I spend a large portion of this blog talking about dark fiction, horror, disturbing literature, etc. So it should come as no surprise the I LOVE Halloween and spooky, foreboding, and downright terrifying literature. But…I talked about those last week. The topic for this week’s list is similar: books that put you in the mood for Halloween (as hosted by The Broke and The Bookish). Since I’ve already discussed books that scare me, I decided to go with books that might put you in the right frame of mind – ghosts, witches, devil horns, haunted houses – you know, the fun stuff.
10. The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero. House of Leaves lighthearted cousin whose main character is obsessed with The X-Files. You can’t get better.
09. Horns by Joe Hill. Ig wakes up one morning with horns on his head. The catch? The horns makes those around him tell the WHOLE truth.
08. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix. You just have to experience it for yourself.
07. Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy. You could even skip the book and just watch the television series. They are both delightfully absurd.
06. Breed by Chase Novak. So about those fertility treatments…? You don’t mind a little werewolf with your baby, do you? (It’s hard to take this novel seriously, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.)
05. Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. A zombie love story, a modern, happier Romeo and Juliet, if you will.
04. The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. A witchy must.
03. Ten by Gretchen McNeil. A modern retelling of And Then There Were None.
02. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. So Hill made the list twice. But NOS4A2 needs to be read for the puns alone (it’s a phenomenal book too).
01. The Witches of East End by Melissa De La Cruz. Joanna, Freya, and Ingrid are immortal witches in modern times. And they’ve got problems. This is Halloween’s light and fluffy side. Plus, the television adaptation is horribly awesome.
Because Halloween could use a bit of happy (and how I wish there was a novel version of Hocus Pocus, because that would be number one on this list).
(Image via Unfortunately Oh!)
flannel and folklore 
Hocus Pocus is a must for Halloween. I also reread The Legend of Sleepy Hollow every year and watch the movie afterwards.
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Isn’t is? It’s my favorite. That and, I’m nearly ashamed to admit, Casper.
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I’ve recently read Horns and loved it! Well, it was an audiobook but it was great! I’m wondering whether to read Nos4r2 or to get the audiobook because I love Kate Mulgrew and quite fancy listening to her tell me a scary story!!
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I’d say you can’t go wrong either way. Although some versions of NOS4R2 have interesting illustrations that would be worth seeing.
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Delightfully absurd is the perfect way to describe Hemlock Grove! I haven’t watched the TV show yet but I definitely want to give it a go!
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So bad, yet so good.
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No Stephen King? What? How?
Seriously though, it’s great to see a completely new to me selection of books in today’s top ten 🙂
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Haha, SK made last week’s list. Twice. As he should.
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Hocus Pocus is THE ultimate Halloween movie. I’m so glad we finally bought it this year.
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I need too! I will put that on my Christmas list.
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I like your twist on Halloween books! I haven’t read any of these, but I really want to read Horrorstor.
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Thanks. I own so much Ikea, I need to read this.
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Can’t WAIT to read Horrorstor. All the reviews I’ve read are excellent…and I just have way too much IKEA furniture in my house for me NOT to read it.
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Me too! I just assembled a large Ikea couch (the karlstad couch with two chaises) and was contemplating homicide by the end.
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I have NOS4A2 waiting for me! I was going to read it for Halloween this year but ran out of time. Since I survived ‘Salem’s Lot, I feel I can handle more scary than I thought I could.
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You can do it, Katie. No pressure.
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