Although we’re a few days late, the Writing Center wanted to wish you a Happy Spooky Season! Below is a list of nine “spooky” books to keep you in the Halloween spirit. All information and cover photos may be found on the Goodreads website.
- One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
(Mystery)
- “The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, One of Us Is Lying is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect, and everyone has something to hide.”
- Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32571395-one-of-us-is-lying
- If you like this book, you might also like McManus’s other mystery tales Two Can Keep a Secret and One of Us is Next (sequel to One of Us is Lying)
- And Then There Were None by Agatha
Christie (Mystery)
- “First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder.”
- A Heart in A Body in the World by Deb
Caletti (Suspense/Coming of Age)
- “When everything has been taken from you, what else is there to do but run? So that’s what Annabelle does—she runs from Seattle to Washington, DC, through mountain passes and suburban landscapes, from long lonely roads to college towns. She’s not ready to think about the why yet, just the how—muscles burning, heart pumping, feet pounding the earth. But no matter how hard she tries, she can’t outrun the tragedy from the past year, or the person—The Taker—that haunts her.”
- The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo (Romance/Mystery)
- “After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim’s handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family’s darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.”
- Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16248223-the-ghost-bride?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=qOVWv6ezgB&rank=1
- Especially good in audiobook format!
- Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
(Psychological Thriller)
- “As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong, but Louise can’t guess how wrong―and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets.”
- Doug Bradley’s Spinechillers Series (Horror Anthology)
- Goodreads link to volume one: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6604913-doug-bradley-s-spinechillers-vol-1?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=L0cmdRDGJr&rank=1
- Especially good in audiobook format!
- Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by
Brandon Sanderson (Sci-Fi, Horror, Short Story)
- “When the familiar and seemingly safe turns lethal, therein danger lies. Amid a forest where the shades of the dead linger all around, every homesteader knows to follow the Simple Rules: “Don’t kindle flame, don’t shed the blood of another, don’t run at night. These things draw shades. Silence Montane has broken all three rules on more than one occasion. And to protect her family from a murderous gang with high bounties on their heads, Silence will break every rule again, at the risk of becoming a shade herself.”
- The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
(Ghost Story, or is it?)
- “Henry James’s chilling ghost story begins when a governess arrives at an English country estate to look two young children, Miles and Flora. At first, everything appears normal then one night a ghost appears before the governess. It is the dead lover of Miss Jessel, the former governess. Later, the ghost of Miss Jessel herself appears before the governess and the little girl. The children, however, adamantly refuse to acknowledge the presence of the two spirits, although there are indications that there is some evil communication between the children and the ghosts.”
- Recently adapted as the Netflix show “The Haunting of Bly Manor”
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (Ghost Story)
- “It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.”
- Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89717.The_Haunting_of_Hill_House?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=IvK84rGuMU&rank=1
- Recently adapted as the Netflix show “The Haunting of Hill House”
*Note: Some of these books may contain triggers for certain people. If you are worried about certain triggers, please check for trigger warnings before reading.
Danielle | Fall 2020