Spooky Season Reads for 2022
It’s almost September and it’s time to get excited about all things autumn and Halloween! Need some ideas for your spooky season reading list? Below are some spooky, creepy, and scary, as well as some non-traditional ideas for your list! This post includes the spooky reads from what I’ve read so far this year, and I have an entirely separate post about my top 10 horror reads from last year if you need more ideas! I’ve categorized these books and linked them to their Goodreads pages to help you sift through. I’ve also included some books that are not scary, but have some spooky season themes, in case you like to stay on brand with the season but also like to sleep at night. You’re welcome.
Here are 10 Spooky Season options for you!
Category: Slow Burn Mountain Haunting
Echo
by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Read if you like creepy nature vibes.
The hills are alive…literally. And they are quite deadly. This is a horror story rich in nature and wilderness themes. After a horrible mountaineering accident, one of the characters is left maimed and haunted, and it seems like by more than just his PTSD… I enjoyed this book for the atmospheric and unique qualities it brings to the horror genre. I love its creep factor and the way the story is told. It’s a semi-epistolary novel, composed of notes/diary entries, emails, texts, and some third-person narration. There are some annoying and awkward things about the language in this book and I am chalking that up to translation problems (the author is Dutch). BUT, if you can get past and forgive those issues, it’s a unique horror story that deals with some heavy issues relating to trauma and how to make a relationship work after a major physically and emotionally altering accident.
Category: Blood Suckers
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires
by Grady Hendrix
Read if you want to laugh out loud.
I couldn’t love this book more. It’s riotously funny at times, and the way the author uses Southern culture to propel this narrative is amazing. The characters’ need to uphold Southern propriety in the midst of thwarting a vampire’s bloodlust for their families and communities is both believable and hilarious. Everything you need to know going into this book is in the title, but here’s what you can expect: Southern Living, true crime obsessed vigilantes, housewife heroism, and vampires.
Woman, Eating
by Claire Kohda
Read if you want to get weird with spooky season.
This is basically about a vampire who doesn’t want to be a vampire, and she doesn’t fit in with vampires or non-vampires. The main character is struggling with her identity and feelings of otherness, while dealing with some serious issues that she and her body need to figure out. If you are into explorations of identity and otherness, plus vampires, check it out.
From Blood and Ash
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Read if you want to add some fantasy smutty-ness to the mix and like sexy vampires.
This is not a typical spooky season read at all, but I think it can fit into this category if you need a way to transition from romantasy to horror. Plus, there are several types of vampires in it, so it seems on point. This is the first book in a series. The first two books are the best, and there are four total. The smut is A+++, and the vampire stuff is hot (if you’re into that). So, vampire smut with a lot of world building. That’s the vibe here. A very satisfying fantasy read with lots of vampire things happening. I’m counting it as a spooky season contender. Don’t at me.
Category: Exorcism, but make it funny and nostalgic
My Best Friend’s Exorcism
by Grady Hendrix
Read if you love the 80s and all the horror tropes from that time.
I have included two books by Grady Hendrix, because they are just so good and funny. It takes talent to get this kind of weird horror humor across in writing, and Hendrix does it perfectly. This book reads like a movie (and I hear it will actually be made into one, coming to Prime on September 30th of this year), and the pop culture references are so delightful. I love the portrayal of friendship. I love stories of exorcisms. This book is just great.
Category: Everything Witches
Hex
by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Read if you like getting creeped the f*ck out.
I already wrote about this book in my general recommendations for the year, and it deserves mentioning again that this book has a top-notch creep factor. The imagery is awesomely terrifying and it’s set in modern day, which makes it even scarier. This is the second book from Thomas Olde Heuvelt on this list. I discovered him this year and am really intrigued with his work. He’s a really cool new (to me) voice in horror and I’m excited to see what he does next.
Our Crooked Hearts
by Melissa Albert
Read if you like witches but want them a little lighter on the creep scale, with The Craft vibes.
The story is beautifully written and totally enthralling. The witch and magic vibes are just right. The point of view changes between the mother and daughter in the story, and it slowly unfolds to show us how the mother’s past actions have affected/created her daughter’s current situation. Their perspectives eventually meet up in the present, and we come to understand some complicated familial relationships and the consequences of the abuse of magic/power. This book manages to be magical and serious in the witch theme without being scary.
Mooncakes
by Suzanne Walker, Wendy Xu (artist), Joamette Gil (Letterer)
Read if you prefer cute over scary.
This graphic novel is pretty precious. The art is cute, the characters are cute. Good ol’ wholesome witches. Short and easy, the perfect light halloween reading.
Category: Dark Magic
Book of Night
by Holly Black
Read if you like shadowy magic.
I needed to get this book into a blog post somehow because I absolutely loved it. It is not horror. I would say it’s a dark fantasy/thriller/murder-mystery with a badass female main character. The magic is dark and I love the urban fantasy setting. There are enough spooky elements in this story that it belongs here, but it’s fantasy-magic creepy versus horror creepy.
Category: Revenge Monsters
The Only Good Indians
by Stephen Graham Jones
Read if you love a good revenge story.
This is also one of my general recommendations for the year so far and I loved it. It’s so incredibly atmospheric and delightfully dark. A group of friends make a mistake that they end up having to pay for later in life. The mixture of Native American culture, folklore, and the supernatural is really cool and makes for an awesome revenge story.
I hope this helps you make your list for the fall, and I’m excited for all of the other spooky reads to come this year!
Have you made your spooky season list? What’s on it?