Top Ten Spooky Titles For Halloween

Grab your ghouls and ghosts, and gear up for a night of horror!

The cold fall weather has us craving to curl up with a good read, whether it be a classic horror tale or a ghoulish comedy. Just make sure you leave your lights on and glance under your bed before you go to sleep. These ten goosebumps inducing shows are sure to keep you occupied in between trick-or-treaters.

The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien
That sweet transvestite and his motley crew did the time warp on Broadway in a 25th anniversary revival. This cult favorite translates to stage with sass from the audience, cascading toilet paper and an array of other audience participation props, this deliberately kitschy rock ‘n’ roll sci-fi gothic is more fun than ever. 7m, 3f

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Ten guilty strangers are trapped on an island. One by one they are accused of murder; one by one they start to die. As statuettes of little soldier boys on the mantel fall to the floor and break one by one as those in the house succumb to a diabolical avenger. A nursery rhyme tells how each of the ten “soldiers” met his death until there were none. 8m, 3f

Poe’s Midnight Dreary by Richard McElvain, Edgar Allan Poe
The story is cleverly told through a series of dramatizations of the Poe’s works: The Tell Tale Heart, The Black Cat, The Raven, Annabel Lee, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Premature Burial and The Poetic Principle. These stories are threaded together with the events of Poe’s life as he deliriously remembers them on an anonymous deathbed in a Baltimore Hospital. The script can be easily broken into the individual stories. Flexible Casting.

Veronica’s Room by Ira Levin
Susan and Larry find themselves as guests enticed to the Brabissant mansion by its dissolute caretakers. Struck by Susan’s strong resemblance to Veronica Brabissant, long- dead daughter of the family, the caretakers convince her to impersonate Veronica briefly to solace the only living Brabissant, her addled sister. Once dressed in Veronica’s clothes, Susan finds herself locked in the role and locked in Veronica’s room. Or is she Veronica, in 1935, pretending to be an imaginary Susan? 2m, 2f

Dial “M” For Murder by Frederick Knott
Tony Wendice has married his wife for her money and now plans to murder her. He blackmails a scoundrel into strangling her and arranges a brilliant alibi for himself. Unfortunately, the murderer gets murdered before he can do any murdering. Tony sees the man’s death as an opportunity to have his wife convicted of the murder. Will he succeed and get the money he desires? 5m, 1f

Legend of Sleepy Hollow by John Heimbuch, Jon Ferguson
In the quaint village of Sleepy Hollow, stories of wonder and strangeness surround the legend of a mighty headless Horseman. When the humble schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane vies for the hand of the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel, the townsfolk might protest but it is ultimately the Horseman who will decide his fate. 2m, 1f, 7m or f

Murder Inn by Howard Voland, Keith McGregor
This comedy features a near-sighted, knife-throwing poltergeist, an Ouija board of doubtful veracity, thunder and lightning, screams in the dark and a satisfying body count. A storm forces a tour group is to make a stop at the Barnsley, which is supposedly haunted. What looks to be an unpleasant detour soon turns into a night of mayhem as knives begin to pop up in the most unexpected places. As the storm builds and the body count rises, the survivors try to figure out who is doing it and who’s likely to have it done to them next? 4m, 8f

Dracula by John L. Balderston, Hamilton Deane, Bram Stoker
Lucy Seward has been attacked by some mysterious illness. Dr. Van Helsing believes that the girl is the victim of a vampire, a sort of ghost that goes about at night sucking blood from its victims. In a quest to find the culprit, all signs point to Count Dracula. The play is intended for all who love thrills in the theater, and is appropriate for all groups. 6m, 2f

I’ll Be Back Before Midnight by Peter Colley
Jan is a young wife recovering from a nervous disorder.  She and her husband rent a remote cabin from an odd farmer who delights in telling gruesome ghost stories.  Then the husband’s strange sister arrives, and all manner of frightening events occur.  What happens to fragile Jan as bodies appear and disappear give this classic thriller its tremendously frightening impact. 2m, 2f

Frankenstein by Tim Kelly, Mary Shelley
Victor Frankenstein returns to his Swiss chateau to escape a terrible pursuer. No one can shake free the dark secret that terrifies him: not his mother, nor his fiancée, nor his best friend. Victor has brought into being a creature made from pieces of the dead. The creature tracks Victor to his sanctuary to demand a bride to share its loneliness. Victor reluctantly agrees and soon the household is invaded by murder, despair and terror. 4m, 4f