Welcome to Spooky Reads Friday, where every Friday in the month of October, I will be giving you scary selection book recommendations that will make your weekend reading more fulfilling…and scary š. Check out these haunting book recs…if you dare…
Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward
In a cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast, Wilder Harlow has begun the last book he will ever write.
It is the story about the sun-drenched summer days of his youth in Whistler Bay, and the blood-stained path of the killer that stalked his small vacation town. About the terrible secret he and his companions, Nat and Harper, discovered entombed in the coves off the bay. And how the pact they swore that day echoed down the decades, forever shaping their lives.
But the more Wilder writes, the less he trusts himself and his memory. He starts to see things that can’t be real – notes hidden in the cabin, from an old friend now dead; a woman with dark hair drowning in the icy waters below, calling for help; entire chapters he doesn’t recall typing, appearing overnight. Who, orĀ what, is haunting Wilder?
No longer able to trust his own eyes, Wilder begins to fear that this will not only be his last book, but the last thing he ever does. (Credit: Tor Nightfire)
Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are by Kathyrn Foxfield
On the reality showĀ It’s Behind You!, five contestants competing for prize money must survive the night in the dark and dangerous Umber Gorge caves, rumored to be haunted by the Puckered Maiden, a ghost who eats the hearts of her victims. But is it the malevolent spirit they should fear, or each other?
As the production crew ramps up the frights, tensions rise and the secrets of the cast member start coming to light. Each of these teenagers has hidden motives for taking part in the show. But could one of them be murder? (Credit: Sourcebooks Fire)
Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates
Eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run.
When Christa joins a tour group heading deep into the snowy expanse of the Rocky Mountains, she’s hopeful this will be her chance to put the ghosts of her past to rest. But when a bitterly cold snowstorm sweeps the region, the small group is forced to take shelter in an abandoned hunting cabin. Despite the uncomfortably claustrophobic quarters and rapidly dropping temperature, Christa believes they’ll be safe as they wait out the storm.
She couldn’t be more wrong.
Deep in the night, their tour guide goes missing…only to be discovered the following morning, his severed head impaled on a tree outside the cabin. Terrified, and completely isolated by the storm, Christa finds herself trapped with eight total strangers. One of them kills for sport…and they’re far from finished. As the storm grows more dangerous and the number of survivors dwindles one by one, Christa must decide who she can trust before this frozen mountain becomes her tomb. (Credit: Poisoned Pen Press)
Welcome to Camp Killer by Cynthia Murphy
When an American-style residential camp is set up in the grounds of an English stately home, the teenage instructors are looking forward to a summer of fun activities. But right from the start, things donāt feel quite right at Camp Miller.
There are rumours of a tragedy that took place in the grounds and unexplained sightings of a ghostly presence. Then the incidents begin ā a near-drowning out on the lake, a fatal fall from a cliff-face ā¦ Are these tragic accidents or is there something more sinister going on at Camp Killer ā¦? (Credit: Barrington Stoke)
Soichi: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito
“I’ll get you for this… I’ll show youĀ trueĀ horror!”
Soichi, the unhinged second son of the Tsujii family, chews nails and makes them clatter and clack as he spouts horrific curses to bring about the most bizarre happenings. Whether it’s summer holidays or a birthday party, Soichi can turn any occasion into a nightmare in a heartbeat. What is the terrible secret of his origin? Meanwhile, tormented by his little brother’s never-ending pranks, older brother Koichi has a soundproof room built. But why does it have a series of four doors? And then there’s the strange phenomenon surrounding the handmade casket their grandfather left behind. What on earth–or hell–has the family seen there?
Ten tales that celebrate the sinister and hilarious world of Junji Ito’s favorite antihero, Soichi! (Credit: Viz Media)
