Graphic by Elise Bechtel
By Megan Shipston
Happy spooky season everyone! If Halloween does not scare you, your midterms certainly will. I hope everyone is having a happy start to the fall season and getting into the Halloween spirit. I know October can be a stressful time for many of you, so I wanted to come back and recommend another book and a web comic to help you take a break from school and also get in the spooky mood!
Elatsoe
The first book I want to recommend is “Elatsoe”! “Elatsoe,” by Darcie Little Badger, is a murder mystery set in a magical realistic society. Badger does an excellent job of blurring the lines between a world that looks very similar to ours while also weaving in fantastical elements from indigenous folklore to create a world of her own. The story follows Elatsoe, an Apache teen, as she grows up in a version of the United States that has been shaped by the knowledge and magic of its indigenous tribes. When the book begins, we find out that Elatsoe’s cousin has died, and the family needs to drive to the town he lived in to help his wife and family. While his death seems to be a very straightforward car crash, one visit from her now-dead cousin as a ghost quickly makes Elatsoe realize that something more sinister is going on. With the help of her very adorable ghost dogs and friends, Elatsoe dives into the mystery of what truly happened to her cousin and if the idyllic town he lived in is truly as nice as it seems.
This book does a great job of blending horror and fantasy to create an amazing story! There were times when I was reading this and felt as if someone was watching me — that hair-raising feeling when you are somewhere and realize something is truly and horribly wrong, but you cannot pinpoint what it is. I would recommend this if you needed a horror book that still makes you feel good!
4.3/5 dolphins
Spooky and Skelly
If you are looking for a fun Webtoon with an adorable art style and a storyline with Halloween vibes, then look no further than “Spooky and Skelly”! Created by Huntress Studios, this comic follows a ghost and a skeleton on their second chance at life. The art style was the first thing that drew me in as it just gave me the feeling of going to pumpkin patches and going on walks with the cool breeze going through the autumn leaves. The characters of Spooky the ghost and Skelly the skeleton were instantly lovable and great protagonists to follow.
Each chapter has its own contained storyline, but throughout all of them, Spooky and Skelly are trying to solve the mystery of who they were while they were alive. The chapters are spooky and sweet, so it is easy to read them in between classes and homework assignments. The only complaint I have is that the chapters were short, so I would have liked them to be longer. I would recommend this to anyone who needs a nice dose of spookiness this Halloween season!
3.7 / 5 Dolphins
