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Halloween approaches! Even if you’re not usually a horror reader, this is the perfect time to dip your toe in those bloody waters. I just finished a Halloween-themed readathon this weekend, which I do every year with a couple of friends, and I always look forward to it. Reading a book cover-to-cover, especially in one sitting, is a very different experience than reading a chapter or two at a time. Especially when it comes to horror books, immersing yourself entirely in the story by reading it all at once allows the tension to build more effectively, and reading late into the night invites your rational brain to take a back seat while your lizard brain panics at the strange sound you just heard.
If you’d like to give it a try, I’ve selected eight horror books you can read cover-to-cover on Halloween. They include novellas and graphic novels, and they’re all ones that I either have already read and loved or are at the top of my TBR: that means plenty of queer horror. (You’re welcome.) There are so many more short horror reads out there, though, so consider this your invitation to build your own custom Halloween TBR.
Short Horror Books To Read on Halloween
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Let’s start with a classic! If you haven’t already read We Have Always Lived in the Castle, it’s a perfect choice to curl up with on Halloween: it’s an unsettling gothic about a mysterious murder, siblings, and a crumbling estate. If you’re a bit squeamish about horror, this is a good introduction, because it’s more about the building unease than gore. And at under 150 pages, it’s one you can likely get through in a day. Another great option is Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, though that’s a bit longer: it’s closer to 200 pages.
For an alternative classic horror novella, pick up Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, a vampire story that predates Dracula. I highly recommend the edition edited by Carmen Maria Machado.
Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris
Of course, there are many more options for short horror reads outside of the classics. Green Fuse Burning is a 2023 novella about Rita, an artist mourning her estranged father—and regretting she didn’t get the opportunity to learn more about their Mi’kmaq culture from him. When Rita’s girlfriend reveals that she signed her up for an artist’s residency in an isolated cabin, she’s furious, but because it’s close to where her father grew up, she decides to go anyway. There, she begins hearing strange sounds in the woods and seeing visions in the surrounding swamp. At 112 pages, this is the perfect choice for a one- or two-sitting Halloween read that will get under your skin.
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