Top Ten Tuesday, a concept started by The Broke and the Bookish, is a themed post that connects bloggers to bloggers, bloggers to readers, and readers to readers. Every Tuesday has a special topic, and this Tuesday is Top Ten Best Books To Read For Halloween.
Best topic, because this is essentially tapping into my graduate thesis!
1. The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle — A vampire contagion spreads across the country, but somehow avoids all religious grounds. Katie, an Amish girl, is exposed to the terror and has to convince her community to fight for survival. If you’re looking for chills and apocalyptic horrors, read this. Check out my review!
2. Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough — This folktale and eerie song is absolute truth for a little English hamlet post-WWII. A family is cursed to have at least one of the youngest children captured by Long Lankin, a haunting poltergeist that has consumed children since the Middle Ages. I couldn’t sleep for days! Check out my review.
3. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson — What would happen if Jack the Ripper murders happened in modern time, and even the cameras all over London couldn’t catch him? That’s what Rory is about to discover. This book is for anyone with a deep fascination with the 1888 murders. Check out my review!
4. The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd — H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr Moreau has another secret: Dr Moreau has a daughter, and she’s in for a big surprise. If her father is considered a monster, then what does that make her? If you’re in for a sci-fi twist, read this book and my review.
5. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson — We all have two sides to our personality…but which one is your true self?
6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte — This is more than a love story. This is a story about two tormented families across generations, ruined and corrupted by one man whose only wish was to be accepted.
7. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield — An author is on her last legs and has one more tale to tell. She hires a biographer to record this story, and the biographer makes some haunting discovers about a mansion, some deranged twins, and a horrifying house fire. One of my absolute favorite books (and a new one out in a few weeks); check out my review!
8. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness — Albeit not frightening or a ghost story, this book is packed with magic, lore, history, and alchemical science. If that doesn’t scream a book to dive into during a magical time of the year, I don’t know what does. Read my review!
9. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill — Best. Ghost. Story. Ever.
10. The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter — The Hardscrabble children are sent to live with their aunt in London, but they wander through many adventures and come across a boy who is half human, half animal. A creepy and wonderful middle grade novel worth checking out.
What are some of your favorite Halloween recommendations?
Scribbles & Wanderlust 
15 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books for Halloween”
kelseygulick
I haven’t read most of these, but I really loved Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I’m glad to hear that you liked The Madman’s Daughter too. That’s one that’s on my TBR list.
Laura
I loved Dr J and Mr H — it’s so eerie that it was published after the Ripper murders, too.
Madman’s Daughter is brilliant. The next book, Her Dark Curiosity (which is a spin off Dr J and Mr H!), will be available in January!
kelseygulick
Ooh, I haven’t heard of Her Dark Curiosity! Thanks for letting me know.
Yeah, that really is eerie.
Laura
It’ll be out in January!
Becky
Yes! Fabulous Halloween reading picks! I just bought THE HALLOWED ONES and can’t wait to read it 🙂
Laura
Oh, it’s so brilliant!! I raved about it weeks after finishing.
caitlinstern
I’m not much for horror–what can I say, it scares me. But I did enjoy A Discovery of Witches. Have you read Shadow of Night, too?
Laura
YES. LOVED IT. I’m looking forward to the third book. It’s amazing, isn’t it?
caitlinstern
Indeed. 😀
Lark
Love your list! I just finished reading The Woman in Black (and did a post about it yesterday). What a great ghost story for Halloween! The only book I might add to your list is Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It is an amazingly good book…and the perfect read for this time of year.
Laura
I almost included Dracula. The problem is that every time I look at it or read it now, I remember a conversation in my Gothic lit class: “The first half they hang out in bedrooms, the second half they hunt him down.” And it was so amusing and accurate that I mostly read it for humor now…Unfortunately.
Roxy @ Story Envy
I completely agree with The Madman’s Daughter, it’s a pretty creepy but awesome book! Apparently the sequel will have elements from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde so I’m really excited for that!!!
Roxy @ Story Envy
Laura
Yes! HER DARK CURIOSITY — I have an ARC of it, I can’t wait to begin. I think it’s neat, YA authors doing spins of classic gothic novels.
Terri Bruce
Great list! The Thirteenth Tale was great! The Woman in Black is on my TBR and sounds like I should move it up on the list 🙂
Laura
Oh, I think you should. It’s so chilling. For a moment I thought Susan Hill was some long-lost Victorian author because the language is so vivid, and the haunts so incredibly frightening, it blows other ghost stories out of the water.