This is a great collection of summaries of must-see horror from the past 100 years or so (technically, there are 62 movies mentioned because each chapter ends on a "if you liked that, try this" note). Nothing obscure here, mostly the obvious classics, but Skal presents a good list of arguably the most famous and influential horror films for those who want to be sure to check them all off. Honest confession - other than Creature From the Black Lagoon, I haven't actually seen any of the pre-60s movies. I know, I know, shame on me. I keep telling myself I'll remedy that someday soon. 

Skal was a historian of film and culture who died in January. He had a soft spot for horror movies and wrote several nonfiction books on the topic. I highly recommend The Monster Show, a fantastic examination of 20th-century horror films. The 2001 reprint is cheap, with terrible copy quality (kicking myself for not keeping my 1993 first edition), but the writing is top-notch. If you're interested in horror movie history, I don't think you could go wrong with any of his work.

 From David J. Skal, author of the interesting 2001 Halloween analysis Death Makes a Holiday, Fright Favorites is a glossy and colorful list of 31 pieces of horror cinema from a century of film history he prepared for Turner Classic Movies. Discussing how popular culture influenced the celebration of Halloween through the twentieth century, Skal’s summaries and commentary on these classic horror movies from 1922’s Nosferatu to 2017’s Get Out illustrate the influence Hollywood had on Halloween celebrations in the US. Providing in depth facts about the productions of these seminal works, as well as companion films that might appeal to fans of each work, Fright Favorites offers fun facts on film horror history.

I talk about the books I read about Halloween history and popular culture at Harris' Tome Corner. 

Definently one of the best of the TCM film guides. Even as a horror junkie, this book had plenty of info I didn't know.