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. -
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!
Ghastly Graphic Novels by FreeLibrary
Illustrated horror full of eerie images and scary stories.
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.
Chilling Children's Books (14 items)
Fun, spooky, enlightening, and clever books to get children in the Halloween spirit.
Scary Movies (16 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
This is Halloween at the Free Library!
It’s the spookiest time of the year again, and the Free Library is getting in on the action! Read on for ways to celebrate the Halloween season with us at every age. This year, trick-or-treating in Philly will fall on Monday,…
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Famous Monsters of the Silver Scream: Dracula and Frankenstein
Howllo Boils and Ghouls... welcome back to the Free Library of Phrightadelphia's boo-log, as we draw near to the most haunted of holidays— Halloween ! This year is a monstrously momentous occasion for celebration, as two of…
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Nourishing Literacy | Create Your Own Candy Buttons!
Teens recently joined the Field Teen Center and Nourishing Literacy teams for a SWEET Make and Take project! Candy buttons are small dots of colorful sugar candy attached to a strip of paper. It was surprising and cool how simple…
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Scary Reads for Autumn Chills | Horror Fiction Recommendations
Greeting fiends! The brisk winds of autumn are finally here, bringing colder nights for spooky reading... So much great horror fiction has been hitting our stacks, here are some of my current favorites. My Heart Is a Chainsaw by…
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Spooky Season Books and Films from Gen X to Gen Z
I’ll admit it—I am a child of the 1980s. I mean, the stereotypical mallrat/latchkey kid who watched a lot of sitcoms, devoured the Sweet Valley High series , and ate large (think mixing bowl-sized) quantities of sugary…
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Reopening the Book of the Dead: The Evil Dead 40th Anniversary
40 years ago on this day, October 15, 1981, a film debuted that not only scared audiences but would send shivers through Hollywood for years to come, serving as not only an artistic influence on future filmmakers but also a D.I.Y. guide…
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Comic Book Frights for October
The Halloween season is here once again! Time for creepy decorations and spooky fun! While the way we celebrate Halloween Night might be different this year, the thrills of creepy comics will never change! Here are some suggestions from…
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Halloween 2020: I Want Candy!
Howllo Boils and Ghouls!, Welcome back to the Free Library of Phrightadelphia's boo-log, on this most haunted of holidays— Halloween ! Usually, during this time of year, we'd be discussing and dissecting all-things…
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The Torresdale Library... is Haunted!
People have had a fascination with haunted houses for centuries. This year, the Torresdale Library has taken their Haunted House online! These spooky places fill us with chills as spirits and ghosts slide through hallways, knocking…
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Tacony Library Celebrates Community Through Their Events
Blog post author Allison Wysong is a Children's Librarian at Tacony Library and a participant in Cohort 6 of the Skills for Community-Centered Libraries trainings. Although we're headlong into the winter holidays, today we want…
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Monstermania!: A Monstrous Halloween Playlist
Howllo Boils and Ghouls!, Welcome back to the Free Library of Phrightadelphia's blog, on this most haunted of holidays— Halloween ! It would seem to be that 2019 is the Year of the Monster—whether in books, films, or…
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Black Girl Magic
If Blk Girl Soldier by Jamila Woods has been your anthem for the past few years... then you might be ready for the following booklist! Feeling telepathic? Step into this selection of *Black Girl Magic* featuring Black women authors and…
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Digital Media Highlights October 2019 | Streaming Screams Just in Time for Halloween!
At the beginning of each month, we highlight all the great new titles —books, ebooks, audiobooks, movies, and music—that have been added to our catalog and will be available to check out at your neighborhood library .…
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Creepy Comics for October Nights
Greetings friends, October is here once again! Time for jack-o'-lantern carving, horror movie marathons, and over-the-top Halloween decorations. Looking to add a healthy dose of horror to your comic book reading? Here are some of…
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This Is Halloween 2018!
Howllo Boils and Ghouls!, Welcome back to the Free Library of Phrightadelphia's blog, on this most haunted of holidays— Halloween ! Besides the usual seasonal scares that arise from the grave this time of year, 2018 marks two…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…