Finally, it’s October! Home to our favorite holiday—Halloween.

The origins of Halloween trace back to ancient Celtic harvest festivals, linking it to themes of change and transition that often elements of the fantastic. Darkness falls, boundaries dissolve, and our imaginations open to infinite possibilities.

For authors of fantasy and horror, the imagery and symbolism of Halloween fuels imagination and storytelling around our deepest fears and fascinations. The holiday has cemented itself as a staple in the literary tradition of the fantastic. Here be ghosts, monsters, witches, and everything dark and diabolical. It provides the perfect setting for classic stories. What would the season be without Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls,” Ray Bradbury’s “The October Game,” and and so many others? Not to mention Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and practically everything Stephen King has ever written.

You’ll find more than a few seasonally appropraite tricks and treats in this month’s pages.

Here’s the lineup:

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

“Behind Blue Eyes,” by Robby Robinson [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
“The Case of the Fit Felon,” by Hal Charles [solve-it-yourself mystery]
“A Rat’s Tale,” by Donna Andrews [short story]
“On His Majesty’s Service,” by Hal Meredith [short story, Sexton Blake series]
The Clue of the New Pin, by Edgar Wallace [novel]
Science Fiction & Fantasy:
“Mad Evren’s Dreams,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story]
“No Other God But Me,” by Adrian Cole [short story]
“In the Very Stones,” by Joseph Payne Brennan [short story]
“You Can’t Scare Me!” by Charles F. Myers [short story, Pillsworth & Toffee series]
“To Make a Hero,” by Randall Garrett [novella]

Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation to Murder