Halloween Reads for Rainy Fall Days
Can you believe it’s October already?! I don’t mean to scare you at the speed in which this semester is flying, but boy is it going by. Fear not, though! The leaves are changing colors, the campus is looking beautiful (I may not be there, but trust me I’ve seen enough pictures of orange and red trees to last me a lifetime). But if you’re curled up all day on rainy days like this past Wednesday, there is nothing better than reading a good book inside. Luckily for you, I have some Halloween-inspired recommendations that may or may not also be on my TBR just for you!
- “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” by Iain Reid
Boy, does this thriller keep you on the edge of your seat. This novel is a quick read following a relationship that slowly gets more and more dysfunctional and creepy as it continues. Each chapter offers completely new and odd additions to the narrative that pile up until you simply cannot guess what will happen next. It is mind-boggling and an easy read in one sitting that will make you question every word you just looked over once you’re finished. The best part? It’s equally strange movie is on Netflix, directed by Charlie Kaufman, which should tell you enough.
- “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley is national and Halloween treasure. Most people assume Frankenstein is just about the green dude with bolts in his neck from movies, but there is so much more to the story. It follows the need for companionship, the toil of loneliness, the spiraling that can come from obsession with a task. Shelley combines raw and enigmatic emotion with creepiness in this read.
- “Pet Sematary” by Stephen King
Stephen King has his own issues don’t get me wrong, but the man was able to WRITE a scary novel. This is easily one of his best books and scariest books to this day. You follow a story of a family that has just moved, which is situated on a very busy street. One day their beloved cat dies, and they bury him in a nearby graveyard but the CAT COMES BACK. Not only does he come back, but he is most definitely no longer the cat they once loved. As the back of the book posits, “sometimes dead is better…” This book also has 2 films- I suggest the 1989 version; the special effects are NOT good, but you’ll get such a laugh out of it.
- “Baby Teeth” by Zoje Stage
If you love contemporary fiction and aren’t looking for body horror or gore and axe murderers, this may just be the book for you. It centers around a family whose child is mute in the presence of her mother, and will only speak to her father. As the novel progresses, you begin to see that this child is plotting against her own mother. Children terrify me, and they will terrify you after this book too. It is so suspenseful and full of tension that you can’t help but wonder what you would do in that situation too.
- “A Dirty Job” by Christopher Moore
If you want a fun time, you should follow the story of this Beta male’s journey to becoming a soul collector. It unpacks intense themes surrounding death and family and grieving, but is sure to keep you laughing. There are plenty of moments of absurdity that you can’t help but engage with and sympathize with. The characters are distinct and memorable, and the book is an extremely easy read.
- “Gerald’s Game,” by Stephen King
Oh god, Hannah- another King novel? Yes. When he does good horror, he does good horror! I can’t help it. “Gerald’s Game” follows an older couple in a remote cabin for a weekend getaway. I promise you, I am not giving anything away when I tell you that in the first few chapters her husband dies. The only problem? She is handcuffed to a bed. And no matter how loud she screams, she is so secluded that no one can hear. We weave in and out of her hallucinatory state, and follow just generally creepy moments- if you’re like me and are unfazed by blood and gore but hate uneasy and unsettling horror- this is the book for you. This also has a Netflix film!
- “Flowers in the Attic” by V.C. Andrews
I will not go into this very deeply. Just know that it is an 80s cult classic, but it is extremely messed up. Enjoy!
- “The Andromeda Strain” by Michael Crichton
This is a techno-thriller novel about a virus, so it’s scary because of our times. Hits a little too close to home. Scientists are set out to a space satellite that contains an extra-terrestrial virus that immediately kills people through blood clotting. There are only two survivors: an old man and a baby. Why? The virus mutates as they must race against the clock to figure out how the virus works and how to destroy it. Crichton is a fabulous writer, and this is another quick read!
- “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” by Alvin Schwartz
Let’s be real: these are classics! I remember having to wait so long to get it at my elementary school’s library to get it it was checked out so often. Kids would whisper about how scary they were, or how not scary they were. I think the general consensus came to be that the illustrations were a little too scary for the child audience. Anyways…nostalgia! Creepiness! It’s all fun. Reread the scarecrow story! Watch the film if you want, but know going in that it’s not good.
- “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides
Another thriller! This one follows our narrator who is a therapist. He joins a forensic unit that houses a patient named Alice. Alice seems to have had a perfect life, she was a painter married to a photographer who seemed so happy, until she is found with her husband’s dead body and a shotgun in her hand. She now no longer speaks a word to anyone, and it becomes our narrator’s growing obsession to get her to speak. It is a little predictable in some instances, but it remains a very suspenseful read that you could easily consume in a day. And this is Michaelides debut novel!