It's almost November, but the spooky season can last as much as you want, so here are some books that will give you chills and goosebumps!
I'm not a huge fan of terror because I get scared quite easily, but I think that's good to try new things. Even if you've tried them before but didn't work, everything deserves a second chance. So even though I haven't read all of these books, at least I've tried to for that same reason, and I will try to read them again in the future –maybe when I'm not as fearful as I am right now, though I don't know if that will ever happen.
So here are are the five spooky books I've chosen to share with you, each one for a different kind of audience, from adults to middle-graders, though they're all part of the genre of horror or have some components that could be considered scary. Also, if you want to read my reviews on the books I've read click the stars on "my rating".
1. IT, Stephen King
Pages: 1169
My rating: not finished
Genre: coming-of-age, horror, dark fantasy, thriller.
Synopsis: Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real.
They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers.
My comment: It's obvious I had to start this list with such a classic from the genre of horror, though I have to admit that I could not get past the bathroom scene, when the word "IT" first appears, it was too scary for me and I felt like if I kept reading I wouldn't be able to get out of my bedsheets in weeks. So I put it aside, though my idea is to try reading it again someday.
2. Pleasant Grove, Jason Price
Pages: 377
My Rating: ★★★★☆½
Genre: middle grade, science fiction, horror.
Synopsis: Welcome to Pleasant Grove, a quiet small town where neighbour helps neighbour and doors are left unlocked at night-an unspoiled paradise with one peculiar feature: It's enclosed by a glass dome.
No one can leave.
No one can enter.
No one can survive beyond the dome.
But then, a visitor arrives from the outside.
When 12-year-old Agnes Goodwin discovers a strange boy with no memory, she teams up with her best friends to unravel the mystery. Their extraordinary adventure will threaten everything they know...and everyone they love.
My comment: This book is perfect for middle-graders as well as for young-adults or adults, since it talks about a lot of subjects, from family, to friendship, to growing up wanting to learn more, being curious about your surroundings and your origins. So if you're looking for a not-so-scary book to read to a child or to enjoy yourself, this one is perfect for you.
3. Shadowland, Peter Straub
Pages: 445
My rating: not read yet
Genre: coming-of-age, horror, fantasy.
Synopsis: If your shadow doesn't move when you do, then you're in Shadowland.
In a private school in New England, a friendship is forged between two boys that will change their lives for ever. As Del Nightingale and Tom Flanagan battle to survive the oppressive regime of bullying and terror overseen by the sadistic headmaster, Del introduces Tom to his world of magic tricks. But when they escape to spend the summer holiday together at Shadowland - the lakeside estate of Del's uncle - their hobby suddenly takes on much more sinister tones. After a summer exploring the mysteries and terrors of Shadowland nothing will be the same.
My comment: I bough Shadowland in a second-hand bookshop, and I thought it had to be pretty scary since the cover itself says it all with that "a beautifully crafted nightmare of heart-stopping terror". So I'm not sure why I got it, maybe it was calling me and I answered by buying it.
4. Broken Things, Lauren Oliver
Pages: 416
My rating: ★★★★☆
Genre: young-adult, thriller, LGBT+.
Summary: It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods. Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.
The only thing is: they didn’t do it. On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous.
My comment: Watch me talk about Broken Things once more in my blog. Yes, I'm a bit obsessed with this book, but all because it's so good that I cannot not recommend it. This is not a horror book, but you'll find some points throughout the reading that chills will run down your spine, and by the end of the book you'll think your house is not secure enough –though it probably is, so don't worry too much, it's just the sensation this book will give you. That's why I think it's a perfect read for Spooktober.
5. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Pages: 273
My rating: ★★★★☆½
Genre: horror, Gothic literature, science fiction.
Synopsis: Obsessed with creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life with electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear. Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley near Byron's villa on Lake Geneva. It would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity.
My comment: Of course I had to end this list with another classic. It's hard to review or comment on a so-famous work of art but I'd say that Frankenstein is definitely one of the most frightening books I've ever read, though it makes you question so many important topics that the spooky part ends up being the least of the problems.
I hope you find your next read in this list and maybe a new favourite book. Don't forget to like and share this post if you've liked it! Have a nice and spooky Halloween, stay safe and enjoy your reading!
