The sun is setting early, the weather is finally getting cooler, and for the first time this school year I found myself grabbing a sweater on the way out the door. After what has felt like an endless summer, it’s finally Fall and one of my favorite holidays is rapidly approaching, so here are some of my favorite spooky and slightly unsettling books, albums, tv shows, and movies to get into the Halloween spirit.
- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
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Best known for her young adult fantasy series Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo’s first venture into dark adult fantasy has become an instant favorite that I automatically pull out of my bookshelf every October. Part mystery, part fantasy, and part paranormal adventure, it follows high school dropout Alex Stern as she is given a second chance at Yale and tasked with monitoring the occult activities taking place within its secret societies. The reveals and shocking twists make this lush dark fantasy hard to put down and perfect for fans of dark academia aesthetics and the supernatural.
- Bunny by Mona Awad
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While writing this, I went back to find my Goodreads review from the first time I read Bunny and my statement of “being confused but enjoying every hallucinogenic-induced page” is a pretty accurate description of my experience reading it.
Heathers meets Frankenstein meets Alice in Wonderland in this reality blurring novel centered around MFA student Samantha Mackey and her descent into the world of her cultish fiction writing cohort and their ritualistic gatherings.
Disorienting yet beautifully written, Bunny’s atmospheric prose and commentary on the nature of female friendships as well as the lengths we go to in order to fit in makes it an instant recommendation. Bunny is perfect for English majors, grad students on the brink of insanity, writers, and off-putting girls obsessed with coquette and twee aesthetics.
- Dead man’s bones by dead man’s bones
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When talking about Ryan Gosling, most people would immediately think of his famous projects such as The Notebook or La La Land. Not many would probably mention his album Dead Man’s Bones, the product of folk-rock duo Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields. Born from a shared love of ghost stories and horror movies, the album was initially meant to be for a stage production musical but was scrapped and evolved into a supernatural themed album. My personal favorite song on the album, “In The Room Where You Sleep” was featured in the soundtrack for The Conjuring and is the song I automatically find myself listening to every October. The eerie and experimental sound of the album as well as the haunting voices from the Silverlake Conservatory’s Children’s Choir makes it perfect for Halloween and rainy evenings.
- Interview with the vampire
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What screams Halloween more than vampires? Besides being in my opinion, one of the most well-written shows in the past ten years, the tv adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1976 novel is perfect for fall with its gothic romance and New Orleans setting. The first two seasons follow the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac as he tells his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy, but, as the interview progresses, it turns out everything is not as it seemed.
It’s one of my favorite shows and I would highly recommend Interview With The Vampire for anyone who loves historical fantasy, gothic aesthetics, vampires, soap operas, and overall just good show writing. I honestly cannot praise the writing and acting enough. Seasons 1 and 2 can be found on AMC + and now Netflix and a third season is slated to be released next year.
- The sixth sense
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As someone absolutely terrified of watching horror movies, I would highly recommend watching The Sixth Sense directed by M. Night Shyamalan if you’re looking to get creeped out without delving into full blown horror. His signature psychological horror/thriller film style packed with supernatural elements and suspense is bound to have you on the edge of your seat. The Sixth Sense contains one of the most iconic movie plot twists in history and the storyline centered around a child psychiatrist whose patient claims to be able to see and talk to the dead makes it thematically perfect to watch on spooky fall nights.
- Perverts by ethel cain
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For the music girls who want to fully immerse themselves in the spookiness surrounding Halloween I would recommend the album Perverts by Ethel Cain. Just don’t listen to it while walking around at night or alone in the dark. A standalone from Ethel Cain’s more well known narrative album trilogy, this album is devastatingly beautiful at times and downright creepy at others. With its ominous whispering, haunting vocals, and what can best be described as “sinister white noise” it’s safe to say that you’ll come away from the album with a sense of extreme uneasiness and shivers down your spine.
Halloween is a little under two weeks away and like many college students, I’ve been so swept up in the beginning of the school year that I haven’t been able to fully immerse myself in all the things that make Halloween so exciting. Whether you’re a fan of all things horror or someone who gets easily scared (like me!) I hope these recommendations bring a little bit of the Halloween spirit to you and liven up your October.