Spooky Reads for Halloween

[Thewheelsfelloffthebus]

Am looking for a book to settle in to read this weekend and fancy embracing the season a bit - so would love any recommendations for books with a bit of a spooky theme

any ideas?

I'm currently reading The Apparition Phase by WillMaclean and it's brilliant.
I picked it up after listening to his excellent podcast 'The Broken Veil' at the weekend. Spooky time of year demands spooky stories ! 🤪

I’d read Michele Paver if you haven’t already. She has two novels set in icy type landscapes, so while not quite the usual setting for spookiness they are still full of fright! She also has one set in a house which while not quite as ghostly is still mysterious. All great reads.

Have you already read The Turn of the Screw? I always go to that one when I want genuinely spooky, slow burn storytelling.

That frightens me to death! I still remember the first time I read it, in a bustling university library on a bright, sunny afternoon, and getting so unnerved I switched seats to somewhere with my back to the wall.

MR James, OP? Kipling’s ‘They’?

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
The Woman In Black by Susan Hill (much much better than the film with Daniel Radcliffe)
I second Michelle Paver especially Dark Matter
MR James stories
The October Country short stories by Ray Bradbury especially Homecoming which has a wonderful Halloween theme

Oh this has reminded me that I have Dark Matter on my Kindle but forgot about it.

have never read The Turn of the Screw either so will add to my little list.

I'm sure lots of people will say this, but 'The Haunting of Hill House' by Shirley Jackson.

Pine by Francine Toon.

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons.

Withered Hill by David Barnett

Any of Mariana Enriquez’s short story collections:

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed - deleted permanently from Kindle after reading
A Sunny Place for Shady People - am passings straight on as I can’t keep it in the house

They are not traditionally spooky but there is some paranormal stuff, some human observation but all are spine chilling.

Despite all the above, they are masterful.

Tales of the weird - weird woods from the British library collection. It’s on kindle unlimited and it’s part of a wider series of weird books.

Those books are fantastic. I’m in the process of collecting them all!

Hidden Pictures - Jason Rekulak is so good. My favourite thriller!

@BedlingtonFloof they are fabulous, such a brilliant collection.

Second this one. Very good at the 1970s vibe, too.

The Woman in Black is 99p on kindle today. There seemed to be lots of other spooky books so probably worth a look through. I also got Interview With the Vampire. I do love scaring myself silly in the dark months.

We used to live here by Marcus Kliewer. I saw it recommended on another thread. I’m about 80% of the way through and really rarely find books scary. This one is creeping me out though.

The man in the picture by Susan Hill is good.

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin. There was an audio drama of this narrated by Kim Cattrall a few years ago. I don’t know if it’s still available.

I was going to suggest Woman in Black. I found i really frightening but then I did have a fever at the time so I don’t think it helped

Strange Pictures is unlike anything I have ever read and I found it really disturbing, despite it being a translation (Japanese to English, which I think can be particularly clunky).

I’m currently making my way through a book of short stories called The Witching Hour and some of them are really good.

I would also recommend Robert Aickman’s stories for something odd and somewhat spooky - don’t expect satisfying endings though.

Dark Matter is always my first recommendation on threads like this - book or audio, they are equally brilliant. Very spooky, you almost feel the coldness!