Posted on October 24, 2020 at 8:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Readers looking for serious scares don’t usually have to try very hard around Halloween — plenty of lists share books bound to terrify even the bravest among us.

But what about those with more sensitive stomachs or souls? What should they read during the Halloween season?

Your fellow Fussy followers have some thoughts that they shared earlier this month!

Danika G. suggested anything by Suzanna Kearsley — “spirits and supernatural without being scary,” with Judithann L. adding special props to Kearsley’s The Winter Sea and The Firebird.

Shannon F. and Kristi S. recommended Shirley Jackson, with Karen M. pointing specifically to The Haunting of Hill House.

And Jo H. suggested Agatha Christie, with Lisa H. mentioning Halloween Party in particular.

Patrick C. and Tari W. both recommended The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving; other older tales that came up were Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Phyllis O.), Oscar Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost” (Elizabeth R.), and any Victorian ghost story (Renee F.).

Kristi S. adds Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman to that list.

More contemporary suggestions:

  • Ashlye B.: Uneasy Spirits by M. Louisa Locke.

  • Carrie M.: Anything by C.R. Garmen!

  • Kim T.: Ghost Story by Peter Straub.

  • Michelle E.: Hallows Gate. A woman falls in love with a ghost...

  • Tari W.: Eye of The Dragon by Stephen King. Spooky but not Halloweenish.

  • Ronecia C.: Nora Roberts’s Three Sisters Island series.

And, finally, a few from the authors themselves:

  • Ann S.: My Stevie-girl and the Phantoms series. True ghost stories, not gore.

  • Rae R.: Cowgirl and the Ghost Horse, a not-too-scary ghost story for kids.

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