Last October, I wrote a post about a couple of my kids’ favorite Halloween books when they were young. I loved Halloween books too! They are now considered classics..lol
I enjoy browsing for vintage books online, and once in a while, I hit the jackpot! This year, I found two Halloween books in great condition on Thrift Books that I read all the time when I was little.
The first book I purchased was Gus Was A Friendly Ghost by Jane Thayer (the pen name of Catherine Woolley), published in 1962. Who remembers the story? Gus the ghost lives in Mr. and Mrs. Scott’s country house and befriends a mouse. They appear together in a 9-book series. Such a cute book!
Gus books are synonymous with the purple cover. I always spotted it easily in our louvered-door bookshelf in our 70s family room.
I also found Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett and Lisl Weil, published in 1961. I was thrilled to learn the publisher was Scholastic, my old employer! Who knew?
This story is about Minx, a 9-year-old girl who’s raised as a witch’s child by a cruel witch who claims to be her mother. As a young girl, I remember it being a long read at 116 pages! And I loved the cover and used to take it out of our bookshelf to look at the witch and her pointy nose!
Ahh… nothing beats reading spooky books in October, even if the titles are over 50 years old! I consider books decor, and you can find some of my old Halloween books in my family room bookcase until the 31st.
So, if you hear rattling and clanking in your house this month, never fear! It’s probably the friendly ghost named Gus just wanting to join you under a cozy blanket while you read on a cold, rainy night. Happy reading!
