Halloween Mysteries 2010

Today is my Halloween Kick-Off. I'll be hosting several Guest Crime Writers this month who set a mystery or two during Halloween or have a particularly fun Halloween story to impart! Boo!

Mystery Readers Journal has done several theme issues, including one in 2008 on Crime for the Holidays. Here's a updated list of crime fiction set during Halloween. It doesn't include ghost stories, vampires and horror, not really! Please let me know any titles I've missed. Glad to add them. And, if you'd like to contribute a Guest Blog, let me know.

Green Water Ghost by Glynn Marsh Alam
Witches Bane by Susan Wittig Albert 
Antiques Maul by Barbara Allan 
Far to Go by May Louise Aswell
Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun by Kathleen Bacus 
Trick or Treachery: A Murder She Wrote Mystery by Donald Bain and Jessica Fletcher
The Spirit of Murder by Laura Belgrave 
The Long Good Boy by Carol Lea Benjamin
Spackled and Spooked by Jennie Bentley 
Watchdog by Laurien Berenson 
Death of a Trickster by Kate Borden
Post-Mortem Effects by Thomas Boyle

A Graveyard for Lunatics by Ray Bradbury
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts by Lilian Jackson Braun
The Hunt Ball by Rita Mae Brown
Death on All Hallowe'en by Leo Bruce
Wycliffe and the Scapegoat by W.J. Burley
Death Goes Shopping by Jessica Burton
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Ann Campbell
The Charm Stone by Lillian Stewart Carl

The Wizard of La-La Land by R. Wright Campbell
The Halloween Murders by John Newton Chance 
Death with an Ocean View by Nora Charles 
Frill Kill, Tragic Magic, Photo Finished by Laura Childs
Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie 
Lost Souls by Michael Collins
Not in My Backyard by Susan Rogers Cooper
Night of the Living Deed by E.J. Copperman
A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford
Silver Scream by Mary Daheim
Fatal Undertaking by Mark de Castrique
Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany
Throw Darts at a Cheesecake by Denise Dietz
Trick or Treat, The Halloween Murder by Doris Miles Disney
A Map of the Dark by John Dixon
Ghostly Murders by P. C. Doherty
Died to Match by Deborah Donnelly
Cat with an Emerald Eye by Carole Nelson Douglas
Not Exactly a Brahmin by Susan Dunlap 
The Bowl of Night by Rosemary Edghill 
Door of Death by John Esteven 
The Witchfinder by Loren D. Estleman 
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich 
Dead Ends by Anne C. Fallon 
Sympathy For The Devil by Jerrilyn Farmer
Dead in the Pumpkin Patch by Connie Feddersen 
Blackwork by Monica Ferris
Scary Stuff by Sharon Fiffer
The Lawyer Who Died Trying by Honora Finkelstein 
The Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Halloween Murder by Shelley Freydont
Trick or Treat by Leslie Glaister
Mommy and the Murder by Nancy Gladstone 
A Few Dying Words by Paula Gosling
Hell for the Holidays by Chris Gravenstein 
Nail Biter by Sarah Graves 
Deadly Harvest by Heather Graham 
Trick or Treat by Kerry Greenwood 
Quoth the Raven, Skeleton Key by Jane Haddam
Southern Ghost by Carolyn Hart 
Hide in the Dark by Frances Noyes Hart 
Revenge of the Cootie Girls by Sparkle Hayter
The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman
Murder on the Ghost Walk by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter 
Long Time No See by Susan Isaacs
Murder Among Us by Jonnie Jacobs
A Murder Made in Stitches by Pamela James 
The Violet Hour by Daniel Judson
Wed and Buried by Toni L.P. Kelner 
The Animal Hour by Andrew Klavan 
Ghastly Glass by Joyce and Jim Lavene 
Death Knocks Twice by James H. Lilley 
Halloween Flight 77 by Debbie Madison 
Satan's Silence by Alex Matthews 
Tricks: an 87th Precinct Mystery by Ed McBain 
Poisoned Tarts by G.A. McEvett
Death on All Hallows by Allen Campbell McLean 
Trick or Treat Murder, Wicked Witch Murder by Leslie Meier 
Dancing Floor by Barbara Michaels
Monster in Miniature by Camille Minichino 
The Violet Hour by Richard Montanari
Dead End by Helen R. Myers

Nightmare in Shining Armor by Tamar Myers 
Hatchet Job by J.E. Neighbors
Retribution by Patrick J. O'Brien 
Halloween House by Ed Okonowicz
The Body in the Moonlight by Katherine Hall Page 
Twilight by Nancy Pickard 
Murder at Witches Bluff by Silver Ravenwolf
Poltergeist by Kat Richardson 

Death Notice by Todd Ritter 

Spook Night by David Robbins 

A Hole in Juan by Gillian Roberts

Magnolias, Moonlight, and Murder by Sara Rosett
Scared Stiff by Annelise Ryan
Death of Halloween by Kim Sauke
Mighty Old Bones by Mary Saums 
Murder Ole! by Corinne Holt Sawyer
Dance of the Scarecrows by Ray Sipherd

The Sterling Inheritance by Michael Siverling
Recipe for Murder by Janet Elaine Smith
Carbs and Cadavers by J.B. Stanley
In the Blink of an Eye, Halloween Party by Wendy Corsi Staub 
Murder of a Royal Pain by Denise Swanson
Mourning Shift by Kathleen Taylor

Halloween Homicide by Lee Thayer
Inked Up by Terri Thayer
Charlie's Web by L.L. Thrasher
Strange Brew by Kathy Hogan Trochek
Murder by the Slice by Livia J. Washburn 
Five-Minute Halloween Mysteries by Ken Weber
The Scarecrow Murders by Mary Welk
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner 
Killer Mousse by Melinda Wells
Ghoul of My Dreams by Richard F. West
All Hallow's Eve by Charles Williams
Killer See, Killer Do by Jonathan Wolfe
All Hallow's Evil by Valerie Wolzien

Short story mavens don't worry: Here's a list of Halloween Mystery Short Stories:
Trick and Treats edited by Joe Gores & Bill Pronzini
Asking for the Moon (includes "Pascoe's Ghost" and "Dalziel's Ghost") by Reginald Hill
Murder for Halloween by Cynthia Manson
The Haunted Hour, edited by Cynthia Manson & Constance Scarborough
Murder for Halloween: Tales of Suspense, edited by Michele Slung & Roland Hartman.
Mystery for Halloween (an anthology), edited by Donald Westlake

More Halloween Haunts and Tombstone Tours

More Halloween Haunts and Tombstone Tours. I love to visit cemeteries on my travels. The dead tell us so much about the living, and so much about the history of the place where they found their eternal rest. Many cemeteries have beautiful gardens, architecture, monuments and most of all serenity. Every city has some kind of old, historic and beautiful cemetery, so be sure and check into it before you go or while you're there.

My favorite local cemetery is Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, CA which also has the fabulous Arts & Crafts Julia Morgan Chapel of the Chimes. The grounds of Mountain View Cemetery are beautiful, and its famous for its incredible display of tulips throughout the cemetery in March (not Halloween). The Cemetery was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed New York's Central Park, Capitol Grounds in Washington DC, Stanford University and Yosemite Park. It's also the resting place of famous movers and shakers of the Western Landscape including Charles Crocker, Julia Morgan, Henry J. Kaiser, Frank Norris, Bernard Maybeck and Thomas Hill.

New Orleans: St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Founded in 1789, just outside the French Quarter, this is possibly the best cemetery in the U.S. All of the cemeteries together make-up an incredible City of the Dead since the above ground tombs look like houses. The Greek Revival tomb of Marie Laveau, the famous voodoo queen, is in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Bring beads, flowers, candles, and trinkets to leave there. Be sure and take a tour. It's not safe wandering on your own. Other New Orleans cemeteries: Lake Lawn Cemetery (Garden District) and Lafayette Cemetery. For more on New Orleans Cemeteries, go HERE.

New York: Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery dates back to 1838. 560,000 permanent residents include Boss Tweed, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Leonard Bernstein. Great views, landscaping, art, architecture and history. There's also a colony of green monk parakeets. I'm not the only person who visits cemeteries: by 1860 Green-Wood was attracting 500,000 visitors a year, rivaling Niagara Falls as the country's greatest tourist attraction.

Cleveland: Lake View Cemetery has the James A. Garfield Monument honoring the U.S. President who was assassinated in 1881. There's a 180 foot tower, marble statue and mosaics of his life and death, with a view of the Cleveland skyline and Lake Erie from the upper balcony of the monument. Famous Memorials: 65 ft. obelisk marking John D. Rockefeller's grave, and a monument to Eliot Ness. The interior of the must-see Wade Chapel was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and his studio. Opened in 1869, it was modeled after garden cemeteries of England and France.

Los Angeles: So many stars to 'see.' Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. Marilyn Monroe, Burt Lancaster, Natlaie Wood, Jack Lemmon, Dean Martin, Frank Zappa, Truman Capote. Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills: Lucille Ball, Bette Davis Liberace, Stan Laurel, Gene Autry. Forest Lawn Glendale: Michael Jackson. Check out: Where the Stars are Buried. Hollywood Forever: Rudolph Valentino, Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks.

Paris. Pere Lachaise I've written about Pere Lachaise before, mainly because it's one of my favorite places to visit in Paris. With over 118 acres and close to several metro stops, I love to visit the graves of Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein, and Jim Morrison. This cemetery was the model for all rural cemeteries built in the U.S. from 1831 on.

Cambridge, MA. Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Founded in 1831, it was the first large-scaled designed landscape open to the public. MA. Buckminster Fuller, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, B.F. Skinner. Winslow Homer, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Bernard Malamud.

Boston: The Old Granary Burying Ground. Est. in 1660. Graves of Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams,

Venice. San Michele. Located on an island, nicknamed, "isle of the dead." There are no living people there which makes it a quiet retreat when visiting Venice. Lovely landscaping with tall cypress trees with lots of headstones in a bit of a jumble. Ezra Pound, Igor Stravinsky.

Prague: Old Jewish Cemetery. Another cemetery that I've been to and written about before. From the 15th century. All the gravestones slant in different directions.

Buenos Aires: La Recoleta Cemetery. Incredible crypts. Lots of feral cats. Presidents, sports figures, authors. And, of course, its most famous denizen: Eva Peron. Elegant and quiet place.

One can't list Famous Cemeteries for Halloween without mentioning the Memorial Grave of Edgar Allan Poe, the Father of the Mystery Story, in Baltimore, MD. I finally got there last year when Bouchercon (the World Mystery Convention) was held in Baltimore.

Surf the web for some great walking tours of these and other cemeteries and special events on Halloween and Day of the Dead.

Did I mention I was mugged in Havana's Columbus Cemetery on the Day of the Dead? Be careful out there. The residents may be harmless, but the living are lethal.