20 Scary Books to Read This Halloween — Just Don't Turn Off the Lights!

Mar. 15, 2025

A selection of spooky Halloween books.

As the nights get longer and colder, there is no better time to curl up in your favorite chair with a cup of mulled cider and a spooky book. While I’m not an “all-out horror” kind of gal, I do love a really scary story that makes me jump at every plot twist — or at every creak of my 200-year-old home!.With Halloween just around the corner, who can resist a good scare? So, forget streaming. Pick up one of these haunted tales that’s sure to keep you turning pages and thinking twice about turning off the lights!Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer , from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

As the nights get longer and colder, there is no better time to curl up in your favorite chair with a cup of mulled cider and a spooky book. While I’m not an “all-out horror” kind of gal, I do love a really scary story that makes me jump at every plot twist — or at every creak of my 200-year-old home!.

With Halloween just around the corner, who can resist a good scare? So, forget streaming. Pick up one of these haunted tales that’s sure to keep you turning pages and thinking twice about turning off the lights!

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer , from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

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Simone St. James is one of my favorite modern-day writers of haunted tales.  I first encountered her books when my husband and I were traveling across the country, and I stumbled acrossThe Sun Down Motel. Its cover reminded me of a 1960s rendition of Alfred Hitchcock’s Bates Motel. After a few chapters, I was thinking twice about where we overnighted for the rest of the trip!

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Del Rey

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William Morrow

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St. Martin’s Press

Did I mention I love spooky old houses? (Actually, I live in one!) InThe House of Last Resort, a young couple looking for a new start move to Becchina, a tiny village in Italy. But from the moment they arrive, something just isn’t right.  What started as the house of their dreams suddenly becomes their worst nightmare.

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Berkley

The cover ofThe September Housesays it all. A hauntingly beautiful Victorian that is well …haunted.Margaret is perfectly happy with the ghosts that live within the walls of her home — until her husband Hal mysteriously disappears. Complex and darkly funny, this creepy tale had me laughing out loud one minute and holding my breath the next.

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Titan Books

It’s not just haunted houses that I find thrilling. In the horrifyingly darkSmall Town Horror, five friends reunite in their hometown and are forced to face their past. What starts off as a slow burn suddenly twists and turns as secrets are revealed. Or are they? Suddenly you have no idea where the story is going. And that ending — I was blown away.

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Liveright

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Dutton

What could be more intriguing than an old, haunted mansion and the murder mystery behind a children’s playground chant: “At 17 Lenora Hope, hung her sister with a rope. Stabbed her father with a knife. Took her mother’s happy life…”Decades later, when a home health aide takes a position caring for the now infirm Lenora Hope at the family’s decrepit estate, the secret behind the 1929 Hope murders will leave you feeling as if you are hanging from the edge of a cliff — literally.

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Lake Union Publishing

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Flashpoint

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Scribner

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epubli

No scary story list would overlook the OGs of horror:The OmenandThe Other. I read both when I was in high school, and they still haunt me. The characters Damien inThe Omenand Holland inThe Otherstill send shivers up my spine. For a little retro scare, you must read these two again.

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Gallery Books

If you love classic cult horror, look no further thanThe Amityville Horror. Yes, we’ve all seen the movie, but have you read the book? In 1974, Ronald DeFeo brutally murdered his parents, brothers and sisters in their home. But what happens a year later when the Lutz family moves into the Long Island house will scare the hell out of you. And what’s most disturbing is that this horrifying classic is based on real events.

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G.P. Putnams Sons

Stephen King called it “deeply disturbing.”  I call it horrifically delicious (no pun intended). Based on the true story of the Donner Party, a group of pioneers crossing the Nevada Sierras in the winter of 1847,The Hungerexplores the gruesome depths of evil. Warning: Do not read this one after dark!

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Alfred A. Knopf

What starts as a relaxing Mexican vacation slowly spirals into a nightmare beyond anything you could imagine. What makesThe Ruinsso terrifying is that as the story develops, you find yourself truly invested andcaringabout the characters. It’s a horrifying tale that you will be unable to put down (and one that might cause you to reconsider any future Mexican vacation plans).

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Quirk Books

Every Halloween reading list must include a good vampire story. While you could always readDraculaor Anne Rice’sInterview with the Vampirefor your blood-thirsty fix,A Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampiresis a great modern alternative.

When the women of a southern book club find out that a vampire has moved into their neighborhood, they have no choice than to take him out. What starts off as satirical comedy quickly becomes a seriously frightening story. A perfect read for All Hallow’s Eve!

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Harper

source: people.com