Tis the season to curl up with a good book, and by good, we mean spooky.
By now, most people have seen The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, but before it was adapted into a masterful miniseries, the story was actually a classic novel published in 1959, and though it’s far from the first haunted house novel, it might just be one of the best. Many writers have taken a stab (pun intended) at the concept of a haunted house and the set up is a perfect example of the kind of spooks that set the mood for October.
If you’re not interested in hauntings, maybe a murder mystery is more your style, or perhaps you’re looking for a book that will give you the same feeling you had watching the midnight margarita scene from Practical Magic for the first time.
Whatever your taste, be it horror or cosy autumn leaves, this list has something for everyone. —Allie Turner
Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand: Speaking of the Haunting of Hill House, the Shirley Jackson estate greenlit author Elizabeth Hand to write a novel set in the dilapidated old mansion and it was released earlier this week, just in time to add to your fall reading list. A struggling playwright and a troupe of actors rent Hill House for a month to work on a new play but as they settle in it becomes clear the house has been lying in wait.
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix: Veteran horror author Grady Hendrix (My Best Friend’s Exorcism, Final Girl Support Group, and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires) takes apart the classic haunted house structure in his novel How to Sell a Haunted House and rebuilds it centering around a dysfunctional family. Louise must return to her family home following the death of her parents. She doesn’t want to go and wade through the property stuffed full of academic papers (her father’s) and puppets and dolls (her mother’s) and the house doesn’t want to be sold either.
The Night House by Jo Nesbo: This new release from Norwegian author Jo Nesbo takes familiar tropes of the horror genre and injects them with new life in this novel about a 14-year-old outcast sent to live with his grandparents in a small town. When kids start to go missing, he is the only witness to the mysterious telephone booth out by the edge of the woods that’s sucking kids into the receiver but no one will believe him. The story feels both familiar and new at the same time: an abandoned house, a face in the window, kids running amuck in a small town. Stephen King would be proud.
Holly by Stephen King: It wouldn’t be a fall reading list without an entry from Stephen King, the patron saint of contemporary horror. His latest novel Holly centres around a recurring character Holly Gibney that fans might remember from Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch and The Outsider. Now, as a main character, Holly who’s working at the Finders Keepers detective agency is called upon to help locate a missing girl. Mere blocks away from where the girl disappeared lives an octogenarian couple who may be harbouring an unholy secret in the basement of their seemingly perfect home.
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill: Only Murders in the Building is a whodunnit TV show on Disney+ that manages to perfectly balance suspense and comfort with exquisite autumn in New York vibes (not to mention Selena Gomez’s impeccable styling makes for great fall fashion inspo). This murder mystery book similarly captures the playful energy of Only Murders, Knives Out, or really any Agatha Christie novel. The Woman in the Library is set in the ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library and the set up is pretty straightforward–there’s a blood curdling scream and suddenly, the four strangers locked inside the room are all suspects in a murder investigation. Classic.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna: Last year was the season of the cozy kitchen witch with novel after contemporary novel reminiscent of Bewitched and Practical Magic being published for a new BookTok crazed audience. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was widely considered to be one of the best of the bunch. Fans of Emily Henry (Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation) are likely to fall in love with this feel good story about magic and found family. A lonely witch forced to hide her magic, is invited to a remote mansion to teach three young witchlings how to control their powers. There she meets a quirky cast of characters and a handsome librarian…need we say more?
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson: A darker take on the witchy genre is The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson. Described as “The Handmaid’s Tale meets Salem,” The Year of the Witching is about a young mixed race woman living in a rigid, puritanical society. Her very existence is considered a sin and she is forced into silent conformity until she meets the spirits of four persecuted witches in a dark forbidden forest. Torn between the disturbing truth of the world she was raised in and the burgeoning power she discovers within herself, this deeply atmospheric and eerie novel explores questions of race, belonging, and female rage with the backdrop of an insular colony, magic, and plague.
A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson: Vampires may have come and gone from vogue but Dracula will always remain the pinnacle of the gothic horror genre. This unusual steamy and seductive re-imagining from the perspective of Dracula’s first bride revives the story’s tension, bloodlust, and longing with some brilliant new twists. It follows Constanta’s journey from rebirth on the battlefield at the hands of a mysterious stranger to her ultimate undoing and explores themes of control, obsession, emotional abuse, and the bonds of women. Spice warning!
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth: Fall is the perfect time to dive into dark academia. The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein or The Secret History by Donna Tart are great places to start in this genre. Though if you’re looking for more recently published examples maybe try Bunny by Mona Awad or If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. Nothing compares to the changing leaves of a New England university or boarding school as the backdrop for an autumn read. It’s as quintessential as tea and blankets on a rainy day and while the aforementioned books are perfectly serviceable for those sorts of afternoons, this beast of a novel is for those looking for something to sink their teeth into this season. Plain Bad Heroines is a horror-comedy centered around a cursed New England boarding school for girls. It combines all the elements of every other fall read on this list, witches, haunted houses, and a murder mystery. What more could you want?
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher: Few authors better embody the melancholic magic of autumn than Edgar Allan Poe and this retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher updates the gothic tale for a modern audience. The non-binary main character of this short novel/novella is a retired soldier who receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying. They race to the ancestral home of the Ushers only to find a nightmare of fungal growths, possessed wildlife, and a pulsing lake. In less than 200 pages, Kingfisher manages to pull together a creepy and gripping story that’s, dare we say it, better than the source material.
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