Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Books to read during Spooky Season
15
items My recs for books to get you in the mood for Halloween and all things spooky. Unsettling stories to cuddle up with when the sun starts to go down sooner… or maybe you’ll stick to only reading these in daylight (understandable)
A woman moves into the house where her family was slaughtered when she was a baby. The more time she spends there, the more the past starts to seep in and reveal itself.
Theme Music
A couple lets a family claiming to be former residents tour their new house. What follows is a series of strange events that doesn't stop until the very end. A rollercoaster I would've read in one sitting if I didn't get scared and need breaks!
We Used to Live Here
A family spends the winter caretaking a remote mountain hotel while the father slowly unravels. A classic film but after reading the book I understand why Stephen King hated it so much. The book manages to be even more unsettling.
The Shining
A live-in nanny notices the child’s crayon drawings turning violent—and oddly specific about a decades-old murder.
Hidden Pictures
A woman heads back to her hometown to care for her sick aunt and starts hearing voices she can’t explain. It’s less jump scares and more that slow, skin-crawling realization that something is deeply off.
Mary: An Awakening of Terror
A group of adults reunites after the mysterious kids’ TV show they once starred in suddenly resurfaces. Nobody remembers how the show ended or why it was shut down but for some reason they’re drawn together - by choice or is it a trap?
Mister Magic
In 1970s England, teenage twins fake a ghost photo for fun. But the line between invention and something real starts to blur.
The Apparition Phase
A widow moves into an old English estate where strange wooden figures keep appearing. The house has that cold, heavy silence that makes you second-guess every shadow.
The Silent Companions
A woman reluctantly goes home to her estranged family and finds her relatives and their religious practices are even more intense than she remembers. A lighter read (in my opinion) compared to the rest of the list.
Black Sheep
A run-down motel in upstate New York has a history of disappearances and restless spirits. The story follows 2 timelines, decades apart.
The Sun Down Motel
Four strangers spend the night in a house that seems alive. A classic horror book that has spawned movies and one of my favorite series. Also a “tamer” read.
The Haunting of Hill House
A married couple moves into a haunted house but even after finding out the wife refuses to leave. What happens when the husband is finally fed up and disappears?
The September House
An eight-year-old girl, haunted by a presence known as “other mommy” who asks to live inside her heart. Things get stranger from there and her family starts to unravel as the presence grows stronger.
Incidents Around the House
Another iconic movie from an iconic book. The daughter of a movie star is under demonic possession. Based on real events (allegedly) and a controversial tale that gripped everyone. Believe it or not more disturbing than the movie - that is limited by...
The Exorcist
Four men’s buried secret from their past comes back to haunt them with a vengeance. I have to admit I haven’t read this yet but it keeps popping up in my research for books that creep you out (yes this is what I search for in my off time).
Ghost Story