Spooky Reads for Halloween!

If you've been a regular reader of this blog for a while, you might know that I'm a complete wuss when it comes to scary stuff. Books are easier for me than movies which tend to give me sleepless nights because I can't get the imagines out of my head, but some books still scare me so much.

That said, there are some scary books that I've really loved, so here are a few of the ones I'd recommend.

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood and Co.) by Jonathon Stroud 

When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood and Co. step in . . .

For more than fifty years, the country has been affected by a horrifying epidemic of ghosts. A number of Psychic Investigations Agencies have sprung up to destroy the dangerous apparitions.

Lucy Carlyle, a talented young agent, arrives in London hoping for a notable career. Instead she finds herself joining the smallest, most ramshackle agency in the city, run by the charismatic Anthony Lockwood. When one of their cases goes horribly wrong, Lockwood & Co. have one last chance of redemption. Unfortunately this involves spending the night in one of the most haunted houses in England, and trying to escape alive.

Set in a city stalked by spectres, The Screaming Staircase is the first in a chilling new series full of suspense, humour and truly terrifying ghosts. Your nights will never be the same again . . .

Some of these books have scared the life out of me and left me reading until daylight because I'm scared to turn the lights off, others have been milder, but it's still a series I really enjoy. The characters and plots are worth being so scared and yeah okay, maybe I enjoy it just a little. 

I tend to find these books alternate with the first, third ect. being super scary but the second, fourth ect. being a lot milder. I'm not sure if this is deliberate or if it has just happened to land that way, but for me it's helps me feel prepared. I prefer the milder ones, but they're all fantastic. 

The Name of the Star (Shades of London) by Maureen Johnson 

Jack the Ripper is back, and he's coming for Rory next....

Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables.

I read these so long ago now, it's high time for a reread! I didn't find these books particularly scary. They were more fantasy/ adventure to me. But there's ghosts so they totally count.

The Name of the Star was my favourite, mostly because of Jack the Ripper. I loved to see an American take on England though. It was interesting to see my country and the boarding school experience through a different perspective. Maureen really did her research well though and has been over here a lot so I would say they're pretty accurate in terms of Britishness.

As I Descended by Robin Talley

“Something wicked this way comes.”

Maria Lyon and Lily Boiten are their school’s ultimate power couple—even if no one knows it but them.

Only one thing stands between them and their perfect future: campus superstar Delilah Dufrey.

Golden child Delilah is a legend at the exclusive Acheron Academy, and the presumptive winner of the distinguished Cawdor Kingsley Prize. She runs the school, and if she chose, she could blow up Maria and Lily’s whole world with a pointed look, or a carefully placed word.

But what Delilah doesn’t know is that Lily and Maria are willing to do anything—absolutely anything—to make their dreams come true. And the first step is unseating Delilah for the Kingsley Prize. The full scholarship, awarded to Maria, will lock in her attendance at Stanford―and four more years in a shared dorm room with Lily.

Maria and Lily will stop at nothing to ensure their victory—including harnessing the dark power long rumored to be present on the former plantation that houses their school.

But when feuds turn to fatalities, and madness begins to blur the distinction between what’s real and what is imagined, the girls must decide where they draw the line. 

This one frightened me a lot. I read it during the day so I luckily was able to get the stuff out of my head before I had to go to bed, but there were some really creepy scenes. 

This a retelling of Macbeth but set in an elite boarding school and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both girls. It's lesbian Macbeth! I loved it so much: it was an amazing retelling and knowing the original play fairly well made me really enjoy seeing the way it was adapted to the setting and different versions of the characters. 

So that's just three of my top spooky reads.  Have you read them? Do you want to? What are your favourite books when you're in the mood for something a little creepy? Let me know in the comments!