Spooky season is here and if you're a fan of a ghostly tale or haunted house story, you're in luck. We've picked 10 scary reads to scare yourself silly with this Halloween - just make sure you keep the lights on!
Serenity Falls by CJ Tudor
Stephen King meets The Stepford Wives is how this chilling thriller is being described and if that doesn't entice a horror fan, I don't know what will. Serenity Falls is the most idyllic, and safest, town in the US and seems the perfect place for Dan and his daughter to relocate. Then they find a dead body in their swimming pool and it's just the start of a series of disturbing events...
The Night Stairs by Erin Kelly
A creepy boarding school for girls is the atmospheric setting for the latest gothic thriller from Erin Kelly, author of The Skeleton Key. Add haunted stairs, a new headmistress with a secret and mass hysteria among the girls, and you have the makings of a spine-chilling read.
The Echoes In The Cabin by Anne Wyn Clark
Looking for a spooky read for Halloween? Devastated by the loss of her mother who was sept out to sea during a storm, Elin agrees to try a grief hologram - until the avatar takes on a life of its own and says something that chills Elin to the core.
The Echoes in the Cabin by Anne Wyn Clark
A Haunting In The Artic by CJ Cooke
Ghostly mermaids and a haunted shipwreck at the northern tip of Iceland make for a spooky read. In the early 1900s a woman is held captive on The Ormen whaling ship, while in the present day, explorer Dominique is investigating a mystery surrounding the boat.
Medlock by SG Hartnell
Want to scare yourself silly this Halloween? This gothic reimagining of The Secret Garden will send shivers down your spine. Mrs Medlock is the long-serving housekeeper of Marwood Manor and guardian of its dark secrets, of which there are plenty – including a boy shut away in an attic and a mysterious locked garden.
Medlock: A chilling, atmospheric contemporary Gothic horror story - read it with the lights on
Medlock: A chilling, atmospheric contemporary Gothic horror story - read it with the lights on
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Medlock: A chilling, atmospheric contemporary Gothic horror story - read it with the lights on
Medlock: A chilling, atmospheric contemporary Gothic horror story - read it with the lights on
One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford
This darkly funny, macabre tale is a truly fresh spin on the zombie novel. The apocalypse has come and its up to Kesta to find a cure for the last victim - who also happens to be her husband. For now he’s chained to the radiator in their spare room but time is running out for both of them.
The Witching Hour by various
This collection of spooky short stories has some incredible contributors, including Michelle Paver, Stacey Halls, Jess Kidd, Natasha Pulley, Susan Stokes-Chapman, Laura Shepherd-Robinson and Stuart Turton.
The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell
For those who like to scare themselves silly, there’s a new book from the queen of gothic chillers. When Jenny Wilcox is offered a job as a dresser at a West End theatre, she jumps at the chance. While it seems to be the answer to all her woes, her role takes a sinister turn when she’s also charged with spying on a young actress.
The Book Of Witching by CJ Cooke
A pacy, atmospheric story based on real-life events and the 72 women who were burned at the stake duringthe North Berwick witch trials in the 1500s. In 1594, Alison is accused of witchcraft, while in the present day, Clem receives a call to say her daughter has been found with severe burns on a beach in Orkney.
The Black Feathers by Rebecca Netley
Looking for an atmospheric read to while away the autumn nights? Set in a big house on the Yorkshire Moors, this Gothic ghost story delivers intrigue and suspense in spades. When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse, she finds herself living with his spinster sister Iris, too, whose seances fascinate and terrify her.
