Candy corn, popcorn balls, and caramel apples along with pointy witch hats, sinewy spider webs, and fluttering ghosts all embody my favorite time of year. The smells, sounds, and tastes that surround Halloween have always drawn my attention. I can't wait for that one night of the year when children dress up in their favorite costumes and parents parade them around from house to house.



Kids' eyes gleam with excitement as they bravely ring the doorbell and then scream out, "Trick or Treat!" And of course the receiving party has a gift to fill their plastic pumpkin pails. Some people these days freak out about Halloween, but I see it as pure fun. I enjoy every second of it with my son. He can't wait to hear the same Halloween stories over and over again in the same ghoulish voices that I procure.

Reading stimulates imagination and creativity, and that's why I love reading to my son. He absolutely loves the voices that I create to accompany each character and the descriptions that pour from the pages and out of my mouth. He closes his eyes to imagine the scenes and soak in every detail. Some people might enjoy films, but with books, a person can gain so much more than just dumbly sitting in front of a box.

Instead he exercises his brain, forcing himself to imagine the scenes and the action in the story. Films don't offer the same excitement because they already show the scene and the action. And a viewer doesn't even have to use his mind. How boring is that. Books flex the mind muscles. My son doesn't need to let his mind grow dull, and that's why I love reading to him, and why he loves when I read to him.

R.L. Stine writes some of the best Halloween books that I've read thus far. His spine-tingling tales fill our bookshelves. I know for sure that these books have made an impact when my son opts to listen to a story instead of watching his favorite program or play a video game.

Thanks to technology, we don't have to spend days trying to find the perfect book for Halloween. Instead we can just search the internet for the best thrills-and-chills story. Online bookstores have become especially helpful for finding just about any book a person could want. Classic tales like Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow can find their way to your house with just a couple of clicks and a credit card. And before you know it, you'll be hearing your own kids beg you to read them a story as well.

The online bookstores offer not only variety, but competitive prices. Many times they will reference other stores with used books for much cheaper, so if you're not looking for a brand new book but just an old familiar story, you can save a bundle by shopping online.