Is the Encyclopedia of Shadows in the Spirit Halloween movie real?

In Spirit Halloween: The Movie, three friends decide they’re too old for trick or treating anymore. Well, really one friend, Carson (Dylan Martin Frankel), pushes that envelope. Jake (Donovan Cole) wants nothing more than to spend Halloween like he always has, dressing up and going trick-or-treating with Carson and their other friend, Bo (Jaiden J. Smith).

But Carson’s not having it this year. Desperate to keep the trio together and still have an epic Halloween night, Jake proposes they make it the best yet. Carson already knows how they can do it. All they have to do is attend the Halloween party that the high schoolers are throwing. After all, they’ll be freshmen next year.

But Jake isn’t ready for that. He wants one last Halloween, just them. It’s bad enough he’s having a hard time coming to grips with getting older, but he’s also mourning the loss of his dad. His dad was as much into Halloween as Jake and his friends were and always celebrated with the boys.

But none of how they traditionally spent the holiday in years past is good enough for Carson this year. Fearing losing not only his friend but also his happy memories, Jake is desperate to find a way to keep them together. At least for one last Halloween hurrah.

That’s when he proposes they spend the night in a Spirit Halloween store. And his dad is there in spirit when Jake brings The Encyclopedia of Shadows: A World of Spirits along for the overnight outing. His dad gave it to him knowing how much Jake loved ghosts and the paranormal. It ends up coming in very handy.

It actually looked like a fabulous book, but was it real or a movie prop? If it existed, I wanted to get a copy!

Turns out, it’s just a prop. Sadly, it’s not even one that Spirit Halloween sells. Not that I’d want it for a prop. I was much more interested in the info inside, but the closest thing they had was an Arcane Book of Shadows journal. As far as journals go, it looked pretty cool, though.

My next stop was Amazon. It at least had some comparable options. For instance, the Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Saints, Angels, Fairies, Demons, and Ghosts by Judika Illes. Published in 2009, this encyclopedia has racked up almost 3,000 global ratings, 88% of which are 5-star, and glowing reviews. Readers seem quite pleased with the information within the covers of this tome.

Not quite an encyclopedia but one brimming with “magical information” that’s also well-rated and reviewed is The Eclectic Witch’s Book of Shadows: Witchy Wisdom at Your Fingertips by Deborah Blake. Published in 2001, 85% of its 439 ratings are 5-star.

And then there’s my personal fave, The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, first published in 2007. It doesn’t have as many reviews as the others, just 173 global ratings, but 83% of them are also 5-star. Although to be fair, I don’t have the others to compare it to. But I do find this one a super handy reference book.

Check-In

Do you have any “spirited” reference books that you love? Perhaps one of the ones mentioned above?

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.