10 creepy books to read in October

With the month of October just around the corner, I thought it’d be fun to share some spooky books with you guys, in no particular order (this is not a top 10). This list consists of books I have already read, or want to read myself in October. Now, it’s time to get CREEPY!

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1. Sleep, Savannah, Sleep by Alistair Cross

Jason Crandall, recently widowed, is left to raise his young daughter and rebellious teenage son on his own – and the old Victorian in Shadow Springs seems like the perfect place for them to start over. But the cracks in Jason’s new world begin to show when he meets Savannah Sturgess, a beautiful socialite who has half the men in town dancing on tangled strings.

When she goes missing, secrets begin to surface, and Jason becomes ensnared in a dangerous web that leads to murder – and he becomes a likely suspect. But who has the answers that will prove his innocence? The jealous husband who’s hell-bent on destroying him? The local sheriff with an incriminating secret? The blind old woman in the house next door who seems to watch him from the windows? Or perhaps the answers lie in the haunting visions and dreams that have recently begun to consume him.

Or maybe, Savannah herself is trying to tell him that things aren’t always as they seem – and that sometimes, the dead don’t rest in peace.
(Goodreads)

I just finished this book and I really loved it! It was creepy, thrilling and got me hooked from the very first page! My review on Sleep, Savannah, Sleep will be up tomorrow!
* I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review *

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2. Pork Pie Hat by Peter Straub

When a graduate student with a passion for jazz arrived in New York to discover that a legendary saxophonist he had assumed long dead is not only still alive but playing in an East Village club, he spends night after night in awe-struck attendance.

And when the legend grants him an interview on Halloween, he jumps at the opportunity. What unfolds is an endless night filled with an extraordinary story told by a dying master: a story centered upon the Halloween night of his eleventh year, a white woman screaming in a shanty town, a killer and an unidentified man fleeing with a strange bundle in his arms.
(Goodreads)

I read this book in Summer, but it’s actually a perfect book to read on Halloween! It’s not that long, so it could easily be read in only one day. Maybe I’ll even give it a reread on October 31st myself!

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3. Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay ‘til death. Whoever settles, never leaves.

Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a 17th century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters your homes at will. She stands next to your bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened.

The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town’s teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting, but in so doing send the town spiraling into the dark, medieval practices of the past.
(Goodreads)

Oh, how I loved this book, and I’m kinda proud that this book is written by a Dutch author! It’s SO creepy and SO enthralling!! I believe the English translation has a different ending from the Dutch edition, and because I have read the Dutch edition, I’m dying to read the English translation someday! And I think October is the perfect month to do so …

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4. Bleed by Ed Kurtz

When Walt Blackmore moves into an old gable front house on the outskirts of a small town, things are really looking up for him—he has an adoring girlfriend, a new job, and an altogether bright future. But Walt’s destiny is irreparably changed when a dark red spot appears on the ceiling in the hallway. Bit by bit the spot grows, first into a dripping blood stain and eventually into a grotesque, muttering creature.

As the creature thrives, Walt finds himself more and more interested in fostering its well-being. At first he only feeds it stray animals, but this soon fails to satisfy the monster’s ghastly needs. It is gradually becoming something more, and for that to happen it requires human blood and human flesh. And once Walt has crossed the line from curiosity to murder, there is no going back.
(Goodreads)

I received this book with the July box from The Nocturnal Reader’s Box (the best bookbox out there for adults who love horror) and I CAN’T wait to read it. The blurb sounds perfect and after reading Sleep, Savannah, Sleep I can’t wait to continue reading horror novels!

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5. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The scientist Victor Frankenstein, obsessed with possessing the secrets of life, creates a new being from the bodies of the dead. But his creature is a twisted, gruesome parody of a man who, rejected for his monstrous appearance, sets out to destroy his maker.

Mary Shelley’s chilling Gothic tale, conceived after a nightmare in 1816 when she was only eighteen, became a modern myth. It is a disturbing and dramatic exploration of birth and death, creation and destruction, and one of the most iconic horror stories of all time.
(Goodreads)

I actually wanted to read this book in October 2016, but I didn’t own a copy back then. Now I do and I really want to read it in October 2017. I’ve heard people loving it and saying that it’s a perfect Halloween read!

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6. Pet Sematary by Stephen King

The house looked right, felt right to Dr Louis Creed.

Rambling, old, unsmart and comfortable. A place where the family could settle; the children grow and play and explore. The rolling hills and meadows of Maine seemed a world away from the fume-choked dangers of Chicago.

Only the occasional big truck out on the two-lane highway, grinding up through the gears, hammering down the long gradients, growled out an intrusive threat.

But behind the house and far away from the road: that was safe. Just a carefully cleared path up into the woods where generations of local children have processed with the solemn innocence of the young, taking with them their dear departed pets for burial.

A sad place maybe, but safe. Surely a safe place. Not a place to seep into your dreams, to wake you, sweating with fear and foreboding.
(Goodreads)

Around Halloween I’m taking part in a read along on Jo’s instagram page (@jobis89) and I’ve heard such good things about this King book! So many Constant Readers call it their favourite, so I’m sure I’ll love it as well!

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7. Zodiac by Robert Graysmith

Zodiac A sexual sadist, the Zodiac’s pleasure was torture and murder. He taunted the authorities with mocking notes telling where he would strike next. The official tally of his victims was six. He claimed 37 dead. He was never caught. This book tells the inside story of the hunt for the hooded killer, and finally reveals his possible true identity.
(Goodreads)

What’s a creepy month without some true crime?! Exactly: a less creepy month. I’ve watched so many Youtube video’s on this case, so I can’t wait to get to know more about it!

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8. Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

A new collection of four never-before-published stories from Stephen King.

1922
The story opens with the confession of Wilfred James to the murder of his wife, Arlette, following their move to Hemingford, Nebraska onto land willed to Arlette by her father.

Big Driver
Mystery writer, Tess, has been supplementing her writing income for years by doing speaking engagements with no problems. But following a last-minute invitation to a book club 60 miles away, she takes a shortcut home with dire consequences.

Fair Extension
Harry Streeter, who is suffering from cancer, decides to make a deal with the devil but, as always, there is a price to pay.

A Good Marriage
Darcy Anderson learns more about her husband of more than twenty years than she would have liked to know when she literally stumbles upon a box under a worktable in their garage.
(Goodreads)

This short story collection was one of my first Kings, and man, did I get some good nightmares from the first story “1922”. It haunted me for a couple of nights after I read it. So, I think it makes a perfect October read. I think these stories are the absolute creepiest stories by Stephen King I have ever read!

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9. The Sweep series by Cate Tiernan

Morgan Rowlands never thought she was anything other than a typical sixteen-year-old girl. But when she meets Cal, a captivatingly handsome coven leader, she makes a discover that turns her whole world upside down: she is a witch, descended from an ancient and powerful line. And so is Cal. Their connection is immediate and unbreakable; Cal teases out Morgan’s power, her love, her magick. But Morgan discovers too soon that her powers are strong– almost too powerful to control. And she begins to suspect that Cal may be keeping secrets from her . . . secrets that could destroy them both.
(Goodreads)

As a 13-year-old I was quite obsessed with this series. It’s a Young Adult series, so not necessarily creepy or anything, but it’ll sure do for the month of October!

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10. ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Something strange is going on in Jerusalem’s Lot … but no one dares to talk about it. By day, ‘Salem’s Lot is a typical modest New England town; but when the sun goes down, evil roams the earth. The devilishly sweet insistent laughter of a child can be heard echoing through the fields, and the presence of silent looming spirits can be felt lurking right outside your window.

Stephen King brings his gruesome imagination to life in this tale of spine-tingling horror.
(Goodreads)

What’s Halloween without a good vampire story? This book was part of my October 2016 TBR. It’s not exactly scary, but definitely spooky, so I think it’s a really good King book to start your obsession with!

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Leave your recommendations for books to read in October in the comment section down below!