Best Spooky Books to Read for Halloween

This spooky season we have some treats for you! Below are some of our favorite dark and spooky reads to get you in the Halloween spirit. We hope you find some new reads for this fall, enjoy!

The Scholomance Trilogy – Naomi Novik

Taking place at a magical school called the Scholomance, we follow an unlikely hero in the form of a dark sorceress with necromancer-type powers. Her fate has been foretold as a bringer of absolute destruction upon the world, but can she overcome it? The Scholomance is a dark place, full of gruesome death and terrifying monsters, which falls perfectly into the Halloween season. Clever and WTF have both read this trilogy, and absolutely loved it, we highly recommend checking it out!

Ninth House Series – Leigh Bardugo

Ghosts, demons, and dark academia are the perfect recipe for a Halloween read. The books follows a girl who can see ghosts and gets wrapped up in the intrigues and danger of a secret society at Yale. She is tasked with monitoring the occult activities of the other campus societies, but stumbles upon conspiracies you couldn’t imagine.  

Halloween Party – Agatha Christie

This Agatha Christie novel will keep you on your toes, a classic whodunit with a Halloween twist! Perfect for the spooky season, after a child claimed to witness a murder, this Halloween party quickly spirals out of control. Someone at the party is a murderer, but who? Read this page turning thriller mystery to find out!

The Wicked Deep – Shea Ernshaw

This standalone novel is a tale of a cursed coastal town where the spirits of the drowned Swan sisters return each year to possess the residents and lure boys to their death. Since no one in the town knows which girls might be possessed, the tension and distrust is a thread throughout the book, leaving the reader suspicious as well. This haunting book will have you keeping the lights on well into the night, both out of fear and because you won’t be able to put it down. 

The Halloween Tree – Ray Bradbury

Following eight boys trying to save their friend, along with their mysterious guide, this classic takes you through a fantastical journey to discover the origins of Halloween. Perfect for Fantasy Nerds who love spooky season!

The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova

This is a book that still gives Clever chills when she thinks back to reading it for the first time. The story follows a historian as she retraces the footsteps of her missing father while hunting the legend of Vlad the Impaler. It is an eerie embarkation through history that will leave you with goosebumps. The novel is the perfect blend of history, mystery, and horror, and perfect for the spooky season.

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Happy Halloween! What books would you recommend for the spooky season? Let us know in the comments below!

Thank you so much for reading!

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–Clever&WTF