In the mood for spooky books but don’t like horror? Check out these five slightly creepy reads to get you into the Halloween vibe.
As a fan of all things fall and Halloween, I’m always on the lookout for books to read during October and November with an eerie vibe. There is something about Autumn that makes me want to read eerie books with darker tones even though I can’t so much as watch the trailer for The Haunting of Hill House without freaking myself out.
A true scaredy cat at heart, my options are limited outside of the horror genre. Luckily there has been an influx lately in both YA and MG books when it comes to creepy aesthetics and plotlines that are just shy of truly horrifying.
From modern day local urban legends to a girl who can see and interact with ghosts, these five books will fill your mind with chilling imagery and unforgettable stories that are perfect for curling up on a cool fall day and escaping into a fictional world.
5 Eerie Books for the Non-Horror Reader
‘City of Ghosts’ by Victoria Schwab
City of Ghosts is about Cassidy Blake, a 12 year old whose best friend happens to be a ghost, and her ability to not only sense ghosts presence, but travel through the Veil herself. She and her family travel to Edinburgh, a city full of lore and the dead buried beneath the city where she comes in contact with more ghosts then she ever imagined.
With an intriguing premise, eerie tone, an eclectic cast of characters, and a surprising amount of Harry Potter references, City of Ghosts is a perfect mix of spooky and disquieting with a side of adventure. Victoria Schwab is known for her immersive world building and beautiful macabre style, and she continues to bring her unique grasp on storytelling to Middle Grade readers in City of Ghosts.
If you’re hesitant at the MG rating, don’t be. City of Ghosts is exactly the book that 12 year old me would have eaten up in a minute. In fact, at 33, this book was probably one of my favorites of the entire year. With the second book coming out (hopefully!) next year, this is the perfect fall read.
‘Sawkill Girls’ by Claire Legrand
Seeped in urban legend, the island of Sawkill is home not only to the sleepy town of Sawkill, but of something darker. With a tone reminiscent of Twin Peaks and Riverdale, with a murder mystery and imagery that leaves the reader scared of the dank, dark woods themselves, Sawkill Girls brings new life to local urban legends and how people turn a blind eye to what they don’t want to see.
With girls disappearing for over 100 years, it comes down to three teenage girls to save not only themselves, but the world as they know it. Sawkill Girls has a ‘smash the patriarchy’ vibe that hits so close to home it isn’t that far of a stretch from reality, which makes the book even creepier when you realise that it isn’t just the paranormal that are monsters.
Unable to be put down, Sawkill Girls is the perfect mix of eerie imagery, creepy evil, found family, and solidarity that makes it a perfect fall read. I wouldn’t read it in the woods, though, but that’s just my scaredy cat tendencies.
‘The Wicked Deep’ by Shea Ernshaw
The town of Sparrow is quaint and picturesque, except for the fact that it is cursed. 200 years ago, three sisters were tried as witches and drowned. To this day, every year during Swan Season, they inhabit three girls from the isolated town of Sparrow, where they lure three boys into the depths of the water for their revenge.
Another book seeped in local urban legend that turns out to be true, The Wicked Deep is the perfect mix of Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic, and the Salem Witch Trials. Swan Season takes place during the summer, but this standalone book is perfect for fall with its witchy tone and quietly eerie qualities. One of my favorite books of the year, I’d read it again in a heartbeat.
‘The Hazel Wood’ by Melissa Albert
“Stay away from the Hazel Wood” is the only message left behind by Alice’s mother upon her disappearance. At first it makes sense, until you realize that the Hazel Wood is a fictional place that Alice’s grandmother made up, or so Alice thought. Running all of her life, Alice never stopped to think about why she and her mom never seemed to stay in one place. When the Hazel Wood wants you, there is no outrunning it.
Reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, but darker, The Hazel Wood puts a modern day spin on fairy tales. Dark and sinister, the Hazel Wood turns out to be a nonsensical place that would do anything to keep Alice. Unique and breathtaking, The Hazel Wood brings back the eerie qualities of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales where they are more gruesome and unforgiving than the Disney retellings we are used to nowadays.
‘Stalking Jack the Ripper’ by Kerri Maniscalco
In a time when courtship rituals and etiquette books were a thing, Stalking Jack the Ripper is a book ripe with romantic tension amidst the bedlam of the famous Whitechapel murders. A murder mystery thriller with a strong leaning towards horror, Stalking Jack the Ripper is a retelling of the pandemonium of 1888 London.
With the subject matter being dark itself, the tone of Stalking Jack the Ripper is perfect for fall in that macabre way that murders and near death experiences somehow seem like the thing to read in Autumn. While not actually horror, there are multiple instances within Stalking Jack the Ripper that had my heart rate skyrocketing with worry for both Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell, which is exactly the visceral feeling I seek out while curled up in a warm blanket on a cool day.