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October 26, 202010 Spooky Books We Recommend for Halloween
Something we all share at Alexandria is a love for books and reading, which means there’s no shortage of recommendations around here. Since Halloween is just around the corner, we’ve compiled a list of fun and eerie books with options for all ages. Whether you’re looking for yourself or your patrons, there’s something for everyone!
So, without further ado, here are some staff recommendations on reads that sent shivers up our spines.
So, without further ado, here are some staff recommendations on reads that sent shivers up our spines.
10 Spooky Books We Recommend For Halloween
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda K. Williams; illustrated by Megan Lloyd.
Grades PreK–2One night while walking in the woods, a little old lady meets various pieces of clothes that begin to follow her home! Although she’s spooked at first, she bravely shows that she’s not afraid. This fun read is perfect for kids who love a good Halloween story that’s not too scary.
Cinderella Skeleton by Robert D. San Souci; illustrated by David Catrow.
Grades PreK–2Alas, Cinderella’s stepsisters treat her like a servant in her own home. But Prince Charnel’s famous Halloween Ball is coming up and it’s finally time for Cinderella to shine. The illustrations are lush and ghoulish but also sweet as Cinderella’s tale unfolds, skeleton-style!
Nightbooks by J.A. White.
Grades 4-7Alex has loved scary stories ever since he caught his parents watching Night of the Living Dead—until the day he became part of one. Lured into the apartment of a witch named Natacha, he must read her his own tales of terror from his nightbooks each night to stay alive. Only, he has a major case of writer’s block and he’s running out of pages to read…
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami.
Grades 6+A boy goes to the library for some books on tax collection in the Ottoman empire. Innocent request, you would think… but he ends up trapped in the library of his nightmares. One guy eats brains, another is a sheep, and there’s a ghost. Get the full experience with the physical book!
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig.
Grades 7+On an isolated island lies a house and in that house lived 12 sisters, the daughters of the duke. But there are whispers of a curse on their family after the consecutive deaths of the four eldest daughters. Annaleigh, born a middle daughter but now second in line for inheritance, scoffs at the idea of a curse, but can’t shake the notion that perhaps there was something unnatural about her sister Eulalie’s death…. A creepy retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses!
The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner.
Grades 8+Liba and Laya are children of an unlikely union between people not only from different religions, but different magical descent. Where Liba is dark and strong and (supposedly) practical, Laya is light, delicate, naive, easily influenced, and flighty. When their parents must leave for family reasons, the girls are left alone to fend for themselves in a town where they are viewed as outcasts, and where something is stirring in the woods. Both girls are drawn to forbidden things and go through their own struggles and horrors before finding strength in each other to decide what they want and what they believe in.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
Grades 9+When a young woman becomes a governess for two strange children at a lonely estate, she notices something’s amiss. Phantoms, figures, an evil presence… The governess concludes they must be after the children, Miles and Flora. And what’s even more terrifying is that Miles and Flora aren’t scared at all. Is the estate truly haunted or is the governess simply imagining things?
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
Grades 12+Four individuals—a scholar, an assistant, a woman who’s been isolated for years, and an heir—arrive at the famously haunted Hill House to investigate the property. The longer they stay, the more strange things occur… odd sounds, slamming doors, messages on walls, and more. What will happen to the investigators as the house continues to gain power?
Cthulhu Armageddon by C.T. Phipps.
AdultSet in a world 100 years past the rise of the Elder Gods, John Henry Booth is a ranger for one of humanity’s last remaining city-states... until his squad is slaughtered while trying to rescue a group of kids from slavers. John is now considered “tainted”. Now he’s both fleeing and hunting across a monster-filled desert with the doctor who helped him escape the city. Revenge against the man who killed his friends is all he has left…
The Stand by Stephen King.
AdultThe end of the world started with the accidental release of a weaponized pandemic that killed off 99% of the human race. Those that remain scramble to survive, with some falling to greater barbarism and others coming together to rebuild civilization out of the ruins. But there is a darkness that does not want civilization to succeed. The Stand is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy that has been adapted into two tv miniseries, comics, and more.
Which books do you recommend this chilling season?
