Horror Books to Read this Fall
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Autumn is here, and with it, all the things that go bump in the night. Ghosts, ghouls, and vampires alike prowl the screens and pages we read to give us a taste of the spooky season. Horror is one of my favorite genres, not just in film but in books too. A good horror story is full of suspense, thrill, and questions. Some stories are so good that I have to turn on all the lights just to get some peace of mind.
October is here, and with it, the days count down to Halloween. If you have a list of movies to watch and things to do, let me add another—a list of horror books to read for the spooky season. Even if you can’t get them to all, I highly recommend adding them to your to-read list anyway. Here are some horror books you can read by Halloween.
Interview With The Vampire
Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of his maker, Lestat. His story ebbs and flows through his travels and struggles with immortality. A curse he was unwillingly indoctrinated into. Interview is a compelling tale of vampirism and the search for meaning after death that bleeds into the Vampire Chronicles. The story is full of love, loss, change, sexuality, and power.
The Silver family is reeling with grief as the tale of their grievances takes place in a mysterious house on the cliffs near Dover. The house grumbles while generations of women haunt its walls. Miranda seems to be more aware of these spirits than her brother and father. And one night, she vanishes while the survivors are left to tell her story. This is a gothic tale that will leave you electrified with its themes of loss, magic, and love.
Imaginary Friend
When Kate Reese flees an abusive relationship with her son, Christopher, and finds herself settling in Mill Grove, Pennsylvania, she believes she has found peace. Until her son vanishes. It isn’t until six days later that Christopher returns with a voice in his head and a mission to complete. He must build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas, or everyone in the town, his mother included, will be in danger.
The Only Good Indians
Four American Indian men find themselves helpless against an entity set on revenge. Following a traumatic event from their younger years, these men come face to face with the very traditions they left behind. The Only Good Indians is a tale of cultural identity and revenge.
Shori is a 53-year old genetically modified vampire who is forced to investigate what she can from her stolen former life. While learning about her past, Shori must figure out who is after her. Fledgling is a compelling story about what it truly means to be human.
Aside from his popular older brother, Jake Livingston is one of the only Black kids at St. Clair Prep. High school is hard enough being normal, but Jake is anything but. Jake can see the dead, and one day Jake meets Sawyer. Sawyer murdered six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. And he still has some unfinished business. With bodies piling up in Jake’s neighborhood, he isn’t sure how he’s going to survive with a vengeful, murdering ghost haunting him.
Dracula opens with Jonathan Harker taking a trip to the castle of Count Dracula. Through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles are how this narrative is spelled. Once Harker finds out that the Count is, in fact, a vampire, he flees the castle. Dracula is a classic tale of the vampire and still proves to be the batter in all modern takes on vampirism.
In Her Boyd and Other Parties are galvanic tales that map the realities of women’s lives and the violence visited upon them. This collection includes horror, queer, comic, and otherwordly narratives that jolt even the slightest stories told in the dark. These narratives are borderline between horror, science fiction, and psychological realism. Tales for bedtime if you dare.
Tell music, which ones sound the most interesting to you? Have you read these? You can always stay up to date on what we are reading on Instagram and Goodreads.
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