Who's reading a horror or spooky book for Halloween?

I read Pet Semetary a while back and it terrified me - a properly spooky book. I was also pregnant and staying with friends who lived in a foresty part of New York State which definitely made it all feel more horrifying and real!

Dracula is a great one for Halloween too, there are certain parts of that book which really put shivers down my spine.

Salem's Lot, another great vampire one which made me want to close all the curtains in the house while reading it.

I've got on loan from the library the new Stephen King short story collection 'You Like It Darker' so looking forward to reading that. I also have The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas to read in the next couple of weeks too, supposed to be another scary story.

I think Henry James is an acquired taste , he uses 10 words where 4 would suffice but persevere as its a really good atmospheric creepy book ,quite scary in parts .
I started reading it years ago and gave up because of his writing style but tried again further down the line as i knew it's my kind of story and i love it.
Perfect for this time of year.

I’m reading King’s ‘Needful Things’, not spooky exactly but gripping and well-written

I've just finished:

Hidden Pictures
We Used To Live Here

Currently reading The Sun Down Motel!

All quite good!

I loved The Sun Down Motel, one of my stand-out reads this year.

I’ve just finished a collection of short stories called The Winter Side of the River by Jeannette Winterson, which was brilliant.

I’m now on another collection, this time linked, called The Hotel, by Daisy Johnson. All the stories take place in the same place, a creepy hotel, at different points in time. It’s excellent and has a distinct flavour of Shirley Jackson in its dark otherness.

I've started reading The Bloody Countess by Valentine Penrose about Elizabeth Báthory the alleged serial killer who supposedly bathed in the blood of her victims to stay eternally young. Quite interesting so far but we will see.

I didn't start it because of Halloween, but I am reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. It's one of my daughter's all-time favorites, and she has been telling me to read it for ages. Am surprised by how much I'm enjoying it. It's funny, engaging and a very easy read.

@floorchid I read that last years and it was really good. It is genuinely creepy at times and I loved the whole Victorian "oh what a noble and honourable gentleman and Madam Mina is the most gracious of women" vibe, it did go on a bit but it was a very fun read.

If you haven't already read it I do recommend Frankenstein by Mary Shelly it really is a masterpiece.

I love historical fiction and also matching my reading to the seasons. I also find I read alot more in the autumn winter months.

I'm currently reading "the Mercies" really enjoying it.

Withered Hill by David Barnett is excellent - creepy folk horror set in modern day England

Ok this is an old thread but still relevant as the season approaches! Just wanted to say Sarah Gran Come Closer is £1.79 on kindle today if anyone fancies! Someone up thread mentioned it so I just spent a couple of hours reading - short and very good so thanks to whoever it was

any other recommendations welcome 😊

@Allthatwegotisthispalebluedot

@smolyhoke it was you two if you still have the same name

Completely agree about the 1989 film of, The Woman in Black. It's on YouTube now and really shows the Daniel Radcliffe version up as a piece of fluff.

The book is wonderful.

As an aside, the film-The Others with Nicole Kidman is also very spooky.

Lots of posters mentioning Michelle Paver. I enjoyed, Thin Air and I'm currently reading her latest, Rainforest.

I'm not very far in but our main character has gone to the jungle to study insects, as part of a dig. He is been warned not to go off the beaten track, so I suppose he will.

I’m reading The Witching Hour, which is a new collection of short stories edited by Bridget Collins. It’s the third (after The Winter Spirits and The Haunting Season) and they’re so atmospheric and spooky and melancholy. Really enjoying it.

I love these books. Would also recommend The Travelling Bag by Susan Hill (author of The Woman In Black) which is a collection of spooky short stories.

Keep going ! its a really good story , creepy with a slow growing menace about it.
I bet its Henry James writing style that is putting you off , i think he uses too many words when fewer would have been enough, over the years i tried a couple of times reading it and gave up, tried again and conquered it and really enjoyed it.

I got excited about this thread then realised I replied on it 2 years ago! Still great recommendations coming in though. Mine this year are The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, Lute, Monstera, the unworthy, and a Thousand Monstrous Forms. All by female authors, nicely unhinged

I've just finished The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher which was very atmospheric in a Lovecraftian style.

Im reading The Sundown Motel by Simone St James at the moment and finding it very spooky and atmospheric. My favourite book that i read at this time of year is Weyward by Emilia Hart. Absolutely beautiful writing and following three women across three timelines. Fantastic story.