Halloween
Hello boils and ghouls! It's that time of year again—Halloween! We've concocted a creepy cross section of spooky stories from our chilling collections of boo-ks, mad monsters in macabre movies, and scary soundtracks, as well as links to Halloween happenings around Philadelphia and beyond (the grave). Peruse these offerings... if you dare!
Links
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100 Scariest Movie Moments
Lists like these are always subjective and are never definitive, but this is a pretty great visual list compiled by Bravo of the 100 Scariest Movie Moments. How many can you watch without covering your eyes and hiding under the covers? -
Cinemassacre's Monster Madness
For 10 years now, Cinemassacre has celebrated every October with a month-long marathon of video movie reviews and mad musings on the Halloween season. This year's themes include Modern Mondays, Top Ten Tuesdays, WTF Wednesdays, Blood-Thirsty Thursdays, Franken-Fridays, and Weekend Whatevers. -
Exhumed Films 24 Hour Horror-Thon
Exhumed Films has been presenting rare and exclusive 16mm and 35mm film prints of classic horror, cult, & science fiction movies on the big screen in the Philadelphia area now for almost 20 years. Their Halloween horror-thons are legendary and sell-out almost instantly. You may still be able to scare up a ticket though, but we can't guarantee you will be able to survive the 24-hour onslaught of frightening films awaiting you in the theater! -
Halloween Candy
You're sure to find a favorite in this list of the year's newest Halloween treats! -
Halloween Costumes Through The Years
Find out the most popular Halloween costume from when you were a kid : D -
Haunted Hollywood History
A nearly 150-year-old curse, werecreatures, a haunted picnic table, and the most famous suicide in Hollywood history are just some of the stories that haunt Hollywood to this day. -
History of Halloween
Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Delve into to history behind the holiday, from its ancient origins to its modern traditions. -
Hoopla's 31 Nights of Scary Movies
Login to Hoopla with your library card and stream a new scary movie every night in October! -
Scary Spotify Sounds
Listen to past playlists of scary sounds and macabre music on the Free Library of Philadelphia's Spotify channel. -
Terror Behind The Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary
Eastern State Penitentiary, located in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood, is one of the most historic abandoned prisons in the country... and reportedly haunted. Do you dare step through the prison's walls and find out for yourself? -
Trick or Treating Do's and Don'ts
Here's some ghoulishly good best practices for having a safe and fun Halloween! -
Vintage and Retro Halloween Decorations
Witches! Black Cats! Jack-O'-Lanterns! Bats! Skeletons! Scarecrows! Ghosts! Boo! -
Visit Philly's Guide to Halloween
Check out Visit Philly's complete guide to Halloween for spooky ghost tours, fall harvest festivals, pumpkin picking trips, and more!
Halloween Children’s Stories by FLPChildren
Our Children’s Librarians’ favorite Halloween books, which are perfect for storytime or for reading together at home.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (23 items)
Cheesy movies, mad scientists, talking robots, bad puns, and wacky hijinx. We've got movie sign! It's time for Mystery Science Theater 3000!
Halloween History (10 items)
History of the Halloween, from ancient pagan ritual to becoming 2nd only to Christmas as the most celebrated commercial holiday.
Frightful Fiction (15 items)
Open these books and read about ghosts, paranormal incidents, monsters, and other oddities of human nature... if you dare!
Terror Tales for Teens (14 items)
Spine-Tingling Tales of Suspense for Young Adults.
![Beasts of burden. [Vol. 1], Animal rites / cover](http://know.freelibrary.org/covers/medium/1773630.jpg "Beasts of burden. [Vol. 1], Animal rites / cover")
Illustrated Horror (21 items)
Ghastly graphic novels full of eerie images and scary stories.
Chilling Children's Books (14 items)
Fun, spooky, enlightening, and clever books to get children in the Halloween spirit.
Scary Movies (15 items)
Creepy classics, zombies, creature features, slashers, madmen, and alien atrocities abound in these fright films!
B-Movies (14 items)
Schlocky, absurd, low-budget movie masterpieces (a.k.a. B Movies)!
Blog Posts
YA Horror Stories to Keep You Up at Night
Ah horror stories and teens – name a more iconic duo! I’ll wait... It does seem like teens are especially vulnerable to being haunted/stalked/murdered in fiction doesn’t it? If you are looking for young people and…
recommendations YA Literature Halloween
Creepy Halloween Inventions from the Philadelphia Patent & Trademark Resource Center (PTRC)
Get into the proper Halloween spirit with these hair-raising creations… This invention features a life-sized ghoul with a “reservoir of fluids inside the head” that is triggered to vomit into a bucket when…
Patent and Trademark Business Resource & Innovation Center Business Halloween
Haunting Horror and Chilling Comics for Halloween!
It’s October and you know what that means – it’s time for all things haunted and spooky! I’m not generally a person who is into witches and ghosts and demons , but this is the one time of year that I’ll…
recommendations comics and graphic novels Halloween
Something's Skull-king Around the Free Library this Halloween...
Howllo Boils and Ghouls!, Welcome back to the Free Library of Frightadelphia's bloodcurdling blog during this most haunted of holiday seasons, Halloween! Did you hear that unsettling sound? Perhaps it was just the wind... or perhaps…
recommendations film Spotify digital media Halloween
Free Library of Philadelphia Halloween Celebrations!
The Free Library of Philadelphia is celebrating Halloween on all corners of the city from the South and the North to the Northeast and Center City . Halloween isn’t merely for children to don ninja or superhero attire, nor is it…
children's programs Community Events Free Library staff Parkway Central Teens Halloween
Stream Screams with Hoopla this Halloween!
We're a week away from the scariest, spookiest, most superstitious night of the year— Halloween ! If you are looking for something to watch to get you in the holiday spirit, look no further than the eclectic selection of…
recommendations film digital media Halloween
Enjoy the Treat of Some Great Halloween Children's Books!
It’s time to think of costumes and go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood! How about getting ready for Halloween with some old friends? Join Llama Llama , Farmer Brown and the Barnyard Animals , plus Pete the Cat in these…
Children's books Pre-K recommendations Halloween
Monsters as Metaphors: Godzilla Resurgence
The "King of the Monsters" roars back onto movie screens next week when Shin Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla Resurgence ) premieres for a limited-run of U.S. screenings October 11 - 18 . The film is the first new entry in the…
film sci fi Halloween
Read (and Listen) Between The Lines: A Halloween Playlist from Free Library's Spotify Channel
Howl-lo F(r)iends, Welcome back once again to the Free Library of Frightadelphia's bloodcurdling blog! It would seem that you have survived previous playlists and have come back for more maddening music for your aural amusement?…
tech Holidays music recommendations Social Media Spotify Halloween
Macabre Movies and Sinematic Sounds: A Halloween Playlist from Free Library's Spotify Channel
Howllo Boils and Ghouls, Welcome back to the Free Library of Frightadelphia's bloodcurdling blog on this most haunted of holidays, Halloween ! If you survived last year's playlist , then you're in for a (trick or) treat this…
tech music recommendations Social Media Spotify Halloween
Friday Five: Four Color Fear and Illustrated Horror
This Saturday many comic book stores across the country will celebrate Halloween ComicFest , reveling in the horror-day spirit of screams and scares this frightful fall. Here is a " Friday Five " of some of the most creepy…
recommendations Friday Five comics and graphic novels Halloween
Streaming Screams and Scares on Hoopla this Halloween
Watching scary movies during the month of October is a tradition almost as ancient as the Halloween holiday itself. You can't surf around the television dial without seeing any number of ghosts, zombies, slashers, monsters, and…
recommendations film digital media Halloween
Do The Monster Mash with this Halloween Playlist from Free Library's Spotify Channel
Howllo Boils and Ghouls, Do you know what today is? Why, it's Halloween , of course! What better way to celebrate this haunted holiday then with songs about zombies , monsters , grim reapers , cemeteries , witches , spooky spells ,…
tech music Social Media Spotify Halloween
Friday Five: Zombies
If the record breaking season 4 premiere of The Walking Dead is any indication of television viewer's taste, much like the unsatiated and unstoppable creatures themselves, there is no stopping the appetite for all things…
Friday Five Halloween
Time for Halloween!
What’s the best thing about October? All together now… HALLOWEEN! Get ready for some spooky fun with these frighteningly good books, CDs and DVDs. Available right now at the Free Library of Philadelphia! Books Click,…
Children's books Halloween
Edgar Allan Poetry
Looking out the window across the city on a rainy and dreary day, my mind always turns to Poe. What better author to shine a creepy candlelight on at this time of year than Edgar Allan Poe ? The Master of Macabre, the Grand Guignol of…
Poetry Edgar Allan Poe Halloween
“Everyone’s entitled to one good scare.”
With nights growing longer and Halloween only a few weeks away, it’s the perfect time of year to settle in for a scary movie. Mention horror movies to some people, though, and the reactions can be decidedly buzz-killing: “I…
Exhibitions Events at the Library film screenings Holidays Parkway Central film Halloween
Halloween Treats
Something scary is creeping up behind you… Getting closer every day… It’s HALLOWEEN! And if you’re anything like me, you’re putting off costumes until the last minute. Get some great, super-easy ideas for…
Children's books Pre-K early literacy Halloween