Setting the formatting aside for the moment, I’ve taken the descriptions of the squares on GR and placed them in alphabetical order for our future reference.

I’ve split the alphabet into four groups but kept everything on the one page.

I’ve set up HTML Anchors so that clicking on one of the four headings below will take you to the right place on the page.

Please check that this works.

Alphabetical List Of Squares

A-E F-K L-P Q-U V-Z

A-E

A Grimm Tale: any fairy tale or retelling of fairy tales, folklore, legends, etc.

Amateur Sleuth: this mystery will have a main character who is not a member of law enforcement. This can include retired police officers and private detectives.

American Horror Story: horror set in the United States.

Black Cat: This square is being combined with 13, so it includes any book that has a black cat in the title, on the cover, or in the story; or any book that relates to bad luck, superstition, either in the title/book/series/page count. 

Classic Horror: horror fiction that was published prior to 1980;

Country House Mystery: a closed circle murder set during a gathering like a house party.

Cozy Mystery: a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community.

Creepy Carnivals: horror/mystery/supernatural set in or concerning a carnival, amusement park, or other party/festival – think Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, Joyland by Stephen King or Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie;

Creepy Crawlies: this is a throw back from 2016! Books with bugs, snakes, spiders, worms and other things that slither, scuttle or crawl, includes viruses and other parasites.

Cryptozoologist: any supernatural creature, from Ammit to Ziz.

Dark Academia: Any mystery, suspense, supernatural or horror that takes place at a school – high school, college, boarding school, etc.

Darkest London: mystery, horror, supernatural, or suspense set in London.

Deadlands: elements of the undead – zombies, wights, vampires and other revenants;

Dem Bones: Dem Bones covers any (mystery/suspense/horror/supernatural) book that involves skeletons, bones (human or otherwise) skeletal remains, anthropologists, archaeologists, natural history museums or expeditions or archaeological digs.

Diverse voices: written by an author of color.

Doomsday: anything related to the end of the world, doomsday cults, or a post-apocalypse world.

Dystopian Hellscape: This is a multi-genre square! Any book that relates to the fictional depiction of a dystopian society, such as The Handmaid’s Tale or The Hunger Games!

F-K

Fear the Drowning Deep: books with sea-related elements: sea creatures, ships, and sharks. Book list linked here.

Film at 11: The idea for this new space comes courtesy of Linda Hilton! Generally, in order to qualify for Halloween bingo, all books must fit into one of the general genres of horror, mystery, suspense or supernatural. This space is filled by any Halloween bingo book that has been adapted to film or television. For extra fun, you can watch the adaptation – although this is an optional add on.

Gallows Humor: another new square – any mystery/horror/supernatural/suspense book that is also intended to be humorous or funny.

Genre: Horror: Anything that qualifies as horror.

Genre: Mystery: anything that fits into the mystery genre.

Genre: Suspense: anything that fits into the suspense genre.

Ghost Stories: any story involving ghosts or hauntings – includes haunted houses.

Gothic: any book with significant: a genre or mode of literature and film that combines fiction and horror, death, and at times romance. Book list linked here.

Grave or Graveyard: Books that have a grave or graveyard on their covers, in their titles, or any book at least partially set in a graveyard.

Halloween: This is a combination of the “pumpkin” and the “halloween” squares from 2016. so, any book set on halloween or has halloween in the title or that has a pumpkin on the cover, or in the title, etc.. will work for this square. This square is also being amended to add the “fancy dress” or costuming element that was previously part of trick-or-treat.

Hellhounds and Feline Familiars: This is a brand new square – any mystery/suspense/horror/supernatural book that involves a dog or a cat. Other domestic animals subject to approval…

Highway to Hell: Any book involving demons, demonic possession or other such elements, as well as hell or the devil, or, alternatively, travel gone very, very bad.

In The Dark, Dark Woods: a mystery, suspense, horror or supernatural book in which the forest/woods plays a significant role, or which has a forest/woods on the cover.

King of Fear: You can read anything written by Stephen King or Joe Hill, or recommended by Stephen King (as long as the recommendation is otherwise eligible for Halloween Bingo); EDIT: You can also read any mystery/supernatural/suspense or horror book that involves actual royalty (i.e., kings, queens, princesses, etc).

L- P

Lethal Games: Any mystery involving sports, sporting events, athletic contests, games mistresses or PE teachers, as well as card games and other games of chance. This is going to substitute for International Woman of Mystery!

Locked Room Mystery: a subgenre of detective fiction in which a crime (almost always murder) is committed in circumstances under which it was seemingly impossible for the perpetrator to commit the crime or evade detection in the course of getting in and out of the crime scene.

Lost in Space: Lost In Space replaces the Aliens square. It covers aliens and any other “space” being, but also covers mystery/horror/suspense/supernatural stories that occur in space – either “real” or digital (i.e., Ready Player One).

Mad Scientists and Evil Geniuses: Mad Scientists and Evil Geniuses: any horror/mystery/suspense/supernatural book that contains either mad scientists or evil geniuses, secret lairs, secret labs, genetically altered creatures or anything similar!

Magical Realism: a style of fiction that paints a realistic view of the modern world while also adding magical elements.

Modern Masters of Horror: horror published in or after 2000.

Monsters: This square covers any crytpozoological or mythological creature that isn’t a vampire, werewolf, or demon. Or zombie.

Murder Most Foul: any murder mystery.

Noir: This updated square combines Classic & Modern Noir into a single category: mystery with noir elements, including authors like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, James Ellroy, Ian Rankin, anything that falls generally under the category of Nordic Noir, Tartan Noir, Granite Noir, etc;

Paint It Black: Any book with a cover that is primarily black or has the word black in the title, was written by a black author, or relates to rock and roll music.

Plague and Disease: This one should be self-explanatory, but it’s any mystery/horror/ supernatural/ suspense book that involves plague, disease, viruses, parasites, etc. I’m moving viruses & parasites and similar elements out of Creepy Crawlies and into this category. It’s like that zombies would fit here as well, depending upon the means of creation.

Psych: Psychological thrillers, plot twists and suspense, unreliable narrators and other mind-fuckery. And, as an aside, any Halloween Bingo book that takes place within or related to an insane asylum, haunted or otherwise, would qualify!

Q-U

Read by Flashlight or Candlelight: Back by popular request! Any mystery, suspense, supernatural or horror book – the trick here is to spend an hour or so reading by flashlight or candlelight. Take a picture and share it with us, if you want to!

Relics and Curiosities: concerning magical, supernatural or haunted objects, such as spell-books, talismans or swords;

Romantic Suspense: any romance which has a significant sub-plot that involves mystery, thriller or suspense; also gothic romance.

Shifters: werewolves, skin-walkers and all other therianthropes.

Sleepy Hollow: this is the new version of set in New England, with a shout-out to that most New England of all stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; in addition, since “Full Moon” has been retired, this category now includes any book with a full moon on the cover, or that prominently appears within the text.

Spellbound: books containing witches, warlocks, sorcerors and witchcraft;

Splatter: This is a mystery/horror square – combining Serial/Spree Killer with Slasher Stories and covers any book that involves the detection of serial or spree killers, or that shares the tropes of classic slasher movies: teen characters; indestructible killers and/or multiple victims.

Stone Cold Horror: a book that takes place primarily in a winter/cold/snow type setting

Stranger Things: this is a twist on the past 80’s Horror square with elements of the television show – any horror that has supernatural elements, portal/parallel universes, government plots gone awry or is set or was written in the 1980’s.

Supernatural: Books which include elements that defy current understanding of the natural world, including magic, witchcraft and/or crypto-zoological aspects.

Terror in a Small Town: any book where the action primarily occurs in a small town or village. Examples would include: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, It by Stephen King.

Trick or Treat: This is a new square that combines all of the YA/MG mystery/horror under one roof, incorporating both Baker Street Irregulars and Fear Street into one master category.

Tropical Terror: This square is the reverse of Stone Cold Horror – books set in tropical locations, or other places where there is extreme heat.

Truly Terrifying: Non-fiction that has elements of suspense, horror or mystery, including true crime, both contemporary and historical. Examples would be The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, or The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson.

V-Z

 Vampires: vampires, preferably non-sparkly, in all of their glorious fictional permutations.

Vintage Mysteries: This is a newish square, or maybe really more of a “repurposing” square. Classic noir was the least popular of all of thsquare, and we had a suggestion from Themis for a Golden Age Mystery square, or a Queens of Crime square, to focus on Agatha Christie & a few of her contemporaries. Vintage mysteries is a journey(wo)man square that can take on all of the roles above, and it replaces Classic Noir. In order to qualify, the mystery must have been published prior to 1975.

When Mother Nature Strikes: Any book that takes place on “a dark and stormy night,” or that involves a storm or natural disaster, including non-fiction.