Gina Rae Mitchell

Spooky classics for Halloween reading are a must for late October. Do you need a reminder of some of the great classics that fit this genre? Look no further than this list.

My list is just mildly spooky. I don’t want to scare anyone to death …. especially myself!

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   Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady’s maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives–presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

First published in 1938, this classic gothic novel is such a compelling read that it won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century.

 

 

  Frankenstein –  Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Dr. Frankenstein has been working on the recreation of life after death for a long time. The young scientist is confident that eventually his work will be acknowledged by scientists from all over the world. In his arrogance, Dr. Victor Frankenstein dreams of discovering the very secret of life…and he succeeds, bringing a new creature into existence.

Should man ever play God—and if he does, what does he owe his creation? Everything happens according to the unplanned script, and now the scientist himself has to save his life from his own creation.

Mary Shelley’s groundbreaking classic—begun as a ghost story for friends—is a potent blend of science fiction and horror that has inspired countless movie and other adaptations. Nothing, however, equals the depth and beauty of Shelley’s original, which remains as relevant as ever.

 

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  The Telltale Heart – Edgar Allen Poe

Readers will recognize their favorite horror stories in the collection “The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings.” Edgar Allen Poe was a master of suspense, horror, and mystery, and his stories, while truly terrifying, are also delightfully entertaining.

In “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the narrator has just killed a man and buried him under his floor. As he sits right above the body, he begins to hear the dead man’s heart thumping loudly in his ears. Guilt and paranoia flood the narrator, and the audience experiences the narrator’s plunge into madness as his fears begin to manifest.

Many of Poe’s other popular works are included in the anthology, such as “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” Murder is a theme in both the works, though Poe executes his characters in decidedly different ways. Still, madness, anger, and retribution all make their way into the majority of Poe’s works.

Also in the collection are select poems such as “Lenore” and “The Raven.” Both stories tell tales of death and lost love about two different women named Lenore; Poe’s poems mourn these characters, making his words even more poetic and poignant. He speaks through his verses to convey his devastated feelings of despair.

For these and all the included works, “The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings” is a must-have for every horror or suspense fan.

 

No list of classic Halloween books is complete without Edgar Allen Poe & Agatha Christie!

 

And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie

One of the most famous and beloved mysteries from The Queen of Suspense, Agatha Christie has to make my list of spooky classics for Halloween reading.

This book was chosen as a PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick.

Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to an isolated mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island, they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die…

Which among them is the killer and will any of them survive?

“Ten . . .”
Ten strangers are lured to an isolated island mansion off the Devon coast by a mysterious “U. N. Owen.”

“Nine . . .”
At dinner, a recorded message accuses each of them in turn of having a guilty secret, and by the end of the night, one of the guests is dead.

“Eight . . .”
Stranded by a violent storm, and haunted by a nursery rhyme counting down one by one . . . as one by one . . . they begin to die.

“Seven . . .”
Which among them is the killer and will any of them survive?

 

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson

The most infamous of horror stories—a disturbing examination of man’s capacity for evil definitely belongs on the list of spooky classics for Halloween reading!

One pitch-black London morning, a ghoulish little man tramples a young girl and continues heedlessly on his way. Caught by a passerby and returned to the scene of the crime, the man is forced to pay £100 in restitution. He produces ten pounds in gold and a check for the remainder. Curiously, the check bears the signature of the well-regarded Dr. Henry Jekyll.

Even stranger, Dr. Jekyll’s will names this same awful and mysterious little man, Mr. Hyde, as the sole beneficiary. Troubled by the coincidence, Dr. Jekyll’s attorney visits his client. What he uncovers is a tale so strange and terrifying it has seeped into the very fabric of our consciousness.

An immediate success upon its publication in 1886 and a cultural touchstone to this day, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of the most disturbing stories ever told.

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If you like my list of spooky classics for Halloween reading, click here for my list of 5 Favorite Halloween Books for Kids.

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