The leaves have begun to change colour, and the air has started to crisp up…autumn is here. And more importantly, it’s almost Halloween. So grab a bag of mini chocolates from your local grocery store, hit play on a spooky, seasonal playlist, and curl up with one (or more) of these great reads. 

Whether you prefer your Halloween reads to be chilling and thrilling or spooky and sensual, we’ve got something for you on the list below.

We Were Never Here by Sophia Hannan

Sophia Hannan’s debut, We Were Never Here, follows the remaining members of a ghost-hunting show who return to the haunted manor that may have killed their friend. In July, Georgia and Jules (secret girlfriends and co-hosts of a popular YouTube ghost-hunting show) step into a haunted house in order to steal a priceless painting. A few hours later, there’s a knife in Jules’ chest, and Georgia is waking up in a pool of blood with no painting, and no memory of how they got there. Now, it’s October, and Georgia is underwater. She hasn’t been to class in weeks, and she’s avoiding her old crew, her only friends. But when the three remaining thieves get a call from the man who got them out of jail, demanding that they finish the job, they have no choice but to return to their old life. As the estranged friends scramble to steal the painting without their leader, they quickly realize that something is very wrong. Strange shadows trail them, nightmares plague them, and soon it’s clear that something followed them home from the manor… and it will do anything to keep them from going back.

Back For Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II Edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.’s second Never Whistle at Night collection, aptly named Back for Blood, is a dark and thrilling collection of horror stories from Indigenous authors. From twisty psychological thrillers to gory monster encounters, this collection highlights the sinister and the macabre. These twenty-one stories are gruesome and unforgettable, as they embrace all kinds of horrors, from the human to the supernatural. I read the audiobook, which was narrated by voices including Lily Gladstone, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Shane Ghostkeeper, and more.

A Good Daughter’s Ghost by Sam Wilket

Sam Wilket’s A Good Daughter’s Ghost is a dark and unputdownable debut about a babysitter who longs for a life that might destroy her. Sixteen-year-old Rachel Bei comes from a family of mediums and spiritual practitioners, but she couldn’t care less. There was a time when she thought she saw her beloved wàipó not long after she died, but grief does funny things to people, and that was back in fifth grade. Now, she isn’t just a skeptic, she’s embarrassed by her mom’s beliefs. That’s one of the reasons she loves babysitting for the Morin family… they’re so normal, even as they deal with their own grief. But soon their daughter Blythe tells Rachel she’s been speaking to her dead sister Maddie, and her ghost doesn’t want Rachel in the house. Drawing on Chinese folklore, and full of dread, this is a dark and immersive story about family secrets, the audacity of whiteness, and the ghosts we carry with us.

Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen

E.L. Chen’s Slasher Summer is a campy and fun love letter to 80s slasher films. It follows seven friends who reunite for a weekend of fun, only to find themselves being hunted by a killer… but the real horror might be not being able to escape who you were in high school. The sleepy town of Cedar Lake Falls is best known for being the shooting location of the campy ‘80s horror movie Slasher. In high school, preppy Patrick, jock Jason, cheerleader Tiffany, stoner Freddy, goth Jennifer, and nerdy Michael played the cast of Slasher during midnight showings, with virginal Carrie as the Final Girl. Years later, the friends reunite at the cabin where they filmed Slasher. They’ve all changed since they were in high school, and now they’re looking forward to catching up over the weekend. But when night falls, and there seems to be a killer in the woods, their reunion soon takes a deadly turn. Is someone trying to make their Slasher experience as authentic as possible?

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

Kylie Lee Baker’s Japanese Gothic is a wild and inventive horror story, full of Japanese mythology, following two people who live centuries apart and discover a door between their worlds. One of these people is a ghost. And one of these stories is a lie. In October 2026, Lee Turner doesn’t remember why or how he killed his college roommate. All he knows is that he has to flee New York and go to his father’s new home in Japan. But something is terribly wrong with the house. Animals won’t come near it, the bedroom window isn’t always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard at night. In October 1877, Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from imperial soldiers in a house hidden by sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows soldiers will soon slaughter her family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window. 

Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran

Avery Curran’s Spoiled Milk takes place in 1928, during Emily Locke’s final year at the isolated Briarley School for Girls. Her year is derailed when Violet, the school’s brightest star, and a cunning beauty who Emily is fascinated by, falls to her death on her eighteenth birthday. Emily and her buttoned-up rival Evelyn are in agreement: Violet’s death was no accident… they just need to prove it. Desperate for answers, Emily and her classmates turn to spiritualism, hoping for some wisdom from the beyond. Something deadly is infecting Briarley. It starts with rotten food and curdled milk, but soon grows more threatening. As the body count rises, Emily must confront the forces poisoning their school. 

Haunted Hearts by Hanna Harp

Hanna Harp’s Haunted Hearts is a compelling paranormal dark romance and a follow-up to her viral sensation Haunting the Hunter. This is a fourth-wall-breaking story that places the reader at the heart of it all. Haunted Hearts follows Cade Holloway, who is done running. The covenant still stands — they want his sister, Callisto, but she’s no longer the girl they’d marked for death. She trains in secret, learning to wield the powers she was born with. With the help of an old friend, a monster forced into human skin, and you (the reader), as an unseen presence bound to Cade, they prepare for the war coming to their door. As Cade moves to dismantle the covenant, his connection to you deepens — you’re no longer a ghost, you’re a part of him now… and this time, the haunting has only just begun.

Die For Me By Shirlene Obuobi

Shirlene Obuobi’s Die For Me is a paranormal romantasy for lovers of vampires. It follows Sean, the only Black woman interventional cardiologist at her hospital. She’s watched too many of her male colleagues divorce their first wives and marry younger models, plus she’s still healing from a past abusive relationship. Her passions are reserved for her best friend, her goddaughter, and her job. Then she meets Julian – brooding, beautiful, and eleven years younger than her. Overall, he’s a bad idea. Julian pursues her, and despite the alarm bells, she finds herself unable to resist their chemistry. She’s even fantasizing about him in dreams. But the more Sean gets to know him, the more impossible it is. Julian has a depth and wisdom beyond his years, and Sean has been exhibiting odd symptoms. Who… or what… is she falling irrevocably in love with?

Halloween Town by Joss Wood

In Joss Wood’s Halloween Town, it’s always spooky season. Poppy McMaster was supposed to be getting married, not climbing out of a bathroom window in her wedding dress, fleeing to the small town she grew up in, where Halloween lasts all year. But when she gets there, home isn’t waiting for her the way she imagined it. Her grandparents’ beloved inn is now owned by Thom Sheffield, who just happens to be her childhood hero, her ex-fiancé’s brooding older brother, and the last man she should be fantasizing about. Because in a town full of cozy traditions, pumpkins, and Halloween magic, falling in love might be the scariest thing of all.

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Ameema Saeed (@ameemabackwards) is a storyteller, an avid bookworm, and a curator of very specific playlists and customized book recommendations. She’s a book reviewer, a Sensitivity Reader, a book buyer at Indigo Books & Music, and the Books Editor for She Does the City, where she writes and curates bookish content, and book recommendations. She enjoys bad puns, good food, dancing, and talking about feelings. She writes about books, big feelings, unruly bodies, and her lived experiences, and hopes to write your next favourite book one day. When she’s not reading books, she likes to talk about books (especially diverse books, and books by diverse authors) on her bookstagram: @ReadWithMeemz