It’s one of my favorite times of year, when the trees are colorful and the air turns crisp. There’s just something about the nights getting longer and the temperatures getting colder that makes me want to curl up and read something genuinely terrifying. And so, in honor of Halloween month (don’t let anyone tell you that Halloween is just one day), please enjoy this list of my favorite spooky novels that send chills down my spine no matter how many times I read them.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Let’s start with the book that first piqued my interest in the suspenseful horror genre. Of course, anyone who has read author Mark Z. Danielewski’s debut novel will know that it’s hard to pin down exactly what category to slot this experimental tome in: Horror? Suspense? Mystery? Fantasy?
Purportedly written by two men named Zampanò and Johnny Truant, the novel focuses on the “real” documentary film The Navidson Record, which was directed by photojournalist Will Navidson about a house he moved into that appears to be much larger on the inside than the outside. If that doesn’t sound terrifying to you, trust me: it is.
As readers follow the creepy events of Navidson’s house exploration, they are also treated to a full-on possible mental break by the authors themselves. Words are sometimes scattered about the page, forcing readers to turn the book upside down to read or try to decipher the mad scribblings and increasingly deranged footnotes (so many footnotes!) in order to try and make sense of the horrific events. It’s an interactive novel in the best way—one that genuinely had me hesitating to turn out the lights at night.
The Haunting of Hill House (Bonus: We Have Always Lived in the Castle) by Shirley Jackson
I had to add an extra book to this entry because there is no way I could have included only one Shirley “The Absolute Queen of Suspenseful Horror” Jackson novel to this list. Let’s start with The Haunting of Hill House, Jackson’s 1959 classic that has spawned hundreds of imitations and one really good Netflix adaptation. The story revolves around Dr. John Montague, a supernatural investigator, who invites guests he believes have had experiences with paranormal events to the supposedly haunted Hill House for the summer. He hopes to find scientific proof that the supernatural actually exists.
Two people accept his invitation: Eleanor Vance, a soft-spoken young woman who resents that she had to care for her aging mother, and Theodora, a free-spirited artist. Luke Sanderson is the heir to Hill House and also participates in the summer getaway. Jackson creates so much horror with so little, very rarely revealing what is actually there—instead, she lets the readers’ imaginations take over . . . which is somehow even scarier.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle shares this almost constant sense of foreboding with a tale of two sisters who have been ostracized from their town after the rest of their family was mysteriously poisoned years before. It also possesses arguably one of the best openings in literature.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
I could have included many of Stephen King’s novels on this list, but I would argue that Fairy Tale rises above the rest with its blend of spookiness, emotional depth, and an imaginative, gruesome take on some of the most beloved fairy tales of all time.
Charlie Reade is a kindhearted seventeen-year-old boy who unexpectedly befriends his grumpy neighbor, Mr. Bowditch, after rescuing him from a fall off a ladder. Mr. Bowditch posthumously reveals the existence of a portal to another world in his shed—a world where there is a magic sundial that can reverse aging.
Desperate to save Mr. Bowditch’s ailing elderly dog, Radar, Charlie travels to the magical world called Lilimar to use the sundial on him—and there encounters twisted versions of classic fairy-tale tropes. Charlie’s true role in the whole adventure slowly becomes clear as his journey leads him to the center of an Oz-like city with monsters beyond his imagination.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
I don’t know how he does it, but author Grady Hendrix always manages to pull off that most delicate of hat tricks: novels that are funny, terrifying, and emotionally compelling. Perhaps the best example of this is My Best Friend’s Exorcism, a novel set in the golden days of 1988.
High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since the fourth grade, but after a secluded night in the woods (you see where this is going), Gretchen begins acting . . . differently. Certain that her BFF is possessed by the devil but unable to convince any of the adults around her, Abby must undergo the most serious—and potentially deadly—test of friendship she’ll ever face in order to help her friend.
Campy, poignant, and hair-raising, this story is basically Halloween in book form.
Andrea Moran lives outside of Nashville with her husband and two kids. She’s a professional copywriter and editor who loves all things books. Find her on LinkedIn.
