5 Scary Books To Read This Halloween

Here is a list of 5 scary books to read this Halloween. These are horror books with a purpose: to scare you, creep you out and put you right in the Halloween mood for celebrating this awesome holiday.

I love reading horror stories, stories with zombies, stories with vampires, haunted stories and generally those that you don’t (or you do!) want to read in the dark without having all lights on in the house. While usually horror novels are not so much my thing (I’m usually more into mysteries, thrillers, suspense, even when it’s about creepy serial killer), but this time of the year is special, and this is pretty much the week when scary horror novels are pretty much what I read.

So here is my recommended list of new and old 5 books to read this Halloween to put you in the Halloween party mood.

1. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

If you’ve read Shining (and c’mon, don’t tell me you didn’t find it creepy – or at least the movie!), and especially if you like Stephen King, rejoice! Here is book #2 in The Shining series called Doctor Sleep, which is available as of today, September 24th. Plenty of time to get the book and read it too.

As the story goes, we meet again Dan Torrance (remember him from Shining – he was five year old, called Danny, who had an unusual talent: the shining.

I remember this book, it was one of the most scary novels I’ve read as a teen. So no wonder I’ve just picked up Doctor Sleep to read soon. It fits perfectly the Halloween ghost theme.

And while you’re catching up on Stephen King, don’t forget to check out some of his other horror novels as well, such as It, Pet Sematary, Carrie, Salem’s Lot and well, pretty much everything he wrote so far.

2. Suffer The Children by John Saul

Now here is an oldie but goodie: Suffer the Children, which is simply an awesome and creepy haunted horror novel. I’ve read all John Saul’s books as a growing up kid and I remember being totally spooked by them – and still telling my mom to buy me the new ones that would come up by this author. He is a very undervalued horror novels author that is worth checking out if you haven’t already done so.

Most of his novels focus on children, on hauntings and on true horrors that can happen here as well. If you pick up Suffer the Children and you like it, I highly recommend hunting down the rest of his book, they are all great Halloween reads.

Suffer the Children is about two sisters, ghosts and a past so sinister that people are afraid to even mention it. A wonderful Halloween book!

3. Hell House by Richard Matheson

Hell House is another one I really enjoyed reading, in fact this was the book that made me pick up some of the author’s other books as well. It’s an old book (I think was published back in the 1970s), but well worth reading around Halloween.

The Hell House is a haunted mansion called the Bellasco House that lures people in and doesn’t let them go. There are several expeditions that are started on staying for a while in this house, one of them which is also sponsored by a millionaire. A group consisting of psychics and also scientists are given the assignment to spend a week in this house, so they can prove or disprove forever that the afterlife exists.

What comes next is a horror story all set in the house. Chilling, creepy and literally scary, it’s a book well worth reading if you’re in the mood for a horror novel for this Halloween.

4. The Cellar by Richard Laymon

I remember this book, The Cellar – in fact the whole Beast House Chronicles trilogy, if you believe it, it’s scarier than the books by Stephen King, and that should say something! I strongly suggest you read the entire trilogy, starting with The Cellar, then following with Beast House, then the third being The Midnight Tour and finally closing with Friday Night in Beast House. All awesome reads.

Btw does anyone know whey they call them trilogies when there are more than 3 books in the series? Hm…

The Cellar is a really really scary novel by the now deceased horror novels author Richard Laymon. The book is in a way similar to Hell House in that it’s about a house full of horrors. Many people entered the house never to come out – ever again!

The story is about Donna who gets going when she hears that her ex is out of prison. She takes he daughter and drives away – only until her car breaks down, leaving her at the edge of a small town called Malcasa Point, which has a strange attraction: The Beast House,which is open for visitor. While she’s waiting for her car to be repaired, she goes on a tour in the cellar…

#5. Khost by Vincent Hobbes

Khost is a book I’ve read just about 2 months ago and it left me really thinking about it. It’s one of the best horror novels I’ve recently and it’s one that I still can’t get out of my mind, it truly left a strong impression in me.

The genre is something called military horror, and the theme of the book is one that has been done before in books, movies and TV series as well (just think of the latest Beauty and the Beast with Vincent being the way he is due to experiments done on him when he was younger).

However the twist on the story and the way the author narrated it all made it one of the most suspenseful reads as of late. Basically it’s about solders back in the cold war times who have their DNAs altered so they become war machines in human form to defeat the enemy. However something goes very wrong and what should have been a total success become a defeat so strong that nobody even dares talk about it for many years.

Until today when the US is at war with Afghanistan and one of the survivors of that old experiment tells a tale so horrifying that expeditions are started just to find out the truth…which turns out to be even more horrible than the tales spoken about it.

It is a seriously wicked book, and the weird thing is, the real action doesn’t even start until about the middle of the book – yet you’re compelled to read it, just like you’re reading a haunting story on Halloween.

Note: Khost is currently free on Amazon if you get the Kindle version, so it’s worth checking it out for the great price!

So there you have them, 5 scary books to read this Halloween, which are among some of my favorite horror novels ever.

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