The Haunted Bookshelf: Dive Into These Spooky Reads

Looking for the perfect horror book to send shivers down your spine? Whether you’re a seasoned horror fan or just dipping your toes into the genre, there’s nothing more thrilling than reading a story that creeps into your mind and lingers long after you’ve closed the book. From supernatural hauntings to psychological terrors, horror books offer an unsettling array of tales that disturb and captivate. In this post, we’ll explore some of the best horror novels to haunt your imagination this spooky reading season.

And looking for something ghostly but stylish to help accessorize your scary reads? Then check out our Just One More Chapter book tote and matching bookmark to help you read in style.

From the national bestselling #HorrorBookTok author comes a heart pounding story about a young woman searching for her missing friend. On a sunny morning in June, Margaret Carpenter wakes up to find a new iPhone on her doorstep. She switches it on to find a text from her best friend Charity Atwater, who has been missing for over a month and everyone assumes is dead. Margaret and Charity have been lifelong friends who know the most intimate details about one another…except for the destructive secret hidden from them both. A secret that will trigger a chain of events ending in tragedy, bloodshed, and death. And now Charity wants Margaret to know her story—the real story. In a narrative that takes place over one feverish day, Margaret follows a series of increasingly disquieting breadcrumbs as she forges deeper into the mystery of her best friend—a person she never truly knew at all…

In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago after receiving an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans. But soon after she starts working for them, Jemma discovers that the Duchon family aren’t what they seem. The Duchons are under a curse and they think Jemma has the power to break it. As Jemma wrestles with the gift she’s run from all her life, she unravels deeper and more disturbing secrets about the mysterious Duchons. Secrets that stretch back over a century. Secrets that bind her to their fate if she fails.

This short story collection is the latest release from the “King of Horror”, featuring twelve haunting tales about fate, mortality and luck. “Two Talented Bastids” explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In “The Dreamers,” a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. “The Answer Man” asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic.

Samara has finally achieved her dream life: a prestigious job with iconic designer Antonio Mota, a new home in sunny California, and a budding romance with Brandon, a wealthy investor in Mota’s fashion line. But as the pressure of Mota's upcoming fashion show mounts, Samara's seemingly perfect world begins to unravel. She starts hearing voices and seeing inexplicable things in her home, and what initially seems like stress may be something far more sinister. As Samara's grip on reality weakens, she uncovers unsettling secrets about the glamorous world she’s entered. The House of Mota and her new city may be hiding dark truths, and Samara must uncover them before they consume her.

Zo Grey is grieving her mother's sudden death when she receives an unexpected call from an attorney in Divinity, Louisiana, informing her of a mysterious inheritance from a distant relative. Desperate and with nothing to lose, Zo travels to Divinity, where she learns she has inherited a massive fortune and an eerie mansion atop Watch Hill. However, to claim it, she must live in the Gothic house alone for three years. Despite her unease about the strange mansion and its unsettling surroundings, Zo moves in. The house is filled with riddles, hidden secrets, and bizarre features, while the townspeople act strangely around her. As Zo unravels the mansion's mysteries, she discovers that her own roots are tied to the house, and she must confront sinister forces to uncover her true identity and awaken powers she never knew she had—or risk being consumed by them.