Five classic horror stories for spooky season

We are now entering spooky season, as we get close to Halloween and immerse ourselves in the fall spirit. In honour of spooky season, I’ll be sharing a variety of books that could be considered “spooky” either by having supernatural elements or being in the realm of thriller or horror genres. Enjoy!


It’s the start of spooky season and I love reading horror or thriller books around this time of year.

I think it’s fascinating how humans all around the world and all through time have been telling each other scary stories. There’s such a long history of ghost/spirit/supernatural stories, in every corner of the globe.

I believe all cultures have some fascination or interest in what happens after we die and the spirit realm (or whatever you choose to call it).

In honour of this long tradition, I wanted to share some classic horror stories. These are limited to only those that were officially published, which likely means we’re missing out on some incredible stories that were only shared orally.

These five books are considered classics both because they captured the interest of readers when they were published and continue to capture our interest. They’re also classics because they are great at what they do.

I’ve included a range of options so that hopefully there’s something to interest everyone.

Photo by Ján Jakub Naništa on Unsplash

Five classic horror stories for spooky season

Here’s a list of five classic horror stories for spooky season.

  1. Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1872)
  2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)
  3. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H.P. Lovecraft (1926)
  4. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1938)
  5. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959)

Keep reading to find out more about each one. I’ve listed them in order of when they were published.

Carmilla (1872)

by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

  • Year Published: 1872
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, classics, horror, lgbtqia+, dark, mysterious, fast-paced
  • The original vampire novel, predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula

In an isolated castle deep in the Austrian forest, Laura leads a solitary life with only her ailing father for company. Until one moonlit night, a horse-drawn carriage crashes into view, carrying an unexpected guest – the beautiful Carmilla. So begins a feverish friendship between Laura and her mysterious, entrancing companion.

But as Carmilla becomes increasingly strange and volatile, prone to eerie nocturnal wanderings, Laura finds herself tormented by nightmares and growing weaker by the day… Pre-dating Dracula by twenty-six years, Carmilla is the original vampire story, steeped in sexual tension and gothic romance.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)

by Oscar Wilde

  • Year Published: 1890
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, classics, horror, lgbtqia+, literary, dark, mysterious, reflective, medium-paced
  • Oscar Wilde’s only novel

In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde’s most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.

Links:

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (1926)

by H.P. Lovecraft

  • Year Published: 1926
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, science fiction, short stories, dark, mysterious, tense, medium-paced
  • It’s important to note that H.P. Lovecraft was a known white supremacist.

A definitive collection of stories from the unrivaled master of twentieth-century horror

Frequently imitated and widely influential, Howard Philips Lovecraft reinvented the horror genre in the 1920s, discarding ghosts and witches and instead envisioning mankind as a tiny outpost of dwindling sanity in a chaotic and malevolent universe. S. T. Joshi, Lovecraft’s preeminent interpreter, presents a selection of the master’s fiction, from the early tales of nightmares and madness such as “The Outsider” to the overpowering cosmic terror of “The Call of Cthulhu.” More than just a collection of terrifying tales, this volume reveals the development of Lovecraft’s mesmerizing narrative style and establishes him as a canonical- and visionary-American writer.

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Rebecca (1938)

by Daphne du Maurier

  • Year Published: 1938
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, classics, romance, thriller, dark, mysterious, tense, medium-paced

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…”

With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten—a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house’s current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim’s first wife—the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.

Links:

The Haunting of Hill House (1959)

by Shirley Jackson

  • Year Published: 1959
  • Storygraph Categories:
    fiction, classics, horror, literary, dark, mysterious, tense, medium-paced
  • Finalist for the National Book Award

The greatest haunted house story ever written

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. 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.

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Final thoughts

I hope you found something of interest in this list of books.

I’m always looking for more suggestions of books to read. I’d love to know which classic horror books you like to read during October. Let me know in a comment below!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of the book?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in a comment below.

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