fall reading: a spooky october reading list
eight magical and haunting books I'm looking forward to in october.
One of my favorite things about autumn has to be all the cozy reading at this time of year! It’s the time for long reads focused on dark academia and gothic tales, books around nature and the changing of the seasons, and of course spooky reads for Halloween. I have already been diving into fall reading in September (a reread of Olive Kitteridge, I was absolutely swept up by The Thirteenth Tale, and simultaneously horrified and intrigued by The Secret History).
Looking ahead to October, I want to fill the month with magical, supernatural, and spooky reads in anticipation of Halloween. I wanted to share with you the books I’m most looking forward to, including my very favorite book to read each Autumn, three magical books and three reads that are downright creepy.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus is a fall classic that I have reread each autumn for the last few years. Set in an enchanting circus that pops up over night in the field outside of towns across New England and Europe, we meet a charming cast of characters from the mysterious circus founder, to the fortune teller, to a pair of twins with bright red hair who spend their magical childhood roaming the circus tents. We discover the (always expanding) wonders of the circus from the illusionist’s show to an ice garden to a tent of scented jars, each of which holds a very specific smell and an actual memory for the visitor to browse. This circus is so easy to fall in love with, the nighttime setting is perfectly autumnal and the characters fighting their way in the world, finding love and their place, will pull you in to this book.
Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
I loved The Unmaking of June Farrow and was excited to see another Adrienne Young novel on a list of magical fall reads. From an unsolved murder, to isolated living on a remote island, to hints of the supernatural, this books has so many elements that I’m excited to dig into. For a hint at the tone of the book, the protagonist Emery is the proprietor of her family's business, Blackwood's Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings, and a major turning point in the book occurs when all the trees on the entire island change color overnight. This sounds like peak fall atmosphere!
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Mika, one of only a handful of witches in the UK, tries to live her life inconspicuously. One day she is offered a place at a remote estate called the Nowhere House teaching a family of young witches how to use their magic. She eventually gets pulled into the world of the Nowhere House and its residents.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
I remember being completely swept away when I read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, so another magical book by V.E. Schwab is on the docket for this fall. A Darker Shade of Magic is set in London, but a London that exists in multiple parallel universes that the protagonist Kell has the ability to travel between. Outside of his official duties as an ambassador carrying messages between the various Londons’ royalty, he smuggles people eager for a glimpse of another world. Unsurprisingly, things run amok.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
I read The Haunting of Hill House after watching the very spooky mini-series by Mike Flanagan (who also wrote and directed Doctor Sleep). The short narrative left so much more to the imagination than the television interpretation, but I found this to really add to the haunting atmosphere of the book and the house itself. In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, an isolated family’s perverse existence is interrupted when a visitor appears. This sounds like the perfect formula for an edge-of-your-seat read.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The story of a boy who lives in a graveyard, The Graveyard Book tells the tale of Bod, an unusual boy raised by ghosts and werewolves. Bod has learned all he knows from them, including the ability to disappear at will.
The Shining by Stephen King
I have seen this haunting movie countless times as it is a favorite in our household. I must be the last person on planet earth to realize it is based on a book (of course!) and a Stephen King book at that (also of course!) I haven’t read anything by Stephen King before and I’m excited to dig into this tale of a family living in a haunted hotel over the course of a cold, snowed in winter in remote Colorado.
You can find all my favorite books for fall on my Bookshop. If you enjoyed this post, you’ll also enjoy:
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The Shining is the King book that made me realize why he's famous. I mean, of course I knew about Stephen King, but was mostly familiar because of the books that were made into movies. When I discovered his writing, I became hooked. He's truly a master. The Green Mile and 11/22/63 are nice follow up reads for a less spooky vibe.
I love this list! I just finished The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (loved) and am reading Spells for Forgetting now (the vibes are PEAK fall so far). I haven’t read anything by Stephen King either, which is kind of wild—need to add something of his to my list as well!