I already have my Halloween decorations up. This week we’ll be doing the Mickey Trick-or-Treat. It’s about time I started celebrating my favorite holiday 6 weeks early!!!!! I’m gonna do this every year. September is boring.

I love getting spooky in October. I try to sneak in scary movies and tv shows while Ryan is working (he’s a giant baby). I read something spooky. I wear a lot of sweaters and eat candy corn. So I thought I would share with you guys some of my favorite spooky/scary/creepy books that are perfect to read in the best Halloween month! I tried to create a diverse list here, so whether you love scary stuff or sleep with the lights on there should be something for you. 🙂

Best Halloween Reads

Dracula by Bram Stoker – I know this is basic AF but there’s a reason it’s a classic! It is so weird and creepy and so quintessentially Halloweeny. You may have seen 100 interpretations of this but I promise the book is different and deeper.

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris – this book. Holy smokes, this book. I was on the edge of my seat, drinking in every word, terrified and enthralled for what might come next. It’s about a seemingly perfect marriage and what is actually going on, get this, behind closed doors.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara – I had to include this in the list, even though it’s not my favorite true crime read just because I rarely get scared reading books but I genuinely got freaked out reading this one. It’s nonfiction about Michelle McNamara (Patton Oswalt’s wife who tragically died before completing the manuscript) and all of the people who dedicated their lives to searching for the Golden State Killer. And then he was caught!!!

World War Z by Max Brooks – I freaking love this book. The movie was good but honestly nothing short of a series could capture the diversity of the book. Each chapter is a different person being interviewed to share their story about the zombie outbreak.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff – I will never stop suggesting this book, but I promise it actually fits in this category because I also got creepy chills reading it. If you’re looking for a more YA pick, this one has cheesy romance, sci-fi, zombies, evil computers, biological warfare, and conspiracy.

Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris – incredible book and incredible movie. This would make a great read-and-watch. The movie won 5 Oscars, and with good reason. It is absolutely chilling, with Buffalo Bill as a deranged serial killer and Hannibal Lecter as the brilliant antihero.

Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux – you think you know the story from the musical, but as you might imagine there is so much more. The actual story is super dark and scary, but still very good.

The Obsession by Nora Roberts – this thriller opens with the protagonist finding her father’s secret cellar in the woods with a woman tied up inside and follows her through a troubled life. Eventually she puts down roots, but soon finds that her past catches up with her.

Harry Potter by JK Rowling – saw that comin’, didn’t ya? For those who don’t want something that will keep them up at night, this is the perfect Halloween book! I think I’m gonna dive into my illustrated copy of Sorcerer’s Stone this year. <3

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – full disclosure I haven’t read this BUT I am going to read it this year. It’s about the toddler of a murdered family escaping and wandering into a graveyard, to then be raised by ghosts. But apparently it’s really heartwarming and funny and good – and it’s YA/junior fiction.