Here we are, knee-deep into October, the spooky, scary, gateway-to-all-the-other-holidays month.

I just learned a new word today.

Taphophile: a cemetery enthusiast.

I had no idea there was a word for people like me.

I just thought we were “quirky.”

Now I know we’re taphophiles! (This is not to be confused with coimetromaniacs, who are people with a mental condition that causes them to be abnormally attracted to all things death.)

The first time I visited a cemetery was in Toronto, Canada, with my dad, mom, and sister when I was about six or seven.

I think we walked there (I could be wrong; it’s been a couple of years) from my aunt and uncle’s house…which was next door to their FUNERAL HOME!

Anyway, we stopped for ice cream on the way and spent a while walking amongst the headstones, eating that ice cream (I remember mine was peppermint).

It was a small—dare I say, charming—cemetery.

Little did I know that decades later, my sister and I would be back to bury my mother there, next to our grandparents.

We put her cremains in the ground along with bubble wands because she loved bubbles.

Ever since that first cemetery outing, I’ve enjoyed walking through cemeteries, reading the headstones, doing the math to figure how old the person was, exclaiming over the ones who died way too young.

Being in a cemetery is like practice for that day WAY, WAY, WAY in the future.

Where’s the best view?

Which area has the most trees?

What’s it going to be like to be dead, gone and buried? (Oh, come on! It’s October, the best time to indulge in a little of the macabre!)

Is there a cemetery near you to wander in and think about the souls buried below?

If cemeteries aren’t calling out to you (or reaching out to you with a skeletal hand), how about reading some of these spooky/haunting/chilling middle grade novels?

They might just get you in the mood for that walk in the cemetery.

So, I’m embarrassed to say, I just read Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

Talk about an eerie story.

A girl goes into a hallway tunnel in her house where she discovers she’s inside a replica of her real house.

In this house, her “other” mother and “other” father live.

It’s like living in her mirror.

Except there’s something not quite right about it all.

Coraline’s “other” mother is evil and wants to steal Coraline’s soul.

This is a short book, packed with lots of chills.

I would go so far as to say Coraline is the story for the Halloween season like A Christmas Carol is the story for the holiday season.

The Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny is about Mirabelle and her odd uncle who transforms into a grizzly bear and her aunt, whose body is made of spiders!

In the village where they live, they made a deal: If the villagers keep Mirabelle and her family hidden from those who want to harm them, then the family promises not to eat them.

But then a real monster comes to town, with a hunger for Mirabelle and her family.

Will the villagers really help them survive?

The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix is an unsettling look at the idea of there being someone just like you living in the world right now—same first and middle names, same age, same birthdates, YOU!

This book is less spooky and more unnerving.

I’m not just a taphophile, I’m also someone who is intrigued by the idea that everyone has a twin somewhere in the world. (For ages 9+)

The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn is about a girl who has been imprisoned in a house for more than a hundred years.

What terrifying events put her there?

The new kid living in the girl’s house is determined to find out what happened and make the ghost her friend. (For ages 10+)

Dust and Grim by Chuck Wendig tells the story of orphaned 13-year-old Molly and her brother who have inherited the family’s monster mortuary business.

This book has talking wolves, magic, monsters, of course, and a cemetery.

Don’t forget the classic The Headless Horseman: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.

And because I love this author so much, I’m adding Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories to the list.

Dahl curated this collection of 14 stories after reading hundreds of supernatural tales at the British Museum Library.

Said Dahl about the stories: “Spookiness is, after all, the real purpose of the ghost story.”

Get ready to be spooked. (For ages 8+)

Now I’m going to go open a bag of candy corn and pumpkins and reread The Headless Horseman.

‘Tis the season! Bwah-ha-ha-ha.

P.S. To my friends who are reading this blog: If middle grade fiction is not your thing, you could always pass my posts along to someone who has 8-12-year-old children or grandchildren, or to teachers, school librarians or public library librarians. I would very much appreciate that, and you’d be my hero!

Have a great week!

~gail

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