Terrifying Book Recs For Halloween

Hello everyone it’s time for one of my favorite things to do: recommend horror books for Halloween! Horror books are definitely some of my favorite books to read so weeding through them and finding the best ones is fun for me. Hopefully this list I put together will help you find a last minute read for Halloween or just help you find your next scary read!

I tried to put these books in order of how much I enjoyed them BUT let it be known I did love every single one and recommend each one on this list. I put the scariest ones (for me at least) at the top of my list!

13.) The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

Why I Recommend It: This is a short story by thriller mastermind Gillain Flynn, for any of you who have had the pleasure of reading one of her books before you’ll know you’re in for some dark, messed up shit. This one just so happens to have a bit of a paranormal theme as well, is the house haunted or are the characters manipulative and unreliable? I was actually pretty creeped out during certain scenes and so I think this would make for a great, quick Halloween read!

You can read my full review of “The Grownup” here.

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12.) Welcome To The Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Why I Recommend It: Love classic slasher horror movies? You’ll love this book then, it reads just like your typical horror movie which makes it tons of fun to read through! There’s many POV characters and quite a few blood pumping scenes too.

You can read my full review of “Welcome To The Dark House” here.

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11.) The Merciless by Danielle Vega

Why I Recommend It: Ever wonder what would happen if you combined Mean Girls with blood, gore, and scares? Well maybe not but if you find yourself wondering now then check this book out! A bunch of teenage girls hold another captive and perform an exorcism on her, what could go wrong with that? I will say again that this book is pretty gory so if you’re really squeamish beware!

You can read my full review of “The Merciless” here.

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10.) The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Why I Recommend It: This is a psychologically twisted and very sinister feeling book, it’s creepy and messes with your mind while reading. There are a few scary-ish scenes but mostly the plot twists and journey through the mind of madness are what makes this a very fun book.

You can read my full review of “The Dead House” here.

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9.) Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Why I Recommend It: This is a fairly scary book that’s fun, gory, and full of ghosts! There were more than a few creepy scenes and it’s very action-packed and fast paced. Another little fun fact: the entire book is typed in red ink.

You can read my full review of “Anna Dressed in Blood” here.

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8.) The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

Why I Recommend It: This is an extremely well-written, historical fiction full of …well, monsters. The atmosphere Rick Yancey creates is perfectly eerie and the monsters themselves are the stuff of nightmares.

You can read my full review of “The Monstrumologist” here.

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7.) A Drop of Night by Stefan Bachmann

Why I Recommend It: This book has both supernatural horror elements as well as survival horror elements and it’s very reminiscent of the movie “The Cabin in the Woods”. It’s also very unique I’ve never read anything like it before and I doubt you will have either! I mean being trapped in a palace below ground is enough to scare the crap out of you.

You can read my full review of “A Drop of Night” here.

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6.) Alice by Christina Henry

Why I Recommend It: This is a dark, twisted retelling of “Alice in Wonderland” and so if you’re a fan of Alice and can stomach a lot of gore and violence then I highly suggest checking this one out. But I will warn you now that there is quite a bit of violence including sexual violence so if you’re sensitive to any of that then skip this one.

You can read my full review of “Alice” here.

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5.) Through The Woods by Emily Carroll

Why I Recommend It: It’s a collection of short, illustrated stories that will creepy you the hell out. Seriously I didn’t know if I was going to be able to sleep after reading and SEEING these things! So if you need a quick, last minute read to scare your pants of for Halloween then definitely check this one out.

You can read my full review of “Through The Woods” here.

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4.) Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics

Why I Recommend It: Do you have a fear of isolation or demons or maybe both? Then maybe don’t read this…unless you like being scared, like me, then this book will probably terrify you! It’s also fairly short so yet again another good last minute read for Halloween.

You can read my full review of “Daughters Unto Devils” here.

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3.) And The Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

Why I Recommend It: I think the fact that Dawn Kurtagich is on this list twice really speaks volumes about what a fantastic horror writer she is. This book is ten times scarier than “The Dead House”, it’s twisted and extremely creepy. There’s crazy people, creeping trees, and the Creeper Man. Creeper Man should be enough to show you how scary this book is.

You can read my full review of “And The Trees Crept In” here.

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2.) The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco

Why I Recommend It: See that cover? That cover is fucking terrifying. If you have a deep set phobia of creepy Japanese ghosts then first off join the club and second off this book will scare your pants off.

You can read my full review of “The Girl From The Well” here.

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1.) Slasher Girls & Monster Boys stories selected by April Genevieve Tucholke

Why I Recommend It: This is an anthology that not only includes many popular YA authors but also some downright horrifying stories. I kid you not, I was literally looking over my shoulder while reading some of them! If you’re looking for a few short stories to give you nightmares then look no further.

You can read my full review of “Slasher Girls & Monster Boys” here.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Did you find any books to add to your TBR?

What’s your favorite horror book?

What will you be reading for Halloween?

Let me know in the comments and I hope this helped some of you out!