Halloween has been around for hundreds of years but only within the last century has it come to be known as the holiday we love today. Carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, going door-to-door in whimsical costumes, and - best of all - embracing the spooky ambiance and indulging in a world of fear. While many may be seeking the annual horror movie marathons on television or snuggling up with the best in horror gaming we can't help but stress the entertainment used by those before us - books. Reading is a definite way to indulge in true terror. Many will argue that literature takes the reader into a far scarier world where our own imaginations are coupled with the words of the best horror authors. Many of the television specials and classic movie monsters you see every year were inspired by the works of classic authors that spun historic tales of terror before legends such as Stephen King were even born. So forget everything you thought you knew about Halloween traditions and be prepared to start some new ones with these classic horror stories.