Halloween is a good excuse to pick up something a little darker than usual, but that doesn’t necessarily mean reading the most terrifying book you can find. I’m good with something a little bit spooky, but full blown horror keeps me up at night.
Sometimes the best spooky books are the ones that leave you slightly unsettled. A strange house, an unreliable narrator, an old family secret or the feeling that something isn’t quite right can be just as effective as outright horror.
So, if you’re looking for something atmospheric to read this October, here are ten books I’d reach for when I want my reading to feel a little more eerie.
1. The Little Stranger – Sarah Waters
Sarah Waters is particularly good at creating that creeping feeling that something is wrong without immediately telling you exactly what it is.
The Little Stranger is set in a country house in post-war Warwickshire, where the once-grand Hundreds Hall is falling into disrepair. Dr Faraday becomes increasingly involved with the Ayres family, who still live there despite their increasingly difficult circumstances.
There is something deeply unsettling about the house itself, and the story gradually develops into something much darker.
The vibe: Decaying country house and slow-burning unease.
Best for: If you like your spooky reading atmospheric rather than gory.
2. Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
You don’t necessarily think of Rebecca as a Halloween book, but it is definitely a gothic novel in my opinion.
A young woman marries the wealthy widower Maxim de Winter and moves to Manderley, his imposing country estate. The problem is that his first wife, Rebecca, seems to be everywhere, despite being dead.
It’s full of secrets, suspicion and that particular kind of gothic tension where the house feels like it has a personality of its own.
The vibe: Stormy coastline, enormous house and secrets behind closed doors.
Best for: Anyone who wants gothic atmosphere with plenty of psychological intrigue.
3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle – Shirley Jackson
If you want something genuinely strange, Shirley Jackson is difficult to beat. I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle years ago and it has stayed with me.
Merricat Blackwood lives in an isolated family home with her sister Constance and their uncle Julian. Most of the rest of the family died from arsenic poisoning six years earlier, and the surviving Blackwoods are viewed with suspicion by the local villagers.
It’s short, unsettling and wonderfully peculiar, with a narrator you aren’t entirely sure you should trust.
The vibe: Isolated house, eccentric family and something not quite right.
Best for: A short, atmospheric read that gets under your skin.
4. The Woman in Black – Susan Hill
If you want an actual ghost story for Halloween, The Woman in Black is an obvious choice (and the film as well).
Arthur Kipps travels to a remote house on the Essex coast to deal with the papers of a recently deceased woman. While there, he begins seeing a mysterious woman dressed entirely in black.
Susan Hill keeps things relatively restrained, which makes the story more effective. There is no need for constant shocks when an isolated house, fog and a mysterious figure appearing in the distance can do the work perfectly well.
The vibe: Foggy marshes, an isolated house and classic ghost-story chills.
Best for: A proper Halloween ghost story without pages of gore.
5. The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson
If you’re looking for a haunted-house story, The Haunting of Hill House is one of the classics.
Four people arrive at Hill House to investigate its reputation for being haunted. What makes the novel so effective is that Jackson never gives you quite enough certainty about what is happening. Is the house genuinely haunted, or is something else going on?
That ambiguity makes it much more unsettling than a straightforward story about things going bump in the night.
The vibe: Old house, strange noises and psychological unease.
Best for: When you want something properly creepy but clever.
6. The Turn of the Screw – Henry James
For something more traditional, The Turn of the Screw is one of those classic ghost stories that has been making readers uncomfortable for more than a century.
A young governess takes a position caring for two children at an isolated country estate, where she begins to believe that she can see two mysterious figures.
The interesting part is that you can never be entirely certain what is actually happening. The story leaves plenty of room for interpretation, which makes it particularly good for an October evening.
The vibe: Victorian gothic, isolated estate and questionable apparitions.
Best for: A classic gothic story with plenty to discuss afterwards.
7. The Silent Companions – Laura Purcell
If you want something a little more modern, The Silent Companions takes the traditional gothic house and adds something considerably more sinister.
After her husband’s death, Elsie is sent to a remote country estate where she discovers a strange wooden figure that appears to look remarkably like her.
And then she discovers there are more of them.
The premise sounds simple, but Purcell makes excellent use of the claustrophobic setting and the feeling that the house is hiding something.
The vibe: Victorian country house with an increasingly sinister atmosphere.
Best for: If you like traditional gothic stories with a more modern pace.
8. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
Not every spooky book needs to contain a ghost.
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray has its own kind of darkness, following Dorian as his portrait begins to reflect the consequences of his increasingly immoral life while he himself remains outwardly unchanged.
It’s gothic, decadent and occasionally very unsettling, but it’s also full of wit and beautiful writing.
The vibe: Gothic decadence, beautiful rooms and a very bad bargain.
Best for: If you’d rather have gothic atmosphere and moral darkness.
9. The Guest List – Lucy Foley
For something more contemporary, The Guest List moves away from ghosts and haunted houses and into murder mystery territory.
A wedding is taking place on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, bringing together a group of guests who all have their own secrets. As the celebrations continue, tensions begin to surface and it becomes clear that not everyone has arrived with the best intentions.
The isolated setting, stormy atmosphere and increasingly claustrophobic feeling make it a good choice if you want something tense rather than supernatural.
The vibe: Remote island, glamorous wedding and far too many secrets.
Best for: A twisty October read when you’d rather be suspicious of everyone than frightened by a ghost.
10. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield
The Thirteenth Tale is another good choice if you like your spooky reading to lean more towards mystery and gothic atmosphere than outright horror.
A reclusive and famous novelist invites biographer Margaret Lea to write the story of her life. As she begins to uncover the truth, the story leads her into a world of family secrets, a mysterious estate and a past that has been carefully concealed.
It’s the sort of book that feels particularly suited to autumn: old houses, books, secrets and a story within a story.
The vibe: Gothic mansion, family secrets and literary mystery.
Best for: Curling up with something atmospheric on a dark evening.
Choosing Your Halloween Read
If you want a classic gothic atmosphere, I’d start with Rebecca.
For a proper ghost story, The Woman in Black is a natural choice.
If you want something strange and unsettling, try We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
For a haunted-house story, The Haunting of Hill House is hard to resist.
If you’re after Victorian gothic, The Silent Companions or The Turn of the Screw would both work.
And if you’d rather have a contemporary mystery, The Guest List gives you plenty of secrets and suspicion without needing anything supernatural.
I think that sometimes the best Halloween book isn’t the one that scares you senseless. It’s the one that makes you want to turn on another lamp before you carry on reading. The ones where the eeriness creeps slowly across the pages…
Like this post? Pin it for later
