Key takeaways:
- Adult coloring books offer a solo alternative to traditional October activities.
- Our choices feature shocking monstrosities, beloved settings and fantastical worlds.
- Recommended for those who appreciate creativity, intricacy and complexity.
There are more ways to celebrate this Halloween-time than group activities like going for hayrides and bobbing for apples. For some adults, horror is a dish best celebrated solo, sipping a goblet of milk and…coloring.
Whether you’re giving to a ghoul, ghost, galpal or dude, our resident artist has you covered with a few classic horror and fantasy-themed coloring book recommendations.
“Color along a terror-cloaked path of more than 45 grippingly creepy pieces of art featuring vicious immortals, unchecked curses and relentless demons that just won’t die,”promises the back cover of this 96-page book that debuted in August 2022. And, it delivers!
No mention of clowns but they’re part of this too.
The lurid detail distinguishes this “darkly beautiful”coloring book and its sequel.
For those who haven’t yet had their fill of “shocking monstrosities, with vicious krakens turning the tide toward revenge, bloodthirsty zombie cats prowling in the dark, psychotic surgeons filling their jars of entrails, and bloodstained fairies adorning their gowns with teeth,”the magnificent Mythogoria horror series also includes later work:
We continue our fixation with all things that glow in the dark with this intricately drawn book from Thunder Bay Press. It’s filled with realistically depicted (to the extent that’s possible) characters and places highlighting Harry Potter’s many adventures.
While she agrees that all ages love Harry Potter, our art teacher parts ways with Amazon’s description of this book as being appropriate for kids–not because of what’s pictured but because of the level of detail.
Included in the 76 pages are 20 designed with glow-in-the-dark ink. When the lights are turned off, they reveal the flicker of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore’s Deluminator, the glint of gold at Gringotts, the flame of the Goblet of Fire and the majesty of Hogwarts castle as shown above.
The book includes two double-page foldouts and one 4-page foldout featuring a Quidditch game over Hogwarts castle. Each page is perforated to be easily torn out of the book to frame or display.
From Harry’s world we pivot to illustrator Kerby Rosanes’ high-definition, super-detailed, award-winning and best-selling doodle world.
Animorphia appeared 10 years ago as “an extreme coloring and search challenge.”Rosanes uses creatures, characters, patterns and tiny elements in compositions that are extremely complex.
Whales, dragons, bears, elephants, camels make up Animorphia while Worlds Within Worlds features a dizzying collection of creatures, people, animals and landscapes.
Note that these books are meant to be an endless coloring challenge for even the most die-hard.
Others in the collection—which average 4.8 stars from thousands of reviewers–include:
The right book or books can be such a thoughtful gift, especially if your gift introduces your recipient to a new illustrator or series. And, the price is very right.