Spooky Reads To Enjoy This Fall

It’s fall in most parts of the world. I am spending a year on a tropical island 50km away from the equator. In a land where it’s always summer, I find myself missing the whole fall a-e-s-t-h-e-t-i-c-s. I am beyond happy spending my days on a beach drinking coconut water. But sometimes, I do yearn for a warm fire and a hot drink keeping me warm from the cold sinister autumn air. So I’m turning to books to quench that need. So here is a list of all the spooky but not necessarily horror books that bring fall around me.

1. The Broken Girls by Simone St.James

Plot Summary: We follow four roommates in a haunted boarding school for difficult girls. The girls form strong friendships and help each other through their difficulties. But tragedy finds them as one of them disappears mysteriously. 64 years later, another tragedy befalls in the same town. And we find a journalist trying to look into her sister’s death.
Genre: Mystery, Paranormal

This one is also for you dark academia folks. One of the storylines takes place in a 1950s haunted boarding school. And another timeline follows a cold-case murder mystery 50 years later. This one is pure spooky. You don’t really know what is going on and the atmosphere build here is exactly what I am looking for.

So if you like creepy thrillers with a bit of supernatural, then this book is definitely for you. All the characters in the book feel real as they make rational and sensible decisions in the face of danger. This is great because I hate the horror trope of peeps making one dumb decision on top of another. Also, this one has strong female characters that can take care of themselves and don’t need to be rescued.

Quotes:

This was Roberta’s favorite time. The quiet, the chill of the leftover night air, the cold seeping into her legs and her feet, waking her up. The trees around the edges of the pitch were black against the sky, and from one of them three ravens took flight, rising stark and lonely against the clouds.

2. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Plot: Teenager Catherine visits Northanger Abbey, a proper family estate of Henry Tilney. A gothic thriller fan, Catherine has a deep suspicion of something evil took place in the mansion.

Genre: Classic, Gothic Satire

This one is the more light-hearted one on the list. And definitely different from the usual Austen books. This book sort of pokes fun of the gothic horror tropes but it’s not mean about it.

There is a “haunted” castle here and some spooky parts. The most scary ones are excerpts from The Mysteries of Udolpho. But it’s a campy and fun read. And you definitely won’t feel scared to turn off the lights at night after reading this.

The protagonist in this book is a bit naïve and you do lose patience with her at times. But that’s only because she’s young and has read a lot of trashy novels that she takes a bit too seriously. But I was once a ditzy teenage girl. I even read the whole twilight series back to back two times. So I do feel a kinship with Catherine. Also, it includes one of the best Austen guys Mr. Tilney. He understands muslin!

Plus you might also get a list of gothic novels mentioned in the book for further reading. Granted they are not terribly well-written but they are fun. Plus it’s really cool to read books that emerged the whole gothic genre.

Quotes:

“The progress of the friendship between Catherine and Isabella was quick as its beginning had been warm … and if a rainy morning deprived them of other enjoyments, they were still resolute in meeting in defiance of wet and dirt, and shut themselves up, to read novels together.”

3. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Plot: The Owens sisters live with their elderly aunts. Their house filled with black cats and strange concoctions. Growing up, all they wanted to do was escape the town. But running away does not work and they have to come back and magic happens.

Genre: Magical Realism

The best magical realism books are attributed to Latin American and Japanese writers. But if you are looking for Anglophonic writers in the genre, look no further than Alice Hoffman and her most popular book – Practical Magic.

The whole book has this vibe of days shortening and summer turning into fall. Also, what’s more fall-esque than witches right? If you like the book, then there is a whole-ass series that you can get your grubby little hands into.

There is this sense of magic running throughout the book. The feeling is there even when nothing paranormal is happening. This is due to Hoffman’s prose. She weaves the story with a fairy-tale-like narration that works really well. But it’s not your Disney fairy tales. This story follows Anderson-style fairytales where actions have dark and permanent consequences.

A lot of people who have seen the movie. And some of them don’t want to pick up this book for spoiler-y reasons. If you are one of them, then I would urge you to change your mind. The book is different enough to stand on its own. Plus, the book has a completely different atmosphere. The book is dark and foreboding in comparison to the sunny aesthetic of the movie.

Quotes:
“There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender for luck. Fall in love whenever you can”

“Trouble is just like love, after all; it comes in unannounced and takes over before you’ve had a chance to reconsider, or even to think”

4. Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

Plot: An anthology of stories revolving around an extended African American family. Set in the 1950s, the stories are about their encounters with supernatural horror. The paranormal is equally if not less terrifying than the racism and prejudice they encounter.

Genre: Lovecraftian Horror

I am a woman of color and a horror fan. So like most horror fans, I too grew up loving and devouring everything written by Lovecraft. Growing up and realizing that he a staunch racist and misogynist is a bit too much to process. This book looks at this issue head-on. Lovecraft acts as a symbolic bridge between the paranormal/horror and white supremacy. And so instead of a classic Lovecraft, I am adding Lovecraft Country to the list.

This is a more subdued read than the others mentioned in the list. The book uses Lovecraftian tropes to examine the real-life horrors of Jim Crow laws. In this book, the horror aspect of the book is not as terrifying as the evils humans do. And this lets you know what true horror is and be grateful that we are not the ones dealing with it right now.

The stories are top-notch. And you do get all the classic horror tropes – haunted house, body swaps, evil dolls, and sorcerers. There is also a HBO series that succeeds the book’s plot. So if you end up loving this read, be sure to check out the series as well.

Quotes:
“But stories are like people, Atticus. Loving them doesn’t make them perfect. You try to cherish their virtues and overlook their flaws. The flaws are still there, though.”

“But you don’t get mad. Not like Pop does.”

“No, that’s true, I don’t get mad. Not at stories. They do disappoint me sometimes.” He looked at the shelves. “Sometimes, they stab me in the heart. ”

5. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (Gemma Doyle Trilogy #1)
Plot: This book is set in an English boarding school during the Victorian era. And it follows our teenage protagonist Gemma Doyle. A new student at the school, Gemma goes on to make new friends. She also finds out that she possesses some supernatural powers.

Genre: Young Adult

This is the first book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. You can just dip your toe into the first one and decide if you want to read the rest of the books in the series.

I must admit, this book is here for nostalgic reasons. I remember reading it as a teenager. The whole vibe of the book was pretty dark and uncomfortable. Re-reading it as an adult, I know I will not like it as much. But if you are looking for a bit of escapist fare – this is a good one.

The premise of the Victorian boarding itself adds a bit of a gothic element to the story. The writing is very engaging. The vein of magic lingers throughout the story as the plot slowly unfolds. So check it out it this feels like your cup of tea.

Quotes:
“Because you don’t notice the light without a bit of shadow. Everything has both dark and light. You have to play with it till you get it exactly right.”

“Tonight, she went into the woods, and I fear she shall live in the woods of my soul for the rest of my days.”

6. Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #23)

Plot: Vampyres have taken over Lancre!!! Now the witches and the priest have to defeat them! Except garlic, daylight, and religious symbols don’t work on them.

Genre: Comic Fantasy
The book includes tons of clever phrases and puns that Sir Pratchett is well-known for. On top of that, it is hilarious to see his take on this common vampire trope.

I do love most of the Discworld books featuring the witches with the Wyrd Sisters being my favourite. But Carpe Jugulum felt more spooky as it felt like there was more at stake here. The protagonists are at wit’s end throughout the book and the win at the end feels a lot more rewarding due to it.

If you want a fall read from Discworld then this it is. But, if you are not familiar with the Discworld series, then this might not be the best book to start with.

Quotes:

“Carpe Jugulum” read Agnes aloud. “”That’s … well, Carpe Diem is ‘Sieze the Day’ , so this means-”
“Go for the throat”

“He grinned. It was the sort of grin that Agnes supposed was called infectious but then, so was measles.”