Every October, I celebrate the Halloween season by reading a collection or two of ghost stories. I fell in love with such tales during my childhood.

Recently, I happened upon an excellent documentary on the author H.P. Lovecraft. In this film, John Carpenter, famous for directing Halloween and other genre classics, recollected first encountering the writings of Lovecraft. Carpenter’s father gave him a copy of Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, an anthology containing several Lovecraft stories.

This volume was first published by Modern Library in 1944 and has been in print ever since. It’s a wonderful collection of stories from American, British, and European authors, including some of the world’s canonical short stories writers.

After listening to Carpenter wax about Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, I remembered borrowing the book from my local library as a teenager. Years later, I found a fine copy at a used bookstore. It still sits on my bookshelf.

If you’re searching for something to read this Halloween, I suggest picking up a copy of Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural. You’ll discover stories guaranteed to capture your imagination on many autumn nights.