13 Days of Halloween Books Day 6: Crazy Killers

It's October 24th! Only one week away from Halloween! That's right...  just 7 little days left.

Do you have your costumes ready yet?!

Might I suggest Michael Meyers from the Halloween saga? All you'd need is a rubber mask, heavy boots, and a work shirt and pants. And, also, an ancient curse that makes you immortal, but whatevs.

OR. What about the Ghostface Killer who was, of course, made famous by the Scream movies? That's another simple costume... a black sweatshirt and a Ghostface mask and BOOM! Instant Halloween costume.

OR. How about Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th? Even easier... grab a hockey mask and prop knife and you're good to go.

I'm thinking there's a recurring theme here, if you're picking up what I'm laying down. Today's theme for Day 6 of 13 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN BOOKS is...

CRAZY KILLERS

 

It should be noted that not all serial killers in popular culture have to be vengeful masked psychos who just won't die no matter how many times Jamie Lee Curtis stabs/shoots/decapitates/hangs/ electrocutes/sets fire to you.

Sometimes, like in the following book, they're just regular people who happen to be a little bit... off.

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

"Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidantes, and best accomplices. The daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, Kit and Fancy are used to feeling like outsiders, and that's just the way they like it. But in Portero, where the weird and wild run rampant, the Cordelle sisters are hardly the oddest or most dangerous creatures around.

It's no surprise when Kit and Fancy start to give in to their deepest desire - the desire to kill. What starts as a fascination with slicing open and stitching up quickly spirals into a gratifying murder spree. Of course, the sisters aren't killing just anyone, only the people who truly deserve it. But the girls have learned from the mistakes of their father, and know that a shred of evidence could get them caught. So when Fancy stumbles upon a mysterious and invisible doorway to another world, she opens a door to endless possibilities."

(And now for a quick Public Safety Announcement, Slice of Cherry is a bit on the gory side and not for the faint of heart.)

But if the supernatural and/or gore is not your thing...

Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell
Kit takes her role as London’s notorious “Perfect Killer” seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with “Dear Killer,” and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life—the only way of life she has ever known. Dear Killer is a sinister psychological thriller that explores the thin line between good and evil.

If you're more of a graphic novel and/or nonfiction fan, try this one: 

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf

An account of real-life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's high school years written and drawn by Dahmer's former classmate, Derf Backderf. 

To Backderf, 'Jeff' was a high school friend with whom he had shared classrooms, hallways, and car rides. In this haunting and original graphic novel,  Backderf creates a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a disturbed young man struggling against the morbid urges emanating from the deep recesses of his psyche-- a shy kid, a teenage alcoholic, and a goofball who never quite fit in with his classmates.