Spooky Reads for Halloween

I'm not a huge fan of autumn. Yes, the leaves look pretty but the weather turns distinctly chilly and the nights are growing longer. But cold, wet days and early dark evenings do lend themselves to reading spooky books...

There seems to be a trend at the moment for gothic historical novels, which I LOVE, and also super-scary ghost stories. Listed below are my recommended reads for this year's Halloween. There should be something for everyone: a Victorian ghost story, witches and changelings, a couple of classics retold, and a murder mystery with an 'appearance' by the king of the undead himself...Dracula (aka: Max Mephisto, star of Elly Griffiths' Brighton Mysteries).

Happy Halloween!

The Whistling by Rebecca Netley

Elspeth Swansome goes to work as a nanny on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea. Her charge, Mary, hasn't said a word since the unexpected death of her twin brother William, and the last nanny packed up and left in a hurry. No one will speak of what happened to William, just as no one can explain the sound of singing in empty corridors, strange dolls appearing in abandoned rooms, and the faint whistling that comes in the night...

Full review

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

In the 1600s, Patrick watches helplessly as those he loves are accused of witchcraft - the penalty is death; in the 1990s, Liv escapes her problems by fleeing to a remote Scottish island, Lon Haven, where the inhabitants are a superstitious lot, obsessed with witches and curses; and in the present day, Luna travels back to Lon Haven hoping to discover the truth about what happened to her family, twenty-two years previously.

Full review.

Horseman by Christina Henry

Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows of the legendary Horseman, but no one really believes in him until fourteen year old Ben stumbles upon the headless body of a child in the woods. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?

Full review.

The Midnight Hour by Elly Griffiths

Brighton, 1965. When theatrical impresario Bert Billington is found poisoned, suspicion immediately falls on his much younger wife, ex-variety star Verity Malone. The evidence is stacked up against her; even her son thinks she did it. Exasperated by the police, Verity calls in two private detectives to clear her name: ex-police sergeant Emma Holmes and journalist Sam Collins. It soon becomes apparent that Bert had a very long list of enemies. In fact, it would be easier to find someone who didn't want to kill him...

Full review.

The Tailor and the Three Dead King by Dan Jones

One winter, in the reign of King Richard II (ie: the late 1300s), a tailor is riding home when he is knocked off his horse by a huge raven, which then turns into a hideous dog. The dog tells the tailor he must go to the priest and ask for absolution, or there will be terrible consequences...

Full review.

Image of pumpkins © Shutterstock

Halloween Reads 2017

I love stories about ghosts and witches, and things that go bump in the night. I especially love frightening myself half-to-death reading them in the weeks leading up to Halloween! My favourites are ghostly, historical gothics, such as The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell and This House is Haunted by John Boyne, but this year I did step out of my comfort zone with Dark Matter, a brilliant twist on the haunted house story, set in the Arctic circle.

I've rated all these books five star 'Halloween Reads' but they are not all ghost stories. The Witchfinder's Sister is based on real events. The Yellow Wallpaper is a little gem of a psychological suspense (and currently free on Kindle). The humour of Mystery at Maplemead Castle will have you in stitches.

But whatever you love to read, I'm sure there's something for everyone!

Happy Halloween!

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

Elsie Bainbridge, newly married, newly widowed, arrives at her husband's crumbling ancestral home to wait for her baby to be born, with only the company of a few resentful servants and her husband's widowed cousin, Sarah. When Elsie and Sarah explore the house they find two wooden props, skillfully painted to look like children, hidden away in a locked garret: a girl and a gypsy boy - and the girl looks just like Elsie.

Historical, dual-timeline, psychological suspense, gothic, paranormal.

Full review here.

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Despite the age gap between Merry and her older sister Marjorie, they have a close, loving relationship - until Marjorie starts to behave strangely. Is she having a psychotic breakdown, or has she been possessed by a demon? Or is she just faking the whole thing? When the medical profession are unable to help, her parents call in the local catholic priest. It's then that events spiral out of control and the family find themselves starring in a TV reality show called The Possession.

Contemporary, psychological suspense, paranormal.

Full review here.

This House is Haunted by John Boyne

It's 1867 and Eliza Caine has just taken the post of governess at Gaudlin Hall - the previous governess is so keen to hightail it out of there, she passes Eliza at the train station on her way back to London. The house is huge, gothic, and very creepy. It appears to run without any servants and there is no sign of any other adult - just two very strange young children. What happened to the five governesses before her? And why does she get the impression that someone really, really doesn't want her there?

Historical, gothic, paranormal.

Full review here.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Dark Matter is a ghost story with a difference. Instead of the traditional haunted house, it takes place on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the middle of an Arctic winter - four months of complete darkness. Five men set out on an expedition, one-by-one they all fall by the wayside until only one is left completely alone in the snowy wilderness. Or is he?

Historical, psychological suspense, paranormal.

Full review here.

The Witchfinder's Sister by Beth Underdown

Newly widowed, Alice returns to Essex to live with her brother, Matthew Hopkins. One of the servants tells her he has a great book that has the names of all the witches written down in it. Yet this is the 17th century - who believes in witches?

But in the town there is talk. Young children have died and people are saying it was done with witchcraft. Intimidated by her brother, Alice remains quiet, believing the women will be found innocent. Instead, more women are seized and imprisoned, and now Matthew wants Alice to help him.

Historical, true-life.

Full review here.

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The narrator has recently moved to a large, decaying house with her husband to recover from 'temporary nervous depression'. Her husband, who is also her doctor, has refused to let her work (write), so she has nothing to occupy her mind other than to lounge about their bedroom and obsess about the wallpaper. She feels that, 

"There is something strange about the house - I can feel it. I even said so to John one moonlight evening, but he said what I felt was a draught, and shut the window."

Historical, psychological suspense.

Full review here.

The Lost Village by Neil Spring

In 1932 famous ghost hunter Harry Price and his assistant, Sarah, travel to an uninhabited village on Salisbury Plain, currently being used as a training ground by the British Army, to investigate exactly what it is that has got the soldiers so spooked.

(Released on 19th October 2017).

Historical, gothic, paranormal.

Full review here.

Mystery at Maplemead Castle by Kitty French

At the grand old age of 27, Melody 'I see dead people' Bittersweet has decided to stop fighting the unique talent which is persistently getting her fired/losing her potential boyfriends, and has set up The Girls' Ghostbusting Agency. Along for the ride are best friend Marina, the terrifyingly efficient Glenda, and naive young Artie, who has just enough sense to dig the girls out of trouble if they need it. In this story, Melody and her friends investigate Maplemead Castle and find it haunted by circus folk - two trapeze artists and their ringmaster - doomed to repeat the events that led to their deaths every single night. 

Contemporary, cosy mystery, humour, romance, paranormal.

Full review here.

Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris

Psychic Manfred Bernardo has just moved to to the town of Midnight in Texas, which is basically just a few run-down stores around an intersection with one set of traffic lights. His new neighbours seem friendly enough, if a little ... strange ... but he's sure he's going to fit in just fine. He's right about that, because while Manfred has a few secrets in his past, it's nothing compared to those of his new friends.

Contemporary, cosy mystery, paranormal, supernatural.

Full review here. 

Related Posts

Halloween Reads 2016

10 Books Which Chilled Me (on my personal blog)

Review: Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Dark Matter is a ghost story with a difference. Instead of the traditional haunted house, it takes place on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the middle of an Arctic winter - four months of complete darkness.

The story is told in the form of a journal written in 1937 by Jack Miller. Impoverished by misfortune, he feels he's missed out on fulfilling his dream of being a physicist and jumps at the chance to go on an Arctic expedition. But one by one each member of his team falls by the wayside and soon he is left completely alone in the snowy wilderness. Or is he?

"Gruhuken seems to have had a dismal past. I don't want any of it poking through."

Dark Matter is not the kind of thing I usually read (Arctic expedition, etc) but I absolutely loved it. The style of writing, the incredible detail about life in the Arctic - the amount of research the author must have undertaken! Menace is slowly built up, layer upon layer, until the shocking truth of what happened at Gruhuken is revealed. My nerves were shredded.

If you're looking for a thoroughly chilling (in more ways than one!) Halloween read - this is it. Also, great illustrations! Recommended!

Note: The book is shorter than it looks. On Kindle it ended at 85%. The remainder is made up of the author's notes (fascinating!), a Q&A, and a sample of her next book.

Review: The Lost Village (Ghost Hunters #2) by Neil Spring

I was attracted to this book by the deliciously creepy cover - I do love a traditional ghost story! At the time, I had not read the first book in the series (The Ghost Hunters) but I had seen the ITV adaptation. With hindsight, I should have read The Ghost Hunters first. I have now! There is quite a lot of past history between the main characters, Harry Price and Sarah Grey, explaining their unusual relationship - although the author does cover this in the early chapters.

The Lost Village starts in 1978 when Sarah hears a news story about the discovery of a child's remains in an uninhabited village on Salisbury Plain. It then cuts to 1932, when Sarah and Harry turn up at the same village - used as a training ground by the British Army - to investigate exactly what it is about the place that has got the soldiers so spooked.

The story was far scarier than the first one in the series, quite dark in places, and there are some genuinely chilling moments. While I loved the character of Harry Price in the first novel, here he doesn't seem quite so likeable. And although I can relate to Sarah being fascinated by such a larger-than-life character, I couldn't quite see that there was any more to their relationship than that.

Having said that, I did enjoy The Lost Village. While it didn't terrify me, it was scary enough to raise a few chills. I loved the setting of an abandoned village. There was also a spooky old house, church bells that rang themselves, séances, lots of double-crossing, and a few good twists I didn't see coming. I loved the scene at the end, when Imber's secret was revealed, although the final revelation was possibly a twist too far.

If you're in the mood for a gothic ghost story, The Lost Village makes the perfect Halloween read - but I would definitely recommend reading the first book in the series before this one, to fully appreciate the three main characters and their relationship with each other. 


Rating: 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy. The Lost Village will be published on 19th October 2017.

Thank you to Neil Spring, Quercus, and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

Related Post:

Review: The Ghost Hunters by Neil Spring

Review: This House is Haunted by John Boyne

This House is Haunted is set in 1867, when Eliza Caine takes the post of governess at Gaudlin Hall. She should have suspected something was not quite right when she learned that the advert for the job was placed by the previous governess, not the master of the house. And that the other woman is so keen to hightail it out of there, she literally passes Eliza on the train platform on her way back to London.

In the tradition of all the best ghost stories, as soon as Eliza tells anyone where she works they look shifty and quickly change the subject. The house is huge, gothic, and very creepy. It appears to run without any servants and there is no sign of any other adult - just two very strange young children. What happened to the five other governesses before her? And why does she get the impression that someone really, really doesn't want her there?

I absolutely loved this book. It's brilliantly written, in the style of a traditional Victorian ghost story, but ever-so-slightly tongue-in-cheek. I adored Eliza, particularly her dry sense of humour and her ability to stand up to all those (male) authority figures who try to tell her she's imagining things when she tells them, 'This house is haunted'.

If you've read a lot ghost stories it won't be too hard to work out how it all ends, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment. Recommended, particularly to fans of Susan Hill and stories such as The Woman in Black. One of my favourite books this year! 

Review: The Ghost Hunters by Neil Spring

As a teenager I devoured ghost stories, particularly true-life ghost stories, and I soon learnt about Borley Rectory, 'the most haunted house in England' and the man who investigated it - Harry Price. So I was thrilled to discover this series of books written by Neil Spring (the second one is called The Lost Village), which give a fictional account of Harry Price's most famous cases.

The real-life Harry Price was a fascinating, larger-than-life character, and this comes across very well. Despite the title, the book is more historical mystery than ghost story, although there are a few chilling moments towards the end. It covers a twenty year period and, in addition to Borley Rectory, there are accounts of Harry's other well-known cases - he was famous for exposing fake mediums and 'haunted' house hoaxes. The book is packed with historical detail, and the nerd in me loved the illustrations, photographs, floor plans of the rectory, and the newspaper 'cuttings' about other ghostly legends. I loved the character of Harry, even though he was deeply flawed and (in the story) seemed to let down his friends and family on a regular basis.

Fans of traditional ghost stories and jump shocks should look elsewhere for their thrills, but if you love historical mysteries about real-life people and places, with a hint of the paranormal, then this is the book for you. Recommended - and I do love that cover! 


Related Post:

Review: The  Lost Village (Ghost Hunters #2) by Neil Spring

Review: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

I downloaded this one because it was referenced in the last book I read, Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts. Also, it's a short story (about 30 pages) and free - and I'm shallow, what can I say? But I'm really glad I did, because it's a fabulous little psychological suspense about a woman slowly driven mad - by her wallpaper!

"One of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin."

The story was written in 1892, in the form of a journal, and has pertinent things to say about how mental illness was viewed in those times, along with women's role in society. Despite the sad subject matter there are flashes of dry humour and the author's introduction at the beginning explains how she was inspired to write the story after suffering from post-natal depression.

The narrator has recently moved to a large, decaying house with her husband to recover from 'temporary nervous depression'. Her husband, who is also her doctor, has refused to let her work (write), so she has nothing to occupy her mind other than to lounge about their bedroom and obsess about the wallpaper. She feels that, 

"There is something strange about the house - I can feel it. I even said so to John one moonlight evening, but he said what I felt was a draught, and shut the window."

It's a little gem of a story, and I'm so pleased I discovered it. There are several free versions available to download, but I chose the Wisehouse Classics one because I liked the cover (yes, shallow!) and it contained the original illustrations.

Related Post:

Review: A Headful of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Review: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

This is an extremely clever, brilliantly written, creepy little psychological suspense/horror. The author seems to love the same horror movies and novels as me, because the book is chock-full of references to them, especially The Exorcist, and I had great fun spotting them all.

A Head Full of Ghosts is about eight year old Merry and her older sister Marjorie, who is fourteen. Despite the age gap the sisters have a close, loving relationship, until Marjorie starts to behave strangely. Is she having a psychotic breakdown, or has she been possessed by a demon? Or is she just faking the whole thing? When the medical profession are unable to help, her parents call in the local catholic priest. It's then that events spiral out of control and the family find themselves starring in a TV reality show called The Possession.

The narrator is Merry, both as an eight year old and then, fifteen years later, telling her story to a journalist writing a book about the events. It took me a while to grasp that the 'fifteen years ago' is actually the present and the adult Merry is telling her story from fifteen years in the future. I was pulled out of the story a few times with the references to smart phones, thinking 'I'm sure smart phones weren't invented fifteen years ago' before I worked it out. Merry's narrative is also interrupted by extracts from a horror fan's blog, written in a very bouncy style, which I actually really liked - it was a nice contrast to the bleak bits!

Anyway, I absolutely loved this book and I now have a new favourite author. I would recommend it to fans of psychological suspense, and authors such as Henry James (Turn of the Screw) and Shirley Jackson (We Have Always Lived at the Castle). However, anyone looking for a traditional horror story might find the shocks are a bit spaced out. Be aware that the story is bleak in places - and watch out for a twist so subtle you might miss it. And that the last 10% of the book is comprised of additional material, including the author's notes (fascinating!), and questions for book clubs, so it's shorter than it appears.

Review: The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

Well, I read this one in twenty-four hours flat! I picked it up, meaning to read a few pages and return to it later, but was completely and utterly hooked. I ended up reading the last half in the evening without realising it had got dark outside until I hit the last page. And reading this book while sitting in the dark is not really a good idea!

The Silent Companions is a deliciously gothic mystery/horror with a dual timeline - Victorian England and the reign of Charles I. The story starts with a new doctor meeting one of the patients at St Joseph's Hospital for the Insane. The patient is mute so she writes down the events that led to her incarceration a year ago. We then switch to Elsie Bainbridge, newly married, newly widowed, arriving at her husband's crumbling ancestral home to wait for her baby to be born. She's also running from scandal - her husband was wealthy and the whispers about whether or not his death was natural have already started. Although escorted by her younger brother, he soon leaves her in the company of a few resentful servants and her husband's widowed cousin, Sarah. When Elsie and Sarah explore the house they find two wooden props, skillfully painted to look like children, hidden away in a locked garret: a girl and a gypsy boy - and the girl looks just like Elsie...

As you will have already worked out, I found The Silent Companions absolutely gripping. It's very well-written and very fast-paced - unusual for this kind of novel. Something happens on practically every page and the clever thing is that until almost the very end you are never quite sure whether Elsie is imagining everything that happens, or if she's being 'Gaslighted', or if there really was something evil locked up in that garret.

One of my favourite reads this year. Recommended, particularly if you love authors such as Shirley Jackson and Daphne du Maurier, stories like The Turn of the Screw and The Woman in Black - and terrifying yourself half to death on a dark autumn evening!

Thank you to Laura Purcell, Raven Books/Bloomsbury, and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

Links:

If you're curious as to what a 'silent companion' actually looks like, you'll find pictures on the author's Pinterest page.

Review: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson is one of my favourite authors. I love her style of writing, so deceptively simple, and the growing sense of unease that pervades her stories.

I saw film versions of The Haunting of Hill House several years ago. I don't remember much of the original 1963 film (released as The Haunting), apart from the scary spiral staircase scene(!), although it is apparently fairly faithful to the book. I do remember the 1999 version starring Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta Douglas, which was entertaining (if cheesy), and didn't bear much resemblance to the book at all. As I read the story, I found myself wishing that someone like the BBC would remake it, keeping true to the source material, because it would make a deliciously creepy drama.

Dr John Montague has been looking for a haunted house to study. When he hears about the notorious Hill House, he decides to stay there and see what happens. Rather than go alone, he invites several others to go with him, without actually telling them the house is haunted. In the end only two others turn up: Eleanor, who experienced poltergeist activity as a child (when stones fell onto her house for three days), and Theodora (Theo), who has ESP. A third guest, Luke, is foisted onto Dr Montague by the owner of Hill House - Luke's aunt. Luke is a liar and a thief, and his aunt is hoping that by sending him to Hill House to keep an eye on her property she will keep him out of trouble.

Luke was my favourite character. Despite the lying and the thieving, he does have some principles and finds humour in most situations. He also gets the best one-liners! Eleanor is the heroine. In her early thirties, she has had a very lonely life caring for her mother and feels guilty that she couldn't be there when her mother died. She is thrilled to be invited to Hill House, delighted to make friends with Theo, and sees Luke as a possible romance waiting to happen. She loves the feeling that she finally 'belongs'. Of course that's exactly when everything starts to go horribly wrong.

The Haunting of Hill House is more psychological suspense than ghost story, so horror fans might find it a little slow. There are some very spooky moments; my favourite is when Eleanor comes across a family having picnic in the grounds of the house, only for it to disappear as she runs though it, but the first scare does not occur until at least halfway through the book.

So, recommended if you like deliciously creepy psychological suspense with the occasional shock. But maybe not if you want your ghost stories to terrify you from the very first page. Although the shocking twist at the end took me completely by surprise.