There’s nothing scarier than heading into October without an eerie, autumnal reading list. Whether you’re looking for a terrifying thriller that will have you sleeping with the lights on, a cozy, puzzle-like mystery to solve from the comfort of your couch, or a haunting story jam-packed with paranormal encounters, we’ve got a book to match your mood. Brew a mug of tea, grab your warmest sweater, and settle in for a frightfully good time!

 

Supernatural Campus Novels for Fans of The Secret History:

These books are sure to satisfy any reader looking for their next dark academia fix.

Solace House by Will Maclean

This immersive, addictive puzzle-box of a novel follows a group of university students who uncover astonishing and deeply unsettling secrets while clearing out a dilapidated Victorian mansion.

“If you’re missing Donna Tartt, read this . . .There are horrors here that you will not get out of your head.”—The Telegraph

 

 

At Briarwood School for Girls by Michael Knight

A deeply witty and incisive novel set in a Virginia boarding school in 1994, in which a pregnant teen navigates paranormal encounters and questions of fate, history, and the possibility of happiness.

“With evocative language and a true sense of place, Southerner Michael Knight combines a coming-of-age tale, a ghost story and a meditation on history in his engrossing latest novel.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

 

Sabine by A.P.

A propulsive and sensual Gothic tale of obsession following a schoolgirl who uncovers a disturbing secret within her elite boarding school in the French countryside (that may or may not be run by a vampire).

“A louche little tale of schoolgirl crushes and steamy makeout sessions, bloody fox hunts and formal balls, a hint of the supernatural, and more than a touch of evil . . . campy, creepy, sensational fun.”—Daily Candy (Los Angeles)

 

Chilling and Surreal Ghost Stories:

These otherworldly, bite-sized tales are delightfully creepy and best read by candlelight.

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

Widely considered to be the masterpiece of one of Nigeria’s most influential writers, this novel tells the story of a wealthy alcoholic’s nightmarish quest into the land of the dead, drawing on both Yoruba folklore and Western storytelling traditions.

“Brief, thronged, grisly, and bewitching.”—Dylan Thomas, The Observer

 

 

Night Side of the River by Jeanette Winterson

A bewitching collection of modern ghost stories from “one of the most gifted writers working today” (The New York Times), that combines the author’s own supernatural encounters with chilling works of fiction that examine grief, revenge, and the myriad ways in which technology can disrupt the boundary between life and death.

“For Jeanette Winterson, ghost stories are not old-fashioned or anachronistic in the modern world, but both cutting-edge and primal.”—May-lee Chai, The New York Times

 

Night Beast by Ruth Joffre

A stunning and surreal debut collection of short stories that follow haunted characters through real and speculative landscapes, in a probing exploration of the dark side of humanity and the monsters that lurk within our daily lives.

“Masterful . . . Perfect for fans of Kelly Link and of Carmen Maria Machado’s Her Body and Other Parties.”—Booklist

 

 

Pulse-Pounding Thrillers for Adrenaline Junkies:

These action-packed reads will keep your heart racing, and the pages turning—just don’t read them in the dark!

Gone by Mo Hayder

A riveting and disturbing thriller from internationally bestselling author Mo Hayder that follows the investigation of a brilliant and twisted carjacker with a disturbing game to play. When an 11‑year‑old girl is abducted in the backseat of a stolen car, Detective Jack Caffery and police diver Flea Marley become locked in a race against time to stop the carjacker in his tracks—before he can strike again.

“Artfully constructed . . . Chilling . . . Shocks are in store.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

 

You Let Me In by Lucy Clarke

A white-knuckle thriller about a struggling writer locked in a twisted game of cat-and-mouse with a stalker hell-bent on dredging up her past. Set in a cliff-top house in the Cornish countryside, this nightmarish novel with Hitchcockian twists speaks to our most primal fears about the darkness that lurks in the hidden corners of our own lives.

“Utterly compulsive! Twisty, atmospheric, and beautifully written. I couldn’t put it down.”—Claire Douglas, bestselling author of The Wrong Sister

 

She Lover of Death by Boris Akunin, Translated from Russian by Andrew Bromfield

A gripping murder mystery, from the writer who invented the popular Russian crime novel, that tells the tale of a man’s investigation of a secret, bohemian suicide society in turn-of-the-century Moscow that conducts séances with violent and deadly consequences.

“An absurdly imaginative story, surreal and comic . . . irresistible.”—Times (UK)

 

Cozy Mysteries for Fans of Knives Out:

Readers craving a classic whodunnit are sure to be hooked by these twisty stories with plenty of old-school mystery charm!

Return to Breakneck Island by Tom Ryan

Set within the seaside town of Maple Bay, Nova Scotia, the latest alluring mystery in the bestselling Treasure Hunters Club series follows an unlikely ensemble of sleuths who are drawn into the orbit of a decades-old mystery. In their search for a lost family fortune, long-buried, deadly secrets begin to resurface.

“A cozy thriller that delivers murder, secrets, treasure hunting, small town charm, humor and plenty of twists . . .  Perfection!”—Best Thriller Books

 

The Dentist by Tim Sullivan

The first propulsive mystery in the bestselling DS George Cross Series, following autistic Detective Sergeant George Cross’s investigation of the murder of an elderly homeless man, which reveals a connection to a case that has been cold for fifteen years.

“A perfect detective for our time and all time.”—Stephen Fry

 

 

The Red Queen by Martha Grimes

An eccentric and captivating novel that charts the investigation of the sudden murder of a businessman in an English village pub. After a photo of the man’s doppelganger is discovered in an American newspaper, Superintendent Richard Jury begins to expect that there may be more to this case than meets the eye.

“Delightful, surprising, even magical . . . Grimes’s love of the offbeat, the whimsical and the absurd makes them utterly unlike anyone else’s detective novels.”—The Washington Post, on the Richard Jury Mystery Series

 

Page-Turning Novels for Fans of A24 Horror Movies:

Eerie, literary horror novels that deliver thrills alongside brilliant explorations of the darkness hidden under the surface of our daily lives.

The Unveiling by Quan Barry

A chilling, genre-bending work of literary horror that follows Striker, a Black film scout aboard a luxury Antarctic cruise of wealthy, mostly white tourists. When the group becomes stranded on a remote arctic island, secrets, prejudices, and inner demons begin to emerge, including revelations from Striker’s past that could irrevocably shatter her world.

“Exhilarating . . . A novel that’s equal parts White Lotus and Get Out.”—Randy Boyagoda, The New York Times

 

A Carnivore’s Inquiry by Sabina Murray

Winner of the 2003 PEN/Faulkner Award

A spellbinding literary thriller about a young woman with a peculiar fascination with cannibalism who travels across North America, trailed by a string of unexplained ritualistic murders. Unsettling and darkly funny, this novel explores the questionable appetites that lurk beneath the veneer of North American civilization.

“A cracklingly original, brilliantly conceived modern Gothic.”—ELLE

 

Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata

A hauntingly brilliant novel set in an alternative version of Japan where sex between married couples has vanished and all children are born by artificial insemination. When a woman moves to a mysterious new town called Paradise-Eden where children are raised communally, she must learn to navigate the rules of this new, bizarre landscape.

“The Handmaid’s Tale on acid . . . a radical look at the way the imperative to procreate has shaped civilization.”—The New York Times “Editor’s Choice”

 

The Hitch by Sara Levine

A delightfully unhinged, darkly comedic novel about a woman’s attempts to exorcise the spirit of a dead corgi from her nephew and renegotiate the borders of her previously rational world.

“Winningly zany . . . [Levine’s] commitment to boinging around the loopy little world she’s built is total. Only a killjoy would refuse to join her.”—The New York Times Book Review