Halloween isn’t just for kids: Adults-only spooky October events

October 12, 2026  |  By Waterbury Roundabout

Proving that kids don’t get to have all the Halloween fun, several events this month geared to adults will serve up some spooky literature, theater and film history.

Below are previews of a book release featuring scary takes on Grimm’s fairy tales at Bear Pond Books in Stowe on Oct. 17; Bridgeside Books’ annual Spooky Tales storytelling event on Oct. 24 at new, larger venue; and the Duxbury Historical Society’s plans to screen and discuss a 1922 classic silent horror film with a Vermont connection.

Oct. 17: ‘Beyond Grimm’ … and not for children

'Beyond Grimm' author Alan Kessler. Courtesy photo

Book cover / courtesy image

Rootstock Publishing presents a fresh new title, “Beyond Grimm: Stories and Rhymes from the Dark Corners of Fairyland (Not for Children)” by award-winning author, poet, and playwright Alan S. Kessler of Barre, and illustrated by Kali Kahn, a Montpelier High School graduate.

An illustrated collection of 25 short stories and poems based on the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales, “Beyond Grimm” twists new tall tales to be darker and more amusingly gory and violent. All of the stories restore for adults the fun of reading about fanciful characters who are demented, bloodsucking, and get the end they deserve.

Kessler is a poet, playwright, and novelist who creates complex and flawed characters in stories exploring the nature of good and evil and the corrosive effect of racism, abuse, and social injustice. His novels have won awards with the Eric Hoffer Book Award and the Faulkner Society. He lives in Central Vermont.

Illustrator Kali Kahn is a mixed media artist originally from Montpelier, now living in Leesburg, Virginia. She studied art at the Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts.

“Beyond Grimm: Stories and Rhymes from the Dark Corners of Fairyland (Not for Children)” is available through Ingram, everywhere that books are sold, or at rootstockpublishing.com.

Meet Kessler in Stowe on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 1 to 3 p.m., where he will be discussing and signing copies of “Beyond Grimm” at Bear Pond Books, 38 Main Street.

Bridgeside Books moves its annual Spooky Tales this year to the Waterbury Congregational Church on Oct. 24. Courtesy photo

Oct. 24: Original Spooky Tales of ‘Haunted Photographs’

Bridgeside Books is moving its fifth annual Halloween storytelling event, “Spooky Tales 2026: Haunted Photographs,” to the Waterbury Congregational Church on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.

The theatrical storytelling performance is a two-hour, fully scripted show comprised of six local ghost stories written for the event by local authors and read by two local actors.

The bookstore previously hosted this event in-house over two nights to accommodate all of the people who wanted to attend, and would have to turn people away due to space constraints. This year, the event is being held for one night at the much-larger Waterbury Congregational Church.

“It’s a good problem to have,” says manager and event coordinator Jenna Danyew, “but we’re excited to have a Spooky Tales event where we don’t have to turn disappointed people away at the door.”

The stories on the program come with a theme voted on by the previous year’s audience. This year, all stories will focus on “Haunted Photographs” in one way or another. Audience members can expect tales of ghostly apparitions caught on film, photographs with a story to tell, polaroids gone wrong.

But be warned, this event is made for adults. While storytelling might often come with a family-friendly connotation, “Spooky Tales” is themed with horror, hauntings, violence, and other mature themes throughout.

More information and tickets ($16) are available online in advance on the bookshop’s website here.

Oct. 28: Historical society serves up classic vampire film

Duxbury Historical Society travels back in time for a special October program, presenting the classic vampire film, “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,” just in time for Halloween.

The classic 1922 silent film, directed by F.W. Murnau, was written by Henrik Galeen, an early pioneer of the monster movie genre who spent his final years in Randolph, Vermont.

Based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” the film will be shown on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. at the Duxbury Historical Society’s Meeting House on Vermont Route 100, directly across from  Harwood Union Middle/High School.

The event will be hosted by filmmaker and Duxbury resident Scott Tuft, who will share Galeen’s influence on German Expressionist cinema during the silent era. Find more information on the society’s Facebook page. An online registration spot will be added to the historical society’s website soon.

This event is sponsored by Moose Meadow Lodge. Admission is by donation, and proceeds benefit the nonprofit Duxbury Historical Society in its mission to renovate and restore the 1854 Meeting House property, formerly the South Duxbury Church, and the adjacent smaller Sunshine Hall. The society acquired the property in 2023.

Suggested donation is $20, but any amount is appreciated. Donations in advance can be made with a credit card online at duxburyvt.com (be sure to add a note: “Nosferatu Movie”). Cash will be accepted at the event.

Free refreshments will be served. General seating will be on historic wooden church pews. Bringing a seat cushion is highly recommended.