October is finally here and that means it’s time to get spooky. In today’s post I’m sharing some of the spookiest and witchiest books you should definitely add to your October/Halloween TBR. I don’t know about you but there’s just something so magical about slipping on your favorite cozy fall socks, putting on a Halloween-y ambiance playlist on YouTube in the background, and curling up with a spooky book. If you’ve been looking for some good book recommendations for this time of year this post is for you.
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Witchy
The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith
The first book on this list is perfect to dive into during the spooky season. Set in 1911 New York City, it’s about a seventeen year old girl named Frances who works as a seamstress and is mourning the death of her brother. Frances’s life is changed forever when a man ends up dead at her feet and she can’t explain if she’s responsible for his death or not. When two cape-wearing nurses arrive and bring her to Haxahaven Sanitarium, Frances is sure she’ll be spending her days in a straight jacket, but she soon discovers that the sanitarium is actually a school for witches. As Frances learns more about the power she possesses, she also discovers that magic is not always as it seems, and maybe there is more to her brother’s death than she originally thought.
The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
Calling all Hocus Pocus fans! This book is for you. Set in a small seaport town off the coast of Oregan, this story follows a girl named Penny Talbot who lives in a town called Sparrow that was cursed by three sisters in the 1600s. The sisters were accused of practicing witchcraft and sentenced to death by drowning. With their last breath they cursed the town and now once a year the spirits of the three sisters possess three girls of their choosing and murder young men. Like most of the town, Penny has come to accept this strange phenomena but when a handsome young guy named Bo Carter comes to town to find his missing brother, Penny decides to team up with him and break the curse. But is there more to the curse than Penny or Bo knows? You’ll just have to read it to find out.
When I read this book the first time I couldn’t put it down. It reads like a movie and there’s a twist in it that I never saw coming and I don’t think you’ll see it either. Definitely, a 10 out of 10.
Small Town Magic by Hazel Beck
This next book is described as a witchy romantic comedy and I think that description is perfect for it. It’s about a woman named Emerson Wilde. Emerson has her life figured out – she’s an indie bookstore owner, the youngest Chamber of Commerce president in the history of her small town, and she has the best friends a girl could ask for. Her life is set . . . or is it? When Emerson is attacked by magical creatures she discovers that she has magical powers. She also learns that her small town isn’t just an ordinary town – it’s a haven for witches – and all of her friends are just that – witches. Now Emerson has to learn how to control her powers as well as her feelings for a cranky (yet totally hot) farmer named Jacob North.
If small town, Gilmore Girls fall vibes are what you’re into, this book is the one for you.
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall
The next book on this list is described as Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic, which is why I know it’s perfect for fall. It’s about a witch named Sadie Revelare whose dealing with a lot: her grandmother (and the backbone of her family) is dying, her twin brother, Seth, returns to town with some family secrets that threaten to change Sadie’s world forever, and did I mention the guy who broke her heart comes back into town. As everything seems like it’s falling apart will Sadie get a second chance at love or just another heartbreak?
Spooky Stories
What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie
Were you ever a fan of the Goosebumps books by R. L. Stine growing up? If you are, you will love this next recommendation. Unlike the other books on this list this one actually takes place in the summer, but don’t let that fool you, this book is spooky. It follows a girl named Ginny Anderson who’s staying in a creepy, old mansion for the summer with her family as they fix it up. But this mansion has a problem – the woods that surround it are home to mutated monsters with glowing eyes and an appetite for human blood. Campers go into the woods and they never come out. As Ginny learns more about the mansion and the locals she soon discovers that maybe the glowing-eyed monsters aren’t hungry for campers only – maybe they’re hungry for her.
This book is a middle-grade but it will still give you all of the chilling, spine-tingling feelings you might be craving this autumn. Honestly, some of the creepiest books I’ve ever read were middle grades.
Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
If middle-grade books aren’t your thing, you should like this next book. It’s an adult horror book about a mysterious road that appears in the forest once a year. At the end of the road the ghost of Lucy Gallows awaits and if you’re unlucky enough to see her you disappear. Sara’s sister, Becca, disappeared on that road a little over a year ago. Never to be seen again. But Sara refuses to let her sister go, so she and her friends decide that they’re going to find out what really happened to Becca the night she traveled Lucy Gallow’s road. But neither Sara or her friends know the horrors that await them.
This book is super creepy and it’s written in the style of a documentary. Think Blair Witch Project. If you liked that you’ll definitely like this.
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
This book took BookTok and Bookstagram by storm this past summer and for good reason. Riley Sager is a master when it comes to creepy, spooky stories and this one does not disappoint. In 1929 a seventeen year old girl named Lenora Hope was said to have murdered her entire family in their manor off the coast of Maine, but the police were never able to prove it. Fast forward to 1983, Lenora Hope is in her seventies and confined to a wheelchair. Kit McDeere, a hospice health aide, arrives at the manor to take care of Lenora only to find that Lenora has a confession to make: she didn’t kill her family. As Kit learns more about the Hope family massacre she soon realizes that maybe Lenora Hope isn’t as innocent as she claims – maybe she’s far more dangerous than anyone knows.
If you like creepy houses, creepy characters, and a coastal setting this book is the one for you.
Dark Romance
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side & Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
This next book recommendation is for all the Twilight and Vampire Diaries fans. It’s about a girl named Jessica who wants to have the best senior year ever, but her plans come to a screeching halt when a handsome new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up and tells her that she’s his Romanian vampire princess. At first Jessica thinks he’s crazy but then she begins to transition into a vampire and realizes that maybe Lucius isn’t as crazy as she thought . . . and maybe he is someone worth pursuing a relationship with. But can Jessica transition from average American teenager to glamorous European vampire princess? You’ll just have to read part 1 and 2 of Jessica and Lucius’s love story.
If you like vampire love stories and dark romance this duology is the perfect series for you.
What spooky books have you added to your October TBR? Let me know in the comments and have an awesome October!
Verse of the Day: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. – 2 Corinthians 10:4-6
