Spooky Season Reads for 2024!

Of course, as soon as August 1st hit, it was Spooky Season.

Yes, it’s still 90+ degrees here during the day. We hit 100 ta-day.

Yes, I am still sweating in places that confound me.

But BY THE GODDESS, I SHALL BEGIN.

I’ve longed for strange, spooky stories since the middle of July; this list was being formed even then, and I’m currently… three? Four? Spooky books in. Now, some have been DNF, admittedly, but I do love a good list so here we goooooooo!

(And remember kids: reading is entirely subjective. There may be books I didn’t enjoy that you might; if you loved any of these books, I am ecstatic that you did! Reading is for everyone, and I want folks to find their own tastes. Hell, I’m going to retry some that I didn’t connect with the first go ’round.)

The Bad Ones

This YA title has been spotted a ton lately, in all sorts of lists. And I’ll tell you- I found a lot of joy in the writer’s punchy style. It was strange, unsettling, and led me astray before plopping a different ending than expected in my lap. Overall, I enjoyed the read.

The Year of the Witching

For authors, there are always lines you wish you wrote- this book is FULL of them. Alexis Henderson’s word choice is *chef’s kiss* and I cannot wait to indulge in more of her titles. This book was puritans, witches, and the power dynamic that always resides between the two. Henderson doesn’t shy away from gore and graphic scenes, and this turn on the “witches in the woods” book is one of my favorites so far. Genuinely, Alexis Henderson might be an automatic buy/read for me from now on.

The September House

A house that bleeds, is full of ghosts and possibly harboring a murderous entity, all during the singular month of September.

Needless to say, I said sign me the hell up.

This one, while not my favorite so far, was entertaining; the ghosts and goings-on of the house as the month sped towards its end gave an interesting twist on “haunted house as a character.” I didn’t super enjoy the characters Margaret, Katherine, or even Hal (who we mostly know from flashbacks), but the balance between “oh, this is fine/normal/demure” and the gruesome happenings was pretty fun.

Rebecca

Okay, so, ready thineselves for some blasphemy: I know this book is very loved. I did not experience that feeling at all. I wanted Gothic Classic, and I suppose I got that. Perhaps it was the copy I received (mass market, small, clumpy text, difficult to literally read) but I’m going to try again with an audiobook… because y’all, the descriptions of Manderley, the grounds, etc. were utterly glorious, but the rest did not do it for me.

Hour of the Witch

I read this and Year of the Witching too close together, I guess, because I did not take this one in nearly as much. I may try this one again after a few palette cleansers.

And now, the TBR! It, much like the Winchester House, is ever expanding in confounding ways.

Certain Dark Things

Lucy Undying

The October Society: Season One

A Night in the Lonesome October

This is a re-read, a favorite of mine from a few years ago. (Whoa, wait, a few years ago is like… six? Pandemic made time weird.)

I’ll Be Waiting

Diavola

I also want to add another Stephen King read, though I’m not sure which one yet. Probably Anne Rice too, since I just finished season one of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire and it made me yearn for more glorious, gory fiction like only Anne Rice does. (I wasn’t sure on the first episode, but I was hooked as the season went on.) I loved the 1994 movie, and have read the novel at least once, but I haven’t ventured further.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN: what are your spooky book/media recs this year? I love recommendations!