Watching movies aren’t the way of celebrating Halloween, though I will admit it’s a very fun way of celebrating it. But I have also found that books are also a great way of celebrating Halloween. Not just any books either, spooky books are indeed the best books for around Halloween time and these are favorite spookiest books that I have read and recommend.

Dracula (…obviously) – Bram Stoker

Dracula attempts to move from Transylvania to England so that he may find new blood and spread the undead curse, and of the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and a woman led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing.

Jar of Hearts – Jennifer Hillier

Fourteen years after Angela Wong disappeared without a trace Angela Wong’s remains are discovered in the woods near her best friend Georgina Shaw’s childhood home. Angela was a victim of Calvin James. The same Calvin James who murdered at least three other women. Back in high school, Calvin was Geo’s first love. Their relationship bordered on obsession from the moment they met right up until the night Angela was killed. Geo knew what happened to Angela and told no one, until now.

Night Film – Marisha Pessl

On a damp October night, 24-year-old Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley’s life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror film director Stanislaus Cordova a man who hasn’t been seen in public for more than thirty years.

The Winter People – Julian McMahon

Sara Harrison in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter. In present day, Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that has weighty consequences when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. In her search for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea’s diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother’s bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked into the historical mystery, she discovers that she’s not the only person looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

Her Body & Other Parties – Carmen Maria Machado

Her Body and Other Parties is the feminist horror short story collection. The book contains spooky stories that aren’t exactly what you think. Some of the stories include woman who refuses to take off the green ribbon around her neck despite her husband’s pleading and a writer who thinks she’s going mad while at a retreat in the mountains. There are many more eerie stories in the collection.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism – Grady Hendrix

Set in South Carolina in the late 1980s, this story follows high schoolers Abby and Gretchen, best friends since they were kids. The friendship of these high school juniors is tested when Abby believes Gretchen has been possessed after she begins acting, well, not like herself. What happened to her, and can Abby save her?