It’s October, and you know what that means—spooky season is officially, officially upon us! Normally, I can’t stand anything scary, but spooky season always sends me straight to the creepiest, witchiest books on my TBR (and to bingeing entire seasons of Charmed).
If you want to dive into October with an accompanying spooky read, here are some books that are sure to give you goosebumps (or at least get you in the Halloween spirit). Whether you’re looking for full-on horror, a creepy gothic mystery, a witchy romance, or fantasy with a darker twist, there’s something on this list for every kind of spooky-season reader.
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All of Us Villains duology by Amanda Foody. I’ve definitely recommended this duology before, but it’s one of my favorites. In this contemporary fantasy, the teenage heirs of seven powerful families must fight to the death for their families to gain (or maintain) control of the magic in their town. It’s like a magical Hunger Games, but, nostalgia aside, dare I say this duology is even better?
Erin A. Craig books. Most Erin A. Craig books are very eerie fairytale retellings, and her other non-retelling books are just as haunting. My favorites are A House of Salt and Sorrows, a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and Small Favors, which draws inspiration from the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale. The goosebumps factor is high with each of these in the best possible way.
What I personally consider to be Stephen King’s Big Spooky Three: The Shining, IT, and Misery. These three books are infamous for being essential horror reads. Obviously, King has written many, many more, but these three are popular for a reason. IT is definitely the most intimidating, clocking in at over 1,100 pages, while The Shining and Misery are much more manageable page-count-wise, at least. Choose your fighter: demonic shapeshifting clown, haunted hotel, or psychotic superfan.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling. To break up some of the horror, here’s a little spooky romantic comedy rec in which Vivi, a young woman—I mean, witch—puts a seemingly harmless curse on her ex-boyfriend. When he comes back years later, however, they need to work together to figure out how to break his curse before it ends up having disastrous consequences for their whole town.
Bunny by Mona Awad. My friend tried to talk to me twenty minutes after I finished this book, and I had to say, ‘One second, my brain is still trying to process what the hell I just read.’ This entire book feels like a fever dream about academia, conformity, and the terrifying power of a collective mind—with a healthy dose of gore and general freakiness.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. This was actually our book club book for October 2025, and, yes, I was inspired to suggest it by Taylor Swift and tolerate it. Even if you’re not a Taylor Swift fan, this gothic classic will have you on the edge of your seat as our nameless protagonist is constantly compared to her new husband’s dead wife. If that doesn’t sound like a nightmare, I don’t know what does.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab. I’m so, so sick of vampire and werewolf books. SO sick. This is the only vampire novel I’ve read in the last three years that I’ve actually liked, and I positively adored it. V.E. Schwab does a fantastic job of weaving together the stories of women across three different timelines and making you care about every single one of them.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix. If you love slasher films, this book is for you. Our main character, Lynette, is a real-life final girl—a woman who survives a slasher-style killing spree—and is coping with her past trauma alongside a support group of other final girls. But what happens when it seems the danger might not actually be over?
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. The worldbuilding takes a little time to wrap your head around, but you’ll fall in love with the characters (mostly Gideon) immediately. It’s a wonderfully weird blend of science fiction and fantasy, following Gideon as she swears her sword to protect her planet’s necromancer heir—who also happens to be her childhood nemesis.
Those are my go-to recommendations for haunting October reads! Now I want to hear from you: What’s your favorite book to read during spooky season? Are you reaching for horror, gothic fiction, witchy romances, or something else entirely? Tell me in the comments!
