Spooky Season Reads If You Dare

Happy October, everyone ! 
We hope you’re enjoying the autumn weather. We’re finally out of our summer clothes and into everything cozy. This season is one of the easiest ones to feel the wheel of the year turn. There’s a difference in the way the air feels, the trees change, the animals are busy gathering but more than that, there’s the feeling of darkness coming. You can feel it in your body. It's a request to begin to slow down and the idea of hibernating becomes particularly appealing. 
Gone are the endless summer days and nights, where everything feels light and breezy. Now there’s a thinning of the veil, and October especially feels like the time to embrace witchy/darker reads. 
Keep reading to see our top fall reads. Ones that keep us up at night, satisfy our inner witch nature and give us the undoubtedly fall vibe.

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Erin: Alright first and foremost I need to preface this with the fact that I am not a horror reader. I don’t enjoy being scared and unable to sleep at night after I put my book down. That being said, I do love it when there’s a “creepiness” to a thriller . So first up on my list of fall reads is House of Hollow:

1. House of Hollow is a wild, grotesque but beautifully written novel about three sisters who go missing as children. When they return, they are different - other. They grow up with the ability to influence people and bend their will. It’s a fast paced, engrossing novel that I devoured because I just had to know what happened to those girls. 

   Now, besides the draw of a good creepy novel, what I love reading during fall is any book concerning witches. I love historical ones, modern stories but the darker the better (no cosy mysteries, thanks) my fav witchy read is The Witches of New York by Ami McKay

1. The Witches of New York follows three women in 1880s in New York who are independent and brave - especially for the time. There is a religious zealot rounding up women to perform conversion therapy . McKay adds in herbal remedies, spells, pagan traditions and moon phases to show the passing of time. It’s the perfect witchy book for those who love Alice Hoffman and the cult classic Practical Magic 

   The last book I want to recommend for your fall TBR pile is an older book from 2014 The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. 

1. The Thirteenth Tale is a beautifully written gothic tale. Some people may call it slow, but I thought it was perfectly paced to create a mysterious atmosphere. It begins with a recluse novelist who is ready to write her life story. She requests Margaret Lea, an autobiographer to come and hear her story. As her secrets come to light, Margaret finds how eerily similar their lives are . This book is a love letter to readers, to people who grew up loving and being shaped by the stories of their childhood . It’s the perfect gothic ghost story. 

Ashli: Unlike Erin, I absolutely live for horror and pure spooks. Disclaimer: I was that kid who was scared of everything. Couldn’t watch horror movies at all, even Darth Vader and Maleficent had me screaming in terror. However, I could read scary stories. From those Haunted Canada books to Darren Shan’s multiple horror series, I soaked up the thrills and chills. Now that I am an adult, I’ll happily take anything spooky, especially if it has an element of reality that makes you check over your shoulder constantly because it actually could happen to anyone. 

1. My number one book is Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House from 1959. It is a perfect mix between the surreal and reality. Considered to be the Queen of Horror and inspiration for Stephen King, Jackson’s novels always focus on the psychology of fear. She is said to have pulled from her own life and experiences that she has either experienced herself or heard of in the world around her. Hill House follows four people who enter to see if the rumors of the house are true. The house chooses its next victim and slowly drives its guests against each other, separating out the lucky guest who will stay with the house forever. 

   I love true crime and October is the best time of the year to dive into some of those books. We all know about those famous men who have gone on killing sprees or murdered someone specific who has wronged them. But what about the women who do the same thing? For those stories, check out this next book. 

1. Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History is one of my go-to reads for women who have decided that their new hobby is death. The author, Tori Telfer, is a journalist and true crime historian who focuses her research on these dangerous women. Learn about Lady Bathory, the first woman serial killer, to get the real story behind her “blood baths”; and Mary Ann Cotton, who killed her step-son and possibly three out of four of her husbands in order to cash in on their life insurance. If you get hooked, make sure to also check out Telfer’s podcast Criminal Broads wherever you get your podcasts. 

   Now for something a bit more new that I am super excited to read this October. I have this book as an advanced reader copy but it is out now for purchase at your local bookstore! 

1. The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward promises to be a “nerve shredder” according to the quote from Stephen King himself on the creepy green cover that gives me pure Exorcist vibes. I was hooked just from the synopsis; “A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. And a house cat who loves napping and reading the Bible.” The book is told over all three points of views. Who could resist reading the point of view of a bible reading cat? ​

   As an extra bonus, I do want to touch upon Erin’s favourite reading material. Witches. Keep an eye out for In Defense of Witches by Mona Chollet to be published on March 7, 2022. Yes, it is a bit of a wait, but pre-order now and I promise it will be worth it. Chollet takes a deep dive into the history of the three types of women who are commonly accused of witchcraft in history and today: the independent woman, the childless woman, and the elderly woman. 

We could go on and on about horrific tales in literature, but we want to hear from you! Send us your top picks of past, present or future thrills and chills on Instagram or in the comment below. See yah all on the dark side!