Spooky season is well under way, so I thought I’d share some suggestions for Halloween reading. I’ve tried to include something at all levels of “scare”, though I’ll hold my hands up and admit I don’t really do horror. Still, there are some pretty frightening stories here - by my standards anyway! There are new spooky books brought out every year, and they’ll be featuring in lots of social media posts and reviews, so I’ve focused on older books in this post.
First of all, though, a quick mention of some of my own “spooky books”, because if I can’t plug my own work on my own blog where can I?
So if you love heartwarming romance with a cosy community and a dash of the supernatural, you’ll love my Ghosts of Rowan Vale series. Set in a Cotswold living history village it’s a place where blood relatives are important, but found family matters just as much. You can find out more about that series here.
If you like witchy books, you’ll enjoy The Witches of Castle Clair, where the story starts as Sky St Clair returns to her North Yorkshire home town and learns that she’s not who she thought she was at all - and neither is her family.
The story builds over the course of six books, encompassing time travel, feisty familiars, a grumpy High Council of Witches, tricky fae, and to the very legends of Arthur and Merlin themselves. It’s small-town romance that dreams big!
And finally, if you prefer contemporary romance to anything paranormal, you might like to try the Kearton Bay series, where Wiccan landlady Rhiannon Bone runs The Hare and Moon Inn on the seafront.
Book one, There Must Be an Angel starts at Beltane (or May Day) and ends at Halloween (Samhain), while The Whole of the Moon, the fourth and final one in the series, starts at Halloween and ends at Beltane. In between, you’ll find love, laughter, and community set in a pretty former fishing and smuggling village on the North Yorkshire coast. Learn more about Kearton Bay here.
Okay, let’s have a look at my (other) favourite Halloween books - in order of scariness and/or jeopardy.
Proper Scary!
Candlenight by Phil Rickman
Although the late Phil Rickman is best known for his Merrily Watkins series, I have to admit that I’ve only read the first two Merrily books so far. I have, however, read all his other books and loved each and every one of them.
For a truly spooky read, though, I always return to Candlenight. It’s a really creepy story, set in a small village in Wales where the locals don’t take too kindly to English incomers. And that’s putting it mildly…
If you haven’t given Phil Rickman a try I highly recommend that you do. His books are full of interesting information, but they’re also fascinating folk horror stories - enough to make sure I never read them when I’m alone in the house anyway - although admittedly, I am a total wimp.
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The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
This is so well known that I suspect most people who love scary books will have already read it.
Poor Elsie’s marriage didn’t last long. As a young widow, expecting her first child, she arrives at her late husband’s estate in the country, only to discover that she’s not exactly welcome there. People are surprisingly hostile towards her and that’s not the worst of it…
If you think dolls and figurines are scary this might not be one you want to read. I don’t particularly like those old pot dolls, I must say. Imagine if you found a diary that was hundreds of years old and a wooden figure that looks like you! Aarrgghh! I’m perspiring now, just thinking about it. Definitely a spooky Halloween read and not for the fainthearted.
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Definitely Chilling
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Margaret Lea arrives at Angelfield House to interview enigmatic writer, Vida Winter. Slowly, Vida begins to tell her of the history of the house and of events that are almost too terrible to reveal. It’s part psychological thriller, part gothic mystery, as Vida slowly tells Margaret the story of strange twins, a terrible fire, mental illness and devastating loss.
It’s not quite as sinister as the previous two books I’ve listed but it’s definitely chilling, and also quite sad in a way.
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The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
I haven’t actually read this book, but I’ve seen the television adaptation (or was it a film?) and it freaked me out! I told you I’m a wimp, but this really was scary to me. However, believe it or not, it’s marketed as a children’s book. I mean…
There’s an isolated house reached by a causeway, lots of fog, a funeral, and a seriously spooky woman dressed all in black.
Because of the age group it’s aimed at I’ve put it in the Definitely Chilling category instead of Proper Scary, but if it’s anything like the film I’m clearly lying. I was terrified! So be warned.
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Gothic Classics
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
I had to include this because I’ve loved this book for so long, and it really does have gorgeously gothic vibes. A spooky old house on the Yorkshire Moors, a brooding hero, secrets and lies galore, and something lurking in the attic… Ooh!
But what makes Jane Eyre so special is Jane herself. For me, she’s a wonderful heroine. Despite her terrible start in life and the appalling treatment she receives throughout her childhood, she’s feisty, brave, and not afraid to speak out about injustice, or to defend herself and her own rights. I absolutely love her, and I highly recommend you read this if you haven’t already.
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The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
A well-known Gothic classic, with secrets, lies, betrayals and treachery. Lots of machinations and mystery in this one, and two words that will strike fear into any heart - Count Fosco! Surely the most villainous of villains…
I read this for the first time while studying English Literature and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s become a classic for a reason, so if you haven’t given it a try maybe now’s the time. The edition I’ve linked to has a stunning cover and is illustrated and annotated.
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The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
I’ll be honest and say I haven’t read this one yet either, but it’s on my to-be-read pile and I’ve heard sooo many good things about it - in a creepy way.
In the nineteenth century, a governess convinces herself that the children in her care need protecting from a ghostly threat. But is that threat real, or is it all in the governess’s mind?
This is a novella, so perfect if you want to read something short and not-so-sweet for spooky season. I’ll definitely be reading it this Halloween.
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Creepy Mysteries
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
If you like a good mystery at Halloween then you can’t beat the Queen of Crime herself. There are many, many Agatha Christie books I could have chosen for this blog post - The Pale Horse and Endless Night spring to mind immediately, as does Halloween Party, of course.
But for sheer creeping terror I think this one takes some beating. The isolation on a remote island off the Devon coast, being left alone with a group of total strangers, a mysterious and anonymous host who may or may not be there in person, the picking off of victims one by one, the growing realisation that someone is out to kill them all…
Ooh, it’s absolutely gripping! I would probably still rate this as my favourite Christie book, and that’s saying something.
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London Particular by Christianna Brand
London Particular is the name given to the thick London fog that was so common back in the day, and this mystery makes full use of that fog, where people can slip around the streets without being seen.
I love Christianna Brand’s books. She’s been a very recent discovery for me, but I’ve read a few of her British Library Crime Classics mysteries over the last year and this is definitely one of my favourites.
Inspector Cockrill must discover who murdered Raoul Vernet, but with the fog complicating alibis and seven suspects to eliminate it’s not going to be an easy task.
I always get very excited by fog, I must admit - I think it’s a throwback to childhood, where the foghorn’s mournful wail could be heard across the Humber, and we had to wear orange armbands on our coat sleeves and form crocodiles to walk to school - so this was always going to be a hit for me. But it’s a genuinely intriguing mystery and I think you’ll love it, too.
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The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White
Yes, another British Library Crime Classic, but I’m such a huge fan of these books.
The Wheel Spins is the book that Hitchcock adapted into The Lady Vanishes. There have been three adaptations of the book now, starring Margaret Lockwood, Cybill Shepherd and Tuppence Middleton respectively. The one starring Tuppence Middleton is definitely most like the book. There’s much more psychological tension and a sense of dread.
On a long train journey across Europe, a young woman, Iris, is suffering from sunstroke and feeling unwell. She is helped and watched over by amiable Miss Froy. When she wakes up from a sleep, she realises Miss Froy is missing. Worse than that, though, no one else seems to have seen her, and all deny that Miss Froy ever existed. Is Iris still suffering the effects of sunstroke, as her fellow passengers insist, or is there a dangerous conspiracy going on?
A thrilling mystery that builds the tension and leaves you feeling distinctly chilled.
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Children’s Books (Or So They Say!)
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Believe it or not, it took me until earlier this year to read this book, even though it’s been in my sights for decades. When I finally read it I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s not particularly scary, but there’s definitely a sense of jeopardy and tension.
Set in an alternate version of 1832, where wolves have made their way to Britain via the Channel Tunnel, this is definitely gripping, and well worth the read if you have a low fear threshold but want to feel your pulse quicken a little while reading.
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The Whitby Witches by Robin Jarvis
Described by some as a horror story for children, this is a book I bought in Whitby for my own children - only to find they had no interest in reading it at all. You can lead a horse to water and all that…
Undeterred, I decided to read it myself, and I was instantly hooked. I ended up buying A Warlock in Whitby and The Whitby Child straight afterwards - equally excellent.
The Whitby Witches is set, unsurprisingly, in the glorious North Yorkshire coastal town of Whitby. Orphans Jennet and Ben go to live with Alice, an old lady of ninety-two who has decided it’s her job to take care of them. Jennet is suspicious of Alice, and it turns out that Alice does have an ulterior motive for her interest in the children, but she’s a force for good.
And in Whitby, she’ll need to be, because something sinister is happening in the town, and Alice and her friends are determined to get to the bottom of it. And Ben might be just the person to help them…
Honestly, this is such a gripping, witchy mystery, with real jeopardy and tension. And of course, it’s Whitby, which is beautifully described. So atmospheric and exciting. I loved it!
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The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M Boston
This is an absolute children’s classic, so no need to psyche yourself up to read it. It’s about a lovely old house, the people who are currently living in it, and the children who used to live there who are now ghostly inhabitants.
Seven-year-old Tolly goes to stay at Green Knowe with his great-grandmother. Meeting the ghostly children who run around the house, he experiences a magical time in this heartwarming tale.
I have the 70th anniversary edition of this story, but I haven’t read the other books in the series. I’ll link to the edition I have but you can find Kindle editions, too.
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I could honestly have gone on and on recommending books for you in this post, but I decided thirteen was the perfect number to end with.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it and that you’ve found something here that you’d like to try for yourself. Wishing you a very happy Halloween, and happy reading!
