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Planning to bury your nose in a book or two this weekend? Here are 13 books to consider if you want to give yourself an extra dose of horror

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13 Books to Read this Halloween Weekend 

Firas Abboud

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/9c07e6b1-0e1f-44a1-8cff-355a29f41449_13 books to read this halloween section desktop cover.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Looking for a scary read this spooky season? We got you!</span></span></span></div><p>Halloween is extra special this year because of the long weekend. We have more time to recharge while celebrating this spooky holiday. Now, for those of us who plan on spending the long weekend with a book, it only seems right to reach for a scary read. </p><div><br/></div><p>What book to read, you might ask? Well, I visited my personal library and curated a list that covers—or at least attempts to cover—the horror spectrum. After all, there’s more than just one definition of scary. I hope you find one that knocks on your cabinet of curiosity. </p><div><br/></div><div><em><strong>Disclaimer</strong>: I didn’t rank the books in terms of scare factor—besides, what’s scary to me isn’t necessarily scary to you. I did, however, arrange the list alphabetically to establish a sense of order. Yes, my obsessive-compulsive behavior can be scary sometimes. </em></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>1. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/c10beb97-2d92-4e43-a576-4205577c1e7c_alias grace 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Can you imagine being convicted for a crime you didn’t do?</span></span></span></div><p>While I did consider <em>The Handmaid’s Tale</em>, I opted for this historical fiction novel instead because it’s based on factual events. <em>Alias Grace </em>follows convicted murderess Grace Marks, who is hired out from prison as a servant. Several people want to have her pardoned and released, so they hire a psychiatrist to prove that she is not a criminal. Why prove her innocence? Because she can’t even remember what happened on the day of the murders. </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary: </strong>Can you imagine being convicted for a crime you didn’t do? Or on the flip side, how far are you willing to go to cover up a crime?  </p><div><br/></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>2. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie </strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/b46eaf97-8ca3-407c-b963-7f7b3afc0e14_and then there were none 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">What if your past haunts your present and keeps you from having a future? </span></span></span></div><p>Agatha Christie is often referred to as the “Queen of Mystery,” so it’s impossible not to include a book of hers on this list. Out of all her books I’ve read, nothing quite haunts me like <em>And Then There Were None</em>. Ten people find themselves on an isolated island and die one by one until—you guessed it—there were none. Why kill them? Who killed them?</p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary:</strong> What if your past haunts your present and keeps you from having a future? </p><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>3. Beloved by Toni Morrison</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/76402311-fc0f-4ff0-a265-7af3dfc9fd12_beloved 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Can you really ever be free from your past? </span></span></span></div><p>Look up American horror novels and you might be surprised to find a book with such a title on the list. Read it and you’ll understand why. Winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988, <em>Beloved</em> is a story of a family of former slaves whose home is haunted by an angry spirit. </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary: </strong>Can you really be free from your past? Is it justifiable to kill someone in order to save them? </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/culture/books/what-keeps-me-calm-seven-husbands-of-evelyn-hugo/33139" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What Keeps Me Calm: Reading—and Re-reading—&#x27;The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo&#x27;</a></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>4. Coraline by Neil Gaiman</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/bd68a69c-b77d-4dec-a935-7b56fc536289_coraline 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Remember when curiosity killed the cat?</span></span></span></div><p>A children’s book on the list? Why not? Reading <em>Coraline</em> scared my inner child and reminded me that sometimes, there’s more to what our senses show and tell us. In this book, Neil Gaiman writes about a similar but different, more interesting world and how the one we live in is the better one all along. A little warning: This book might trigger a fear of buttons.   </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary:</strong> Remember when curiosity killed the cat? </p><div><br/></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>5. Hardboiled &amp; Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/d380a13a-0b1c-46ca-9603-6c4affee0784_hardboiled &amp; hard luck 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">How do you deal with grief and death?</span></span></span></div><p>This Banana Yoshimoto book explores two emotional and haunting stories of two women dealing with the deaths of their respective loved ones. I’ve recently fallen in love with Japanese literature and how beautifully the mundane is explored, and this book is no exception.  </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary: </strong>How do you deal with death—by yourself or with someone else? </p><div><br/></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>6. Inferno by Dante Alighieri</strong> </div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/31edf4ae-1160-4556-b2ad-3504b3b24c9c_inferno 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Can you handle eternal damnation? </span></span></span></div><p>Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. I had a college subject dedicated to this book and to this day, I shudder whenever I think of the many punishments assigned to the sins we commit here on earth. The first of three parts in <em>The Divine Comedy</em>, <em>Inferno</em> is a book that will stay with you forever. </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary:</strong> If you get thrown in Inferno, which circle do you think will catch you? Can you handle eternal damnation? </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/culture/events/6-ideas-on-how-to-celebrate-your-halloween-comebac/34064" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">6 Ideas On How To Celebrate Your Halloween Comeback</a></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>7. It by Stephen King</strong> </div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/49af41a1-b5cd-4009-aea6-3bcadb55edf5_it 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Who *isn&#x27;t* afraid of clowns? (They&#x27;re lying.)</span></span></span></div><p>What’s a Halloween reading list without a Stephen King book, right? So many to choose from, but I decided to go with It. Following the experiences of seven children, <em>It </em>is all about fear and how it manifests in our lives. Trust me when I say that there’s more to It than just Pennywise the Dancing Clown. After all, there’s 1,138 pages to read. </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary: </strong>Oh, you’re not afraid of clowns? Are you sure? Are you really sure?</p><div><br/></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>8. Macarthur by Bob Ong</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/643fa19f-a50f-4d2e-ab8f-a19d2b87da52_macarthur 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">How do you deal with the monsters in your head?</span></span></span></div><p>This book was my introduction to Bob Ong and if you haven’t ready any of his/her/their works, then I highly suggest this one. Oh, I’m already jealous of the thought of you reading it for the very first time. Hitting close to home because of the setting, this tragic book, which explores themes of poverty and corruption, is not for the faint of heart. </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary: </strong>How do you deal with the monsters in your head? </p><div><br/></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>9. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/5c3ee855-fb3f-4988-9d12-6a02a8ae2923_the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">What are we capable of? </span></span></span></div><p>Considered to be one of the defining books in the gothic horror genre, this book explores the duality of human nature. It draws the line between what is public and private, while blurs the line between good and evil. Can one truly exist without the other? Are you on Dr. Jekyll’s side or Mr. Hyde’s? </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary: </strong>What happens when we cannot control our evil urges any longer? What are we capable of?  </p><div><br/></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>10. The Secret History by Donna Tartt</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/b987e1f5-81d9-4232-9d7b-b29dca43bf2f_the secret history 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">How far are you willing to go in the pursuit of knowledge?</span></span></span></div><p>“Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are,” they say. Well, in <em>The Secret History</em>, Donna Tartt writes about six students studying the classics under an exclusive and elusive professor, at an elite college. One of them is murdered and the events leading up to the murder is revealed page by page. I was recently asked to name the scariest book I’ve read so far, and this book was my answer. <em>The Secret History </em>made me think of things I never thought I would think of.</p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary: </strong>How far are you willing to go in the pursuit of knowledge? Can you go back once you’ve wandered too far? </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/culture/books/6-september-reads/27218" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Life in the Wings, and Lives That Take Flight: 6 Reads for September</a></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>11. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James</strong> </div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/0960de92-edcb-4bf7-ba77-9fe152b0a7bd_the turn of the screw 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">hat if you’re the only one who can see ghosts? </span></span></span></div><p>This book follows a governess who takes care of two orphaned children at a country house. Over time, the governess becomes convinced that the estate is haunted, seeing figures of a man and woman. If you’ve seen <em>The Haunting of Bly Manor</em> on Netflix, which I highly recommend, then you’ve already been introduced to the characters of this gothic fiction novel.</p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary:</strong> What if you’re the only one who can see ghosts? How will you convince the people you live with that they are real?</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>12. The Wasp Factor by Iain Banks</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/323851bf-a147-4fdf-b146-2ec1c3d36710_the wasp factory 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Are you in the mood for a gut punch?</span></span></span></div><p>The most recent book I’ve read here on the list, <em>The Wasp Factory</em> delivers punch after punch, then a giant kick towards the end—I audibly gasped in by the way. Bizarre and disturbing, this book invites you to enter the mind of 16-year-old Frank, whose childhood is far from ordinary to say the least. </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary:</strong> Where do I even begin?  </p><div><br/></div><div><strong><br/></strong></div><div><strong>13. Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/60f0c1f0-aa48-4088-9cb2-94f74ebd4b6c_things we lost in the fire 600.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">How do we know when we’ve already entered the unknown?</span></span></span></div><p>A collection of 12 short stories, <em>Things We Lost in the Fire </em>takes a supernatural dive into the political turmoil in Argentina. In her stories, Mariana easily deviates from the familiar into new and unknown terrors, making this book a horrifying roller coaster of a read. </p><div><br/></div><p><strong>What makes this book scary: </strong>How do we know when we’ve already entered the unknown? Once there, is it still possible to escape?</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/culture/books/a-hundred-silent-ways-book-review/30578" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mari Jojie Lets Second Chances At Love Unfold In Debut Book ‘A Hundred Silent Ways’</a></div><p> If you decide to read a book on this list or have read one on this list, then please let me know! I would love to exchange notes and scare myself once more!</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><hr id="null"/><div><br/></div><p><em>Lead background photo by </em>Karolina Grabowska <em>on </em>Pexels</p>