52 Comments

For spooky season I'm reading ... politics! Sigh. Wish I could go back and read some great Stephen King for the first time. Otherwise, nothing too scary on the top of TBR.

Expand full comment
author

Political books are pretty scary ;-)

Expand full comment

Just cracked open Jane Eyre as my first official fall read of the year! Sooo excited to settle into fall vibes. (I live in Florida, where fall basically just means adding pumpkin flavor to summer, so I’ve found that really leaning into seasonal reads is a way to still feel the excitement of the changing seasons, and it is delightful.)

After I’ve finished catching up with Jane, I’m thinking A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik will be a good way to satisfy my campus novel itch at the same time as fulfilling the October spooky reading vibe.

Expand full comment

I highly highly recommend Knock Knock, Open Wide. Horror meets Celtic folklore meets a creepy children’s program. It was so good when I finished it, I immediately wanted to start it again. I love spooky season!

Expand full comment

I read the summary, got to "she takes the corpse to a remote farmhouse" and said, nope, no way!

Expand full comment

I read your comment and thought, "Yeah!!!! That sounds deliciously terrifying! Sign me up!" 😆 So I ran over to Goodreads to add it....apparently I added it some time ago. 🤣 Sounds like I need to move it up my list!

Expand full comment

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig. So perfect for the season!

Expand full comment

I'm reading The Blackbird Oracle by Deborah Harkness after binge watching all of Discovery of Witches on two very long airplane flights.

Expand full comment

I just read that recently!

Expand full comment

I’m definitely a scaredy-cat reader, and The Blackbird Oracle was just right for me. I have so enjoyed that series.

Expand full comment

I picked up The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Brandy Shillace on a whim at the library. An American woman inherits a dilapidated English manor with a mysterious past, the gardener turns up murdered, and a portrait goes missing -- all in the first 60 pages! The house is definitely creepy

Expand full comment

I am going to give that a try. Sounds perfect.

Expand full comment

Oh I loved that book so much!!! I wish I could go back and read it again for the first time. Enjoy!

Expand full comment

Currently rereading Dracula through Dracula Daily. On my TBR, I have some cozy books like The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. I'm also participating in a books secret swap for Halloween so I'll have to see what my match picks for me; but I did have Black River Orchard on my wish list.

Expand full comment

First on my list is Cackle by Harrison for the book club at our local brewery. I will add some other spooky reads as the mood hits.

Expand full comment

The Secret History! Somehow I've never read it. Perfect for spooky season so far!

Expand full comment

My spooky stack is so tall. Well, The Historian is a sure bet since I reread it every October. And I'm planning to reread Dracula this year as well, been several years for that one. I just got So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison, and The Madness by Dawn Kurtaigh. I'm also planning to read The Third Wife of Faraday House by BR Meyers, the Woman in Black by Susan Hill, and The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. I've seen the house in New Orleans where she set the novel, and it's been on my TBR ever since!

Expand full comment

That house must have been amazing to see.

Expand full comment

It was! The Garden District in New Orleans is an amazing place to visit if you like old, stately homes.

Expand full comment

I have heard The Woman in Black is really good!

Expand full comment

Same here, I hope so! And that I can sleep at night after reading it….

Expand full comment

I read Dracula for a university course and it scared the pants off me!

Expand full comment

Renville is the creepiest character in my opinion. Gives me chills.

Expand full comment

My in person book club (<3!) is reading Old House by Matt Query & Harrison Query. A young couple flees the corporate rat race and moves to rural Idaho. Unfortunately the old wives tale about the malevolent spirit that haunts the valley is true.

In between books I'm also reading the short stories about Doctor Satan by Paul Ernst, published in Weird Tales magazine in the 1930s.

And then lastly, I'm subscribed to Dracula Daily, and it's getting spoooooky.

Expand full comment

I LOVED Dracula Daily! Did it last year. What a perfect spooky break that made every morning!

Expand full comment

I love fall in Alaska. The nights are getting dark and the snow is coming soon. I'm reading Dracula with some friends. It's my first time, so kind of excited about it. Then I'm jumping into Wuthering Heights. I haven't read it in years, but I've watched a bunch of literary discussions about it to get my lit geek vibe on. It feels like a good one to read by a warm fire.

Expand full comment

I am going to start a re-read of Carrie. Can you believe it is 50 years old! A classic! Don't think you can beat a Stephen King...the dude can write!

Expand full comment

I don’t like being scared, but The Turn of the Screw is such a good, short, scary and uncomfortable read!

Expand full comment

I think I'm going to re-listen to No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson. Tension builds as the rational falls away, and the ending is chilling.

Expand full comment

I really liked How to Sell a Haunted House. For other haunted house story lovers, I also recommend Sarah Gailey's Just Like Home. I was just recommended Starling House by Alix Harrow so might check that out soon.

Expand full comment