13 Halloween Books for Adults That Are Seriously Scary (And Seriously Good)

Even though its billing as a true story has been debunked since its publication, the story of this house in Amityville lives on, and is a great read for spooky season.

Bonus points: You can read it during the month of October, and watch the movie on Halloween night while you dole out candy to trick-or-treaters.

From the book description:

“In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that, one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in the house, but the property – complete with boathouse and swimming pool – and the price were too good to pass up.

Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror.”

While we’re on the theme of haunted houses, The Haunting of Hill House is one of the best ever written, exploring not only the haunting of the house, but also topics such as mental illness and grief.

From the book description:

“It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up 11/22/63 for the first time, but it quickly became one of my all-time favorites. I read all 1000 pages in a week… a feat with a newborn at the time!

And I don’t recall another King book which made me full-on ugly cry at the end.

But as for the Halloween connection, some very significant events in the book happen on Halloween night earlier in the sixties. This Halloween is the one that leads the main character to the rest of the events in the book.

From the book description:

“On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King—who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer—takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.”

The title of All Hallows tells you all by itself how perfect it is to read on Halloween night (or during the month of October, at least, if you don’t have time to binge-read it :))

It’s delightfully creepy and a little nostalgic, being set in the eighties. If you’re a fan of that aspect of Stranger Things, All Hallows is worth the read!

From the book description:

“It’s Halloween night, 1984, in Coventry, Massachusetts, and two families are unraveling. Up and down the street, horrifying secrets are being revealed, and all the while, mixed in with the trick-or-treaters of all ages, four children who do not belong are walking door to door, merging with the kids of Parmenter Road. Children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup. They seem terrified, and beg the neighborhood kids to hide them away, to keep them safe from The Cunning Man.”

If you’ve never read Something Wicked This Way Comes, you’re in for a treat! This book is immersive, beautiful, and poetically written. You really feel like you’re there experiencing October in Green Town, Illinois with the main characters.

From the book description:

For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin.

Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. A calliope’s shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained.

Two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes…and the stuff of nightmares.

This is another one of the Halloween books for adults that actually takes place on Halloween.

The terrifying events of The Violin culminate in a moonlit cemetery on All Hallows’ Eve, making it the perfect Halloween read. That’s especially true if you want something a little more moody than gory. (No shade to gory!)

From the book description:

In 1871, Elise Knight made a deal with the devil: craft a powerful violin in exchange for her fiancé’s resurrection.

When Elise’s fiancé dies, she would do anything to get him back—even if that means striking a sinister bargain with Cassius McCalmont, an exotic collector whose oddity exhibit is downright astonishing.

After seeing Cassius’s otherworldly flute work its magic, Elise begs her father for an apprenticeship, eager to make the seemingly simple sacrifice required to bring her beloved back from the dead: give Cassius a violin of her own making.

Can I tell you a secret? I’m kind of a baby when it comes to horror movies. Jump scares, gory scenes, body horror… With rare exception, it’s all too much for me.

No movie has ever terrified me like The Exorcist.

When I heard the book was better than the movie, I gave it a shot. I’m So glad I did!

While it is profane, that profanity is intentional. It serves to underscore the themes of the corruption of innocence and self-sacrifice were beautiful. Also, it contains one of the most poignant thoughts on Christianity and the question of “why bad things happen to good people” I’ve ever read:

“And yet even from this – from evil – will come good. In some way that we may never understand or never see….Perhaps evil is the crucible of goodness….And perhaps even Satan – Satan, in spite of himself – somehow serves to work out the will of God.”

I have a lot of thoughts on this book, but I’ll leave it at: it’s a must-read, especially when it comes to Halloween books for adults.

From the book description:

Originally published in 1971, The Exorcist was a bestselling literary phenomenon and one of the most frightening—and controversial—novels ever written. Based on true events—a child’s demonic possession in the 1940s—it is the story of eleven-year-old Regan MacNeil, whose sudden disturbing, and often violent, behavior drive her desperate mother, Chris, a famous actress, to eventually seek help from two Catholic priests, men who will risk everything—including their own souls— to free the girl from an ancient malevolent force possessing her.

‘Salem’s Lot has become a Halloween classic, especially with the recent remake of the film version. It’s another one of the books on this list which can be read during the month of October, then watched on the night of Halloween.

From the book description:

When two young boys venture into the woods, and only one returns alive, Mears begins to realize that something sinister is at work. In fact, his hometown is under siege from forces of darkness far beyond his imagination. And only he, with a small group of allies, can hope to contain the evil that is growing within the borders of this small New England town.

At only 50 pages long, this classic can be read in one sitting on Halloween night! It could even be a fun read-aloud with older children.

And, if you’re interested, Ballet West in Salt Lake City is doing a ballet production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in March 2026. Their production of Jekyll and Hyde was amazing, so I’m really looking forward to it.

From the book description:

On a fateful Halloween night, Ichabod comes face-to-face with the legendary Headless Horseman, a terrifying specter said to roam the dark woods of Sleepy Hollow in search of his lost head.

The story blends romance, comedy, and supernatural elements, culminating in a suspenseful and eerie conclusion.

Another book to movie adaptation which is a fun, spooky read. Like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this is a classic, but a bit longer, more immersive of a read.

From the book description:

Mrs. Drablow’s house stands at the end of the causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but Kipps is unaware of the tragic secrets that lie hidden behind its sheltered windows.

The routine business trip he anticipated quickly takes a horrifying turn when he finds himself haunted by a series of mysterious sounds and images—a rocking chair in a deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a child’s scream in the fog, and, most terrifying of all, a ghostly woman dressed all in black.

This was a truly scary book that revived some childhood fears and added a few new ones. I audibly gasped reading a few scenes, and struggled to read it at night.

Needless to say, this is an excellent newer-release option for Halloween books for adults.

From the book description:

To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”

When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.

Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.

But Other Mommy needs an answer.

Want a few bite-sized stories to enjoy alone or with others during the evening of Halloween? Tiny Nightmares might be the best choice. It’s full of stories from a variety of authors that are easy to read in one sitting.

Kind of like the classic Scary Stories To Tell in The Dark 🙂

From the book description:

In this playful, inventive collection, leading literary and horror writers spin chilling tales in only a few pages. Each slim, fast–moving story brings to life the kind of monsters readers love to fear, from brokenhearted vampires to Uber–taking serial killers and mind–reading witches.

But what also makes Tiny Nightmares so bloodcurdling—and unforgettable—are the real–world horrors that writers such as Samantha Hunt, Brian Evenson, Jac Jemc, Stephen Graham Jones, Lilliam Rivera, Kevin Brockmeier, and Rion Amilcar Scott weave into their fictions, exploring how global warming, racism, social media addiction, and homelessness are just as frightening as, say, a vampire’s fangs sinking into your neck.

The description of The Watchers reminds me a lot of The Hills Have Eyes in the best way… which makes it an excellent choice of Halloween books for adults!

From the book description:

This forest isn’t charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina’s is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker. As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams.

Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground. These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn’t reach the bunker in time.

Afraid and trapped among strangers, Mina is desperate for answers. Who are the Watchers, and why are they keeping the humans imprisoned, keen to watch their every move?