Halloween at my house usually means hoarding candy like there’s no tomorrow and staying up way too late watching scary movies on television. This year, however, I may skip the scary movie. Having had quite the spooky night last weekend, I think I’m all scared out!

I was driving up to the tippy-top northeast corner of Georgia and as the sun began to set, I had a sneaking suspicion that I wouldn’t make it to my destination before dark. Being a city girl (okay, a suburb girl), I wasn’t used to the twisty, winding, narrow mountain roads and my trusty GPS was failing me. The phrase ‘searching for satellite connection’ has never been so scary! Before long, it was pitch dark out and I had very few clues as to where I was. Even if my phone had had any reception out there, all I could have told anyone was “I’m on a dark, curvy road. There are also trees everywhere.” I felt like the boy in Trick or Treat on Monster Street–separated from the group and lost in the deep, dark, scary woods–petrified of how the night might end. 

I spent approximately 2 minutes flipping out, convinced I was doomed to sleep in my car and wait for daylight, but finally pulled myself together and continued up the mountain. When I came upon a public establishment (the only one I’d seen in an hour of backwoods driving), I didn’t hesitate before pulling in and asking for help.

Much like the boy in the story, I eventually found my way thanks to some very friendly locals. Only, his rescuers invited him to a Halloween party and then literally carried him out of the woods while mine wrote directions down for me on the back of a receipt. Eerily enough, and also like the boy in the story, I can’t figure out where on earth I must’ve ended up! I’ve gone back to the map a hundred times since that fateful night and it’s still a mystery. 

Spooky stories like these make Halloween so exciting (who doesn’t like a good scare, especially when hopped up on candy?), but what about the monsters out there who are just trying to help? The ones who eat our peas for us or do our math homework? And what are the traditions behind the Day of the Dead holiday?

 
Read on about Peachtree’s Halloween books featuring everything from trick or treating to El Dia de los Muertos to monsters both mischievous and hilarious. Leave a comment below to win!

A boy’s dread of things that go bump in the night fills his head with monstrous thoughts. So when he is separated from his older brothers on Halloween night and finds himself alone on Monster Street, he fears the worst! When he knocks on the door of the house up ahead, he gets a big surprise–is it a trick or a treat?
Read it to find out!
What is the Day of the Dead all about? This picture book tells the story in captivating images and simple text in both Spanish and English. Graveyard skeletons shake, rattle, and roll in a spirited Day of the Dead celebration featuring bold and colorful cut-paper illustrations. A section in the back explains the holiday and includes a glossary of terms.
More info here!
What do you dread eating the most? For the boy in this story, it’s peas! It would seem his problem is solved when a hilariously disgusting monster appears and offers to eat the revolting peas in exchange for one little thing…the boy’s soccer ball. Every time peas appear on the boy’s plate, the monster’s demands escalate. How far will the boy go to avoid the offending vegetable he loathes?
Read it to find out!
The monster is back! Only this time, he’s doing a little boy’s math homework! At first, everything adds up perfectly. But when the boy’s math knowledge is tested at school, his troubles begin to multiply…
More info here!
What would you do if you found a hungry Gorg in the neighborhood bog? How would you get a Three-Toed Albanian Snoring Sock Bat our of your drawers? Professor LeGrand, the world’s foremost expert on monster diversity, will instruct you on the outrageous habits and appalling behavior of bizarre creatures such as the Sissyfoos, the Whichwayawawa, the Snurps and perhaps worst of all…Ralph, Ed and Joe!
More info here!
What are your Halloween or Day of the Dead traditions? Have you ever been lost in the woods on a spooky, dark night? How far would you go to avoid eating loathsome peas? Leave a comment below for a chance to win a prize pack of ghoulishly wonderful Halloween books from Peachtree! I’ll pick a winner at random on Saturday (10/29) afternoon!
 
*Contest ends Saturday, Oct. 29 2011 at 5 p.m. EST
**U.S. residents only, please