The days are getting longer. You have more daylight to enjoy but still, you’ve got time for a chill or two. So why not find a cozy chair, turn down the lights, and take a look at these books to scare the daylights out of you this late winter … If you remember John Wayne Gacy and the horrible murders he committed, you probably remember that time with a shiver. So you’ll want to read “Postmortem: What Survives the John Wayne Gacy Murders” by Courtney Lund O’Neil (Citadel Press, $29).

In late 1978, O’Neil’s mother Kim’s friend, Rob Piest, became the last victim of John Wayne Gacy, and Kim’s testimony in days to come absolutely helped a jury convict the killer. But the murder, the trial and Gacy’s shadow didn’t end with his death from lethal injection in 1994. What happened continued to affect Kim then, for all these years since and, by extension, it affected her daughter, the author of this book. Chilling and heartbreaking, this story will help understand the nature of victimhood and the legacy of murder.

If you need a proper beverage next to your chair while you’re partaking of a true fright, then you’ll want “Cocktails from the Crypt: Terrifying Yet Delicious Concoctions Inspired by Your Favorite Horror Films” by Kimberley Elizabeth and Jonathan DeHaan (Page Street Publishing, $23.99).

Perfect when you’re reading horror novels or watching your favorite scary movie, this book offers dozens of easy-to-make, easy-to-follow recipes for unique and uniquely named cocktails and tasty mixed drinks. Accompanying each entry is an entertaining bit of introduction, and trivia to match the ap p r o p r iately- titled libation. Full-color photos enhance the spookiness of these drinks, making them fun to read about, as well as to try.

This book is for adults only, so beware!

For the reader who watches where they walk on a dark and eerie late winter night, “Dark Spirits: Monsters, Demons, and Devils” by Richard Estep (Visible Ink Press, $19.95) is an essential book to have on your shelf. Entries include “Dark Corners of the World,” “In the Blood,” “Cursed,” and “Something Monstrous,” so you know you’re in scary-good hands. Keep going to “Stranger Than Fiction,” “Not of This Earth,” and lock the doors.

This book includes dozens of blackand- white photos to go with the theme, and plenty of browse-able entries so you can dip in and out when you want. Write this title down right now, because this book comes out March 11 and you know you want it.

And if these great scares aren’t enough for you, then head for your closest bookstore or library and ask the staff for more. They’ll have terrifying novels for you there, chilling truecrime stories, books on gruesomeness and creepy things, tales of monsters and ghosts, recipes for dishes that will keep you and your dinner guests on the edge of your chairs, and books to make you jump and scream. You only need to ask – because the days might be getting longer, but there’s still plenty of darkness to be enjoyed…

— The Bookworm Sez