Tis the season! October is upon us and that means it’s all about the Spooky Season activities. For me, I have to pick out a good book to read this month. Right now, I’m working on Thomas Tryon’s Harvest Home, and 40ish pages in, I can already tell it’s going to have the right vibes. Maybe it’ll be in next year’s post once I finish it. I digress. I wanted to put together a little list of some of my previous reads that fit the vibe of the season. There’s some that are outside-the-box. There’s a few classics in here. It’s a bit of a mixed bag – hopefully, that means there’s a little something for everyone.
Book Recs for Spooky Season, 2024
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – Honestly, I’m hesitant to recommend this one specifically because I read it last Spooky Season and was reminded of what a slog it is. I mean, don’t get me wrong – it’s a classic for a reason. But, brevity is not its strong suit. I dug it – it was beautifully written and what I found to be most eerie was how the pointed social commentary is still relevant today. But, my point here is that this is the perfect time to relive some of the classics. Even if you don’t want to give this bit of beautiful prose a shot, pick up a copy of Dracula or some Edgar Allan Poe or something. Read the classics!
Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin – Martin brings the southern gothic vibes to life in this haunting tale in which the less you know going into it, the better it is. I’ll just leave this one at that. It’s one of my favorite books I’ve read in quite awhile.
Odd Jobs by Mike Mignola – I don’t think you’d have to be a fan of Hellboy to appreciation the vibes in Mignola’s collection of short stories featuring the iconic comic book character. Some are fun. Some are packed with Halloween vibes. Some are kind of weird. Some are kind of scary. It’s an excellent mixed bag
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero – I always recommend this book to people when they ask for an outside-the-box book rec, but October is definitely its time to shine. This one is so much fun – it reads like it’s equal parts mystery, supernatural, action, and nostalgia.
Beast by Paul Kingsnorth – I thought this was going to be my Spooky Season 2024 book, but I finished it in just a few days (record time for me, a notoriously slow reader). Beast feels like a slow descent into madness with a creature we don’t even know is real. Kingsnorth’s prose won’t be for everyone, but I was a fan.
Goosebumps – That’s right…the fabled series from R.L. Stine. 90s kids will know, and if you still have your collection from childhood, that’s just gravy, baby. I still have a few of mine. I like to set ’em out as Halloween decorations to add a bit of nostalgia to the house, but a couple of Spooky Seasons ago, I actually picked one up and read it (Calling All Creeps). I found it to be a delightful trip down Memory Lane, and the vibes took me back to Halloweens spent as a kid. I recommend giving it a shot and hopefully, it’ll do the same for you.
I also reached out to the SoBros team for their recommendations…
Brittany: “Maybe too obvious a but Rosemary’s Baby – surprisingly just read this for the first time last October, and it was truly terrifying. No topic is more suited for Spooky Season than a creepy building with a straight up demonic history. It’s also a very short and easily digestible book.”
Rooster: “I’m going to say Slewfoot for the witchy colonial vibes. And then The Mothman Prophecies might be the only book that really unsettled me.”
Happy Spooky Season to all. Happy Haunting!
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
SoBros Network and Stacking The Inbox have teamed up for the greatest premium content collaboration in the history of Nashville. Get all of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft coverage you need on top of premium SoBros Network content such as The Movie Review Rewind Podcast, Sports Punch, and much more! Only $5/month gets you instant access to an exhaustive content library of articles, podcasts, and videos created exclusively for our subscribers! Sign up on Substack today!
