12/10/2026
Halloween Book Club
The stories that inspired the collection
Behind every bat, fang, raven and mysterious sarcophagus, there’s a story. This Halloween, we’ve pulled six books from our shelves that helped inspire some of the collection. From gothic classics and ancient mythology to magical creatures and a rather unusual bag of bats.
Consider this our slightly spooky reading list. What are your favourite mystical, magical or marvellously strange books?
FRANKENSTEIN BOOK OF TRUFFLES
Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
First published more than 200 years ago, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein remains one of the great gothic stories: a wonderfully dark tale of science, ambition, creation and what happens when an experiment gets slightly out of hand.
It felt only right to give it a chocolate chapter of its own. Think bolts, beating hearts and a book-shaped box, with considerably fewer consequences than Victor Frankenstein’s original experiment.
PICKLED BATS
The Café at the Edge of the Woods — Mikey Please
A firm favourite at bedtime for our founder Lauren and her eldest son, this wonderfully odd tale follows René as she opens a café in the woods only to discover the local customers have rather unusual tastes.
One particular request: “A bag of pickled bats!” stuck with us. Naturally, we had to make our own version. Ours are thankfully made from milk chocolate and popping candy rather than anything actually pickled.
RAVENS & EGGS
The Raven — Edgar Allan Poe
Few creatures have managed to build quite such a reputation as Poe’s raven. Arriving at midnight with its ominous repetition of “Nevermore,” it has become one of the most enduring images in gothic literature.
Dark, mysterious and perfect for Halloween, it was perfect inspiration for our own little gathering of dark chocolate ravens (although ours arrive with praline eggs rather than prophecies of eternal sorrow)
UNICORN HORNS
The Last Unicorn — Peter S. Beagle
Dreamlike, funny and a little melancholy, The Last Unicorn follows a unicorn who sets out from her enchanted forest after discovering she may be the last of her kind.
It’s the sort of story that makes magic feel as though it might genuinely be hiding just beyon
