Halloween Boxes
Sweet Halloween Box
2023 Edition
My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine"I fidgeted with the purse strap to disguise how rattled I was."
- a custom designed coffin-shaped crossbody purse.
"He'll have a Galaxy-sized 'We Are Vivacious.' I'll have a Moon-sized 'We Are Empowered,' with extra foam."
- a black cauldron mug.
"I opened the box. Inside was a set of forty-eight beautiful colored pencils, ranging in colors from pale pink to a blue so dark is twas nearly black."
- a set of twenty-four high quality colored pencils.
"The ring that lay nestled within the black-velvet box had a blood-red ruby in its center that was the size and general shape of a dime..."
- a beautiful black and ruby ring.
Spooky Halloween Box
2023 Edition
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong"She's comparing sneakers with Madison, who's wearing her "October specials"- a pair of horror-themed Vans."
- a set of two pairs of custom designed shoelaces.
"There's blood on the pillow. Blood and a hank of hair...with a torn chunk of scalp still attached to it."
- a set of two halloween themed pillowcases.
"Kit grabs a battery-operated lantern and shines it around the gloom."
- a battery-operated hanging lantern.
"When Kit spots something, it's a piece of fiberglass with looping script on it. A single word: 'Wicked.'"
- a custom designed plexiglass hanging sign that said 'Something Wicked This Way Comes'.
Sweet Halloween Box
2022 Edition
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna"Mika revealed eight small vials, each labeled of course."
- a set of six essential oils.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor with everything laid out around her, she opened her spellbook to a blank page, bit the end of her pencil, and brainstormed some ideas.
- a hardcover edition of The Witch's Cookbook recipe book.
"The smaller of her two cauldrons was still bubbling and she gave it a stir, tapping the silver spoon against the side of the cauldron."
- a set of three cauldron bath bombs and an embossed silver spoon.
"She packed one more thing: a silver key, taped to the inside of a copy of Sense and Sensibility, Primrose's favorite book."
- a faux book containing a silver key bottle opener.
Spooky Halloween Box
2022 Edition
Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey"She bumped the lightswitch with the fist that held the screwdrivers and the overhead fixture blazed to life. The shadow stayed."
- an inter-changable screwdriver set.
She pulled out lengths of it, hand over hand, like climbing a rope in gym class...
- an oversized woven black spiderweb decoration.
"She held the thermos over the countertop and shook it hard from side to side until the little cylinder of paper stopped catching on the inside of the lip."
- a green metal thermos with a ghost and spider pattern. (hand wash only)
"She tightened her grip on the quilt, and the pull on the fabric grew stronger. She listened to the hush of the fabric against floorboard as it slithered beneath the bed."
- a woven ouija board themed blanket. (hand wash only)
Sweet Halloween Box
2021 Edition
Midnight Spells Murder by Mary Angela"She shook Zo's hand. 'It's good to meet you. Thanks for having me. I need that sign on the door.' Zo pointed to the display of signs: Not All Witches Live in Salem."
- a custom designed, metal sign featuring the quote Not All Witches Live in Salem.
"Nikki opened the case and took out the necklace. 'It's beautiful.' She turned it over in her hands, reading the engraving on the back. The crescent moon fit perfectly around the sun, the 'Zo' and 'elle' making one word."
- a silver moon and sun necklace set.
"She'd watched a show on master pumpkin carvers and ordered special stencils and knives for the project. Zo loved the picture, which was a combination of leaves, acorns, and the words FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR LIFE."
- a securely bound set of pumpkin carving tools and a series of carving templates.
"Hattie stomped over to her desk wearing a shirt that read THE PAST, THE PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE WALKED INTO A BAR. IT WAS TENSE."
- a t-shirt (8 sizes available) in a random color featuring the quote from the novel.
Spooky Halloween Box
2021 Edition
The Haunting of Leigh Harker by Darcy Coates"Lightning encompasses my home, flashing through every gap in the curtains and under every door, and the under's reverberations run through my veins, vibrating my atoms, and I feel as though I am disintegrating. I loosen my fist and a cascade of pale salt pours free."
- a jar of Whispering Forest, Natural Bath Salt.
"A hinge groans as the door at the end of the hallway drags open. I feel for the flashlight in my pocket, but I no longer need it. A candle lights the darkest reaches of the hall. Bloodred and clasped between interlaced fingers. The intruder emerges from its darkened room."
- a white pillar candle with blood dripped wax on the sides.
"The foreign sound is louder. It's not dead branches. And it's not rain. It's voices. Coming from near my bed. A small red light flashes there, standing out among the shadowed shapes. The radio is switched on."
- a die-cut radio bookmark with a QR code to the sounds of the novel.
"First, he wiped the knife on his jeans, then tucked it back into his belt with shaking hands. Then he reached for the quilt on my bed. It went around my body like a colorful shroud."
- a custom designed, muslin blanket quilt in muted tones. (hand wash only)
Spooky Halloween Box
2020 Edition
The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates"It might have been an argument. Adrienne lowered Wolfgang to the porch and tore open the envelope containing her key. The key slid into its hole below the door handle. The metal, stiff and rusted, screeched as she turned it, then a second later, a quiet click told her the door was unlocked.
- a set of heavy, wrought-iron skeleton keys.
"But she couldn't stop herself from turning toward the next painting. Edith. There was no terror in the child's face, only a flat, cold focus. She stared directly ahead, intense attenion squared on the observer, the muscles in her face tight but not from fear. The painted eyes blinked.
- a canvas painting of Edith.
"Adrienne shoved the window open and reached the magnifying glass outside. She then pointed the flashlight at the magnifier so that its beam passed through the glass."
- a magnifying glass bookmark and a small, custom printed flashlight.
"She wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been listening, but Adrienne caught the faint creat of shifting wood and saw the empty chair beside her shift a fraction of an inch. The woman in the mirror folded her hands tidily in her lap and smiled as Adrienne opened the novel and began to read aloud."
- a copy of Dracul by Dacre Stolker and J.D. Barker.
images by @The_Bookish_Runner
Sweet Halloween Box
2020 Edition
15 Minutes of Flame by Christin Brecher"Enjoying the house as much as I did, I had brought a candle clock with me from the store for an authentic experience. When my work was done, I curled up in bed with my candle-by-the-hour set for thirty minutes. When my candle hit the half-hour mark and extinguished, I gasped.
- a rose gold candlestick, plus book pins to create a falling candle clock (where the pins fall out of the candle as it melts).
"As I took a sip from my glass, my eyes fell upon Leigh's bag. Specifically, I noticed a coffee cup from The Bean, shoved into a side pocket. What I found interesting, however, was a marking on its side: HN.
- a book-themed bamboo coffee cup (hand wash only), with a HN sticker on the top.
"Only one person would have known the story was false, and that person would turn to the person who had fabricated the tale. That person would also need cash, and quick, to fund a life on the lam, pulling cobwebs off our man."
- a cobweb designed tablecloth.
images by @The_Bookish_Runner
Sweet Halloween Mini Box
2019 Edition
House Witch by Katie SchickelMiranda steps forward with a garment box and Astrid opens it. She pulls out a pink cashmere cape. THE pink cashmere cape. She wraps it around me. It's the softest, most luxurious thing I've ever worn.
- the Glamour Girls' pink cashmere cape, turned pashmina.
I dip a finger in the jar and spread the warm, slick mixture onto my face. It's immediately soothing. I spread it over my eyelids, down my cheekbones, over my lips, along my chin. Soon my whole face is covered and it feels fabulous.
- a custom made jar of the Glamour Girls ME FIRST mud mask.
images by @The_Bookish_Runner
Spooky Halloween Mini Box
2019 Edition
No One's Home by D.M. PulleyIn the ghostly glow of the while marble, a figure stood at his sink - the shape of a girl. Myron stopped breathing, frozen in the doorway. Bare legs. Long pale hair. White gauzy slip. A wisp of smoke. "Margot?" he whispered.
- the white silken and lace robe worn by the figure in this moment, sprayed with the vanilla perfume that hung where she did.
The dull tink tink tink of a glass wine bottle sliding against the concrete floor pried oepn Hunter's eyes. The room was cold and dark. Too dark.
- a wine bottle reminscent of the one tinking throughout this scene, filled with a custom made bubble bath liquid.
images by @The_Bookish_Runner
Halloween Box
2018 Edition
The Retreat by Mark Edwards"I headed over to join the other writers. On my way past the bar I spotted the painting that caught my attention on my first visit here. The woman in red, beckoning onlookers into the trees."
- a custom designed canvas painting inspired by the Red Woman painting from the book.
"Disappointed, I left the hut - and glimpsed a figure on the far side of the field, directly opposite the spot where I'd entered the clearing. Beyond this field was another part of the woods. The person vanished into the trees. They had been wearing a red coat."
- a red cloak with fur trim.
"'What is this?' Julia asked. I moved behind her and looked over her shoulder, staring at the lines and curves, the crosses and squiggles on the sheet of paper. 'It's a map,' Ursula said. 'I drew you a map.'"
- a custom designed map as described in the book.
"She swung the hammer at the wall. It went through like the wall was made of cardboard. Shards of thin plaster landed at my feet. Julia swung again, working at the gap with the head of the hammer to create a large hole."
- a custom designed, multipurpose hammer with a set of screwdrivers in the shaft.
images by @The_Bookish_Runner