There’s nothing quite like a clear blue October sky, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and the beginnings of a chill in the air to remind me that Halloween is fast approaching! It’s probably not a surprise to learn this is my favourite time of year, and part of that definitely comes from it being the start of “get cozy under a blanket and a warm beverage of your choice” weather. Seasonal fall flavours are back (I love pumpkin, or apple, flavours in my coffee), and my more horror averse friends are willing to give the genre a tentative try.
With that in mind, lets get into the 2026 recommendations, which include both solo and group TTRPGs, movies, and books!
Book: Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona – set in 1993, this debut thriller is a quick, easy, read filled with references to the classic horror movies so beloved by teenage protagonist, Amy, a babysitter charged with the care of Ben (6) and Mira (12). The night starts out normally enough, but complications arise when some unexpected guests turn up at the house, and not everyone will escape the night unscathed. This has become a yearly read for me, in part because it only takes (me) 2-3 hours depending on distractions.
Book: All The Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell – one might think that a book about death and the people who make it their business would be… a rather dark read. Personally, I found it fascinating. It never occured to me just how many careers are related to death, and getting the stories and insights from embalmers, gravediggers, a death mask scultptor, and more, made me grateful this books exists. If you’re not familiar with The Order of the Good Death I’ll go ahead and throw a link in too, as I think they’re doing important work, and this book is part of advancing conversations about that which comes for us all.
Film: I Married A Witch (1942) – imagine you’re a witch during the Salem Witch Trials. You and your dad are burned at the stake, and your spirits trapped inside a tree. You vow vengeance against the man who denounced you, and curse the men of his bloodline to have unhappy marriages. Centuries pass, and in 1942 you and dad are released by luck! You grab a body, fall in love with a descendant of the man you cursed, and want him to love you back. So you do what any 20ish year old witch trapped in a tree for over 250 years would do: you brew a love potion… and then accidentally drink it yourself, falling even more in love.It’s funny, it’s charming, and, importantly: it’s short, coming in at a runtime of only 75 minutes. It’s also available for free on YouTube.
Film: Burnt Offerings (1976) – I went into this one not having seen the trailer, and having no idea what I was getting into beside “haunted house movie” is, I think, the way to go. Marian, Ben, and their song Davey find a lovely house to rent for the summer. With sumptious furniture, a large swimming pool, and at a can’t-beat price, what’s not to love? Weird things start happening but that’s fine, coincidences happen! The house can’t be haunted and/or evil, that’s not a real thing! If you liked Stephen King’s The Shining, this movie inspired its writing. If you didn’t like The Shining, good news – Burnt Offerings is significantly better. Comes in at just under two hours, and has all the oppressive atmosphere and gradual increase of unusual circumstances that you could want from a “this house is evil” movie.
Film: The Midnight Hour (1985) – what happens when a group of teens decide to “borrow” historic artificats from the town’s museum, and have the descendant of the town’s witch read out a spell? A fun-filled, 90 minute run of a highschool Halloween party, the dead rising, a curse that could become permanent, some witch vampires, and a really good soundtrack. This is a fun movie, where characters are having wildly different experiences of the night, and they really nailed the aesthetic and feel of Halloween. Be prepared to go on a run around town as a ghost and mortal team up to break the curse that was unwittingly unleashed, and get the restless, hungry, party-loving dead back to their graves before midnight!
Solo TTRPG: Bloodless by Ennio – available in English and Spanish, and with physical copies now available from some of your favourite indie retailers, Bloodless is a Caltrop Core game where your goal is to survive the night, and get back to somewhere you can safely rest. You play as a vampire who is not having the best night of their unlife, and after creating your very own denizen of the night, you’ll be using your ferocity, cunning, and intellect to (hopefully) survive 6 hours (and rounds of gameplay). Whether brand new to solo TTRPGs, or a seasoned fang, Bloodless offers a fun evening game to sink your teeth into. I’m particular fond of the ‘fated’ mechanic which comes into play if you roll the same event twice over the course of the six rounds!
Solo TTRPG: Light in the Lantern by Fabian Blake – celebrating Romani cultural heritage and history, Light in the Lantern is an all-ages game which sees you play as the trickster god Muxli, guiding Travellers lost in the autumn wood. A Crafted In A Shell game, your goal is to keep Muxli’s lantern burning in order to guide the Lost home, gaining and losing followers on the way as you meet helpers and encounter hindrances based upon cards drawn from the tarot deck (did I mention you need a tarot deck to play? Who doesn’t love a reason to break out their deck!). The prompts for the major arcana cards are deeply evocative, building a rich, vibrant world open to exploration, while those for the minor arcana encourage you to add to the world, and Muxli’s experience of it.
TTRPG One-Shot: Thus Spake Agathis by Emma Grier – is inspired by the near total decimation of the Kauri forests in New Zealand as a result of European colonisation in the 18th and 19th centuries, along with the Kauri tree’s profound place in Māori mythology as connected to the spiritual realm. I was lucky enough to play in a game Emma ran, and found this Trophy Dark incursion to be significantly more emotional than any other incursing I’ve played in. It was unsettling, tragic and, above all, moving. Obviously endings vary by table, but ours ended on a hopeful note of a better future to come. It has been months since we played, and there’s still one ring that has stayed with me for how terrible it was. It isn’t often you find a game that conveys heaviness and loss so deftly, but this incursion hit it out of the park. My favourite games and supplements are the ones that move me in some way, and this is definitely among them. I’m grateful to have experienced this as a player, and hope to run it for one of my in-person tables in future. You can get Thus Spake Agathis as part of the Hot Ghoul Halloween bundle, along with 40 other supplements and games, until the end of October 2026 (Ennio and Fabian also have games in this bundle, though not the ones mentioned above!)
TTRPG One-Shot: The Secret of the Night Market by Outrider Creative – designed for Perils & Princesses, this supplement was always going to be a hit for me as it combines two of my favourite things: folk horror and market roleplaying. As anyone who knows me from my WoW days can attest, I love market RP – one of my characters was a vendor, and sometimes organizer. After having time to explore a myriad of stalls and encounters, the party meets Mary Lwyd, who has a particular problem she needs some help solving. Based primarily in exploration and social encounters, this supplement has plenty of fun opportunities for creativity and roleplay, and can easily be adapted to fit your needs. I ran it for one of my groups as the introduction to a 3-shot, using the market as the jumping off point before having everyone head deep into a supposedly cursed forest. My players loved the various NPCs and their stalls, and I really appreciated the gorgeous art, how unique each stall was, and the map for ease of location reference.
That’s it for this year! Are any of these recommendations up your alley? If not, or if you’re looking for more, you can check out my 2023 and 2024 suggestions below.
Season’s Frights Pt. 1 | Season’s Frights Pt. 2 | Season’s Frights 2024
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