Here’s my copy I’ve had since I was about 7. I remember seeing the animated special and being scared sh*tless. Then I read the book and it was even scarier. Lol.
Any of the classics like Dracula and Frankenstein were probably considered very scary in their day, but by today’s standards are take. I like Robert Louis Stevenon’s Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I’ve read all of Poe but that’s kinda what I’m looking for. Stephen King terrifies me. 🙁 What Ruth Ware would you suggest? I’ve read Woman in Cabin 10 and Mrs Westaway. & loved the both~~would like another Ruth Ware.
Couldn’t agree more. My favorite October read as well. This year I hope to either read Let Me In by John Advije Lindquist, or House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.
When I was a kid there was a sweet story about a black cat..I loved this book and I can’t remember the title or find the book. I keep thinking about it and wish I could find it.
I read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova every October. It’s her take on the Dracula story and she combines the myth with the historical figure Vlad the Impaler. It may sound scary, but it’s actually incredibly literary and very well written and researched.
I read the first book, and didn’t really enjoy it. I’m really sensitive to animals being hurt, and didn’t enjoy reading about the German Shepherd and cat being killed.
Has anyone read “The End of the Day” by Claire North? It did not get good reviews on Amazon. I am so conflicted by it! I really liked the main character but there was a lot of brutality in it. The brutality wasn’t gratuitous though. Whoever read this please let me know what you think.
There’s also a prequel that came out a couple of years ago, The Rules of Magic – I think I liked it a bit better than Practical Magic. Alice Hoffman is the author.
Anything by Barbara Michaels. Some of her books are a little dated, but she is wonderful at creating a spooky, not scary, atmosphere. Some favorites of mine: The Dancing Floor; Witch; Shattered Silk; Someone in the House.
I finally read her “Be Buried in the Rain” a couple of years ago. Barbara Michaels is the pen name she used for gothic/supernatural thrillers. She also wrote the Amelia Peabody series under her other pen name, Elizabeth Peters.
Roger Zelazny’s last book A Night in the Lonesome October is my favorite Halloween book. I read it every year. One chapter for each day in October. Heavily influenced by Lovecraft, a touch of humor, told from the viewpoint of Jack the Ripper’s dog and cameos by all the halloween favorites (Wolfman, Count Dracula,…).
I missed if the OP asked for an audio or ebook. I can say that the book is pretty short. *whispers* I still have a CD player (no judge please). And I wonder if the illustrations keep it from getting put into Kindle.
And if you just want to get in the mood to watch all of the old horror movies, then read Danse Macabre, a non-fiction by Stephen King that celebrates horror and what it takes to scare us.
I was going to mention Something Wicked This Way Comes, but… How about Stephen King’s Cycle of the Werewolf or The Howling series. Or relive your teenage years with Chain Letter of Slumber Party, both by Christopher Pike.?
Thought of a few more: Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Who Goes There? (the basis for the film The Thing)… ? Retro spookiness! Try reading The Amityville Horror during the week hours while there’s a thunderstorm! Zoinks!
An oldie but goody, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a fun, quick read that’s spooky not scary. I would also second Bradbury, Something Wicked This WayComes or The October Country. Great mix of rich writing, autumnal landscapes, some sentiment and nostalgia, and a good dash of the spook factor. “The October Country … that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilight linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal bins, closets, attics and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain.”
I read a book once titled “Dark Debts” by Karen Hall. It is one of the most delightfully creepy books I have ever read (much better than “The Exorcist”) but I have not been able to find it anywhere. Anyone know it?
I just reread Dracula and am going to start the Haunting of Hill House. Stephen King has some great books that will make you leav your lights on at night….
Jim Butcher’s Dresden novels. Love them. Not too scary until you get to know the characters; then you worry about them.? For scary, “Ghost Story,” by Peter Straub or “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson.
I discussed this with my Dad tonight. He, by far recommends Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy as the scariest, most suspenseful novel ever. He also wrote No Country for Old Men. It’s now hot on my to read list.
The novel features Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver, who begins the novel in attendance at a Hallowe’en party. A girl at the party claims she witnessed a murder, which, at the time, she was too young to realize was a murder. Soon, the girl herself is found murdered, and Oliver calls in Poirot. This book was dedicated to P.G. Wodehouse.
I am reading this right now. It is so slow though. I have never read Agtha Christie before. I thought I would try it out based upon Great American Read.
@Jeanette or anybody who likes Ray Bradbury — AM radio station KIXI out of Seattle is playing a radio drama version of “The Halloween Tree” on Halloween night. I listen online and love their Saturday night episodes of “The Twilight Zone.”
@Susan Ditto! It’s not that I was a reluctant reader, but I credit Ray Bradbury with opening my eyes to the fact that magic and poetry and wonder are all around us: in the scratching of a leaf against the pavement on a windy October day, like a witch’s dry cackle; in the soles of a new pair of tennis shoes, so light and bouncy that they make you feel like you could leap a tree; in the dust collecting on shelves around my house, dust that might once have been the stuff of mummies or dinosaurs! I’ve never looked at the world the same way since discovering his works.
Just finished reading these two books. Yes, I’ve been on a Halloween/Samhain witch hunt – bookwise, that is. Both are Excellent. Suspense without being gorey. Well written. Read Hester Fox’s THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL first, then turned to the YA novel HOW TO HANG A WITCH by Adriana Mather. First book is set in Massachusetts in the early 1800s. The YA book is set in modern Salem but connected to the witch trials of 1600s. Author Mather, incidentally, states in her Author’s Note that the Cotton Mather, who had a huge part in the Salem trials, “was the third generation of Mathers in America” and that she herself is “the twelfth.” And she goes on to talk about the controversy about and complexities of her ancestor, much of which she learned while researching Salem history for this story. Which made for an interesting perspective.
In line with my witchy-themed reading for October, next will start THE FIFTH PETAL by Brunonia Barry (subtitled “A Novel of Salem”). It’s a fairly recent publication that I only recently discovered. Expecting it to be as engrossing a read as her best-selling THE LACE READER, which I read years ago. Absolutely loved that one!
The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells. I enjoyed it. Let me quote H. G. Wells. “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”
If you are wanting to something to read that is Gothic, but not scary. I can recommend 13th Tale. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the author. If it is scary, sorry. I don’t read scary.
You mean the book that just came out by the descendant of Bram Stoker, right? Just bought it for a family member’s birthday but haven’t read it yet. Is it good?
hi everyone!yes its the new book that just came out. the author they said is the great nephew of bram stroker. thank you for all the feedback. have a great reading sunday!
If she’s referring to The Outsider, I’m reading it currently and it’s so good! It honestly reads like a detective novel, with some supernatural thrown in.
I liked Frankenstein I read it for the first time this year. I also read phantom of the opera. I’m a big baby and Don’t like things too scary they made me a little paranoid but didn’t keep me up at night and right now I’m reading Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury I read it a long long time ago as a kid. It’s pretty good so far it just gives off a suspenseful vibe but not scary as of yet.
Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
Hound of the Baskervilles by A.C Doyle
Anything by Edgar Allan Poe
Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Here’s my copy I’ve had since I was about 7. I remember seeing the animated special and being scared sh*tless. Then I read the book and it was even scarier. Lol.
@Mike Yep, the Disney animated version always scared the holy hell out of me, but I’d still watch it every year. Haha!
@Penny and @Mike, I still love that old version with Bing Crosby narrating it.
@Dustin Me too!
@Dustin I need to dig that up and watch it this Halloween.
Something Wicked this Way Comes
Dracula
Harvest Home.
Definitely Harvest Home.
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
The Historian
Really loved The Historian
A night in the lonesome october by Roger Zelazney
Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman.
Any of the classics like Dracula and Frankenstein were probably considered very scary in their day, but by today’s standards are take. I like Robert Louis Stevenon’s Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I meant tame not take.
Anything by Stephen King
This year is the 200th birthday of Frankenstein!
Awesome! Time to re-read!
Be sure to supplement with the movie, “Mary Shelley”!
Her Fearful Symmetry is not scary but rattles your brain just enough to make you shiver!
I forgot about this book – yes! I agree!
A new Irish author – Himself by Jess Kidd
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski is madness but a very cool read!
I was going back to suggest House of Leaves but you beat me to it.
Shirley Jackson- The Haunting of Hill House and The Lottery
Omg!!! I got scared just remembering them!! Time to reread!!
I’ve read Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Live in the Castle, and The Lottery. These are exactly what I’m looking for but something new. 😉
There is also a bio of Jackson I just bought: ‘A Rather Haunted Life’.
Loved The Lottery
I reread the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning which gets really creepy
Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen king are my go-to’s this time of year. Ruth Ware’s books are also really good for October.
I’ve read all of Poe but that’s kinda what I’m looking for. Stephen King terrifies me. 🙁 What Ruth Ware would you suggest? I’ve read Woman in Cabin 10 and Mrs Westaway. & loved the both~~would like another Ruth Ware.
In a dark, dark wood! It’s not her best book..i liked Mrs. Westaway more, but it’s good for fall!
It’s kinda cheesy, but if you like the movie, they just came out with a book version of the movie “Hocus Pocus.” ?
The Halloween tree! By Ray Bradbury it is the best story of tradition friendship fun and mischief.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The Halloween Tree and Something Wicked This Way Comes…both October/Halloween favorites of mine.
@Agatha it’s a total forgotten classic, I also am very partial to the TV special narrative done by Leonord Nimoy
Turn of the screw.
The Turn of the Screw is a FAVORITE of mine! Very disturbing! Loved it, LOL.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.
I came to suggest this! I read it every Halloween. 🙂
Yes, I love this too.
Legend of Sleepy Hollow!
Great idea. I haven’t read that in years!
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. One of my favorites. I read every year in October. Beautiful story.
Absolutely!
Ditto!
Tangled Webs, by Anne Bishop. It’s set in a haunted house.
Something Wicked this Way Comes.
Nice!
Love this!
Couldn’t agree more. My favorite October read as well. This year I hope to either read Let Me In by John Advije Lindquist, or House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.
Practical magic
On All Hallow’s Eve by Grace Chetwin. It’s a children’s book, but it’s one of my favorites.
To kill a Mockingbird
And the movie for sure!
When I was a kid there was a sweet story about a black cat..I loved this book and I can’t remember the title or find the book. I keep thinking about it and wish I could find it.
Thanks very much for trying. It’s not the same one but similar. Don’t know why I keep thinking about it after 57 years.
@Ellen I hope you find it!
Oh, that reminds me of this treasure read by Neil Gaiman
The Ghost Eye Tree by Bill Martin and John Archambault
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
mine too
Croak series. It is about a teenager who becomes a grim reaper. Interesting world building and gripping story across all three books. Not scary
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
Yes, an October/Halloween favorite of mine.
I used to read “Bunnicula” to my students and I enjoyed it, too.
The Litte Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life At Rose Red
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Canterville Ghost.
Dracula
Kids book, but my husband and I love The Vanishing Pumpkin. We read it every year even though our youngest is 30.
It
I read the following around fall/Halloween:
*Harry Potter
*Sleepy Hollow
*Anything Goosebumps related
The Witches by Stacy Schiff. It is about the Salem Witch Trials
Edgar A Poe
The Witches of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
I like to read It by Stephen King every October.
The adventures of sherlock holmes
As a child, I loved Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennet.
I loved that book! Also “the Witch Family” by Eleanor Estes.
Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Love this!
The movie/book One True Thing (don’t ask me why but it is a Fall ritual for me)
Same for me. Definitely an October thing.
The Exorcist by WilliamPeterBlatty
Ghost Story by Peter Straub….but they would probably be considered too scary.
I like scary!?
Thanks. I’m going to reread The Exorcist now
@Betty I tried to read that novel many years ago, and it scared me so much, I never finished it. One scene still haunts me.
It was much scarier than the movie.
@Cathy Yes it was!!!! ?
@Ellen Silence of the Lamb and The Red Dragon are scary too
@Betty good ones, but the book and especially the movie scared the bejesus out of me (The Exorcist)
Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
This sounds great.
He Graveyard Book!
*The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Clicked too quickly. ?
This is one of the selections for a tween lit class I lead. It’s a great novel and the audio book recording by Gaimin is fantastic!
Love it!!!
.
I read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova every October. It’s her take on the Dracula story and she combines the myth with the historical figure Vlad the Impaler. It may sound scary, but it’s actually incredibly literary and very well written and researched.
Just over half done. A great read
@Patricia yes ?. It’s sooo good.
One of my all-time favorites!
The Radleys by Matt Haig
Magic in Christmas River – a one day read mystery! ?
The Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris
Ghost Story by Peter Straub is a great read. The movie is good as well.
I didn’t like the movie the first time I watched it. But I watched it several years later and liked it!?
The Ghost of Dibble Hollow.
@Lori That’s my favorite!
@Vista-Kay, my husband still has his original copy!!
@Lori That’s amazing!
Mine was a Scholastic paperback, and it got wet during a move years ago. I haven’t been able to find another. ?
@Vista-Kay
@Lori That’s it!!! Omgosh! It brings back such good memories. I even had a calico cat I named Dibble. That’s crazy! Thanks so much for sharing! ?
@Lori That just absolutely made my September!
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
A favorite of mine.
The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, both by Shirley Jackson.
Lol,,,,,Room on the Broom . It’s not Halloween, but it involves a witch and teaches a wonderful lesson, yes it’s a children’s book
I read that book to my students every year.
The Invisible Man I read it every year it’s a classic ?
Scary but not too scary ?
The Historian
Outstanding book!
If you have a kindle, there are a mess of free cozy witch mysteries. I read a couple on a whim while I was looking for something light and different.
The All Souls Trilogy, Gemma Doyle Series, Twilight, The Diviner Novels by Libba Bray.
The Gemma Doyle trilogy is fantastic.
@Kristie: have you read the Diviner Novels? They are just as good, maybe better.
I read the first book, and didn’t really enjoy it. I’m really sensitive to animals being hurt, and didn’t enjoy reading about the German Shepherd and cat being killed.
@Kristie: oh, I’m sorry! I don’t remember that. ?
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jaclson
The Sookie Stackhouse series–True Blood.
Has anyone read “The End of the Day” by Claire North? It did not get good reviews on Amazon. I am so conflicted by it! I really liked the main character but there was a lot of brutality in it. The brutality wasn’t gratuitous though. Whoever read this please let me know what you think.
I have not heard of her; thanks for the tip.
@Kim Glad to hear you’ll try it. Let me know what you think! It had me thinking about it for a long time!
“We have always lived in the castle” by Shirley Jackson. And “the thirteenth take.” Sooo good!!
Frankenstein. More creepy and macabre than scary
The Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Love, love, love this series!
Others not mentioned: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.
I am re-reading The Thirteenth Tale right now, and it is even better than I remembered!
I reread Forever by Jude Deveraux every October. It’s about witches in New England, and it has a great Autumn feel.
Gardella series by Colleen Gleason and books and Blood Red.
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn is a weird but fun short story for Halloween reading
The Witches of Eastwick
So far it’s good!
Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Yes!
wicked
House on Haunted Hill by Shirley Jackson.
Also, “We Have Always Lived in a Castle.”
The Graveyard Book. Neil Gaiman. It has a bit of charming in it.
Absolutely one of my top 5 favorite books
Ditto
The Halloween Tree
Following I love Halloween!
Practical magic!
That’s a BOOK?!?! Oh my goodness! I LOVE the movie! <3
@Stefanie it is! It’s a bit darker than the movie but good!
There’s also a prequel that came out a couple of years ago, The Rules of Magic – I think I liked it a bit better than Practical Magic. Alice Hoffman is the author.
@Stefanie I loved the movie too!
Thanks y’all! I can’t wait to get those!
Thirteenth Tale
I read that last year. Very good novel.
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury is my favorite Halloween read.
I love Halloween ?
Carrie or the Firestarter or Pet Semetary by Stephen King…
I was going to suggest Carrie and Firestarter
Frankenstein
Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.
The Devil in the White City
Night Stalks the Mansion
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness!! Best book I’ve ever read
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I listen to a wonderful free public domain audio of it every year. For anyone interested, the link for the http://librivox.org/ audio reading is here: http://ia600202.us.archive.org/23/items/sleepy_hollow_librivox/sleepy_hollow_irving.mp3
@Penny thank you!
Anything by Barbara Michaels. Some of her books are a little dated, but she is wonderful at creating a spooky, not scary, atmosphere. Some favorites of mine: The Dancing Floor; Witch; Shattered Silk; Someone in the House.
I finally read her “Be Buried in the Rain” a couple of years ago. Barbara Michaels is the pen name she used for gothic/supernatural thrillers. She also wrote the Amelia Peabody series under her other pen name, Elizabeth Peters.
@Emily I am a fan of all of her books! I started with the Peters books. She also published under her real name, Barbara Mertz.
Salem’s Lot, Joyland or It by Stephen King – Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury.
Something Wicked….great read.
Anything by Poe <3
A Grimm Agency (series by J.C.Nelson)
Dracula vs Hitler. Terrible Syfy Original Movie sounding name, but a great read
Following
Anything by Poe
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury
Never specifically thought of it as a Halloween book, but the audio version of the Night Circus would probably be perfect. ? ?
Yes, so magical
I listen to The All Souls Trilogy. Witches, vampires, daemons — but not scary.
Rebecca by daphn du Mauriet
Rebecca by daphne du maurier
The ruins by Scott smith
HARVEST HOME, by Tom Tryon.
I read Dracula every year in the Fall.
My brother Michael and the moon spinners Mary Stewart
I am legend Richard Matheson
@Lorie i loved it too
The lovely bones Alice sebold
Roger Zelazny’s last book A Night in the Lonesome October is my favorite Halloween book. I read it every year. One chapter for each day in October. Heavily influenced by Lovecraft, a touch of humor, told from the viewpoint of Jack the Ripper’s dog and cameos by all the halloween favorites (Wolfman, Count Dracula,…).
Sounds like a great read ?
Oh, and not too scary.
Unfortunately, it is not offered as a Kindle download, or an audio download. It has the audio CD but who still has a CD player. .
I missed if the OP asked for an audio or ebook. I can say that the book is pretty short. *whispers* I still have a CD player (no judge please). And I wonder if the illustrations keep it from getting put into Kindle.
Mine is the nightmare before Christmas picture book
Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaimen
Excellent as an audio book as it is read by the author!
The Amityville horror by Jay Anson
That one scared me but a good suggestion.
Hocus Pocus
Who is it by? Is it like the Disney Movie?
The discovery of witches. Great first book in the all souls trilogy
Love this! Adding all these ideas to my TBR pile. Always read Legend of Sleepy Hollow and just short ghost story books. Also Poe.
Dracula ?
Salem’s Lot
And Then There Were None by Agatha @Christie
I’ve read & loved this many times. 😉
I’m so glad I finally read And Then There Were None. Now I see how people say it influenced so many books and movies.
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Twain’s Ghost Story
Following as I am making a list for October’s BC…would be fun to have a themed party!
The Talisman by Peter Straub and Stephen King.
One of my favs
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
Goosebumps
Night Circus
Harry Potter
The House Is Haunted
Wicked
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Have you tried Anne Rice books?
Loved the Mayfair witches stories.
And if you just want to get in the mood to watch all of the old horror movies, then read Danse Macabre, a non-fiction by Stephen King that celebrates horror and what it takes to scare us.
Or even older Vincent Price movies
Kind of an oldie, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
I was going to mention Something Wicked This Way Comes, but… How about Stephen King’s Cycle of the Werewolf or The Howling series. Or relive your teenage years with Chain Letter of Slumber Party, both by Christopher Pike.?
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Think the Haunting of hill House was written by Richard Matthesen (sp?)
@Wendy https://www.amazon.com/Haunting-Hill-House-Penguin-Classics/dp/0143039989
Rose I stand corrected!
Wendy Wright you are thinking of The Legend of Hell House, which is outstanding.
@Rose she asked for something not too scary so this book is disqualified.
@Eliza I stand corrected. ?
Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
“Neverwhere” by Gaiman. One of my favorites.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Thought of a few more: Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Who Goes There? (the basis for the film The Thing)… ? Retro spookiness! Try reading The Amityville Horror during the week hours while there’s a thunderstorm! Zoinks!
She originally asked for “not too scary”. Those are certainly spooky ones
I dont do scary just suspense. Maybe Practical Magic or Rebecca.
Loved Rebecca. 🙂
@Agatha Rebecca it is!
Alice Hoffman has some good ones that aren’t super scary like The Museum of Extraordinary Things or Practical Magic.
From the dust returned by Ray Bradbury
Psycho the book the movie was based on
I didn’t know that was a book! WOOOO—now that MOVIE was terrifying–I can’t imagine the book!
An oldie but goody, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a fun, quick read that’s spooky not scary. I would also second Bradbury, Something Wicked This WayComes or The October Country. Great mix of rich writing, autumnal landscapes, some sentiment and nostalgia, and a good dash of the spook factor.
“The October Country … that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilight linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal bins, closets, attics and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain.”
? Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
Some of the short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Edgar Alan Poe,I love his short stories and poetry,but Robert Louis Stevenson has created some scary and memorable thrillers too.
It isn’t scary, but I love The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde and reread it every year.
Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich, I love her books, this is funny and spooky.
@Vickie oooh! I haven’t read once since about number 16. I will look for this one.
@Eliza I’m on 14!
I like Wendy Webb—she’s great at creating suspenseful atmosphere!
The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
Oh wow love Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily story but it’s creepy
Ruth Ware: The Girl in Cabin 10 and The Death of Mrs Westaway.
Helen Grant’s books: Ghost and the Forbidden Spaces Trilogy.
Salems Lot by Stephen King. Scary good vampire tale.
Celeste Ng: Everything I Never Told You (a psych/family dysfunction thriller)
Also, her book Little Fites Everywhere.
Fires -not fites!?
@Kerry I haven’t gotten into that one yet.
Salem’s Lot, Misey
Misery
I read a book once titled “Dark Debts” by Karen Hall. It is one of the most delightfully creepy books I have ever read (much better than “The Exorcist”) but I have not been able to find it anywhere. Anyone know it?
I just reread Dracula and am going to start the Haunting of Hill House. Stephen King has some great books that will make you leav your lights on at night….
Cujo?
That one gave me nightmares.
That poor rabid dog.
@Viola i love St. Bernards.
Yes, kids book-call five little pumpkins
The Real-Skin Rubber Monster Mask (a children’s book)
I read Dracula and now I’m reading Frankenstein. Both are typical Halloween “monsters.”
You should watch Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. It has three typical Halloween monsters, including the wolf man
We have made them into Halloween monsters…but they were not when written. And using the word monster for that poor sad creation in Frankenstein. …
Alice Hoffman’s “Practical Magic.”
@Kim have been wondering the same thing.
Alice Hoffman’s rules of magic is great as well
The winter people
The witching hour or Interview with a vampire by Anne Rice
Jim Butcher’s Dresden novels. Love them. Not too scary until you get to know the characters; then you worry about them.? For scary, “Ghost Story,” by Peter Straub or “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson.
It wonderful if it would
I discussed this with my Dad tonight. He, by far recommends Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy as the scariest, most suspenseful novel ever. He also wrote No Country for Old Men. It’s now hot on my to read list.
Not his library. He gifted me his leather bound Ernest Hemingway books tonight. Wow!
Saw this book tonight. Thought this might be interesting.
Ray Bradbury- Something Wicked this way Comes
Agree. It’s a quiet little book but very scary.
Love this one!!
Love Bradbury! The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine…
The movie version of this was terrific too – very creepy!
Wicked deep
We Have Always Lived in a Castle by Shirley Jackson.
Agatha Christie’s Hallowe’en Party.
The novel features Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver, who begins the novel in attendance at a Hallowe’en party. A girl at the party claims she witnessed a murder, which, at the time, she was too young to realize was a murder. Soon, the girl herself is found murdered, and Oliver calls in Poirot. This book was dedicated to P.G. Wodehouse.
I am reading this right now. It is so slow though. I have never read Agtha Christie before. I thought I would try it out based upon Great American Read.
Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree. Not scary, per say, but eerie, and the woodcut illustrations in the original version are gorgeous.
@Jeanette The illustrations tell a story.
Love this book…I picked this one too but without the cool pictures! I am reading a book of his short stories now that I missed somehow
@Cathy *No one* does October like Ray Bradbury.
@Jeanette That is so true! As a Halloween baby I so appreciate him.
@Jeanette or anybody who likes Ray Bradbury — AM radio station KIXI out of Seattle is playing a radio drama version of “The Halloween Tree” on Halloween night. I listen online and love their Saturday night episodes of “The Twilight Zone.”
@Jeanette Ray Bradbury is the reason I am an avid reader today. He captured me as a teenager with his transformative writing skills.
@Susan Ditto! It’s not that I was a reluctant reader, but I credit Ray Bradbury with opening my eyes to the fact that magic and poetry and wonder are all around us: in the scratching of a leaf against the pavement on a windy October day, like a witch’s dry cackle; in the soles of a new pair of tennis shoes, so light and bouncy that they make you feel like you could leap a tree; in the dust collecting on shelves around my house, dust that might once have been the stuff of mummies or dinosaurs! I’ve never looked at the world the same way since discovering his works.
@Jeanette you should write ! So creative! What is your reading list? Stay in touch so we can compare notes!
That we me trying to channel my inner Ray Bradbury. I imagine he would have wanted me to add some reference to rockets. 🙂
The Discovery of Witches
@Mary love that series.buying. fourth one in series next week.
@Beth I’m starting book 3!
@Mary its a movie too but only in England. They’re working on getting it here. Waiting patiently.
@Beth I saw. Date for January! Can’t wait!
@Mary me too!
Just finished reading these two books. Yes, I’ve been on a Halloween/Samhain witch hunt – bookwise, that is. Both are Excellent. Suspense without being gorey. Well written. Read Hester Fox’s THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL first, then turned to the YA novel HOW TO HANG A WITCH by Adriana Mather. First book is set in Massachusetts in the early 1800s. The YA book is set in modern Salem but connected to the witch trials of 1600s. Author Mather, incidentally, states in her Author’s Note that the Cotton Mather, who had a huge part in the Salem trials, “was the third generation of Mathers in America” and that she herself is “the twelfth.” And she goes on to talk about the controversy about and complexities of her ancestor, much of which she learned while researching Salem history for this story. Which made for an interesting perspective.
In line with my witchy-themed reading for October, next will start THE FIFTH PETAL by Brunonia Barry (subtitled “A Novel of Salem”). It’s a fairly recent publication that I only recently discovered. Expecting it to be as engrossing a read as her best-selling THE LACE READER, which I read years ago. Absolutely loved that one!
Anything by Christoper Pike. His books are more young adult/teenage books, but they are very good.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
I find her scary all on her own!
@Cathy yes she was definitely something else, but I loved her poems and book. Gone to soon.
The Graveyard Book by Neil @Alison
Oy….. I wish I could get credit as an author. But Neil wrote it not me. ?
oops!
no worries!!
The name Gaiman is not very common. Perhaps you are related! I sure enjoy his writing.
I think (?) we are related. My nephew met his daughter.
The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells. I enjoyed it. Let me quote H. G. Wells. “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”
If you are wanting to something to read that is Gothic, but not scary. I can recommend 13th Tale. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the author. If it is scary, sorry. I don’t read scary.
@Susan it’s by Diane Setterfield
@Lisa thanks, loved it
@Susan I bought at a thrift sale but haven’t read it yet. I just might start it now 🙂
I’m reading Breathe A Ghost Story by Cliff McNish
@Lisa looked at that book online.gotta have it Gotta read it.
has anyone read Dracul?
Of course…more than once!
I haven’t but have been considering reading it.
YES!!! Loved it 40 plus years ago and again re-read it two weeks ago.
You mean the book that just came out by the descendant of Bram Stoker, right? Just bought it for a family member’s birthday but haven’t read it yet. Is it good?
Oops sorry thought it was a typo and the book was the original Dracula.. sorry have not read Dracul.
@Jurate I thought you were talking abt Dracul too. But yes I like Dracula. Been awhile since I read it.
@M yes, Bram Stoker’s other tales as well, a true master.
hi everyone!yes its the new book that just came out. the author they said is the great nephew of bram stroker. thank you for all the feedback. have a great reading sunday!
Any of his books really! I actually remember this book!
@Cathy I really like the coloring of this one and the art
@Alfred I had a lot of the old Hitchcock books that my grandfather gave me….most of them cost 15 cents!
@Cathy that’s cool!
Frankenstein
That is so odd to me…I find it sad rather than scary.
It’s both
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Marie Brandt I love Dean Koontz his books seem to really be happening. But spooky!
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
I loved this book.
Rebecca
I’m currently reading some of Jackson’s short stories, of which included The Lottery, one of the disturbing eye openers of my teen years.
My daughter keeps telling me to read the new Stephen King novel but it sounds like it would make me jump so no.
If she’s referring to The Outsider, I’m reading it currently and it’s so good! It honestly reads like a detective novel, with some supernatural thrown in.
@Freda that’s what she said so I still might try. Thank you.
I love that book….scary but not in the usual King way
Night music by John Connelly
The Bird Box is one of the most suspensful audio books to listen too.
Washington Irving stories are wonderful
Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” is excellent.
_The Ghost On Saturday Night_ by Sid Fleischman, children’s book. CLEVER SUSPENSE
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.
The Shining by Stephen King
Yeeeess!!?????????????
Children of the Night by Dan Simmons
Just downloaded this one to Kindle. Have you read The Terror by Dan Simmons ?
Night Shift by Stephen King
Something Wicked This Way Comes. Ray Bradbury….Watched Cujo this morning. IT by Steven King. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.
I can’t do scary, scares me to much.lol. I like Jurassic Park but it gives me nightmares!
The only that scare me to death are the raptors‼️?
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
the classic The Picture of Dorian Gray is perfect for this time of year!
I liked Frankenstein I read it for the first time this year. I also read phantom of the opera. I’m a big baby and Don’t like things too scary they made me a little paranoid but didn’t keep me up at night and right now I’m reading Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury I read it a long long time ago as a kid. It’s pretty good so far it just gives off a suspenseful vibe but not scary as of yet.