in 1849, it was the frequent hideout for notorious western murderers and thieves. Lawmen who lost track of their prey would often mark their files “GT” for “Gone to Texas”. Raids on homesteads and ranches were frequent, from these lawless men, as well as Indians and Mexican bandits. It was the Texas Rangers, established in 1823 by Stephen Austin, that stood between citizens and the bad men. Rustlers and horse thieves were dealt with particularly harshly, because their targets were the livelihood of Texans.

It seemed that no amount of public punishment or swift justice deterred these thieves, and the Rangers were frustrated in their efforts to put an end to them. One such group of horse thieves was led by a Mexican bandit named Vidal. When Rangers Creed Taylor and “Big Foot” Anderson caught up with him and his band of raiders, they killed them on the spot. With Taylor’s blessing, Anderson severed Vidal’s head, and lashed it to the horn of the saddle of a charcoal colored mustang. He secured Vidal’s body upright in the saddle, and turned the horse loose to roam the countryside as a warning to other would-be thieves and raiders. Little did they realize that the corpse would ride the brush country for many years, until finally, captured at a watering hole, the horse gave up the shriveled body, bullet riddled and full of Indian arrows.

It would seem, however, that burying Vidal’s body did not end his torment. Soldiers and scouts from Fort Inge reported seeing the headless horseman on his endless ride up until the Fort closed in 1869. At the turn of the century, a headless rider reportedly passed through a wagon team near Old San Patricio, and a headless horseman is still said to travel the road to Dead Man’s Lake near the Texas community of San Diego. “El Muerto”, the Dead One, was spotted by a posse on a modern day manhunt in 1969. Rumors still abound of sightings in the lonely brush country, making this a living legend of terror in Texas.