There are very few days until Halloween! And in our Fangirlish countdown to that day, we have several special posts for you. It’s now the time to talk the best books to read on Halloween day. So sit down with a hot chocolate in your hands and …
Here we go!
1984 by George Orwell
This novel, published in 1949, imagined what the future would be in 1984. In Orwell’s dystopia, the world is wracked by perpetual war, repressive rules, and ubiquitous government surveillance. This classic science fiction text follows the protagonist Winston Smith, who dreams of rebellion and starts a clandestine affair with his coworker, Julia. This dystopian future always manages to scare us to the bone.
Agatha Christie Novels
If you like mystery, crack open one of the 62 detective novels written by Agatha Christie. The best-selling novelist of all time, Christie sold over a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. Any of her novels gives goosebumps because she describes human nature to us like no one else can.
Edgar Allan Poe: The Complete Short Story Collection
A classic of terror. From Edgar Allan Poe, the author of the sinister concluding couplet, “In her sepulchre there by the sea /In her tomb by the sounding sea,” comes this collection of short stories. The table of contents includes the famous “The Tell-Tale Heart,” related by an unnamed narrator who commits and describes a murder, all the while trying to persuade the reader of the narrator’s sanity.
The Good House by Tananarive Due
Angela Toussaint inherits her grandmother’s large home in rural Washington State. Upon moving in, she learns that she’s not alone in her house. Book after book, horror writer Tananarive Due scares us more and more through her characters and stories.
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
Immanuelle Moore, the protagonist, is born into the cloistered religious community of Bethel. Her mother died in childbirth, but left her with a legacy. When Immanuelle comes of age, she begins to learn that her birthright involves witches, runes, and the kind of power only she can harness. Immanuelle will venture into the mysterious Darkwood around her community, and claim what is hers.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
Set in eighteenth-century Paris, Perfume features Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, who is born with a ghoulish gift: an absolute sense of smell. He indulges his passion for scents as a child, infatuated with the idea of capturing the odors of fresh-cut wood, oils, metals, and herbs. But his craving to create the perfect perfume soon breeds dangerous consequences, leading him to commit a murder.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
One of the first examples of science fiction. This book is told in a series of letters from Captain Robert Walton to his sister. During a voyage to the North Pole, Walton comes across an almost-dead man: Victor Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s history soon unravels, and we learn of his experiment to create intelligent life, the monster he produced trying to make his dream come true and the consequences that this had.
The Shining by Stephen King
Stephen King had to be on this list. The Shining was published in 1977. It details the life of Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic, who accepts a position tending to the Overlook Hotel during off-season in the Colorado Rockies. Jack’s son, Danny, has “the shining,” a collection of psychic abilities that permit Danny to see the hotel’s appalling past. The ghosts that the hotel harbors impact Jack’s sanity, leaving his wife and son in grave danger.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Few tales of horror have endured as much as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which is both a gripping and complex narrative unto itself and a hugely influential work in terms of depictions of vampires in popular culture. This book made history and thus has come to our days. If you give it a chance, you will not regret it.
All Souls Trilogy By Deborah Harkness
Vampires, demons and witches? We’re here for this! This trilogy brings our favorite mythical creatures to life in a novel twist that teaches us all aspects of human nature, both the meanest and the most honorable. At the same time, it shows us that not everything is black or white, but that humans are made of shades of gray.
