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The Bookseller's favourite spooky books for Halloween
Rather than go out trick or treating tonight, why not curl up with a good book? To celebrate Halloween, The Bookseller news team decided to share our favourite spooky books. From cult classics to gothic horror, children’s books and twists on well-known scary stories, read them if you dare...
Heloise Wood, deputy news editor:
The Skull, Jon Klassen (Walker Books)
What’s it about?
"One night, in the middle of the night, while everyone else was asleep, Otilla finally ran away." We never find out why, but the little girl does chance upon a majestic house in the forest inhabited by a talking skull who she befriends. There’s a ballroom scene, a tea-drinking scene by the fire (harder to drink if you’re a skull, we discover) and a headless skeleton haunting followed by some bone-smashing and a bottomless pit, so all the classic children’s book tropes.
Why do we love it?
A current new favourite, we chanced upon Klassen’s vividly illustrated rendering of a Tyrolean folk tale in a bookshop while trying to distract my two-year-old as I went to the toilet. My sister attempted various other more suitable books but my daughter would not be fobbed off and is now slightly obsessed with it. I can see why: the illustrations are gorgeous and, while it’s dark and trippy, it also has a very cosy winter feel to it. Klassen apparently wrote The Skull after reading the original folk story in a library in Alaska and misremembering a much darker version which he preferred. Hoping I’m not going to be billed for my daughter’s therapy in later years.
Molly Openshaw, social media executive:
A Dowry of Blood, S. T. Gibson (Orbit)
What’s it about?
In A Dowry of Blood, we hear the story of Dracula from the perspective of his first wife, Constanta. With the omission of Dracula’s name, the reader is only introduced to a mysterious “you”. We follow Constanta from her provincial upbringing to her vampiric rebirth, through centuries of European travel as the couple recruit new victims and lovers to their relationship. This is at once a romance and a suspenseful gothic novel about the sacrifices women will make for love and the path to vengeance.
Why do we love it?
While spanning decades and traversing the whole of Europe, this novel is a wholly intimate narrative of one woman’s struggle with her husband’s power. The epistolary nature and confessional tone make for a dangerous, obsessive reading experience. Novels about vampires are a dime a dozen at the moment, but this fresh take on a classic is brilliant.
Maia Snow, news editor:
Carrie, Stephen King (Doubleday)
What’s it about?
The novel follows "misfit" high-school girl, Carrie White, who throughout the book discovers that she has telekinetic powers. She is repressed by a domineering, ultra-religious mother and tormented by her peers at school. Despite her efforts to fit in, the book culminates in a dramatic confrontation during the senior prom.
Why do we love it?
The book is written with surprisingly calm language and manner, and despite Carrie being a relatively short book, the eponymous lead’s descent into madness and chaos seems quite gradual, luring the reader into a false sense of security. Despite the horrific events that take place throughout the book, the final confrontation feels particularly shocking and weirdly surprising—but really, it’s been a long time coming. The ending of the book, with the medical analysis of Carrie’s condition makes it feel all the more real—and will stay with the reader for a long time afterwards.
Matilda Battersby, senior reporter:
The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters (Virago)
What’s it about?
This Gothic horror story is narrated by buttoned up local physician Dr Faraday who inveigles his way into the lives of the inhabitants of Hundreds Hall. The Ayres family are Warwickshire landed gentry, now on their uppers, who begin to be plagued by a strange malevolent force which terrorises the family in their once grand mansion. But is it really a ghost, an upset servant, or could sexual repression, class envy and voyeuristic tendencies be behind the macabre doings?
Why do we love it?
I’m not sure love is the right word. I mean, it’s a brilliant book and I found myself hooked from the first page by the gorgeous setting and writing and the pervasive sense of menace. I’m a massive scaredy cat and the good friend who lent me her copy failed to mention that this was a terrifying story of poltergeists and hauntings. When I discovered what it was about, I had to stay up most of the night finishing it, knowing I’d be unable to sleep if I left it halfway through. I did consider leaving the lights on and it remains the most scared I’ve been since that sleepover when I was 13 when I watched The Exorcist.
Katie Fraser, staff writer and chair of the YA Book Prize 2024
A Study in Drowning, Ava Reid (Cornerstone)
Effy can see things, things no one else can see. Since childhood, she has been plagued by visions of the Fairy King, a nightmarish entity found in the pages of Angharad, a classic work of literature in her world. Effy’s battered copy of the book is the only thing keeping her sane at her stifling architecture college. However, when the late author’s family recruits her to redesign his house, she feels like the stars are aligning. Joined by the seemingly stuffy literature student Preston Héloury, it quickly becomes clear that not all is how it seems. Hiraeth Manor is a dilapidated wreck and, as Effy’s visions worsen, it seems that the author’s son is harbouring dark secrets. Perhaps the fae are much closer than we think, and they mean us harm.
Reid’s novel is a dark read that toys with our fear of the unknown. Effy’s visions not only disturb the protagonist but leave the reader questioning the borders of reality. Is that a figure at the bottom of your road? Watching you from the window? This is not only a study in drowning, but a study in the ways the mind can unravel when an individual is disregarded. The way in which Effy is treated by her family and the medical community is a potent reminder to be kind to those around us and fight against the bias that exists against women in mental health.
