S09.08: Halloween Grab Bag

It’s demons and death and decorative gourd season, and we’re talking about all of them, along with sewer monsters and twelve-foot tall skeletons and a vampire or two! If you’re looking for a Halloween read, we’ve got you this week with a little something for everyone. This is the next in a long line of spooky reads episodes, so when you’re done with this one, head over and listen to the rest (a list of them is in show notes!)

Fated States, our democratic phonebanking initiative wraps up this weekend—we’ll be calling Michigan to get out the vote for Abdul El-Sayed ! There will be games, prizes and special guests! Learn more and register to phone bank with us at fatedmates.net/fatedstates.

If you’d like to come over and talk about Halloween reads with us, please join us on the Fated Mates Discord, where you’ll find a few thousand other listeners who love talking about these books we love. Join the Fated Mates patreon to get access, and You also get one extra episode a month from us!!

Books

• The Demon’s Curvy Angel by Brill Harper
• Decorative Gourd Season by DL White
• No Bones About It by Cassandra Elizzabeth
• A Date with Death by Kelly Creagh
• What Happens at Nightfall by Lauren Willig
• Fangbanger by Sophia Travers
• Demons and Diplomacy by Megan Frampton
• The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren
• Jenny Will Eat You Now by Gillian Daniels
• Die For Me by Shirlene Obuobi

Notes

• It’s (finally) Scorpio season!
• We’re talking about Michigan and Maps, which is just our regular brand of off topic nonsense and has nothing to do with this episode. South Detroit is actually Canada, and the Model T was invented by Henry Ford in Michigan, and that’s why all the American car companies were headquartered in Detroit.
• Sarah says you can just watch the end of Ted Lasso for Roy and Keely.
• Luckily, Brill Harper has rereleased Demon’s Curvy Mate on all platforms after we did email, that’s just how hard we are willing to work for you! But you should still get aBrooklyn Public Library card if you want.
• It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers is a classic from McSweeney’s.
• Turns out a lot of classroom skeletons are real, and some schools found out and had funerals for their own Mr. Bones-Jangles. That’s a reference to famous dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, and if you’ve never watched his stair dance from 1932, you should.
• If you’re looking for more Halloween reads, listen to our past episodes on: Spooky Stuff, Romance Demons, Devils, Ghosts, Morticians, and the Dead, Manimals!, Monsters, Witchy Romance, and Why Horror.

Sponsors

• The Nightstand App, a book tracking app for readers. Visit nightstand-app.com/fatedmates for your 7-day free trial, and use the code FATEDMATES for 30% off your annual subscription.
• Maria Vale, author of Molly Molloy and the Angel of Death, available in print, ebook, audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
• Lucy Score author of The Dead Guy Next Door, the first in the Riley Thorn series, available in print, ebook and audiobook, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle+.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/10/26/0908-halloween-grab-bag
• If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates.
• Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough.
• If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.

00:00 Scorpio Season

03:32 Fated Maps

14:20 AD: MOLLY MALLOY AND THE ANGEL OF DEATH

16:40 The Demon’s Curvy Angel

26:15 Decorative Gord Season

31:22 AD: NIGHTSTAND

33:25 No Bones About It

40:35 A Date with Death

48:41 AD: THE DEAD GUY NEXT DOOR

50:23 What Happens at Nightfall

56:07 Fangbanger

1:02:47 Demons & Diplomacy

1:08:07 The Romance Revival

1:13:26 Jenny Will Eat You Now

1:21:50 Die for Me

1:28:19 Wrapping Up