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It’s the most wonderful day of the year: Halloween is here! Whether you’re more of a hang out on your couch and enjoy cozy films celebrator or someone who loves to dress up in an elaborate costume and go out for the night, there is always a little time to dip into a good YA book or short story set on Halloween. These are surprisingly few and far between, but they exist, and they are perfect for enjoying today, tomorrow, and (obviously) all year long. This year, several new titles have been added to the list, as the season’s possibilities lend themselves so well to YA fiction.
Find below an array of YA books and short stories that take place entirely on or primarily on Halloween. These aren’t stories that are simply horror or that are set in the larger fall season. These books are happening on Halloween or have Halloween as a primary setting. Some are going to be scarier and some will be sweeter. Take your pick.
Grab a couple of pieces of candy from your trick-or-treat bowl and savor these reads, whether you go for a full-blown novel or a short story.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Set over Halloween and into Día De Los Muertos, Thomas’s debut novel follows Yadriel, who is determined to prove himself a powerful brujo despite the gendered expectations of his traditional Latine family. He employs the help of two friends to perform a ritual that will help him find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set him free.
This was a lot of fun while also being packed with so much interesting stuff about gender, about Brujería and how gendered it is, about family, and a sweet, humorous romance.
Harvest House by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Hughie is excited to be volunteering this Halloween season at Harvest House, a rural attraction for horror lovers. That is, he’s excited until he learns that an actor playing the role of a vengeful “Indian maiden” will be the star of the show. It’s a local legend to the Native community, and that, paired with a series of weird happenings around Harvest House, has Hughie wondering where or how he should speak up. Does he point out the problem of such a legend — one wrapped in problems — being used to sell an attraction? And how does he do that while also investigating the strange goings on?
Harvest House is a countdown to Halloween, so not necessarily primarily set on the legendary day, but it’s worth including because of how pivotal Halloween is to the story.
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The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis
Tress lost her entire family in a terrible accident seven years prior. Her family has been well-respected, but following the accident, she’s been living with her grandfather at a place locals call the “White Trash Zoo” (it is a loose, loose interpretation of a zoo).
Felicity, on the other hand, is at the top of the social ladder and has buried the truth of what happened the night Tress’s parents died. She was the other person in the car with them.
Tress wants the truth, though, and she has a plan: A Halloween party, where she can invite Felicity, prying the truth from her as she slowly encloses her in a coal chute.
…And there is a panther on the loose.
Malicia by Steven Dos Santos
Ray’s mom and brother died in a mass killing at Malicia, an abandoned theme park in the Dominican Republic. Now Halloween weekend, Ray convinces three of his friends to join him to film a documentary at the park.
It should be a straightforward trip, but the desires of each of the four teens are different. Ray wants to understand what happened at Malicia, while Joaquin, well aware of what happened, is eager to betray Ray in order to appease what caused the mass murders. Then there’s Isabella, eager to make her own art during the trip, and Sofia, the most supportive attendee, hoping to make this a memorable trip before she leaves the group to go to school.
But then there’s a hurricane about to hit and the intentions of all the attendees are coming to light. Except none of them were prepared for the ancient evil lurking in the park to be what strikes first.
Night of the Living Queers edited by Shelly Page and Alex Brown
This anthology is one I keep intending to get to and will in short order. It is a collection of stories all set on Halloween, written by and featuring queer people and people of color. The stories take classic tropes and themes of horror but give ’em an update and refresh.
The contributor list is rad, too, including Alex Brown and Shelly Page, Kalynn Bayron, Ryan Douglass, Sara Farizan, Maya Gittelman, Kosoko Jackson, Em Liu, Vanessa Montalban, Ayida Shonibar, Tara Sim, Trang Thanh Tran, and Rebecca Kim Wells.
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks
Deja and Josiah reconnect every fall when they return to the Omaha pumpkin patch where they work. Their time between September 1 and Halloween is always magical. But this year feels entirely different, as they’re both seniors and it’ll be their last year working on the patch.
Josiah wants to mope on Halloween, but Deja won’t let him. Instead, they’re spending this final Halloween shift having an all-out adventure at work.
Shades of Rust and Ruin by A. G. Howard
Nix’s family has a Halloween curse. Something bad happens to them and it’s always on that day. Her parents died on Halloween when she was three and her sister Lark died on Halloween 11 years later.
Nix and Lark’s former boyfriend, Clarey, have a special bond over their shared grief, but it’s hard for Nix to lean into that connection because she fosters even deeper feelings for Clarey than she can admit. So she pours her heart and soul into her drawing and a world of magical beings she calls Mystiquel.
Then her uncle goes missing. It’s Halloween Day, of course. Nix and Clarey are going to have to find him, and as they follow where they believe he’s gone, they find themselves stepping through a portal, right into the world of Mystiquel. Yes, the one Nix had been drawing.
As they enter, they find themselves in a bind. Nix and Clarey have to make their way through the Goblin King’s maze before Halloween ends…or else.
Tastes Like Candy by Jessica Lacy
Violet Warren and her best friends were the chosen ones for the annual Senior Scavenge event at their high school. Everyone wants an invite, so Violet knows how lucky they are. The girls will be allowed inside Poison Apple Carnival after hours, where they’ll take part in the scavenger hunt meant to usher them into a fantastic and magical senior year.
But this year is not the magical experience promised. Almost immediately, a masked person is on the loose in the Carnival, too, and they’re taking out Violet’s friends one by one. Now Violet has to figure out if she can catch the masked murderer or if she’ll be the next one taken down.
This one isn’t set on Halloween exactly, but the Carnival is Halloween themed, so it felt worth including.
There’s No Way I’d Die First by Lisa Springer
Noelle, 17, loves horror. It is her personality. Her brand. She’s going to throw the biggest Halloween bash this year, and she invites all of the popular classmates she can. It’ll help bolster her popularity, super useful for brand opportunities as an influencer.
But as the party begins, her low-budget It impersonator begins his rampage, and suddenly, Noelle may find herself in the role of the Final Girl.
Three Kisses, One Midnight by Roshani Chokshi, Sandhya Menon, and Evelyn Skye
There’s no better night than Halloween for besties Onny, True, and Ash—better known as the Coven—to try out Onny’s grandmother’s love potion. They’re ready to find their one truest each.
But as the clock ticks closer and closer to midnight, the Coven begins to realize that it might not be simply a potion that leads to love. They must embrace their magic in more than one way to catch those feelings.
They Call Her Regret by Channelle Desamours (February 17)
It’s a little bit of a cheat to include a forthcoming title on this list, but Halloween lovers don’t care what the calendar says. You can enjoy Halloween any time of year.
Simone Washington loves Halloween and this year, her annual epic Halloween party is going to be kicked up a notch in honor of her 18th birthday. She and the party will be the talk of the school. It’ll involve an overnight stay at Doll’s Head Lake and plenty of campfire tales. One of the attendees? A witch who goes by the name Regret.
At the party, Simone’s best friend dies under mysterious circumstances and some of Simone’s secrets begin to bubble up. Enter our witch Regret, who makes Simone a pretty big offer: if Simone can break the curse which ties Regret to Doll’s Head Lake within two weeks, then Kira will be brought back to life. If Simone fails, Kira will be killed again and no one will mistake the killer as anyone other than Simone.
Through Our Teeth by Pamela N. Harris
Everyone thinks that Hope took her own life, but her best friend Liv refuses to believe it. Hope was dating Brendan, and not only does Liv think he might have had something to do with her death, so, too, does the town.
Liv’s teaming up with two of her other friends to find out what happened to Hope–and to ensure that Brendan gets the punishment he deserves.
But the deeper into the investigation Liv goes, the more she’s beginning to wonder if Brendan isn’t guilty. Could she actually be teamed up with someone who is trying to use her to cover up some tracks?
One of the most significant scenes in this novel takes place during a Halloween bonfire (that’s not a spoiler!).
You’ve Goth My Heart by L.C. Rosen
Gary got a text from a wrong number. He’s somewhat under the belief it could be a serial killer or his ex. But as they text a bit, the person on the other end of the phone seems to share a lot of Gary’s interests. It’s piquing Gary’s interests a lot and now, they’re going to finally meet. This could be Gary’s perfect goth partner. They’re going to finally do it on Halloween, which is the night of the town’s big house decorating contest.
Things are tricky in the meantime, though. Gary’s ex seems to be coming back into the picture, and there’s a super intense goth kid trying to win the house decorating contest. Oh, and maybe serial killers targeting gay teens? Whether or not Gary will meet his dream boyfriend or not on Halloween remains to be seen.
Yes, this one is intended to be slightly scary, funny, and romantic all at once: the perfect combination.
You could also dig into the Paper Girls comic by Brian K Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Jared K. Fletcher, and Matthew Wilson, as it is set in the hours immediately after Halloween night in 1986.
Short Stories
Have you dug into the ultimate guide to YA short stories that I’ve kept updated over the years? If there’s one thing we can agree on, it’s that finding specific short stories on a topic or theme or with a particular setting can be tough if that’s not the broader topic or theme or setting of an entire anthology. But you’re in luck! Here are a couple of excellent Halloween-set short stories and where to find them.
- “Ghost Town” by Malinda Lo, originally published in the anthology Defy The Dark edited by Saundra Miller. The story is published in full over at Uncanny Magazine.
- “The Ghost of Goon Creek” by Francesca Zappia, published in Up All Night: 13 Stories between Sunset & Sunrise, is about Sydney, a high school ghost hunter, working with her school paper to look for the ghost of Goon Creek. The paper will be a Halloween special, and the story is about the power of friendship.
- “The First Job” by Yamile Saied Méndez, published in Firsts and Lasts: 16 Stories from Our World…and Beyond! takes place on Halloween in a haunted forest.
Another great addition to the short story stack from the deep backlist is Vivian Vande Velde’s All Hallows’ Eve: 13 Stories, all of the stories in which are set on Halloween.
Want more horror? Dive into these recently-released YA horror books.
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