Will you be enjoying a spooky October read, and if so what will it be?

[Hoolahoophop]

I quite enjoy settling down with something spooky to read by the fire in October. I have Stephen King The Stand on my reading list (because I am reading my way thought the BBCs nations favorite book list from eons ago and that's one of the few horrors on it) but I don't really fancy it, I have never got on with Stephen King and prefer spooky to horror.

Last year I re-read Willkie Collins The Woman in White and The Turn of the Screw. Maybe something a little more modern than those would make a nice change though I do love the classics.

Quite like a witchy read, currently loving Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books and this year enjoyed The Witches Daughter by Paula Brackston. Big fan of a gothic vampire.

Might go for something by Susan Hill or Deborah Harkness as have enjoyed those in the past.

Just wondering about other people's favorites.

No recommendations but following for ideas.

I'm reading The Haunting of Hill House at the moment if you're looking for a spooky classic! After I'm finished with that I'll probably move on to another re-read of The Dark Between The Trees, which is a folk horror set in both the present day and the English civil war. I'd really recommend it if you enjoyed books Annihilation or The Terror, or films like The Witch.

Melmoth by Sara Perry is a really good, Gothic horror read. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters is a brilliantly chilling psychological type of ghost story (similar feel to the Turn of the Screw). My favourite ghost stories are by MR James but he's more of a read aloud on Christmas Eve kind of guy...

I love the Tales of the Weird series published by the British Library. They can be found at the usual bookstores and there are loads of them. Google to see the whole range. There are compilations of ghost stories on different themes and also some novels. I enjoyed Eerie East Anglia: Fearful Tales of Field and Fen recently and Weird Woods: Tales from the Haunted Forests of Britain. I will definitely pick one as my spooky season read this October but I am not sure which one yet.

I've also got a book of Japanese ghost stories lined up called The Snow Ghost: Classic Japanese Ghost stories.
If you like folk horror then Andrew Michael Hurley books are good, such as The Loney and Starve Acre. I think the new novel by Bridget Collins is on a folk horror theme but I don't know too much about it, it's called The Naked Light.
Michelle Paver is fun too and if you haven't read them already then Dark Matter or Thin Air are pretty good. Dark Matter is my favourite though.

I don't know if that helps. The trouble is, I don't read many ghost stories and as a consequence I am easily spooked so others may find these completely non-spooky!

Thanks all, brilliant suggestions!

I have read the haunting of hill house a couple of years ago, very good, and I love a folk tale so will look out between the trees.

I forgot about Melmoth, that is in my TBR pile as well. I love MR James as well.

Compilations are a good idea, I used to read some of those as a teen. I will definitely look up Erie East Anglia as that's my stomping ground. So I will enjoy that. I've never tries Japanese ghost stories apart from snippets. Another great idea.

Thank you, loads to think about.

I'd forgotten about Dark Matter- oh my goodness, that is one of the most chilling books I've ever read and not just because of the Artic setting...I read it in one go on a very long train journey at night. I was sat next to the window looking out into darkness...very appropriate. Brilliant suggestion.

Dracul by Dacre Stoker is brilliantly spooky!

M R James is my go-to for spooky Autumn reads. He is great for reading out loud as well. If you can persuade your kids to switch off their phones, try reading to them on Christmas Eve. We went away one Christmas with my sister and her kids (as well as my own). My partner told me it would be a disaster, but I read them an M R James short story on Christmas Eve. It was unbelievable. You could have heard a pin drop. They were all sulky and resentful to begin with, but by the end they were sitting there with their mouths open and their eyes shining. It's a pity we've lost that tradition of reading out loud. People used to do it a lot. We love a story. We can't help it. We've been telling each other stories round the fire for 50,000 years.

If anyone is interested, I'd recommend the Mark Gatiss documentary on YouTube. It's superb. He's a big fan of James, and the documentary is a real labour of love.

There's a great podcast on MR James called A Podcast to the Curious. It discusses all the stories in great depth.
I love the old BBC series Ghost Stories for Christmas which include quite a few MR James stories but I agree that nothing beats reading them aloud.

Pine by Francine Toon is set in a remote part of Scotland over Halloween and is well worth a read.

Road of Bones by Christopher Golden.
It’s been on my shelf for a couple of years so I’m going to pick it up and read it this October.

A couple of short story compilations I enjoyed were Fireside Gothic by Andrew Taylor and Three Winter Ghosts by Gary Sargent

If you’ve not read The Loney, it’s my vote for the greatest modern gothic horror novel of recent years. I had to put it down and walk away a couple of times. Nothing overtly gruesome, but he is so good at building the sense that something might just be creeping up behind you as you read.

Mexican Gothic would be a good shout if you want something more modern.

Ah, yes, one or two of those old BBC adaptations are masterpieces. ‘A Warning to the Curious’ and ‘Whistle and I’ll Come to You’ are superb.

There is also a BBC adaptation of a Dickens ghost story starring Denolm Eliot that is extraordinary.

The Dickens one is The Signalman.

Edith Wharton’s ghost stories have a similar vibe to M.R. James, and there are some great collections available.
For something more modern, The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell is spooky and unsettling.
And if you fancy a folk horror, Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley is excellent!

My contribution to this thread is Nocturnes by John Connolly. I reach for them every year alongside many of the suggestions above.

Also Chris Priestly’s short stories for children. The protagonists are children but the stories themselves are deeply deeply unsettling and brilliant.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is brilliant. Darkly atmospheric, hints of the supernatural, an ancient mystery and dusty museums galore.