Leaves crunching underfoot sound delightful in the day time and sinister at night. The harvest moon seems utterly otherworldly. Shadows are longer and the night falls earlier. There is simply something about this time of year that invites one to be scared and thrilled to the tips of their toes. There is no end of books to scare one as much one desires this time of year.

For the young or young at heart one of my all-time favourite children's books is Bunnicula. Julie Wilson at Seen Reading just reposted about spying someone reading them in public. Sarah at What to Read happened upon it recently and recommends it.

It’s not a hard read or a long one, but it is a good one. What is more funny then a vampire Bunny? Not much, this is a great book for sharing and fits in with Halloween which is fast approaching.

I wish I could crochet. If I would I make this crocheted Bunnicula in a heartbeat.

For a more recently published work, the Waterloo Public Library blog is recommending On A Scary, Scary Night.

I totally want the Mamanista recommended Goodnight Goon.

Children who know Goodnight Moon by heart will love this new twist on their favorite rhymes-- "Goodnight tomb. Goodnight goon. Goodnight Martians taking over the moon” -- as well as the spooky (but not scary) pictures.

For teens there's no end to the scary choices out there, what with the resurgence of vampire fiction. There's the classic Dracula or the more trendy House of Night series or Vampire Academy. Christopher Pike was the en vogue author when I was a teen and I don't think I ever knew that Remember Me was a series. Books to the Sky has a Remember Me 2 recap posted and I'm eagerly waiting for the recap of Remember Me 3. Susan Flynn is recommending Lonely Werewolf Girl to teens.

This is my favourite two lines from the book: "It was good to have a cheerful werewolf in the house. Much better than a suicidally depressed werewolf."

Scary is as scary does for adults. I mean, I can't watch the X-Files without having some seriously messed up dreams. However, I love books that drip with gloom and atmosphere and won't let me put them down. The Thirteen Tale was one of those books for me. Gothic, creepy, dark - a great October read.

Librarian DOA posted their DOA scary booklist. The first one listed is Amityville Horror. I read that book when I was in my early teens and whew! I didn't sleep properly for a week. Stephen King, the King of Horror, of course makes an apperance on Moxie Mama's scary books list. I loved her inclusion of The Historian.

Ok, you won't pee your pants over this one, but it's one of my favorite books of all time.

Could you ask for a better recommendation?

The scary book that is climbing my "must read" list is Joe Hill's Heart-Shaped Box. I continue to read excellent reviews of it, like this one from The Magic Lasso.

There was just enough creepy in this book to keep the story moving, but it did not go overboard. I would compare it to a really good episode of “Lost” – strange enough to be interesting, slightly plausible if you belief in that sort of thing, and downright entertaining. The plot and character development was spot on, and Craddock gave me the willies. What else could one want out of a ghost story?

Or when all else fails there's always Poe. The chill in the air absolutely calls for a reading of The Raven, even if it will leave me with dreams of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. It's only a dream, nothing more.

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.