Ten Halloween stories

The writer James Hynes posted his 2008 list of Halloween stories on his website.One item on his list:"La Grande Breteche," Honore de Balzac. I'm detecting another theme here, but I can't say why without giving away the story. This one comes from another classic anthology I practically lived in as a melancholy kid, Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, a big fat Modern Library book I took