It is almost the season of spooky faces carved into pumpkins, skeletons, ghost decor, and haunted houses! Spooky season is always a comfort, despite the horror part, and nothing is better than a creepy book to feel that Halloween fall energy. From cozy spooks to straight-on horror, there are plenty of books to pick from for the Halloween season, but haunted houses are a classic. From cozy to horror, these are the best spooky stories starring haunted houses.
Cozy
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware was published in 2020 and is an adult thriller. Using a smart house takes a modern spin on a haunted house. When she saw an ad for a live-in nanny, Rowan was desperate for a job. Not what she would usually pick until she saw the salary. She arrives at this smart house, equipped with hundreds of different technologies to help with day-to-day life. She thought it was normal until a child died, and she was on trial for murder, but she didn’t kill those kids, and there was no one else but the weirdly sentient house.
The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller
This haunted house and romance book, The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller, is the perfect cozy book to prepare for the season, with some haunting. It’s 1875, and Alva has just had a very long few years. She was shunned for leaving her abusive husband, but when he dies, she has a reason to come back and restore the manor and her reputation. However, a horrifying haunting throws off her plan, and she must work with Professor Sam, who is doing everything to unlock her heart. Together, they must unravel the tragic past of the house and their feelings for each other.
Spooky
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
Published in 2021, Home Before Dark by Riley Sager is a thriller/mystery set in a more eerie atmosphere, but not full horror. When Maggie was young, her family moved into a manor, but fled in the middle of the night due to hauntings, and then her father wrote a memoir about it. Maggie thinks it is all fake; it has to be, because ghosts don’t exist. But when she moves back to the manor after her father’s death, the town isn’t as welcoming as she thought, and her father’s book puts their whole town on blast. Not only that, but she starts to realize that everything she thought was fiction.
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters is an eerie story turned into a movie. Dr. Faraday has been called to Hundred Hills for a patient of the Ayres family. They have owned this house for centuries, but it is falling into disrepair, and so is the family. The Ayres family has suffered dramatically from society and their inner conflicts, but Dr. Faraday realizes they are being haunted by something far worse. His life is about to become irreversibly intertwined with the Ayres, and he can do nothing about it.
The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden
The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden is another spooky, but not horror, mystery. Italy is full of abandoned towns and homes, but for Tommy and Kate, the manor that costs a single euro, as long as they stay for five years, is perfect for them and their romantic life. However, nothing is as it seems with this weird house. Rooms appear out of nowhere, locks become unlocked randomly, and they swear that people are whispering around them. After they discover the house’s dark history, will they ever be able to go back?
Horror
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is a classic horror novel with the most recognizable haunted houses. It was turned into a TV show, but only got one season. Four unfortunate travelers all end up at the haunted Hill House. At first, things seemed weird, but explainable, nothing that would make them feel too crazy. Soon, things take a turn for the worse as whatever is haunting the house is making it come to life, and soon the house forces them to choose who will live.
The Elementals by Michael McDowell
The Elementals by Michael McDowell is a sinister story, full of heavy emotions and plot twists that keep you on your toes. It follows the McCray family and the Savage family as they take a nice, long summer break at Beldame, after horrifying life events that rock anyone. Two houses stand perfectly, but the beautiful sand is eating up the third; that isn’t the only thing wrong with this house. Something deadlier lurks within its walls, scaring the families’ young boys. That same entity might be why everything goes wrong in their life, so it looks like their relaxing summer is cut short.
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
Another horror classic, and horror film, The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson is a demonic horror novel that will have you keeping all your lights on. The Lutz family just bought a beautiful new house, even though the family before them committed a murder-suicide; the price was just too good to pass up. However, 28 years later, they fled in horror. From a dark history and many possessions, this story is perfect for horror buffs.
Kill Creek by Scott Thomas
This Halloween night horror, Kill Creek, was written by Scott Thomas, the current showrunner for Wizards Beyond Waverly Place (2024). Sam is a prolific horror writer, and when he is invited to the county’s most famous haunted house, Finch House, on Halloween night, how could he say no? Three other renowned horror writers go with him and spend the night together. At first, it was just minor scares, you know, for publicity, but soon the entity awoke in the house, making it a fight to the death. The entity has been waiting, and it is out for blood.
Personally, I think The Amityville Horror is my favorite horror story. From cozy to horror, these are the ten best books to read this spooky season, including a haunted house.
End summer with these summer horror novels here!
Check out the team’s favorite horror novels here!
