Spooky Book Recommendations

I’ve been stuck on Halloween mode since July, and I’ve read a lot of unique creepy books lately. These are the type of books that get stuck in your head. I’ve found myself thinking about these a lot. So here are a few spooky book recommendations that will keep you up at night.

Rosemary’s Baby

Rosemary’s Baby is a classic for a reason. This book is disorienting which is the best indicator of a successful unreliable narrator. It has everything I want in a creepy book. It has a too good to be true new house, suspicious neighbors, and a dark history. Honestly, it flirts with cult horror from the very beginning, and it just gets better from there. Seriously, if you’re a horror lover you need to experience this classic because so many other stories have been influenced by this masterpiece.

Black River Orchard

Moving from an often-emulated classic to one of the most unique horror stories I’ve ever read, let’s talk about Black River Orchard. This book does not flirt with cult horror; this book is the perfect definition of it. I honestly don’t know how to describe it. If you think farmer’s markets should be spooky and apples are scary you would probably really like this one. And if that sentence doesn’t make any sense to you then you should probably read it to find out what I’m rambling about. But all I know is that I will never look at the growth cycle of an apple the same way again.

The String of Pearls: Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I don’t know why The String of Pearls doesn’t get more love. I knew it was a popular play and I love the Tim Burton movie, but I didn’t realize that it was a book until this year. It started out as a series of penny dreadfuls that was compiled into a book. This book takes an already bloody story and ups it by ten. In the movie you see Sweeney Todd’s sad back story that makes him a tad more sympathetic, but in this he is evil through and through. He’s a character that you will love to hate. I had the best time with this. Just maybe don’t read it on a full stomach because those pie shop scenes are a little rough.

The Butcher’s Daughter

Lastly, we have the book that made me realize that The String of Pearls was a thing. When I was recommended The Butcher’s Daughter I had to do my research. I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole and I’m thankful that I did because I found two new favorite stories. This book follows Mrs. Lovett. It explains how she came to be the wonderfully horrid person that she became. It’s shocking, it’s brutal, and I couldn’t put it down. It’s totally worth the read. But I would suggest reading The String of Pearls first because it will give you a little more context. I was so excited to talk about this one that I haven’t even reviewed it yet. Come back tomorrow for that.

So those are a few spooky book recommendations to add you your creepy tbr. And if you have any spooky book recommendations of your own be sure to drop them in the comments.