October is on its way, and the fall weather and spooky season is perfect for escaping into the weird worlds of spooks, sorcerers and barbarians.

It’s time again to be thankful for the ability read. Here are three random suggestions to enjoy in the fall.

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelanzy

Three members of my family were all reading this book at the same time a couple of years ago, because it was made to last the entire month. Written in 31 chapters to begin on Oct. 1, this is the last book written by fantasy author Roger Zelanzy before his death in the 90s. Told through the perspective of Snuff, the Watchdog for the character that is essentially Jack the Ripper, Zelanzy created this mystery as a tribute to the classic monsters of literature and history.

There are versions of Frankenstein, Dracula, classic witches, Sherlock Holmes and many others. They are never directly named, but part of the fun is figuring out the characters on which they are based. A ritual for Halloween night is being planned, but not all the characters want it to succeed…and I will tell you no more. The ending, I felt, was a little abrupt, but the journey is really fun. It will get you into the old school Halloween mood. Read the intro and Chapter 1 on Oct. 1, then one chapter each day until the end of the month. It really is a fun and easy reading project for October.

Vampire Hunter D: Omnibus Book One by Hideyuki Kikuchi

This is one I just picked up for reading this October, and for the life of me I can’t figure why I didn’t get into this one when it first came out. Set in to post Nuclear War distant future…and by distant we’re talking 12,090 AD, a group of vampire like creatures, the Nobles, are terrorizing the world’s mortal survivors in the post-apocalyptic borderlands. A hunter known a D, a half human/half vampire, set out to destroy these evil beings.

I know this premise seems familiar (Blade, perhaps), but it is so beautifully executed, and D, who wanders the wasteland like a badass, is becoming one of my favorite fictional characters. The fact that the author dedicated the book to Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and “the entire cast of Horror of Dracula (’58)” lets you know he’s a fan of the pulpy, campy, noir genres of the past. There’s some elements of westerns, horror, science fiction and even some romance mixed in. It is familiar premise that is well worth getting into.

I really like picking up omnibus collections if I want to get into a series I am waaay behind on. It gives me a good taste of the progression of the series. You can find it in the Manga section of bookstores, although is it s full prose novel, translated to English by Kevin Leahy. There are a few really wonderful illustrations by Yoshitako Amano that add to things.

Masterpieces of Fantasy Art by Dian Hanson

I know fall gets busy, so if you aren’t wanting to sit down and follow a full story right now, I recommend the Taschen Book celebrating some of the great fantasy artists, primarily from the second half of the Twentieth Century.

Artists Boris Vallejo and Zak Smith contribute to the text as well, and includes some incredible, and often fantastically and unapologetically politically incorrect pieces from Vallejo, Julie Bell, Frank Frazetta, H.R. Giger and others. Many of these pieces you might immediately recognize from your favorite paperback, album, comic or movie. Despite the perceived “low brow” subject matter many of these works are gorgeous examples of the human figure and and worth of being called fine art.

There is always enough real life things to keep even the most avid horror fan frightened. One of the best ways to keep sane is diving into other worlds with books.

Happy Autumn reading.