As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, Halloween creeps closer towards us. Autumn is my favourite time to light some candles, curl up under a blanket and sink my teeth into a scary read (excuse the pun). If you’re looking for escapism from the hustle of the term, then look no further. These are some of my favourite spooky reads, just in time for October.

Warning: Some of these books may leave you sleeping with the lights on.

The ‘Gothic’ as we know it today was heavily influenced by the rise of romantic writers like Mary Shelley. Emerging from a ‘ghost story’ competition at the Villa Diadoti in the summer of 1816, Shelley’s Frankenstein is acclaimed as one of the best classics of all time. Her combination of science and horror revolutionised the genre and invited readers to consider the possibilities of the “non-human”. Her tale centres around a scientist named Victor Frankenstein, who creates a human-like monster from various stolen corpses. Shelley challenges what it means to be “alive” in this ground-breaking novel: where do readers draw the line between man and monster?

Along similar lines, this article would be incomplete without mentioning the figure of the vampire. Bram Stoker’s glorious novel Dracula created the captivating vampiric villain, still relevant today in various media (Twilight, I’m looking at you). Stoker presents vampires as brutal, blood-sucking monsters, possessing shape-shifting abilities and telepathic powers. Following young lawyer Jonathan Harker’s encounters with the Transylvanian Count, Dracula reads like a detective story – compiled of letters and diary entries from various characters. It is a highly enjoyable read; the opening 100 pages are set within Dracula’s castle and are especially chilling. Readers will enjoy spotting connections between the various epistolary entries and deciphering the mystery before the characters do.

Alternatively, if you are craving a ghost story, Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black is the book for you. Of all the books on this list, this text is the one I find the most frightening. Hill’s story is an uncomplicated, traditional ghost story. Her language is digestible and easy-to-follow, but do not underestimate this simplicity. The story follows Arther Kipps and his inexplicable experiences in the notorious Eel Marsh House. Whilst there on work, seemingly alone, he hears noises and spots a shadow of a fleeting black figure. This mysterious woman haunts him, with each sighting resulting in a disturbing sequence of events.

Another popular choice is the intelligently crafted works of Shirley Jackson. Her range of novels and short stories combine paranormal and psychological terror – with notable works including The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Referring to Jackson as the mother of the gothic would not be an overstatement. Her influence on the genre is undeniable; she turns the “haunted house” into a menacing playground for mental turmoil. If you’re interested in horror films like Ari Aster’s Midsommar, you will enjoy Jackson’s short story The Lottery. This disturbing read follows the annual lottery of a small American town, however the event results in a brutal display of violence. The story is chilling and showcases Jackson’s excellent skills as a writer.

Following in Jackson’s literary footsteps is Alison Rumfitt’s punk debut Tell Me I’m Worthless. This “haunted house” story expands beyond the gothics’ usual boundaries, presenting both supernatural and real-life terrors by incorporating modern anxieties with paranormal terror. Published in 2021, this text combines ideas about trans rights, feminism and the complexities of politics in the modern day. Tell Me I’m Worthless is both terrifying and ironically self-aware – it tackles hatred and fascism through a supernatural lens. It is incredibly dark, and certainly not to be considered “light reading”, but deserves a spot on this list due to its ability to radically transform the gothic into a canvas for contemporary anxieties.

Of course, there is a plethora of Gothic texts that could have made this list; the genre expands centuries and there are so many books I have not even begun to touch upon. These picks are just some of my personal favourites. Enjoy the approaching “spooky” season and give one of these books a read, if you dare…

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