HAPPY HALLOWEEN! The most wonderful time of the year is finally upon us—suck it, Christmas! (Just kidding, the festive season is also pretty great.) But it’s finally time to dress up as our most terrifying selves, venture out into the world, scare some kids, and get some candy. Oh, I’m sorry. Apparently the third one isn’t a thing? You’re not meant to scare kids? Well, I’ve been doing this whole Halloween thing wrong my entire life then.
But today I’m going to be talking about the SPOOKIEST BOOKS OF 2019 (so far)! Whether you’re in need of a last-minute Halloween recommendation, or if you just like to read creepy books all year round, I’ve got you covered. TIME TO GET YOUR SPOOK ON!
Rules for Vanishing
THIS BOOK IS SO TERRIFYING. It’s easily the scariest book I’ve read all year, if not ever. And I don’t usually scare easily! I’m that weird person who watches horror films FOR. FUN. I mean, I recently went to a 16 hour-long horror movie marathon at my local cinema. Rules for Vanishing definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s about a girl who goes missing and a sister who goes to find her—except, the road she takes is full of terrors. IT’S GREAT. Just remember to keep all the lights on in your house while reading this one.
Graveyard Shift in Ghost Town
Michael Pryor’s series is one of my favourites of all time! I’m a MASSIVE FAN of all kinds of ghost stories, but my favourite genre is by far comedy horror. And boy, these books are hilarious! It’s about a boy named Anton who lives in Melbourne and is a part of a ghost-hunting family tasked with sending ghosts to the beyond. I FREAKING LOVED IT. There’s so many streets and locations I recognise, and there are also more than a few references to coffee. Plus, the friendship dynamics are great! Ahh, this series is just so much fun.
Tunnel of Bones
HOLY CRAP. I’d been super excited to read this book ever since I read City of Ghosts just because of how much I loved it—and it did not disappoint! This one’s set in Paris this time around, as opposed to Edinburgh, and I absolutely adored being transported to a place I’ve seen so much of the romantic side of on TV, but get deeper into the SPOOKIER parts. And boy, are there some creepy scenes in this novel! Although this is a middle grade series, it’s still sufficiently spooky (especially when you’re listening to the audio while walking home late at night). IT’S JUST SO GOOD, FRIENDS. Go check out this series if you haven’t already! Eek!
Highway Bodies
ZOMBIES ARE BACK, Y’ALL. This month I also watched The Dead Don’t Die and Dawn of the Dead, so I’m really feeling the whole undead thing. IT’S GREAT. But if you haven’t read Highway Bodies yet, you should definitely get onto it! It’s about the zombie apocalypse and a group of friends doing their best to survive. This book, like all of Alison’s stuff, is super queer, and I absolutely loved the friendship dynamics. But as well as being sufficiently spooky, it was also quite funny in some parts! READ IT.
These Witches Don’t Burn
I FINALLY got around to reading one of my most anticipated books of 2019! Ever since the cover was released months and months ago, I’ve been counting down the days until release—but I thought, what better a time to read it than in the spooky season?! It was everything I hoped for… and more! It was witchy, it was super queer, and I LOOOOVED IT. Just like I knew I would! And look at that gorgeous cover! It looks so glorious on my shelf, and yes, this is a book should judge by its cover. I’m so here for all the creepy queer books that have been released recently, and this is definitely one you should add to your TBR.
Wilder Girls
Wilder Girls is by far one of the most hyped books of 2019. While I’ll admit that a bit of the hype did get to me and I didn’t love it as much as I had hoped, it’s still really well written and I loved it for its body horror aspects! And it is SUPER CREEPY in parts. Body horror is one of the things that makes me squirm the most in films, but I’d never read a body horror novel. Wilder Girls is a book about a virus called the Tox that is affecting the surviving students at a boarding school on an island, and it’s deliciously creepy. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Rory Power writes next—if it’s another horror, I’m sold!
What are your favourite spooky books? Have you read any from my list? What are some upcoming releases you’re looking forward to? I’d love to know!
Written Word Worlds 
A great list! I have City of Ghosts and Tunnel of Bones on my TBR. The scariest book I’ve read this year was Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver – I genuinely woke with with nightmares for a couple of nights after reading it! But then, I’m quite easily spooked!
I just borrowed Rules for Vanishing from the library. I thought it sounded interesting, but didn’t realise it was scary 😱.
Yessss. I’m so happy to have some new scary stories on my radar. I’m not one for horror flicks, but I could devour some horror novels! The last one I read was My Best Friends Exorcism by Grady Hendrix (which was excellent), and I just picked up Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero from the library.
Ooo I’m totally adding Rules For Vanishing to my TBR! I haven’t heard much about it, but I love some good horror and I’m in the mood for a scare! Great post 🙂
I only found out about Rules for Vanishing today and I NEED IT IN MY LIFE!
YES! You really do! 😍🙌🏼
Yes, I love Rules for Vanishing!! Tunnel of Bones is great as it’s totally spooky enough for a middle grade book and definitely just spooky all over! Alison Evans’ books look really good.