Whether you’re drawn toward classic gothic horror a la Stephen King and Shirley Jackson or witches, monsters and fantastical characters, or maybe you just need an adorably spooky story for a certain little one’s bedtime, we’ve got the Halloween reads to put you in the spirit of the season. So, as Halloween approaches, keep your reading light on during the evening hours and enjoy diving into a terrifyingly terrific tale that has you in the perfect mood for tricks and treats.
34 Best Halloween Books
The Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
We would be mistaken not to include Poe’s work in this list—after all, one of the mystery world’s top honors, the Edgar, is named after him. This collection features all of Poe’s macabre poetry and fiction in one single, gothic volume.
The Restless Dark by Erica Waters
Cloudkiss Canyon is a mysterious place, but when the death of the infamous Cloudkiss Killer sparks a widespread contest to find his bones, three girls stand in the center of it all. Lucy was almost the killer’s final victim. Carolina is a true crime fan who fears her rage. Maggie is a psychology student with something to hide. As these girls come together in search of answers, new identities and a place to hide their secrets, they discover the shadows hide more than just bones.
Construction Site Gets a Fright by Sherri Duskey Rinker
This lift-and-flap book has a fun rhyming scheme and Halloween theme, and is perfect for younger kiddos!
Best Halloween Books for Adults
Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths
Cassie Fitzgerald has reinvented herself. Twenty years after she and her friends killed a fellow student, the group of friends return to their high school reunion. But just as they return, more people turn up dead. Pre-order now for November 15!
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
Fans of Hoffman, pick this one up. This is the story of Maria Owens, the matriarch of the line of Owens women and men from Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic. Heading back to the 1600s, we uncover the curse—and the reason behind it—that would haunt the Owens family for centuries.
A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers
Career woman Helen Lambert has actually lived several lives—turns out, she’s a cursed witch who will soon be forced to relive the tragic events that ended her previous lives. Armed with powers that continue to grow with each rebirth, Helen must break the curse before it’s too late.
A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena
Karen and Tom Krupp’s comfortable life in upstate New York is destroyed when she goes missing—only to wake up in a hospital after a car accident. Karen doesn’t remember anything that happened, but the police suspect she was up to no good. Determined to move on with her life, Karen returns home with Tom, but something is not quite right. Her home is different—someone has been there—and the cops keep asking questions. Everyone is a stranger in this house, and everyone has something to hide—something that might be worth killing over.
The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings
In a dystopian world where witches are real and women are monitored, Josephine Thomas is a 28-year-old Black woman who’s about to lose the ability to control her own life. It’s been 14 years since her mom’s disappearance, and Josephine is finally ready to let go. But as she honors one last request from her mother’s will, she embarks on an unforgettable journey to find herself and feel connected one final time.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Is there a better haunted house story than this 1959 gothic horror classic? One that plays with our unnerving fear of the unknown? Four people arrive at Hill House, including researcher Dr. John Montague, who sets up a social experiment looking for evidence of a haunting. What could go wrong?
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
For a ’50s-era Gothic tale set in an isolated Mexican mansion, this is the perfect horror read that follows a brave socialite determined to get to the bottom of a family’s dark, chilling past and treacherous secrets.
Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy
Quick tip: Go into this book blind. It follows Dr. Sam Statler, a psychologist tending to the egos of his clientele, and his wife, Annie, both of whom have moved upstate from New York City. But when Sam goes missing only a few months into living in this new town, things get twisty and twisted. This is a psychological thriller you’ll think you have all figured out—but I promise you, you won’t.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
It’s the headless horseman! For a deliciously spooky short read, who can deny a decapitated ghost, haunted townspeople and these larger-than-life gothic tales?
The Shining by Stephen King
A master of modern horror, Stephen King’s The Shining is set at an atmospheric old hotel, where a caretaker hopes to spend time with his family and work on his own writing. But the hotel has more sinister plans.
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie
By the age of 28, Grace Bernard has killed six members of her family with no regrets. It was her perfect revenge plan, to kill them one by one after finding out her absentee father rejected her mother’s dying pleas for help. No one will find out, and Grace will be free to go on with the rest of her life happily. Until she’s arrested for the one murder she didn’t commit. This darkly humorous debut novel features class, love, family and—best of all—murder.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
A Gothic tale of a haunted marriage, a powerful man and a weaker woman, Rebecca became an immediate bestseller (now acclaimed as a classic), following a young woman who marries a wealthy widower before discovering that both he and his household are haunted by the memory of his late first wife.
Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier
Becoming the prime suspect in her celebrity husband’s murder is not Paris Peralta’s main concern. The rush of unwanted media attention is what worries her most. It’s only a matter of time before someone from her past threatens to destroy her future and the life she’s worked to build. When the former happens, and Ruby Reyes—a woman convicted of a similar crime 25 years prior—threatens to expose Paris’s secrets, she’s forced to confront the dark past she tried so hard to forget.
Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson
True-crime-obsessed Phoebe Walsh’s life changes after moving home for the summer to clean her childhood home. Dealing with her complicated feelings surrounding her father’s death is one thing, but being convinced her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer is enough to push anyone over the edge. While navigating her feelings and digging into this neighbor, Phoebe realizes something much more terrifying: Sam might actually be a nice guy who can reach her vulnerable heart.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
When Jess asked her brother if she could live with him in his Paris apartment, she didn’t expect to arrive and find him missing. Jess becomes an amateur sleuth, digging into her brother’s disappearance, only to end up with more questions. There are Ben’s neighbors—the socialite, the nice guy, the alcoholic, the girl on the verge, the concierge—they’re all suspects. And because everyone knows something they’re not telling, Jess is determined to find out.
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
The delightfully offbeat Odd Thomas is a short-order cook who can see the dead. Sometimes, they linger enough to make Odd realize he needs to right some wrongs. When a stranger comes to town practically swarmed by ghosts, Odd realizes something very, very bad is about to happen—unless he can save the day.
The Island by Adrian McKinty
Soon to be a Hulu series, The Island is an Australian-set thriller about a family vacation that turns into a nightmarish attempt to stay alive.
The Brides of Maracoor by Gregory Maguire
The first book in the magical Wicked spinoff series, The Brides of Maracoor welcomes back a few familiar faces from Oz as well as Elphaba’s vibrantly green-skinned granddaughter, Rain, who washes ashore on a foreign island where a compelling cast of seven “brides” takes her in.
The Best Middle Grade and YA Halloween Books
Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell
Looking for a queer historical thriller? In Victorian England, Adele is a teenage girl turned vigilante who uses her power and privilege to punish abusive suitors and keep young women safe. After being sent to boarding school in London, Adele teams up with a young con woman to deliver justice to wealthy men with dark intentions. As the two work together, Alice learns that she may be the one who needs protecting after all. Pre-order for November 15!
What We Saw by Mary Downing Hahn
Best friends Abbi and Skylar love a good mystery. When they witness a cryptic meeting between two people, they get nosy. But things become serious when a local woman is found dead. They may just hold the key to solving the murder but find themselves in danger as they consider exposing the truth. This middle-grade horror story intertwines small-town secrets, young friendships and a chilling murder mystery.
Reign Returned by Katie Keridan
Kyra Valorian is a gifted Astral healer who discovers she has a life-changing power: She’s able to enter the afterlife and retrieve the dead. Sebastian Sayre is an assassin who dreams of finding a legendary sword that makes its holder invincible. When the two cross paths and team up, they discover more than they could have imagined about their pasts and the realms they came from. Intertwining destiny with timeless love, Sebastian and Kyra learn that the past may be the only way to change the future.
Love in the Age of Dragons by Fatima R. Henson
In this fast-paced young adult fantasy, the world is overrun by dragons. Disease is spreading uncontrollably. And the water supply in an underground community is running low. But 17-year-old Ayanna Grace has more to worry about. She’s torn between her feelings for Richard (her childhood friend) and Jackson (the mysterious newcomer), all while her mentor (the community doctor) is dying from a failing heart. With so much at stake, Ayanna must find a way to save him and her community before it’s too late. Preorder for November 1!
The Darkening by Sunya Mara
Vesper Vale’s parents are failed revolutionaries. While 12 years have passed since her mother’s death, the queen’s soldiers are closing in on her father. Vesper decides the only way to stop them and save her dad is to become one. She takes her father’s book of experimental magic and infiltrates the prince’s squad of soldier-sorcerers, cheating her way into the prince’s cold heart. But when Vesper learns there’s more to the story of her mother’s death, she’s forced to make a difficult decision to save her city.
The Last Huntress by Lenore Borja
On her 18th birthday, Alice Daniels discovers she’s a huntress with the power to enter the Mirror Realm, a magical world beyond her own. She teams up with her three huntress sisters and one handsome protector to rid the magical place of the demons that have been plaguing humans for centuries. But after a deadly visit with an ancient god, Alice is in a race against time to save the life of the man she can never seem to have. Preorder for November 1!
Dark Room Etiquette by Robin Roe
Sayers Wayte’s life is perfect. Until it isn’t. A 16-year-old with good looks, excellent grades, his family’s money and popularity—none of that helps him when he’s been kidnapped and kept in a windowless room without knowing why or how long. To survive, Sayers must learn to forget his past and play the part his abductor wants. But as the lines between fact and fiction blur, Sayers wonders how long before he loses himself completely.
Monster Club by Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel
This middle-grade read follows 11-year-old Eric King, whose family amusement park is severely damaged by a hurricane. After that, things begin to fall apart. Monster Club, a roleplaying game Eric and his friends created, is the only thing keeping his life together. But when Eric comes across a magic ink that brings their monster drawings to life, it’s up to them to save their city from havoc.
The Best Halloween Books for Kids
My Baby Loves Halloween by Jabari Asim
Perfect for tiny tots, the rhythmic story goes over different things about Halloween that Baby loves.
Mother Ghost: Nursery Rhymes for Little Monsters by Rachel Kolar
Great for three to six year olds especially, this collection has pieces like “Mary, Mary, Tall and Scary” and “Wee Willie Werewolf,” ranging from a little creepy to hilarious and everything in between.
Moonlight the Halloween Cat by Cynthia Rylant
This classic picture book is great for kids—it’s an endearing story about a cat that goes for a stroll on Halloween Eve.
Eek! Halloween! by Sandra Boynton
This book is a holiday favorite and features a slew of animals who are noticing that some strange things are going on ahead of Halloween.
The Spooky Wheels on the Bus by J. Elizabeth Mills
This festive take on the classic “Wheels on the Bus” song will have families singing along all Halloween season long! Next up, 35+ Creepy-Cute Halloween Food and Drink Recipes for a Hauntingly Delicious Halloween Party
