It’s finally October! This time of year is my favourite. Not only because my family has a lot of birthdays from September to December, but also because Halloween is my favourite holiday. Halloween vibes are the best vibes, and I’m a reader at heart. So here’s my suggestion for four spooky books to read in October.
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Note: None of these books are too over-the-top scary or gory, since that’s not my jam. That’s why it’s spooky books, not horror books.
#1. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
I read The Haunting of Hill House for a book club a couple years ago, about the time the TV show came out on Netflix. In hindsight, that was probably why we read that particular book. It’s an oldie but a goodie, first published in 1959. The Haunting of Hill House is a haunted house story where four people stay at Hill House at the invitation of Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence that it is haunted. The main protagonist is Eleanor, who spent much of her late teens and early twenties caring for her sick mother who has since passed away, and feels like life has passed her by. Most of the horror of this book is psychological. It is an older book, so some of the themes and styles are old-fashioned. However, I enjoyed the book.
#2. Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs
For those looking for a more contemporary read, Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs is thrilling and creepy, with vintage photography mixed into the prose. I reviewed the first three books, Miss Peregrine’s House for Peculiar Children, Hollow City, and Library of Souls over the last few months, so be sure to check those reviews for in-depth information.
Jacob Portman travels to a small island in Wales after witnessing the grisly murder of his grandfather by a strange monster that no one else could see. He journeys to the children’s home where Grandpa Portman spent his childhood prior to World War II, looking for answers to the mysteries of his grandfather’s past and hoping to put an end to the nightmares that plague him. Instead of an empty bombed-out shell, he finds himself in a time-loop with the children alive and well, unchanged from Grandpa Portman’s childhood photographs. Each of the children possesses strange powers. However, the monsters that killed Grandpa Portman are very much real. And they’re coming for Jacob.
#3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Another classic, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is almost synonymous with Halloween. Frankenstein’s monster has appeared in children’s cartoons for decades. A delightful horror novel, Frankenstein is also often credited as being one of the first sci-fi stories.
The original story by Mary Shelley is as dark and chilling as its reputation implies. It’s the perfect spooky book to curl up with this October. I read it back in high school on my own initiative and enjoyed it even then. The basic premise is famous, so a summary is probably unnecessary. However, in case anyone is uninformed, Victor Frankenstein is a young doctor obsessed with the idea of creating life. He works feverishly to create a man, but his joy at success is short-lived. Realizing that he has created a hideous monster, he abandons his creation and returns to his wife and children. He hopes to chalk it up as a youthful mistake, but his creation lives.
And it wants revenge for being created and abandoned.
#4. Tithe by Holly Black
A contemporary novel, Tithe by Holly Black is the first of book of The Modern Faerie Tales series by Holly Black. These books are young adult fantasy rather than horror, but they’re dark. I am a huge fan of faerie stories. Kaye is a teenager who lives a nomadic life with her mother, who travels with her rock band. They return to Kaye’s childhood home in New Jersey, where Kaye finds herself in the middle of a violent power struggle between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. A struggle that, unknown to her, she has been a pawn in since she was born.
This list wouldn’t be complete without an LGBTQA+-friendly read, and Tithe is it. Kaye’s friend Cornelius is gay, and gets his own love story in the subsequent books.
A Word of Warning
Spooky books come with trigger warnings. Make sure to do your research for your personal triggers before you pick up any of these four spooky books to read in October. Your mental health comes first!
What spooky books would you recommend for someone to read in October? Let me know in the comments below!
Pst… while we’re on the topic of spooky stories, I’ve written a few shorter ones for those with less free time. Poltergeist is a haunted house story with a twist- it’s told from the perspective of the poltergeist! My Home is My Castle has a haunted house purchased off Craiglist. For some even shorty, spooky faerie stories, check out Switched, Crystal, and Night Terror.
