It’s finally October, which is my absolute favorite month of the year. It’s the month of crunchy autumn leaves, chunky sweaters, pumpkin spice lattes, and most importantly, Halloween! Scary movies and creepy books hit so different around this time of year, and I try to dedicate this entire month to reading and watching horror-related things. That said, I’m going to tell you guys the top three spookiest books I’ve read that are perfect for this season!
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
This book was honestly one of my favorite books of 2021, hands down. I read it just recently, towards the end of summer, but I really wish I could read it now, in the fall. It is the PERFECT book for spooky season….it literally radiates magical fall vibes. It tells the story of Iris, Grey and Vivi, three sisters who went missing as children for a few months, and when they came back, they couldn’t remember what happened to them. However, they all were left with scars on their throats, along with a bunch of weird stuff happening to them constantly, things that they can’t really explain. Suddenly, Grey goes missing again when they’re older, and it’s up to the two remaining sisters to find out what happened to her. Once they do, it’s a whole world of chilling plot twists. It’s an awesome book with loveable characters, rich settings and tons of suspense and drama. If you love supernatural or fantasy books, House of Hollow is for you! You will seriously not be able to put it down, and you’ll be thinking about it for weeks after – just trust me.
There’s Someone in Your House by Stephanie Perkins
This book is pretty different from the one, but just as amazing. It’s a fast-paced murder mystery that takes place in a small town in Nebraska, where main character Makani has just moved to after leaving her dark past behind in her home-state of Hawaii. She settles in quickly and makes friends with some people at her new school (including an outsider named Ollie), but then students at her school start getting murdered one by one, each murder more gruesome and violent than the next. As the horror starts to bring itself closer to Makani, she is forced to confront some issues from her past that have not yet escaped her. This book literally had me on the edge of my seat, and I finished it in a day because it was that intense and suspenseful. It’s the perfect YA murder mystery just in time for Halloween!
The Whisper Man by Alex North
This is another book that I read over the summer that I really really REALLY wish I saved for the fall, because it was so chilling! This book is about a man named Tom and his son Jake, who move to a town called Featherbank after the sudden death of Tom’s wife. What they don’t know about their new home is that it was a serial killer’s lair twenty years ago, a man who was now in prison for abducting and killing five people. He was nicknamed “The Whisper Man” because he would lure his victims outside by whispering in front of their window. Creepy, right? Well, it gets worse….a boy disappears just as Tom and Jake move into their house, and his disappearance looks a lot like the crimes that the old Whisper Man killer created all those years ago. Then, Jake starts hearing whispering outside of his own window. If you want a good scare, I highly recommend this book. It was absolutely eerie the entire time I was reading it, and actually gave me goosebumps at some parts. You’ll want to sleep with your lights on, but it’s worth it.