The Last Day of October- Phil Hickes

BLOGTOUR POST - See Author Q and A below.

THE LAST DAY OF OCTOBER by Phil Hickes, illustrated by Oriol Vidal

Published 9 October 2025

If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a nasty surprise …

Seeking creepy thrills instead of candy, Cody and his friends set out on Halloween to search for the ruins of the haunted McBride House in the woods near his home in Oregon.

The house has taken on a sinister legendary status after it burned down a hundred years ago with tragic consequences, and it’s said that the ghosts of the family who lived there return each year on the last day of October.

But when they find the house, the truth of what is happening on this eerie autumn night is more terrifying than the three teenagers could ever have imagined …

Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.

Q and A with author Phil Hickes:

What do you think is it about ghost story writing that appeals to us as readers/you as a writer?

Thanks so much for having me Rich. I think there are many reasons we like ghost stories. One is that there’s nothing more enjoyable than reading or listening to one while we’re all cozy and safe in a warm house or bed. I also think perhaps we have some vestigial, ancestral memory that harken back to when ghosts were just accepted as a fact of life, which draws us to stories of this nature. I like writing them because I’ve always loved the atmospherics and tropes of ghost stories: the abandoned house at the end of street that nobody likes to walk past. The foggy graveyards and windswept coastlines. The silent wood where we suddenly hear a twig snap without reason. It’s just all so deliciously spooky.

Have you ever had a spooky experience like the ones in some of your stories? Please tell!

I think we live in a haunted house currently. It’s old by American standards and was previously owned by a psychic who held seances in the living room. Things go missing from time to time and are found in the strangest places. Somehow my car keys ended up right at the bottom of the dustbin. My partner has felt someone push them down the stairs. And we had a friend housesit once for a few weeks and she said someone would tug her hair at night when she was in bed.

I love the ending in 'Last day'....no spoilers if you don't want to, but can you talk us through writing a 'not happy ending' and why its sometimes more satisfying!?

I think when you’re writing in this genre, it’s scarier to suggest that not everything untoward has been safely vanquished. I think of IT by Stephen King when the loser gang believe Pennywise has been defeated only for him/it to reappear twenty years later. Also, an unsettling conclusion can extend the story beyond the last page and live on in the mind of the reader.

What's your favourite spooky tale/movie?

So many it’s hard to choose a favourite tale, but I think just for sheer eeriness it’s probably “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad” by M R James. Though a recent read I found scary is The Apparition Phase by Will McClean. Favourite movie would have to be Night of (or Curse of) the Demon.

Which scary character do you wish you'd written? Who's the favourite spooky character you've written about in your books?

Pennywise is perfectly terrifying. Ditto the Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Henry Kane in Poltergeist 3 is so unsettling. The Cenobites are wonderfully unique. Of my own characters, I’d have to say Cora Poole from the first Aveline book.

Favourite trick and favourite treat?

Favourite trick is doing my best to surprise readers with scary twists and turns. Favourite treat is probably beer and pizza!

Thanks to Poppy at Barrington Stoke for facilitating my spot on the tour and to Phil for the Q and A.

Find out more and order a copy at https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008748517

Phil Hickes is on Instagram as @philhickes and X as @hickesy

Blogpost by Rich Simpson (@richreadalot)

October 2025