My dearest goblins and ghouls, spooky season has arrived so it’s time to settle in with a warm cup of tea, your favorite blanket, and a good book!
From fang-tastic fantasy romps to spook-tacular supernatural adventures to fa-boo-lous folk horror, I’ve resurrected 33 must-reads for the season. Some will send shivers down your spine, others will fill you with Halloween joy, and all are irresistible.
Abuelita’s Gift: A Día de Muertos Story written by Mariana Ríos Ramírez; illustrated by Sara Palacios
A tender, heartwarming picture book of Día de Muertos joy, family, love, dancing, and Mexican culture with beautiful illustrations, perfect for fans of Coco.
Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones
A gripping, mesmerizing YA graphic novel brimming with tarot-inspired magic, witches, found family, mystery, and love.
Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
A powerful, chilling Indigenous horror anthology with sharp explorations of colonialism, desire, hunger, expectations, family, and love.
Blood Moon by Britney S. Lewis
A sweeping, cinematic YA paranormal romance with a satisfying love triangle, vivid characters, and a sweeping spin on werewolves and vampires.
Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond
A blood-soaked, captivating historical horror novel with a thought-provoking take on vampires and immortal emancipation, set in eighteenth-century America.
Brewed with Love by Shelly Page
An enchanting, comforting YA cozy fantasy brimming with exciting mystery, sapphic romance, and witchy magic.
Cape Fever by Nadia Davids
A lyrical, engrossing psychological thriller with vivid imagery, spirits, folktales, and a decaying gothic manor, set in the 1920s.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
A sweeping, simultaneously heartwarming and heart-wrenching YA urban fantasy brimming with brujx, ghosts, mythology, queer love, and the magic of Día de los Muertos.
Hawk & Sparrow by Ayana Gray
An enchanting, atmospheric YA fantasy inspired by the Gilded Age, featuring magic, a murder mystery, romance, and a dash of cozy allure.
It Looks Like You in the Dark by Mathilda Zeller
An urgent, chilling novel brimming with Alaskan Native folklore, sharp prose, supernatural horror, and thought-provoking explorations of colonialism, womanhood, and sisterhood.
Lethal Kiss by Taylor Grothe
A seductive, riveting novel of Norse folklore, electric sapphic romance, visceral horror, and a cathartic exploration of the dark side of academia.
Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm
A haunting, immersive horror novel following a Palestinian haunted house and the three generations of women tied to it, brimming with brilliant and tender explorations of colonialism, grief, reclamation, revenge, resilience, and family.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
An emotional, propulsive thriller that opens on Halloween night, filled with an irresistible murder mystery and tender love story.
Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig
An entrancing, thrilling reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera that explores ambition, love, desire, belonging, and the power of the performing arts.
Rooted by Leopoldo Goût
A delightfully disturbing, energetic horror novel of love, family, colonization, history, art repatriation, and power, set in Mexico City.
She’s a Doll by Barbara Truelove
A fierce, emotional horror novel threaded with hope and brimming with friendship, murder, revenge, female rage, grief, and love.
Strange Lights by Mira González
A tender, propulsive paranormal novel with a cinematic road trip, a captivating cast of cryptids, queer found family, and the struggles of parenting a toddler chupacabra.
The Children by Melissa Albert
A raw, haunting novel woven with eerie tinges of horror, magic, and childhood nostalgia, perfect for readers who devour dark fairytales that feel like fever dreams.
The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey by Kathleen Kaufman
An enchanting, empowering historical fantasy with spirit magic, lyrical prose, and a captivating cast, set at the turn of the 20th century.
The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard
A mysterious, addictive YA murder mystery infused with vivid autumnal imagery, 1990s nostalgia, and romance, perfect for fans of Nancy Drew.
The Flayed Man by Chloe Lauter
An absorbing, poignant horror novel complete with cinematic descriptions of the Mojave Desert and Las Vegas, a compelling spin on vampires, and a touching sapphic love story.
The Huntsman and the Witches retold by Abraham Matias; illustrated by Molly Mendoza
A lush, captivating picture book retelling of a Mexican folktale, brimming with stunning illustrations and a laugh-out-loud funny narrative.
The Lone Wolf Café by Sydney Wilder
A welcoming, heartwarming cozy fantasy with an autumnal village atmosphere, witches, werewolves, swoony sapphic love, and Halloween delights.
The Monsters We Made by Peyton June
An atmospheric, eerie YA thriller set in the vivid small town of Scarberry, brimming with queer love and paranormal mystery.
The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap
A witty, touching historical fiction novel with a gripping gothic atmosphere, achingly beautiful queer love story, and body snatching, set in Scotland in 1828.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
A vicious, powerful YA historical fantasy set in London in 1883, brimming with gritty horror, tender love, raw prose, and immersive historical details.
The Thieves Beneath the Floorboards by Mikey Please
A playful, charming picture book featuring a splendidly monstrous cast, lush imagery, and marvelous mischief.
This House Will Feed by Maria Tureaud
A propulsive, vivid historical horror novel filled with hauntingly beautiful prose, the gutting history of Ireland’s Great Famine, a captivating love story, and a sweeping gothic atmosphere.
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
A surreal, unsettling horror novel with a fever-dream atmosphere, vibrant cast, and satirical exploration of academia, power, creativity, and conformity.
What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
An emotionally charged, wonderfully disquieting YA ecological horror brimming with adventure, twists, friendship, monsters, and Void diving, perfect for fans of Annihilation and The Descent.
Witch Season by Julia Bianco
An exhilarating, spellbinding urban fantasy brimming with a creative and complex witchy magic system, immersive descriptions of Los Angeles, and an addictive cast of characters.
You Did Nothing Wrong by C.G. Drews
An enrapturing, evocative psychological suspense novel of motherhood, deeply unsettling horror, wriggly twists, and a thrilling haunted-house spin.
You’re Dead to Me, Reed Walker by Gwenyth Reitz
A heartfelt, thoughtful YA supernatural romcom featuring a clever take on ghosts, a swoon-worthy love story, and pinches of horror, set in a haunted mansion.
From spooky to sweet, and chilling to comforting, there’s a little something to satisfy every creepy craving in these tales. Brimming with the macabre, myth, magic, mystery, monsters, and more, these stories are perfect for spooky season. Happy reading!
