Halloween season is officially upon us and along with our favorite spooky classic movies, we have some fun, thrilling, and exciting books that also ring with Halloween spirit. Ranging from Stephen King classics to psychological thrillers, reading proves to be even more haunting than simply just watching the TV, especially this October season.
1. “The Silent Girls”
Former detective, Frank Rath trades in his badge to become a private investigator and raise his daughter alone. In the dead of Winter, with nothing left of his teenage daughter but her car, Frank will have to confront his past with death to meet the brutal horrors of evil everywhere. The conflict of morality is plaguing and this fantastic page turner will keep you guessing and hoping. Where are all the young women? Frank Rath and the excellent narrative by Eric Rickstad will make you feel alone in a book filled with meaning.
2. “The Cellar”
Natasha Preston creates a realistic horror. A trauma that could happen and affect anyone, a horror deeper than the monster under your bed. Kidnapping. Sixteen-year-old, Summer Robinson disappears without a trace from her small, anti climactic town. No one can find her. She is alive, spending months in the cellar of her abductor with several other girls; his flowers. Summer learns that Colin, who keeps her as his prisoner, is more interesting than what meets the eye. Coming from an abusive past himself, his flowers are his family. However, Summer has not seen the sun and her time is running out. Could she possibly, even remotely feel empathy for her abductor? The flower, Summer, and her story will leave you breathless this Halloween.
3. “Gone Girl”
Have you seen Amy Dunne? I hope for your sake that the answer is no. Nick and Amy Dunne are about to celebrate their fifth anniversary when Nick comes home to an empty house. However, the house isn’t just empty, Amy has been taken, or so it seems. A clue was left from Amy for her husband to find for their annual anniversary treasure hunt. Will this clue lead him to his wife? Is this clearly bitter, inappropriate man who day dreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head all that eager to find her? Unless she’s already dead. Amy’s diary reveals her deepest, darkest secrets and most sacred thoughts. With mounting pressure from the media, the police and Amy’s affluent parents, things don’t look too good for Nick. His clever, beautiful wife and her dangerous thoughts are gone. And if she’s dead, did her husband kill her? Nick may not be the best husband, but is he psychologically a match for his insightfully brilliant wife, enough to commit murder? With major twists and turns at every corner, author Gillian Flynn will have you loving, hating, adoring, and admiring Amy and Nick all while being sick to your stomach at just how clever Amy is and the intellectual way the story is told. Gone Girl won’t make you jump, it will make you think and leave your skin crawling in the best way possible.
4. “It”
There’s something lurking in your home town. There’s something creeping in the sewers, waiting, watching, and preying on your children. If you like to sleep through the night, then “It” is not your book. However, even if you enjoy the full eight hours but also appreciate a thrilling, captivating, literary piece of excellence then “It” is in fact the novel for you. The people of Derry, Maine, specifically the children, are learning what it means to be haunted and that a haunting may very well pertain to an entire place. A place they live. A place they sleep. A place they play, just don’t play in the sewers. After facing an evil entity, which preys on fear, embodied in the look of a cynical clown, seven children made a blood pact that if “it” ever starts up again they will return back to their hometown. And that’s what they did. Adults know better anyway, right? Stephen King creates extremely realistic and relatable characters that suck you in to their stories while “it” sucks you down the drain. A haunting can stay with someone forever and adults are no exception. So, what is it that you are afraid of?
5. “The Girl on the Train”
Don’t we all crave that “perfect life?” More like that “perfect lie.” Rachel Watson does. Rachel takes the same train every day with the same drink in her hands and the same bags under her eyes. As the train comes to the same stop every day she becomes fixated on one couple in particular whose life resembles that of the one she recently lost. As she blames herself for her mistakes and failed marriage, she invites the reader into her delusional fantasies and seemingly unreliable perspective. One morning she witnesses something strange regarding her favorite couple, Jess and Jason as she calls them, but the police agree that Rachel is unreliable. Entangled in a web of secrets, lies, and deceit, Rachel may just uncover more about herself than she ever knew and the darkness behind the perfect life she thought she lead. This psychological page turner will leave you with chills and author Paula Hawkins will give you a newfound outlook on how much impact others can have on your life.
6. “The Woman in Cabin Ten”
Ruth Ware delivers an intense read. Lo Blacklock is a journalist excited about her new opportunity to write for a traveling magazine. She will spend one week on an extravagant cruise with a slim amount of cabins. (How is it that these haunting stories always have something to do with a cabin?) She’s pleased with her luxuries, that is until she witnesses the nightmare. A woman is thrown overboard. In her desperate attempts to uncover the truth and identify to herself and the other passengers that something is wrong, the story grows darker. All passengers are accounted for. The ship sails on. This book is what Goodreads describes as “uncomfortably claustrophobic” and “eerily beautiful,” it is clearly a must read for a fun and frightening October season.
7. “The Shining”
REDRUM. Oh Stephen King. He’ll give you nightmares but will absolutely warm your heart with sickeningly great writing and powerful storytelling, perfect for a spooky Halloween. Jack Torrance is the new off-season caretaker at the Overlook Hotel which is practically hidden in the dead of winter in a very remote location. Looking for a fresh start with his wife and young son he is eager to start is new job while also finding solace in working on his writing. However, as winter persists and the temperature drops, the chill you will feel isn’t from the snow. Something has snapped in Jack and only his son, with a very special (may I say “shiny?”) gift can notice. Now, what is it that makes Jack a dull boy? Read and find out.
Of course, we can’t forget about some of the original Halloween classics like Dracula and Frankenstein. But everyone knows of these creepy tales, right? This season, don’t watch the movie, read the stories behind the famous vampire and monster, that’s if you dare.
