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By Michael Rosen-Molina

Daily Bruin Senior Staff It’s Halloween, the cold wind is whistling in the bare treetops, and the bones of the dead rattle restlessly in their graves. It’s a night of fun and fright and books. Well, what better night to curl up with a good book in the safety and comfort of your own home than when the forces of darkness are at their strongest? While the foolish might wander the streets in search of thrills and candy, the wise man knows better than to antagonize the unnameable horrors that lurk in the night. Instead, he stays inside, pouring over books of ancient wisdom so that he might learn how to better protect himself from ghosts and ghouls and long-legged beasties.

“All the Pretty Maids in a Row”

Well-known for combining pop culture kitsch and unnatural horror, the latest addition to the Buffy mythos does not disappoint. Christopher Golden’s new book “All the Pretty Maids in a Row” has nothing to do with Buffy. It’s all about Buffy’s perennial archnemesis Spike and his unbalanced love Drusilla. It’s Dru’s birthday – or rather deathday, seeing as how vampires celebrate the anniversary of their resurrection from the grave. Spike is out to get her the perfect gift, a necklace known as the Freyja’s Strand. The deceptively simple metal chain is actually an extremely powerful magic charm that gives its wearer the power to change shape at will. So Spike strikes a bargain with a demon named Skrymir: if Skrymir gets Spike the necklace, Spike will get Skrymir the list of all the vampire slayers-in-training. Set against the backdrop of World War II Europe, the playful irreverence that distinguishes the series is tempered by the desolation of the setting. Although a war never makes for cheerful reading, the easy banter between stone-cold Spike and his frivolously insane fiancée keeps the story moving quickly.

“Dark Sleeper”

Jeffrey Barlough’s “Dark Sleeper” follows the esteemed professor of metaphysics, Titus Tiggs, as he travels to the mist-covered city of Salthead. Together with his colleague, the oddly named Dr. Daniel Dampe, Tiggs struggles to unravel the supernatural mysteries that plague this quaint, gothic burg. A spectral sailor dances down the docks every night. A ghostly shipwreck rises from its watery grave to sail into harbor. The spirit of a young boy frequents the local tavern, and a vicious goblin dog terrorizes the town streets. All of these ghostly high jinks pale in comparison to the Dark Sleeper, an unnamed evil so powerful that it threatens to destroy the entire town and every person who lives there. The delightfully creepy ambience of Salthead will quickly draw the reader into the story. Salthead exists in some nebulous alternative universe, both quaintly Victorian and disturbingly Lovecraftian. Odd touches inform the reader that it isn’t on Earth. Readers might be able to accept the multitude of supernatural visitors that grace the pages of “Dark Sleeper,” but when the most popular beast of burden is an extinct species of mastodon ... well, that’s just getting a little weird.

“Carpe Jugulum”

Terry Pratchett takes a stroll down the dark side of his comic fantasy universe of Discworld, introducing readers to a full cast of witches and vampires in “Carpe Jugulum.” The king of the tiny mountain nation of Lancre is getting married, and, being an enlightened sort, invites all his neighbors to the festivities. Unfortunately, he also includes the antisocial vampires of the distinctly Transylvanian-country of Ueberwald. Lancre, however, is a nice little place, the sort of cozy little town where one could easily settle down and retire. And so the vampires do, much to the chagrin of the local population. The only person who can expel these undead party-crashers is Granny Weatherwax, the crotchety, no-nonsense head of the local witches’ coven. Together with her cohorts – the earthy vulgarian Nanny Ogg and the flaky new age trendsetter Magrit Garlick – Granny Weatherwax sets out to cleanse the kingdom. Things aren’t as easy as one would assume, however; these are modern vampires, impervious to garlic and eager to get a good tan in the supposedly lethal sunlight. Pratchett brings his usual comic genius to bear on the more somber subject matter, but that’s not to say that the story doesn’t have its share of unsettling moments: the eerie descriptions of Ueberwald alone make the book worthwhile.

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