6 books to read this spooky season
With just one week until All Hallows’ Eve, we’ve rounded up some spine-tingling, suspenseful and supernatural tales to get you in the spooky season spirit. Whether you’re in the mood for a thrilling murder mystery, a vampiric retelling, a chilling haunted house story or a feminist folk horror, these books are guaranteed to keep you reading way into the night.
They Own The Night by Amy McCaw
Living in the shadow of their serial killer father’s infamy, Mia and Johnny aren’t strangers to horror. Now studying near Edinburgh, sarcastic Mia hosts a true crime radio show, whilst grounded, wannabe journalist Johnny has landed a once-in-a-lifetime interview with a reclusive rock star. But when male students start turning up dead, the siblings are drawn into a dark and supernatural world they didn’t know existed. Putting a retro 80’s spin on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, They Own The Night is an atmospheric murder mystery that utilises a fun mixed media format and a split POV to breathe new life into the classic horror tale. (Ink Road)
Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
If you’ve read any of Rachel Harrison’s books, you’ll know that she has a talent for writing delightfully dark and disturbing horror laced with black humour. Play Nice sees the author tackling the classic horror backdrop of the haunted house, as a woman must confront the demons of her past when she attempts to fix up her childhood home. When her mother dies, stylist and influencer Clio jumps at the chance to makeover the house that tore her family apart. Where her sisters see a cursed place of demonic possession and childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. But returning to the house brings back sinister memories and ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s perfect life to the core. An unnerving, slow-burn horror that cleverly blends paranormal chills with psychological suspense. (Titan Books)
Keep Your Friends Close by Cynthia Murphy
Not all monsters have monstrous appearances and sometimes the most horrifying things in life aren’t supernatural creatures but people. That’s certainly true of the sinister killer in Keep Your Friends Close, a dark academia YA novel that invites readers into the world of Morton Academy and the infamous secret society at its heart. When former Head Girl frontrunner Chloe stumbles upon the Book of Crime and Punishment – a record of the society students’ misdeeds and the punishments they deserve, she realises that the entries match real-life murders. Suddenly, anyone could be a suspect, and Chloe must uncover the truth before she’s next on the kill list. This nostalgic Mean Girls-meets-Scream thriller will keep you guessing throughout. (Penguin)
Itch! By Gemma Amor
Josie is at rock bottom. Burned out and recovering from an abusive relationship, she’s returned to her isolated hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean. Her already haunted existence plummets further when she discovers a decaying, ant-infested body in the woods and Josie feels the infestation crawling under her skin, compelling her to scratch the surface of an age-old mystery. As the village dresses up for its annual festival, a masked predator stalks the forest. But as Josie spirals towards the truth, will she expose the monster or become their next victim? A deeply sinister and unsettling femgore novel that masterfully combines folklore, psychological trauma and visceral body horror. Approach with caution if you’re squeamish. (Hodder & Stoughton)
Season of Fear by Emily Cooper
In the village of Heulensee, Ilse Odenwald dreams of being afraid. Born without the ability to feel fear, she cannot summon the terror demanded by the ancient Saint of Fear as an offering for its protection against the horrors that attack from the monstrous forest known as the Hexenwald. When it discovers her divergence, the Saint issues a threat. Ilse must find her fear, or it will devour her sister. Unable to lose the only person who understands her, Ilse enters the Hexenwald and discovers that there is much more than fear to be found within. Emily Cooper’s dark fairytale inspired by Bavarian folklore is beautiful and frightening in equal measure. If you love sapphic romance and emotionally raw tales of sacrifice and sisterhood, this is the absolute perfect read. (Simon & Schuster)
House of Splinters by Laura Purcell
When Belinda and Wilfred Bainbridge inherit The Bridge – the ancestral estate to the Bainbridge family for centuries – they don’t just inherit a house, they inherit the nearby village with its unhappy tenants who whisper of curses and the mysterious death of a servant. But Belinda is too preoccupied with taming her new home and looking after her new baby to listen to gossip, or to notice as her son Freddy becomes obsessed with the strange wooden figures positioned around the house. When Wilfred’s enigmatic brother Nathaniel arrives unexpectedly from abroad, he shares a very different account of his family’s past, forcing Belinda to confront the real legacy her family has inherited – and what that means for her children’s safety. Nobody writes haunting and atmospheric ghost stories quite like Laura Purcell, who returns to the gothic world of The Silent Companions in this eerie and exquisitely written prequel. (Raven Books)
