It’s fall, y’all, and the Library is kicking off the Halloween season with a monstrously good mashup of haunted local history tales, scary story recommendations, spooky special events, and frightfully fun family festivities.

Jump to a section:
 

• Don't Fear the Reader: Scary Book Suggestions
• Have a Ghoul Time at Library Events
• Ghosts of KC History
• Movies: Screaming, Streaming, and Screenings  

DON'T FEAR THE READER

Our librarians have used their dark literary magic to conjure a cauldron  of terror-inducing titles and quirky, spooktacular reads to get you in an appropriately fearsome mood for Halloween. 

VIEW LIST IN CATALOG
New & Spooky Books for Kids >
 

HAVE A GHOUL TIME AT LIBRARY Events

Creatures don't just dwell in nightmarish fictional swamps; sometimes they're real people working in Hollywood. On Tuesday, October 8, horror film producer and literary podcaster Mallory O'Meara visits the Library to share the true story of Milicent Patrick, one of Walt Disney Studios' first female animators (most notably for the Night on Bald Mountain sequence in Fantasia) and the long-uncredited designer of the eponymous Creature from the Black Lagoon. O’Meara discusses her book, which is part fascinating and infuriating biography, part autobiography, part detective story, and part censure of sexism in the male-dominated movie industry.

There's some frightfully good family fun for all the little goblins at various Library locations this month. Even daddies and mummies can enjoy the offerings. A few highlights:

GHOSTS OF KC HISTORY

What’s Your KC Q? is an ongoing series in which the Library and The Kansas City Star  partner to answer reader queries about our region. In the spirit of October, we asked readers specifically for Halloween-related questions. Reader Kyle Romine, who went to the area’s haunted houses as a high school student some 20 years ago, wonders about their origins. He asked:

"How long have the haunted houses in the West Bottoms been in business? Did they have predecessors?"

ANSWER: Kansas City and haunted houses have a long history. At one time, we were considered the haunted house capital of the world. We still have what is billed as the oldest commercial haunted attraction in the country. And on Oct. 1, America Haunts — the organization of the nation’s premier haunted attractions — ranked The Beast the No. 1 haunted house in the country for 2019. "These expert 'fear generators' have a lifelong gift of scaring and dare-devil ingenuity to inflict fright," American Haunts writes.

Read on for more macabre tidbits about KC's haunted house history... if you dare. 

READ MORE
Explore more answers to KC questions at kclibrary.org/KCQ >

Movies: Screaming, Streaming, and Screenings

Scary movies are a Halloween tradition. The Library offers a number of ways you can satisfy your horror habits.

Browse our catalog for devilishly delightful DVD titles that you can sink your teeth into.

• Horror >
• Thriller/Suspense >
• Staff Picks List: Central Film Vault Horror Films >
• Staff Picks List: Halloween in September (we got an early start) >

Prefer to be creeped out with a crowd? Catch a movie at various Library locations with fellow horror movie fans.

• All Library film screenings >

Our streaming service Kanopy gives you instant access to cinematic catacombs full of films ranging from contemporary horror flicks like Hereditary and The Witch to classics such as Nosferatu and House on Haunted Hill.

• Learn more about Kanopy >
• Browse Horror & Thriller Films >