I love a good ghost story. Especially when it's set in an old house that's haunted. And Sarah Rayne has written several quietly suspenseful ghost stories in her Nell West and Michael Flint Haunted House Series. There are six books in this series: Property of a Lady, The Sin Eater, The Silence, The Whispering, Deadlight Hall, and The Bell Tower. It's hard to pick a favorite because they're all really good, but I recommend starting with one of the first ones.
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Another fun series is J.L. Bryan's Ellie Jordan series. She and her colleagues kick ghosts out of haunted places by finding and trapping them. What I like about this series is that the characters are funny, the books are suspenseful, and the endings are always satisfying. I think there are sixteen books in this series. I haven't read them all yet, but I've loved all the ones that I have read. It's best to start with the first book: Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper. But Cold Shadows, Maze of Souls, and The Crawling Darkness are also really good.
And if you're into ghost stories that have a more classic feel to them, you can't go wrong with either Susan Hill's The Woman in Black or Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. They've made movies of both of these books, but even if you've seen the movies, I still recommend reading the books, because the books are better.
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So if you're looking for some fun ghostly reads this October, these are some to try.
I list more ghostly books I've read and enjoyed under my Ghostly Reads tab at the top.
Happy Reading!
Several of these sound good to me. Perfect for October.
ReplyDeleteOctober is a great month for reading something haunting! :)
DeleteThese are definitely a great fit for October/Halloween theme. The Haunting of Hill House remains my favourite among Shirley Jackson's books.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great ghost story, isn't it? I really like that one, too.
DeleteOh, a Ghostly Reads tab! And more books for R.I.P. or Halloween!
ReplyDeleteHopefully there's one or two on there that looks good to you. :) Let me know if you find other good ghost stories!
Deleteit's been my experience also, that the mental imagery associated with reading is usually better than in the corresponding movie...
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! :D
DeleteLots of great choices. The Ellie Jordan series sounds like something I'd really enjoy. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you would really like the Ellie Jordan series. They're so much fun. :D
Delete'Tis the season, for sure. I'm not familiar with the more recent ones you mention here, but I"m a fan of both Shirley Jackson and Susan Hill. They are fantastic writers.
ReplyDeleteI love both Jackson and Hill. Their books are classics. :)
DeleteI think The Woman in Black is my favourite ghost novel, so good. She used to write one every year and all of them are excellent.
ReplyDeleteThe Woman in Black is a great ghostly novel! One of my favs, too. :)
DeleteNot sure I'm going to get a seasonal read in for the month, but Shirley Jackson would be a very good choice!
ReplyDeleteShe's always a good choice! :)
DeleteI have not heard of any of these authors, but I don't really read scary books. But, you have a great list here!
ReplyDeleteI like fun scary books, not chillingly evil scary, if that makes sense.
DeleteI must admit ghost stories are not really my thing except when they are somehow incidental to a greater plot, but you've got some interesting choices there.
ReplyDeleteYou might still like the Sarah Rayne books. They're more mystery than total ghost story, but they do always have a touch of that supernatural in them.
DeleteThanks Lark for these suggestions. I have The Woman in Black. Always meant to read it but definitely going to read it this month. I have heard really good things.
ReplyDeleteI liked it. And it's not a long book, so it reads pretty fast. :)
DeletePerfect
ReplyDelete:) Thank you!
DeleteThe Haunting of Hill House is one of my favorite books, and the 1963 movie The Haunting that was based on it is one of my favorite movies.
ReplyDeleteI like the 1963 movie The Haunting, too. :D
DeleteI always want to but usually don't manage to read "seasonally" this time of year. Of course, one can read a ghost story in the middle of summer, but somehow they do work better when it starts getting dark earlier and earlier and it's colder outside...
ReplyDeleteI do like to read slightly scarier, more ghostly books this time of year. It just seems fitting somehow. :)
DeleteI'll check out Sarah Rayne's series. I think I have the Ghost Trapper series on my Kindle. I'd need the audios to actually get to them anytime soon, though, lol. :)
ReplyDeleteWhatever gets you through the book! :D
DeleteThanks for all of the recs. I've not read any of these yet although The Haunting of Hill House and The Woman in Black have been on my TBR for ages. I always chicken out when I think about reading them, haha!
ReplyDeleteNot a huge fan of scary books? :)
DeleteI love ghost stories. These all sound like fun reads!
ReplyDeleteI loved them all. :)
DeleteOoh, these are some really good recs! A lot of these also come across as Urban Fantasy so I'm going to hoard them all up. Yay for Halloween month.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading!! :D
DeleteI'm especially curious about the Sarah Rayne books. I need to look through my bookcases because I may have one of them. Who doesn't love a good ghost story right? I loved The Woman in Black. Such a great novel!
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