My Favorite Halloween Reads!

It's almost Halloween!  These days, I'm not as much into costumes and candy, however, I do like the season and the atmosphere of Halloween (and because Autumn is my favorite season!)  And, since it's that time, I thought I'd do a special Halloween post and share some of my favorite spooky reads that I have read recently (I'll try to keep it to books I've read this year, otherwise this list would be way too long!).

Classic picks:

Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House is a beautifully written haunted house story.  I just read and reviewed this and I think it's an excellent spooky read!

Read my review of The Haunting of Hill House


Bram Stoker's Dracula, of course!  I'm re-reading this right now.  What can I say, it's a Halloween classic!


 Horror (on the darker side..):

I'm a huge Stephen King fan.  This year, I read Full Dark, No Stars and reviewed it here on the blog.  It's a collection of four contemporary horror stories that will creep you out!  No vampires, ghosts, or monsters here - but that just makes it even more scary!

Read my review of Full Dark, No Stars

(Likewise, any of Stephen King's short story collections are sure to give its readers similar chills, like Everything's Eventual or Four Past Midnight, and of course his full-length novels like Pet Sematary many more..)

  
Horror (on the lighter side..):

Zombies!!  Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves were both great reads!  Creepy.. You get a little claustrophobic reading these.  The main characters are secluded in the forest, trapped by a mob of zombies who are closing it at every turn... I have yet to read the last book in this series, but I hear it's even better than the first two.

Read my reviews of The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves
 

 Paranormal picks (ghosts, spirits, things that go bump in the night..):

Ok, so technically this may be more of a thriller/suspense, but it's my blog and I'm including it here :)  Lis Wiehl's Waking Hours.  It's actually a mix of realistic and supernatural suspense.  The main character, a psychiatrist, is investigating a ritualistic murder in East Salem when she discovers there may be something more sinister (and supernatural) going on.  It's a Christian thriller, but I think it would be appealing to a lot of readers who don't normally read Christian fiction.  This would be a great choice for someone looking for a clean, adult read for Halloween!

Read my review of Waking Hours

I'm a big fan of Heather Graham.  Her Harrison Investigation series, including Haunted and Unhallowed Ground, would be great choices if you're in the mood for a ghost story (and a little romance too).

 Read my review of Haunted

Non-fiction:

 I guess you know by now that I love ghost stories, especially true accounts of haunted places.  Here's one of my favorites, Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits and Haunted Places by Brad Steiger.  His 50 years of paranormal research has led to this compilation of all kinds of haunted places and true accounts.

Looking for more true ghost stories?  Leslie Rule's When the Ghost Screams, Coast to Coast Ghosts, and Ghosts Among Us are ones I have added to my collection and would be great choices too!
Read my review of When the Ghost Screams


Thanks for reading!  Happy Halloween and Happy Autumn! :)