My nostalgia for the 90s is high! From the music to the movies to the events, I think it was a great decade in itself!
I remember that when I entered high school, I stopped going trick-or-treating altogether as I believed in my own thick head that it’s for elementary/middle school aged kids and that teenagers celebrate Halloween by either going out to parties or just stay home and 1) have a horror movie marathon with all the scary movies you’d rent from the now ancient concept of video rental stores or 2) pass out candies to the little trick-or-treaters that would be knocking on your door anxious and happy for some teeth-decaying treats…lol.
But for me, that was not the case. Since our home was located on a mountain and that we had a snarling, vicious, and very protective dog loose in our front yard, trick-or-treaters seldom came. So I turned to YA thrillers with usual plots of teens threatening other teens or menacing supernatural beings from beyond going after innocent as well as naughty teenagers. These books were rampant during the 90s for the teenage dynamic and they are usually written by either R.L. Stine (yes, the prolific author of the successful Goosebumps series) or Diane Hoh (whose books usually feature dialogues of a psychopath’s thoughts). Here are 20 books from that age and time that I believe will still work their spooky spell on you on the most horrifying night of the year! They are quick reads (which is why I think they suit any adult) and will aid in making your Halloween fun and wicked! I have included links to them on Amazon for you to order them now in time for Halloween. Just click on each image. Enjoy!.
1. Funhouse (1990) by Diane Hoh
Everyone thought what happened at the amusement park was an accident, but Tess Landers knows someone caused it and that someone wants her dead...
2. Freeze Tag (1993) by Caroline B. Cooney
Meghan and West are a couple and Lannie their childhood friend wants West for herself. Meghan and West must do something or Lannie will kill Meghan with her freezing power...
3. Terror Academy: Sixteen Candles (1993) by Nicholas Pine
When Kelly turns sixteen, she's lost a lot of her baby weight and this makes the guys at Central Academy (Terror Academy) want to date her. Soon she starts to receive strange messages and threats. Who wants her dead?
4. The Locker (1994) by Richie Tankersley Cusick
Marlee Fleming is new to her school. Her new friends act weird when she's assigned the locker that belonged to a girl who is now dead. Marlee herself feels something terrible when she opens the locker. Is the dead girl trying to tell her something bad is going to happen to her?
5. October Moon (1995) by Michael Scott
Rachel is thrilled to be on vacation in Ireland. But everyone acts strange around her. What Rachel doesn't know is that she is the chosen one to inherit an ancient curse. A curse involving the moon.
6. Dream Date (1996) by Sinclair Smith
Katie has always been shy when it comes to boys. Then one night, she dreams of a perfect guy. A guy named Heath who soon uses her for his own evil intentions...
7. The Train (1992) by Diane Hoh
Four high school friends enjoy their cross-country train tour from Chicago to San Francisco at first. But then they realize a coffin of a dead boy they had bullied is on the train with them. And one by one, terrible things start to happen to them...
8. Nightmare Hall: The Silent Scream (1993) by Diane Hoh
Jess is all excited to start college. But the dorm she is assigned to has a creepy nickname and was the setting of a suicide...is Jess' dorm haunted by the ghost of the girl who killed herself?
9. Nightmare Hall: The Roommate (1993) by Diane Hoh
Danni can't help it but feel like one of her suitemates is out to get her. There's mysterious Margot, shy Maureen, and wild Lacey. Which one of them wrote "DIE!" on Danni's mirror?
10. Nightmare Hall: Guilty (1993) by Diane Hoh
Katie can't help but blame herself for the death of her boyfriend over a year ago. But it seems like someone wants to punish her for it... And that someone's verdict for her is GUILTY!
11. Nightmare Hall: The Night Walker (1994) by Diane Hoh
Someone is attacking people in the wee hours of midnight/early morning. And all clues point to Quinn who walks in her sleep!
12. The Dead Girlfriend (1993) by R.L. Stine
When Annie meets Jonathan, no one tells her about his last girlfriend, a beautiful, popular girl who died mysteriously and who just might not be gone. (Amazon.)
13. Halloween Night (1993) by R.L. Stine
From bloody handwriting on a wall to a mad rash of costume switching, evil events on Halloween night escalate, until it is difficult to tell who is killing whom. (Amazon).
14. Call Waiting (1994) by R.L. Stine
Someone wants to talk to Karen badly. Very badly. Someone who has something very special to say. (Goodreads.)
15. Halloween Night II (1994) by R.L. Stine
The chilling sequel to Stine's bestselling Halloween Night. This time Brenda's being terrorized by someone who's determined to make this Halloween night her last. (Goodreads.)
16. I Saw You That Night (1995) by R.L. Stine
Sand. Surf. Sun. Roxie lives for the summer. But this summer things aren't going the way Roxie planned. Roxie saw something she shouldn't have seen. Heard something she shouldn't have heard. And now someone wants her...dead. (Goodreads.)
17. Fear Street: Missing (1990) by R.L. Stine
Mark and Cara Burroughs' parents are missing. The police don't seem to be interested in finding them for Mark and Cara. Where are they? The answer lies deep into the Fear Street woods...
18. Fear Street Cheerleaders: The First Evil (1992) by R.L. Stine
Newcomers Corky and Bobbi Corcoran want more than anything to make the cheerleading squad at Shadyside High. But as soon as the Corcoran sisters are named to the team, terrible things happen to the cheerleaders. (Goodreads.)
19. Fear Street Saga #1: The Betrayal (1993) by R.L. Stine
Why do so many horrifying things happen on Fear Street? Nora knows. She knows, and she wants to tell.
Are you sure you want to hear it? (Goodreads.)
20. Fear Street: Bad Dreams (1994) by R.L. Stine
Every night Maggie Travers has the same horrible dream. But when the terrifying dream starts to come true and the gruesome accidents begin, staying awake is the real nightmare! (Goodreads.)
