There’s only one week to go before the spookiest holiday of the year! Cozy up or hunker down with these creepy stories fit for a chilly October evening. Find all of these titles right here at the UGL!
The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates
The Haunting of Blackwood House – Darcy Coates
If you’re a big haunted house fan, you’ll love The Haunting of Blackwood House. Mara, the daughter of spiritualists, is fed up with the occult: no more seances, scams, and ghosts. She and her fiance fall in love with an old house. People tried to warn Mara and Neil about the house: its odd cold spots in the basement where the original owner was murdered, bloody handprints that appear on the walls, and whispering voices. Mara won’t accept that nonsense, though, because ghosts aren’t real. What will it take to prove to Mara that she and Neil aren’t alone?
Library of the Dead edited by Michael Bailey
The Library of the Dead – edited by Michael Bailey
We had to include a horror story about a library! Okay, so it’s a crematory and columbarium. The “library of the dead” contains thousands of urns, known as “golden books,” filled with the ashes of those who have passed. This Bram Stoker Award-winning anthology, inspired by the real crematory Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, is composed of fifteen spooky stories about the inhabitants of the golden books. Fans of literary fiction, short stories, and less gorey horror will love this pick.
Book of Shadows by Alexandra Sokoloff
Book of Shadows – Alexandra Sokoloff
Love a good detective-witch pairing? Missing Charmed? When a wealthy college student is murdered in what seems like a Satanic ritual, Adam, a rising homicide detective quickly arrests another student who may have been either stalking or dating the murdered woman. Instead of a case closed, though, in comes Tanith, a witch from nearby Salem. She convinces him that the killer is still at large and murdering other teenagers in order to summon a powerful demon. A blend of witchcraft, murder, and mystery, this book is great for horror readers of all types.
The Sorority by Tamara Thorne
The Sorority – Tamara Thorne
If you thought your sorority was intense, just wait until you read about Gamma Eta Pi. This twisted sisterhood is bad, and they’re the envy and horror of Greenbriar University. When you pledge this sorority, your connections are truly for life: until death each sister must remain faithful to the evil coven. Gamma Eta Pi is actually a secret society called Fata Morgana, a centuries old coven with rituals, dark magic, and murder. The Sorority is perfect for fans of Scream Queens and other cheesy horror.
Z-Boat by Suzanne Robb
Z-Boat – Suzanne Robb
After the world has largely deteriorated, a submarine, Betty Loo, is sent to rescue some survivors. Readers won’t know who to trust when the mission reaches what they’ve been looking for. Spoiler alert: there’s zombies. Suzanne Robb’s thriller-horror-dystopia blended trilogy isn’t just another zombie novel, though. The series was lauded for its creative setting underwater and the inability to decide who is the hero of the story. This series transcends genres and will appeal to readers of dystopian fiction and thrillers too.
Dreams from the Witch House: Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror edited by Lynne Jamneck
Dreams from the Witch House: Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror – edited by Lynne Jamneck
Dreams From the Witch House is another anthology for the literary types, but is only written by women! If you like the classic stuff from Lovecraft but wish horror was more inclusive of women, this is the book for you. Each tale is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos universe, which tackles dreamlands, pseudomythology, cosmic beings, and illusions. Gothic and horror giants like Joyce Carol Oates, Gemma Files, and Caitlin R. Kiernan are only a few of the authors featured in this twenty-story collection.
