HALLOWEEN BOOK FESTIVAL HONORS EXPLORATION OF HOLIDAY FOLKLORE
 

LOS ANGELES_The first book to focus on the historic British Halloween tradition from which the modern American Halloween has grown is the top book in the 2024 Halloween Book Festival.

Author Brice Stratford’s Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories (The History Press) comprehensively explores the traditions in the context of the still-living modern English Halloween season. Filled with fresh field work and ghost stories that still survive in the oral culture of the UK today, many are published here for the first time.

The hidden histories behind traditions we take for granted (trick-or-treat, pumpkin carving, bonfires) are uncovered in unprecedented detail. This thorough guide to Halloween alternates between engaging historical explanation and chilling local folk tales, and is guaranteed to help you see Halloween through new eyes.

Other winners in the competition:


WILD CARD:

WINNER: Are You Ready? - Dr. Kimberly Harms

RUNNERS-UP:

• Vermilion Harvest - Reenita M. Hora
• The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster, MD
• The Third Estate Secrets of the Manor - D.R. Berlin

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• The Hunted Rose - V.M. Sawh
• Bone Deep Blues - Brian R.O. Callaghan
• The Mummy Speaks - Cynthia Morrison
• All This and a Bag of Bones - Jane F. Ruby
• Fractured Sleep - Antje Arnold
• Tooth Tales and Enchanted Smiles - Angelina and Cameron Huang

YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: The Halloween Warriors Parts 1, 2, 3 - Esteban Vazquez

RUNNER-UP: A Remarkable Marketable You - Jes Petion


UNCONVENTIONAL ROMANCE:

WINNER: Destiny Lives on Fairhaven Street - C.J. Hudson

RUNNERS-UP:

• A perfect miracle: Jacobs Landing Series Book One - Katrina Alexander
• Death of a Mayfly - Ellie Leonard

HONORABLE MENTION:

• The Name I Choose - Holly Brough

SCIENCE FICTION:

WINNER: Forever, Now - Haleh Shahrzad  

RUNNER-UP: The Lost Worlds Book One - Esteban Vazquez

CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: A Spooky Tale - Sue Wickstead

RUNNER_UP: Skelee Boy - Sandra Rathbone

HONORABLE MENTION:

• Jig Goes to the Zoo - Julia Kneeland

BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY

WINNER: The Garden - PT Harry

RUNNER-UP: London Bridge: A Fictional Memoir - Steven Dhondt


GENERAL NONFICTION

WINNER: Halloween Folklore and Ghost Stories - Brice Stratford

RUNNERS-UP:

• The History of Knott’s Scary Farm - Ted Dougherty
• The Stress Book - D. Terrence Foster, MD

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Unpacking The Attic - Ann Michelle Mracek
• Pictures From The Exhibition - Mark Wolodkowicz

HORROR

WINNER: The Sundial Inn - Stephen John Ross  

RUNNERS-UP:

• Spectral Guidance - Laurie A.M. Ludtke
• Sinner’s Pass - S.S.Fitzgerald
• Never Have I Ever - Harker Jones
• The Grinning Man: Lucid Dreams - JM Steiner
• The Movie Theatre - Susan Ann Paisley

FANTASY

WINNER: Super Super Charro - Carlos Lozano

RUNNER-UP: It’s The Night Of All Hallows Eve - Katherine L. Myers-Kohn


TIME TRAVEL

WINNER: Bad Love Medicine - Kevin Schewe, MD