There’s something about October that makes me want every book I pick up to feel just a little bit spooky.
Maybe that means a crumbling old house with a questionable history. Maybe it’s witches and spells, a genuinely creepy ghost story, or a thriller that keeps you reading long after you meant to go to bed. And sometimes, you want all the October atmosphere without actually being scared, which is where a good spooky themed romance comes in.
So I put together 36 spooky books to read this October, with six different categories depending on exactly what kind of spooky reader you are.
This isn’t a list of 36 books I’ve personally read and rated. Some are books I’ve read, some are already sitting on my own TBR, and others are books that come highly recommended. The common denominator? Every one of them feels right for October.
So light a candle, grab something warm to drink, and pick your spooky reading mood: Gothic, Witchy, Ghostly, Thriller, Horror, or Spooky Romance.
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Gothic Reads
For crumbling estates, family secrets and things lurking in the halls.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
A mysterious author who has spent her career inventing stories about her own past finally decides to tell the truth. Family secrets, an old English estate and a story-within-a-story give this one all the ingredients for a classic Gothic October read. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for awhile and I can’t wait to read it!
Read this if you want: old houses, buried family secrets and a slower, atmospheric mystery.
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
A newly widowed woman arrives at her late husband’s crumbling country estate and discovers an unsettling wooden figure that looks suspiciously like her. Things only get stranger from there.
Read this if you want: Victorian Gothic, an isolated estate and the kind of creepy object you absolutely would not want in your own house.
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
After the Mexican War of Independence, Beatriz marries for security and arrives at her new husband’s remote hacienda, only to realize something about the house is very wrong. A priest with his own secrets may be her best chance at understanding what’s happening. After reading her other novel, The Vampires of El Norte, I’m excited to dive into this one!
Read this if you want: a haunted house, historical Gothic atmosphere and supernatural dread.
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
Told through the perspective of one of Dracula’s brides, this is a lush, dark reimagining of vampiric mythology centered on love, obsession, power and control.
Read this if you want: vampires, beautiful prose, toxic relationships and something darkly romantic.
Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
Years after leaving the remote island where she grew up, a man returns following the death of his mother and is forced to confront the unsolved murder that made him leave in the first place. This one is a beautiful story and I love the writing style and romanticism that Adrienne adds into all of her books.
Read this if you want: an isolated island, old secrets, subtle magic and moody Pacific Northwest atmosphere.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
In a dying Kentucky town stands Starling House, a mysterious mansion tied to a reclusive nineteenth-century author and to stories that may be more than stories. When Opal takes a job there, the house begins pulling her deeper into its history.
Read this if you want: a sentient-feeling house, small-town secrets and modern Southern Gothic
Witchy Reads
For spells, covens and a little October magic.
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Three women living centuries apart are connected by blood, the natural world and a legacy that has long been misunderstood. Their stories gradually intertwine in a novel about women, power and the things passed from one generation to another. This is our current bookclub read!
Read this if you want: historical fiction, feminine magic, nature and multiple timelines.
Cackle by Rachel Harrison
After a breakup, Annie moves to a picturesque small town for a fresh start and meets the glamorous, magnetic Sophie. Sophie seems almost too good to be true and the townspeople seem more than a little afraid of her. Another winner by Rachel Harrison! If you like this one, her others are also great too!
Read this if you want: cozy but weird witchiness, female friendship and a story that feels like an October weekend in a charming small town.
Slewfoot by Brom
Set in seventeenth-century New England, Slewfoot follows a young widow who forms an unlikely connection with an ancient spirit while living among a deeply suspicious Puritan community. I loved the folklore in this one and the original artwork is stunning too!
Read this if you want: folk horror, witches, historical New England and something much darker than cozy magic.
The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke
An artist arrives on a remote Scottish island with her daughters to paint a mural inside an old lighthouse. When one of the girls disappears, the island’s legends about witches and supernatural beings become increasingly difficult to dismiss.
Read this if you want: Scottish folklore, an isolated lighthouse, witches and multiple timelines.
The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
Three young women become entangled in a world of forbidden magic as they investigate a string of murders connected to witches.
Read this if you want: dark magic, female friendship, murder mystery energy and witchcraft with actual teeth.
In the Company of Witches by Auralee Wallace
Brynn Warren has stopped using her powers after the death of her husband and now helps run her family’s inn. But when a guest is murdered, solving the crime may require Brynn to embrace her magic again. A clue-style mystery plus witches? Sign me up! I’m currently reading this one!
Read this if you want: cozy mystery, a magical family, a charming inn and witchy vibes without the nightmares.
Ghostly Reads
For haunted houses, restless spirits and things that won’t stay buried.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
Maggie grew up famous because of the bestselling book her father wrote about their family’s supposedly haunted house. She doesn’t remember the terrifying events he described and she doesn’t believe them. Then she inherits the house. This may be my favorite Riley Sager book!
Read this if you want: haunted-house horror, competing versions of the truth and a page-turning mystery.
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
Set in colonial Malaya, The Ghost Bride follows Li Lan, whose struggling family receives an unusual proposal: become the bride of a wealthy family’s recently deceased son.
Read this if you want: historical fiction, Chinese folklore, the spirit world and something completely different from the traditional haunted-house story.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
In the aftermath of World War I, a combat nurse travels back to Belgium searching for answers about her missing brother as rumors circulate about a mysterious figure offering soldiers escape from the horrors surrounding them.
Read this if you want: historical fiction, wartime ghosts, grief and an eerie supernatural undercurrent.
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan
At Akbar Manzil, a once-grand South African estate now turned boardinghouse, a curious young woman begins uncovering the tragedy of a woman who died there a century earlier, unaware that a grieving djinn is watching from the shadows.
Read this if you want: a decaying mansion, a century-old mystery, ghosts, a djinn and a haunting with a romantic, melancholy edge.
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Decades after her aunt mysteriously disappeared while working at the Sun Down Motel, Carly travels to the same small town looking for answers and ends up working the same night shift. I’ve heard so many good things about this one! Trying to knock it off of my TBR this month!
Read this if you want: a creepy roadside motel, ghosts, true-crime energy and dual timelines.
The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
When Melanie unexpectedly inherits a historic Charleston home, the ghosts already occupying it complicate her plans considerably. Add a mystery involving the house’s past and you’ve got a lighter entry into the haunted-house category. This one is a great option if you want something more light and playful, not scary. Loved it!
Read this if you want: Charleston atmosphere, ghosts, historical mystery and a little romance mixed in
Thrillers
For dark secrets, suspicious strangers and just-one-more-chapter nights.
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
The Darker family gathers at an isolated family home for their grandmother’s birthday, cut off from the mainland when the tide comes in. Then, at midnight, someone is found dead. This one gave me Clue vibes, which I absolutely loved. I recommend this one to everyone and, as an avid thriller reader, I loved the twists and turns throughout. One of my faves!
Read this if you want: an isolated setting, a deeply dysfunctional family and an Agatha-Christie-style setup with a darker edge.
The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup
A killer is terrorizing Copenhagen and leaving handmade figures made from chestnuts at the crime scenes. A fingerprint on one of them connects the case to the supposedly murdered daughter of a politician. Friends rave about this one!
Read this if you want: Nordic noir, serial killers, disturbing clues and a genuinely dark crime thriller.
The Burning Girls by C.J. Tudor
A vicar and her teenage daughter arrive in a small English village with a troubling history involving Protestant martyrs, missing girls and secrets the locals would rather keep buried.
Read this if you want: creepy villages, old legends, religious history and thriller-meets-horror atmosphere.
The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan
Private investigator Annie Gore takes a cold case that sends her deep into an Appalachian mountain community where three girls disappeared ten years earlier and only one ever returned. The North Carolina mountain setting is a major part of the atmosphere.
Read this if you want: Appalachian atmosphere, missing-person cold cases, small-town secrets and a strong sense of place.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Guests gather on a remote Irish island for an extravagant wedding. Resentments simmer, secrets surface and before the celebration is over, someone is dead. One of my faves from this author!
Read this if you want: an isolated island, multiple suspects, messy relationships and a classic locked-room-style mystery.
One Dark Night by Hannah Richell
This one might be the most October book in this entire section: teenagers gather in supposedly haunted woods on Halloween night, and by morning, one of them is dead. The investigation brings together urban legend, family secrets and a community trying to understand what really happened.
Read this if you want: Halloween night, haunted-woods folklore, murder and a thriller with Gothic undertones
Horror Reads
For when you actually want your October reading to scare you.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
Set in Jim Crow-era Florida, this historical horror novel follows twelve-year-old Robbie Stephens Jr. after he is sent to the Gracetown School for Boys, a brutal institution haunted by more than its violent history. This one is heavy and long, but definitely worth the read.
Read this if you want: historical horror, ghosts and a story where the real-world horrors are every bit as frightening as the supernatural ones.
Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon
A family leaves city life behind for an idyllic New England village, only to discover that the community’s quaint traditions hide something much darker.
Read this if you want: folk horror, an insular small town, harvest-season atmosphere and a slow descent into something deeply unsettling.
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
A strange variety of apple begins transforming the people of a small Pennsylvania town after they taste it and not necessarily for the better. Creepy apple orchards? Yes, please.
Read this if you want: sinister apples, small-town horror and harvest season gone spectacularly wrong.
The Haar by David Sodergren
When developers threaten to push an elderly woman from the Scottish coastal home she has occupied for decades, an encounter on the beach introduces something unexpected, and not human, into her life.
Read this if you want: creature horror, Scottish coastal atmosphere, body horror and a surprisingly emotional story underneath the gore.
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
A young Korean American woman develops an increasingly disturbing obsession with blue eyes as anger, desire and violent fantasy begin bleeding into one another.
Read this if you want: psychological horror, female rage, body horror and something unsettlingly contemporary.
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine
A teenage girl obsessed with horror movies gets an impossible chance to return to the night her sister was murdered and potentially change what happened. For all my Scream fans!
Read this if you want: slashers, horror-movie references, time-bending mystery and a book that knows exactly how much you love scary movies.
Spooky Romance
For when you like a little swooning with your spooky season.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Historian and reluctant witch Diana Bishop accidentally calls up an enchanted manuscript at Oxford’s Bodleian Library, drawing the attention of witches, demons, and a centuries-old vampire. Loved this whole series, and there’s a tv show too!
Read this if you want: witches, vampires, academia, forbidden romance and a big supernatural world to disappear into.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Nine years after drunkenly cursing her ex-boyfriend, witch Vivienne Jones discovers that maybe the curse wasn’t quite as harmless as she thought when he returns to town. Even though I don’t consider myself a big romance fan, this one was cute and perfect for October.
Read this if you want: small-town Halloween atmosphere, witches, second-chance romance and something light and fun.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
A politically motivated marriage between a Vampyre woman and an Alpha Werewolf pulls two supernatural enemies together, with plenty of suspicion and attraction along the way. If you liked Twilight, but wanted (a lot) more spice, this one’s for you.
Read this if you want: vampires, werewolves, enemies-to-lovers energy and a much steamier version of spooky season.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
A romance ghostwriter, who no longer believes in love, returns home after a family loss and discovers that her recently deceased editor has shown up as a ghost.
Read this if you want: ghosts, romance, grief, humor and something more heartfelt than scary.
Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi
A kitchen witch whose magic comes with an unfortunate romantic complication meets a man who makes keeping her distance much harder than usual.
Read this if you want: cozy witchiness, food, autumn atmosphere and a spicy romance.
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
Hart is a marshal who patrols a strange magical world; Mercy works at her family’s undertaking business. They can’t stand each other in person, but an anonymous correspondence begins changing things.
Read this if you want: enemies-to-lovers, magical creatures, unusual world-building and romance with just the right amount of death for October
So, What Kind of Spooky Reader Are You?
The best part about an October reading list is that “spooky” can mean so many different things.
You can spend the month wandering through haunted estates and crumbling mansions, solving murders in creepy little towns, reading about witches and vampires, or choosing something terrifying enough that you suddenly regret reading alone after dark.
Or you can pick a cute witchy romance and sleep perfectly well afterward. No judgment here.
I’m already adding a few of these to my own October TBR, and I’d love to know what you’re reading this month.
Which category are you choosing first: Gothic, Witchy, Ghostly, Thriller, Horror or Spooky Romance?
And if there’s a book that absolutely belongs on an October reading list, leave it in the comments so we can all make our TBRs even more unreasonable.
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