The leaves have started turning. There’s a chill in the air (sometimes). You can’t turn a corner at the grocery store without encountering another pumpkin-infused abomination. You know what that means… Spooky Season is officially upon us! We here at Old Town Books love getting in the spirit. This list is meant to inspire, engage, and frighten you (seriously, all of our awesome events are scary good). Read on, that is, if you dare…

1) Beware the Tale of the Haunted Nail

“The story basically goes that there is this creepy old nail in the wall [of the shop], and one of my first customers was like, ‘That nail is definitely haunted.’ And it snowballed from there. Any time we saw someone “show rooming” (buying books online/Amazon) we’d stare at the Haunted Nail. We never really had to confront people about show rooming cause the Haunted Nail would take care of it. It became legend that people who used the bookstore to browse and buy books elsewhere would have slow wi-fi for a week, keep losing their keys, or some other such low-key curse. Haha. It became a running joke...but then it kinda took on a life of its own.

One time a customer was like, ‘What happens if you touch it?’

And he reached up to touch it and five other customers screamed, ‘Noooooo!’ So, beware, just saying…” — Ally (Owner)

Avoid the curse of the Haunted Nail and the curse of slow holiday shipping services by starting your shopping now. This year’s motto is “October is the new December!” While you may be holding your ears in disbelief, shopping early will help ensure that pandemic-affected supply lines have enough time to process and ship your special orders with time to spare.

2) Take in the Fall Decor

Thanks to our team, you’ll notice some fall flavor spicing up the sales floor when you stop by for a visit (and no, it’s not just pumpkin from the Starbucks next door…). The festive fall spirit will have you saying, “Oh my gourd,” and picking up new thrillers from the Mystery/Horror section in no time. Looking for something a little more sweet? Don’t worry — we’ve got fall-themed books for all ages!

3) Write Something “Monstrously” Good…

…and you just might win! Are you the next Shirley Jackson or Stephen King?! Try your hand at writing spooky fiction with our flash-fiction Spooky Writing Contest! From September 15th through October 19th we'll be posting weekly prompts on Instagram, and inviting you to submit your own pieces. Our OTB Staff and friends of the store will read all the entries, and notify you if your entry is in the top five. Those top five entries will be invited to read their piece (or an OTB staff member can read for you!) during a Zoom event on October 29th. Attendees will vote live via Zoom, and we'll announce the winner at the end. 

The Grand Prize: You'll get a $100 gift card to spend in-store or online, and if you're local we'll invite you in for a special after-hours spooky appointment in the bookstore to shop. 

4) Sign Up for the First Spooky Book Club

Tuesday October 27 | 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Encouraged by the many True Crime fans on staff here at OTB and their fellow mystery-lovers in our community, we’re excited for the launch of the Spooky Book Club! The first book pick for the new group will be Unspeakable Acts: True Tales of Crime, Murder, Deceit, and Obsession, edited by Sarah Weinman.

About the Book:
A brilliant anthology of modern true-crime writing that illustrates the appeal of this powerful and popular genre, edited and curated by Sarah Weinman, the award-winning author of The Real Lolita. The appeal of true-crime stories has never been higher. With podcasts like My Favorite Murder and In the Dark, bestsellers like I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and Furious Hours, and TV hits like American Crime Story and Wild Wild Country, the cultural appetite for stories of real people doing terrible things is insatiable.

Old Town Books Spooky Book Club is free and open to the public. Note that you're planning to attend book club at check out to receive 10% off this month's pick. While buying the book at OTB is not required to attend, we would greatly appreciate it to help keep our free literary programming sustainable! We'll be meeting in a small group after hours at the bookstore to discuss this spooky pick!

5) Spook Your TBR Pile…

…with our All Hallows Read event! Join us for reading challenges, photo contests, and prizes all weekend long! More details coming closer to October 24th. Sign up below to get the info to participate! We can’t wait to (virtually) see you and check out what you’re reading this spooky season. Be sure to tag us @oldtownbooks and tag your piles with #otbTBR!

Artwork designed by Mike Reddy. Blog contribution by Ally Kirkpatrick. Additional photos and blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.