Photo by Greg Panagiotoglou on Unsplash
We may be nearing the end of November, but if you’re anything like me you’re still blissfully haunted by your October reads. When night falls early there’s nothing like burrowing under a thick blanket with a scary story, and here are the best ones I’ve read this season.
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Written like a classic Victorian ghost story, this Gothic tale embraces requisite tropes of the genre: an isolated house shrouded in fog and ruin, a mysterious figure lurking in a graveyard, phantom cries that can only be heard at night. Wrapped in a Christmas memory, the story does take a while to warm up, but once the haunting begins it pulls you along in a slow luxury of terror. The ending was a stunner.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Technically I read this in late September; my library loan came up early and I simply couldn’t wait. Considered Jackson’s masterpiece, although less famous than The Haunting of Hill House, this strange little book about isolation, family secrets, murder, and madness wormed its way into my heart on page one. It’s completely twisted, unnervingly sinister, totally bonkers, and also perfect.
Ghost Town (Saranormal #1) by Phoebe Rivers
I’ve been dying to write another middle grade novel; my first remains buried in my hard drive, kicking his feet and howling to get out. Middle grade are special kinds of books, and I’ve been reading a lot of them lately trying to get in the rhythm of the simpler structures and storylines. This one is just the right amount of frightening and fun, with solid characters, whimsical writing, and everything else that makes middle grade so darn charming. (Bonus: the ghosts are real!)
If you have never lost yourself in the irresistibly weird and astonishingly inventive stories of Karen Russell, remedy that now. She is truly one-of-a-kind, blending horror, humor, and wit in accessible literary fiction. Orange World is Russell’s third collection of short stories; favorites here include “The Prospectors” (zombie dancing!), “The Tornado Auction” (tornado breeding!), and the title story, where a new mother bargains for her baby’s protection by agreeing to breastfeed the devil. Not since Samanta Schweblin’s Fever Dream have I read such an accurate portrayal of parental anxiety.
Goodnight Stranger by Miciah Bay Gault
What a way to end October! I finished this magnetic debut on Halloween Eve, just in time to celebrate a month’s worth of ghost stories with an indulgent night of tricks-or-treats. Goodnight Stranger is a page-turner full of mesmerizing prose and chilling menace. I felt off-kilter for much of the novel, trying to piece together the mystery of a familiar stranger who may or may not be the main character’s deceased baby brother reincarnate. Like The Woman in Black, the ending does not disappoint.
A few ghostly reads that I didn’t get include The Bone Garden by Helen Kassner and The Whisper Man by Alex North. I may have to wait until Christmas for those, but what better time for more haunting stories than the longest nights of the year?
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!
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