I might be late to the party by a few decades, but I just recently found and read The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. I wanted a good autumn book. Something that felt like that cool, fall night air, with some ghosts and witches thrown in for good measure, know what I mean?
It is currently Spooky Season, and even though I normally drift toward more horror (see a list of my 31 favorite horror movies here) but something about The Halloween Tree drew me in.
I think the name alone pulls at a sort of nostalgic, childhood spooks version of Halloween. It conjures up images of jack-o-lanterns and dark branches against a full moon, rather than the more adult Halloween images of sex, blood, and gore. There’s a time and place for the gore-fest, but sometimes all you really want is some comforting, Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown style spookiness.
That’s why I picked up The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. It spoke to the candy corn, jack-o-lantern side of my soul.
Side note: There’s a roundup list of over 385 pumpkin carving ideas here if classic Halloween vibes are your thing too.
I didn’t actually know anything about the book, but the name Ray Bradbury was familiar (bookworms feel free to mock me for not immediately knowing him) and after looking him up I realized why. Not only is he a famous author, but he’s also the author of the famous book – Fahrenheit 451 (see it here) with a decades-long writing career on top of it.
I actually didn’t even read the book description before diving into The Halloween Tree – I realize I’m not painting myself as the most worthy literary-fan, but the point is I did read the book. That’s what matters here. Stop judging me.
So because I didn’t even read the description before getting into the story, I had no real idea of what to expect. I just liked the book’s ~aesthetic~ and ya know what, it worked out well so I stand by it.
Ok, but what is The Halloween Tree about and why should you read it
The Halloween Tree is about a group of childhood friends who are gearing up to head out for fun and mischief-filled night of Halloween frivolities.
It almost strikes me as a Stephen King story setup. If you don’t know what that means, I’ll summarize: Small town, a small group of latchkey kids, a simple start that seems destined for the unexpected.
Stephen King fans, does that about sum it up?
The Halloween Tree never goes as dark as Stephen King books, not by a mile, but it does follow this group of ragtag children on a Halloween adventure where they brave the depths of All Hallows Eve for the love of a friend.
The ringleader of the group and chief mischief-maker, Pip, is introduced to us right away, and right away we’re told that something about the boisterous boy just isn’t right. He’s quiet and tired and his normally bright burst of light seems dim.
The group of boys is forced to begin the night without their friend, but expect him to join later. As you might guess, things don’t exactly go according to plan.
The boys end up on a Halloween hunt for their lost friend, hoping to find him to bring him home. A mysterious character named Moundshroud shepherds them on their journey, showing the boys the origins of their Halloween costumes and Halloween traditions on a trip through time.
Ancient Egypt, Medieval Paris, Ancient Greece, and other lost lands all have something to teach about the origins of witches, mummies, ghosts, and more. The boys also learn about death along the way.
At the end of the day, the boys face death to save their friend. They must make a difficult choice and live with the consequences. At the end of the night, The Halloween Tree, once covered in glowing Jack-o-lanterns, goes dark.
TL;DR – A summary of why The Halloween Tree is special
Basically, the story of The Halloween Tree uses a story of childhood friendship to take us on a journey through the traditions of Halloween, and the where they come from.
It takes the reader across cultures and time to explain, in an entertaining way, why we celebrate the spooky season the way that we do.
Basically, it’s great.
So, if you’ve known about this book forever and can’t believe I’ve never read it before – that’s fair. It’s been around since the 70s. I don’t have any excuses.
Now that I have read it though, I can say without question that it should be a part of your Halloween tradition and is one of the best books to read near Halloween, hands down.
This year’s unintentional theme has been creating new traditions for spooky season (I recently put together my first spooky basket and plan to continue spooky baskets for years to come – you can see more about them here) and I really look forward to re-reading this book next year.
I think this would be a cool thing to add to a Halloween tradition for kids. It’s pretty kid-friendly (IMO – but I’ll let you, the parent, be the judge) and will teach them about the origins of their beloved Halloween.
