Because you can never have too many spooky reads.
Hello again, my friends, I hope you’re having a wonderful October!
Looking for something eerie to get lost in?
You’re in the right place.
Below is, if I say so myself, a fantastic selection of books that are perfect for this spooky season.
Some are not horror at all, for those readers not interesting in the scary stuff, but most are likely to have you turning the lights on.
Will one of these deliciously dark reads catch your eye before Halloween flies on by?
Rules:
Link back to the creators page, Sheri @ ReadBetwixtWords.com
Join in the fun and share your own terrifying tales!
Enjoy!
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A book with a creepy cover:
Alex Sherman’s Cosmic Crust is a Tor.com original science fiction story.
In an apocalyptic, depopulated city, a young man named Bhu struggles to feed his ailing dog, Lucy. Phan, the local pizza parlor owner, takes pity on Bhu and provides the meat Lucy needs so she can survive.
But what exactly is in the meat? And how far is Bhu willing to go to save his dog?
A book that had you looking over your shoulder:
I Call Upon Thee by Ania Ahlborn
A terrifying e-novella from the bestselling author of The Devil Crept In, Brother, and Within These Walls.
Maggie Olsen had a pretty ordinary childhood—swimming and sleepovers, movie nights and dad jokes. And then there were the other things…the darker things…the shadow that followed her home from the cemetery and settled into the corners of her home, refusing to let her grow up in peace.
Now, after three years away from the place she’s convinced she inadvertently haunted, and after yet another family tragedy strikes, Maggie is forced to return to the sweltering heat of a Savannah summer to come to terms with her past. All along, she’s been telling herself, it was just in your head, and she nearly convinces herself that she’d imagined it all. But the moment Maggie steps into the foyer of her family home, she knows. The darkness is still here. And it’s been waiting for Maggie’s return….
A book you would recommend reading around Halloween:
The Clackity by Lora Senf
Leech by Hiron Ennes
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
What is one of your biggest fears?
Anyone else have that nightmare about being labeled mentally unstable, locked up, and drugged out of their minds?
Yep. Me too.
Girl, Interrupted by Susannah Kaysen
The ward for teenage girls in the McLean psychiatric hospital was as renowned for its famous clientele—Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor, and Ray Charles—as for its progressive methods of treating those who could afford its sanctuary. Kaysen’s memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a “parallel universe” set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties.
Girl, Interrupted is a clear-sighted, unflinching document that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.
What’s your favorite kind of supernatural?
(Vampire, Werewolf, Ghost, Witch, and so on..)
Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen
The Imaginarium Geographica
“What is it?” John asked.
The little man blinked and arched an eyebrow.
“It is the world, my boy,” he said. “All the world, in ink and blood, vellum and parchment, leather and hide. It is the world, and it is yours to save or lose.”
An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica — an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. These lands, Bert claims, can be traveled to in his ship the Indigo Dragon, one of only seven vessels that is able to cross the Frontier between worlds into the Archipelago of Dreams.
Pursued by strange and terrifying creatures, the companions flee London aboard the Dragonship. Traveling to the very realm of the imagination itself, they must learn to overcome their fears and trust in one another if they are to defeat the dark forces that threaten the destiny of two worlds. And in the process, they will share a great adventure filled with clues that lead readers to the surprise revelation of the legendary storytellers these men will one day become.
A character on the cover that would make a great Halloween costume:
Light magic is forbidden.
Dark magic spells death.
Haven has both.
After the Prince of Penryth saved her from captivity, seventeen-year-old Haven Ashwood spends her days protecting the kind prince and her nights secretly fighting the monsters outside the castle walls.
When one of those monsters kidnaps Prince Bell, Haven must ally with Archeron Halfbane and his band of immortals to rescue her friend.
Her quest takes her deep into the domain of a warped and vicious queen where the rules are simple: break her curse or die.
Lost in a land of twisted magic and fabled creatures, Haven finds herself unprepared, not just for the feelings she develops for Archeron, but for the warring powers raging inside her.
Her rare and forbidden type of magic may be their only hope . . . but mixing light and dark comes with a steep price.
Haven’s soul.
Faced with impossible love, heartbreaking betrayals, and a queen intent on destroying the realm, only one thing remains certain.
Haven must shatter the curse or it will devour everything she loves.
A TBR you think will be spooky:
The Night Will Find Us by Matthew Lyons
The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Bérubé
These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
A book title with the word Halloween in it:
The Halloween Moon by Joseph Fink
Esther Gold loves Halloween more than anything in the world. So she is determined to go trick-or-treating again this year despite the fact that her parents think she is officially too old. Esther has it all planned out, from her costume to her candy-collecting strategy. But when the night rolls around, something feels . . . off.
No one is answering their door. The moon is an unnatural shade of orange. Strange children wander the streets, wearing creepy costumes that might not be costumes at all. And it seems like the only people besides Esther who are awake to see it all are her best friend, her school bully, and her grown-up next-door neighbor.
Together, this unlikely crew must find a way to lift the curse that has been placed upon their small town before it’s too late. Because someone is out to make sure Halloween never comes to an end. And even Esther doesn’t want to be trapped in this night forever.
A creature you wouldn’t want to meet in the dark:
Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return—except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day Julie will come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.
Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong—she’s emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who—or what—is she?
What’s your favorite part of Halloween?
Nearly everything.
Halloween gives us a chance to be someone—or something—new and magical for a night.
The Horror Of It All by David Kempf
The Horror Of It All is a collection of interviews spanning all facets of the horror genre, including novels, film, horror hosts, dark fiction, cover art, and special effects. With a forward by the incomparable Jonathan Maberry, this book is sure to engage, inform, and enlighten every true-blue, horror enthusiast.
100% of every book sold will be donated to benefit those suffering from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).
Thank you for stopping by and checking out my post, I hope you enjoyed the books!
There’s not much time left before October ends and November kicks off the Christmas-craze so let’s enjoy it while it lasts.
Happy reading!
What are your Halloween plans?
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Ooh I think that there are one or two here that won’t scare me half to death.
Lol! Awh.. I sure hope not.