Stories in the Dark: How Prison Libraries Can Celebrate Halloween

Halloween is a holiday built on storytelling, which makes the library a natural place to celebrate it. Inside a prison, a small seasonal program can do more than pass the time. The American Library Association notes that helping incarcerated people keep close, positive ties with loved ones reduces recidivism and improves employment prospects after release, and that libraries

https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2025-06/Investing_in_Prison_Libraries_06_2025.pdf

foster those ties through shared culture, literature, and art [1]. Here are practical ways to bring October into the stacks. ALA

Start a spooky book club

Correctional library guidance already recommends this approach. The Illinois Correctional Library Program suggests themed book clubs, including seasonal ones built around Halloween ghost stories [2]. For reluctant readers, it recommends short pieces such as stories or poems instead of full books [2]. Public-domain classics like Poe’s tales, Frankenstein, Dracula, and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” are inexpensive and easy to copy. Set clear expectations first: one program leader advises establishing behavior ground rules, banning crosstalk and arguing, and making sure differing opinions are respected [3]. The model scales well; Canada’s Book Clubs for Inmates runs over 40 clubs in federal penitentiaries, each with roughly 10 to 18 members meeting monthly [3]. Getting Started – Book Clubs – LibGuides at Illinois Correctional Library Program +3

Host a scary-story writing contest

Invite patrons to write short horror, mystery, or ghost stories, then post winners on the library bulletin board or hold a reading. Strong writers can aim higher: PEN America runs a yearly contest open to anyone held in a federal, state, or county prison during the year before its September 1 deadline [4]. An October workshop can become a springboard for next year’s submissions. PEN America

Record a Halloween story for the kids

Storybook recording programs have a proven track record. The Women’s Storybook Project of Texas recorded stories with 500 incarcerated mothers in a single year, serving a thousand children, each of whom received 12 books [5]. Newer formats are emerging too. A 2025 Texas Tech pilot worked with 10 parents of young children at the Lubbock County Detention Center, using audio figurines that can hold up to 90 minutes of recorded content [6]. A special October session featuring gentle, not-too-scary picture books lets parents share the holiday from a distance. ABC13 HoustonTexas Tech University

Decorate within the rules

Security comes first, so stick to staff-approved paper displays. Build a “haunted shelf” of horror and mystery titles, or wrap books in plain paper with a one-line eerie teaser for a blind-date-with-a-book display. Policymakers are recognizing the value of inviting spaces: the proposed Prison Libraries Act of 2026 would allow grant funds to make prison libraries less restrictive and more welcoming through design and decor, where safety permits [7]. Congress.gov

Lean on outside partners

Books-to-prisoners groups can help stock seasonal shelves. Claremont’s Prison Library Project mailed more than 17,300 books

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7247/text

to incarcerated readers across all 50 states in 2025 [8]. Reaching out to such groups and local public libraries in early September gives donations time to clear facility review. Claremont COURIER

Halloween reminds us that a good story can make people feel something together. For readers behind bars, that shared experience may be the most valuable treat of all.

Sources

1. American Library Association. (2025, June). Investing in prison libraries (Policy Perspectives, Issue 10). https://www.ala.org/sites/default/files/2025-06/Investing_in_Prison_Libraries_06_2025.pdf
2. Illinois Correctional Library Program. (2023). Getting started – Book clubs [LibGuide]. https://corrlibsupport.libguides.com/c.php?g=1321064
3. Jails to Jobs. (2025, March 20). From prisons to youth centers: Starting book clubs inside. https://jailstojobs.org/from-prisons-to-youth-centers-starting-book-clubs-inside/
4. PEN America. (2026). Annual prison writing awards. https://pen.org/prison-and-justice-writing/annual-prison-writing-contest/
5. ABC13 Houston. (2025, May 12). Women’s Storybook Project of Texas helps incarcerated mothers at Plane State Jail in Dayton connect with their children. https://abc13.com/post/womens-storybook-project-texas-helps-incarcerated-mothers-plane-state-jail-dayton-connect-children/16081399/
6. Texas Tech University. (2025, November). Assistant professor’s project with Tonies enables incarcerated parents to read to kids. Texas Tech Now. https://www.ttu.edu/now/posts/2025/11/assistant-professor-s-project-with-tonies-enables-incarcerated-parents-to-read-to-kids.php
7. Prison Libraries Act of 2026, H.R. 7247, 119th Cong. (2026). https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7247/text
8. Claremont Courier. (2026, February 6). Prison Library Project had a busy 2025. https://claremont-courier.com/more-local-news/prison-library-project-had-a-busy-2025-86995/