Book club Halloween reads

How spooky do you like your books?

Halloween will soon be here and so is selecting that one spooktacular read for your book club that everyone will agree on. A novel that could possibly scare your book friends into next week or just give a quick jolt. These types of eerie books, classic horror, Gothic fiction, suspense, thrillers, mystery, can mean many different things on the fright spectrum. Half of your book club may be uneasy about the idea of ghoulish reads while the other half want to go full steam ahead and pick something like a Stephen King novel.

There are a variety of spine-chilling reads to choose from and you don't have to go full on The Exorcist to get the morbid effect point across. For example, mystery novels are always welcomed and safe territory. Authors like, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with Sherlock Holmes, Elizabeth Peters and Crocodile on the Sandbank and Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None wrote books that are very popular to the public and rightly so. These books appeal to the masses with their quick wit, engaging cast of characters and of course the MYSTERY.

If your book club is planning on a Halloween book party for the first time then I highly recommend starting with an Agatha Christie novel. Last year our group read 'And Then There Were None' by Christie and it was murderously fantastic.

Those in my book club that are not too keen with older written novels had no problems with Agatha Christie's writing style and soon became a fan of her work.  Christie's mysteries leaves you wondering what just happened like a brilliantly written mystery should and it's perfect that Christie has so many novels to choose from.

​*On a side note, there is an 'And Then There Were None' BBC television version on Amazon Video that did the book pure justice.  A must see after you've read the novel of course!  Be forewarned:  when reading a mystery it's hard to keep the whodunit a secret so make sure your book club stays mum until you get together to discuss.

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Classic and Gothic Fiction

Another highly recommended genre is classic horror. Novels such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man and The Phantom of the Opera. These classics introduced some of the most infamous, notorious, monstrous characters of all time. We have read both Dracula and Frankenstein for our Halloween book clubs and we were amazed how thought provoking and utterly chilling they were. Some of these novels will conjure up a few intense images but don't let that scare you into reading these classic horrors.  Some classic e-book versions of these novels are free so check on Amazon.com first.

​There is 'classic horror' and then there is what I like to describe as 'classic gothic fiction'.  These novels, unlike their cousins, classic horror, have the creepy mansions, foggy damp moors, suspense, mystery and just the right amount of bumps in the night without all that gore.
Try these: Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier, Jane Eyre, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, The Woman in White and The Haunting of Hill House.

Mess with your mind modern day thrillers

Now that we covered a few popular spooky reads of the past what about the more modern contemporary reads that are not too macabre?  Psychological thrillers seem to be all the rave right now and these recently published ones will keep you on your toes and up at night reading of course!  These novels just so happen to have the word 'girl' in the title and not on purpose by me. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.  

Whatever genre your book club decides to select do it posthaste! The holiday seasons are upon us so you want to give your book friends plenty of time to choose and start reading. Sound off below and let me know what spooky read your book club will be reading this Halloween. I will start with mine first: The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse a true-life crime fiction​

Happy Halloween from Book Club Blogger!