It's Spooky Season!

Seasonal reading - yay or nay? Plus, some spooky recs!

It’s October!

This is one of my favorite months. First, it’s usually when we finally get a break from the brutal Texas heat (the weather dude has promised that break is coming later this week) and second, all the spooky season books and movies start popping up.

Seasonal reading…sort of

I usually think of myself as a seasonal reader, but when I look back at my reading history, that theory doesn’t totally bear out. Yes, in the summer I usually read one or two beach reads. Around Christmas, I usually read a wintry/holiday book. But it’s not across-the-board seasonal reading.

Instead, I seem to have two specific seasons that I lean into. One is late December through January when I inevitably plan to fix/improve ALL THE THINGS about my life, and I binge-read non-fiction books on self-help, organizing, health, etc. I enjoy that season because I like the feeling of a reset and fresh start to the year. Plus, I get to set up new planners—another nerdy delight.

Then, my second seasonal reading time is now, in the fall. Scary books. Dark academia. Witchy stories. Vampires (both sexy and scary ones are on the table.) Anything that is going to channel those fall, reading-under-a-blanket-with-the-leaves-rattling-in-the-wind outside vibes. I want to cocoon with my books and eat cinnamon-laced things and scare myself a little.

Last newsletter, I shared that I was doing a nerdy Horror 101 syllabus for both reading and films and that plan is fitting in with my seasonal reading perfectly. I’m three weeks in, and I’m having such a good time with it. I’ve shuffled it around a bit from what I posted originally, making the reading and film themes match up, so that’s been a good change. Each week, I get to deep dive into a new horror theme. This week is Slasher Week!

But this also means that if you happen to lean into spooky season like I do, I have some fresh recommendations for you!

Scary Reads

First, if you’re looking for something that will give you the chills and that unsettled feeling without being gory or violent, I’m recommending a classic in a specific format.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson on audio (Libro.fm | Audible)

I’m often averse to classics, and I attempted to read this in print a long time ago without luck. However, this time, I tried it in audio and was instantly hooked, so I’m recommending it in that format.

Most of you probably already know the premise, it’s one of THE haunted house stories that set the precedent for others. But basically, four people move into Hill House to investigate paranormal activity. Then…sh*t gets real.

I was surprised how modern this story felt even though it was written in 1959. Theodora felt like someone I’d want to hang out with--wry and warm and witty. I could imagine Audrey Hepburn delivering her lines. Luke was like the Pacey Witter (from Dawson’s Creek)--a good-time guy who was quick with a joke. Eleanor, the main character, was the sheltered girl desperate for friends, adventure, and freedom.

I liked the banter among them. I liked the warmth between the women early on. Eleanor definitely had a girl crush on Theodora/Theo in that way that a naive, shy girl gets enamored with the socially adept, popular girl. There are also things in the text that hint at Theo being a lesbian who has just broken up with her “roommate.” I loved that aspect in such an old novel—that even though Shirley Jackson couldn’t write it outright, the reader could pick up the hints.

The spooky elements of this novel also worked really well. Nothing was gory or graphic, but I could picture everything like a movie. Loud banging on walls. Teeth-chattering cold. That feeling that something is off or someone is listening or watching. I found the horror aspects effective and the narration enhanced it.

I raced through this one. The writing was gorgeous and the ending was dramatic and fit the story. I’ve already watched the original 1963 adaptation, The Haunting. And now I’m looking forward to watching the Netflix show.

So if you’re wanting something creepy and classic, I highly recommend this one. Plus, it has one of the most famous opening paragraphs of all time.

"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."

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The Return by Rachel Harrison

For something a little gorier with more overt horror, you might want to give The Return a try. The one has a great hook. The opening line is, “What do you mean she’s missing?”

Here’s the back cover copy:

Julie is missing, and no one believes she will ever return—except Elise. Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and feels it in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day Julie will come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her. 

Along with Molly and Mae, their two close friends from college, the women decide to reunite at a remote inn. But the second Elise sees Julie, she knows something is wrong—she’s emaciated, with sallow skin and odd appetites. And as the weekend unfurls, it becomes impossible to deny that the Julie who vanished two years ago is not the same Julie who came back. But then who—or what—is she?

So, your friend goes missing for two years. You have a funeral for her. Then two years to the day later, she shows up and has no memory of what happened. Oh, and she used to be a vegetarian but now can’t get enough meat. What’s a friend to do? Apparently, go for a girls’ weekend with your other two friends to an isolated, weird-ass hotel in the mountains. (Wouldn’t be my first instinct, but then we wouldn’t have a horror novel!)

This one was quite a ride and, full disclosure, there were times I wanted to yell at these women to get the hell out of there. On the Random Number Generator Horror Podcast No. 9 (my current favorite binge-listen), the hosts often talk about the point at which characters realize they’re in a horror movie—and how some never do (usually to their ultimate detriment.) And these women didn’t realize they were in a horror movie for a long time.

However, the journey was bizarre, fun, at times gross, and scary.

Also, Rachel Harrison has become quite a name in horror and this, I believe, was her debut. So if you want to give her writing a try, this is one you can probably easily get at the library.

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Scary Movie Night

You’re Next (streaming on Max)

This is a slasher that knows it’s a slasher. They are winking at the viewer pretty often with the dark humor and nods to previous movies, but I love that.

The setup: Erin is with her boyfriend, and they are on the way to his family’s estate for his parents’ 35th wedding anniversary celebration. Erin has never met his parents or siblings. When they arrive, there are three other siblings and their partners plus the parents. This feels like a family drama until oops, at the big family dinner, someone gets an arrow shot at them through the window. There are home invaders in animal masks outside and now it’s going to be a fight for survival.

Everyone is completely freaked out, but Erin, somehow, seems strangely calm and capable and goes into “this is what we need to do” mode. I won’t say more than that so that I don’t give away anything, but this one was just bloody fun. If you like your horror with a side of pitch-black comedy, give this one a try.

Ouija: Origin of Evil (streaming on Netflix)

Note, this is not the original Ouija (which I’ve heard is pretty bad) but a prequel.

Set in 1967 Los Angeles, a widowed mother and her two daughters are running a seance business to get by after they lost their dad/husband, but when they add an Ouija board to their act and it actually starts to work, things get dark quickly.

I really liked the characters in this one and I believed them—why they were doing what they were doing. I was rooting for them. (Always a dangerous thing to do in a horror movie!) I thought the effects on this one were good, and the story was definitely unsettling. If you like a horror movie with creepy children, this one pulled off that trope well.

Unfriended (streaming on Netflix)

This was a movie of its time—hey there, Skype! But I think this was a clever and effective scary movie all done on a computer screen.

You follow Blair and her group of friends on a group video call. Recently, one of their friends died by suicide and there’s a viral video of it. (So, trigger warning for suicide.) The call starts off as if they’re just planning to chat, but then someone they don’t recognize joins the call…and starts making demands.

This one is fast-paced and intense. There’s lots of screaming. There’s gore and grisly deaths. Know what you’re getting into. But I appreciated the method of keeping an entire movie on a computer screen. Often when you have constraints on a story or movie, people get more creative, and that’s the case here. You see Blair opening up other windows on her screen to research things or to try to get help. It’s an interesting way to tell a story. Plus, it’s got a pretty in-your-face theme about how the internet can make us act like terrible people.

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Of course with all of these recommendations, if you’re horror-averse, please feel free to skip them all, and check trigger warnings if you have sensitivities. But I hope for those of you who enjoy a good fictional scare, that you found something to entertain you during spooky season!

I’d love to hear what you’re reading or watching this October? Are you a seasonal reader? Do you have specific reading seasons you like more than others?

*Book links are affiliate links (Amazon, Libro.fm, and/or Bookshop.org), which means I earn a small commission if you buy through my links. Also, I receive advanced listening copies of some audiobooks through Libro.fm’s Influencer program. However, all reviews and opinions are my own.