Halloween is just a few weeks away — and we’re ready for spine-tingling thrillers and creepy suspense! Check out these brand-new books, including YA, horror, and even some truly scary historical nonfiction. We’ve got witches, murders, sinister alter egos, and psychic seances… which is your favorite flavor of terror?
The Dead House
Author: Dawn Kurtagich
Twenty years ago, a terrible fire destroyed Elmbridge High, killing three teenagers and causing another student, Carly Johnson, to disappear. The main suspect is Kaitlyn, whose disturbing diary is found in the ashes… except that “Kaitlyn” doesn’t exactly exist: she’s the alter ego of Carly Johnson. Say what? Through psychiatric reports, witness accounts, and diary entries, the mystery of what happened that night finally comes to light.
The House
Author: Christina Lauren
This edgy YA romance is penned by writing duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings (aka Christina Lauren). Delilah and Gavin have been sweet on each other since childhood, so when Delilah comes back to her hometown, they waste no time in starting a romance. As their relationship progresses, Delilah discovers some strange things — like that Gavin lives in a spooky haunted house at the edge of town. Delilah is determined to have Gavin at any cost… but she has no idea what price she’ll have to pay.
Library of Souls: The Third Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs
The latest installment in this series of fantasy novels, creepily illustrated with vintage photographs, was also featured in our Best Books of Fall 2015 list. A dangerous madman is on the loose and orphanage director Miss Peregrine is in danger again. Peculiar children Jacob and Emma must make a daring rescue, traveling through a war-ravaged landscape and deciding who to trust. Can Jacob be the leader that the Peculiars expect him to be? Get caught up before the movie comes out in 2016.
The Nest
Author: Kenneth Oppel, Illustrator: Jon Klassen
This dark tale is a blend of the sinister and the surreal. Steve suffers from anxiety and his family’s emotional stress after his newborn little brother, Theodore, is diagnosed with a rare disorder. When a strange grey-and-white wasp stings Steve, he develops the ability to speak to the wasp queen, who offers to replace the sickly baby with a new one. Steve accepts the queen’s offer and things get weird: visits from knife-wielding strangers, frightening phone calls from “Mr. Nobody,” and Theodore’s sharply declining health. Reality and nightmare overlap in the haunting pencil drawings that illustrate this quick read.
What We Saw
Author: Aaron Hartzler
Sometimes human nature is the scariest thing of all. In this debut novel, inspired by the events of the Steubenville rape case, a boozy house party is the scene of a terrible crime. Kate Weston sort of remembers what happened that night — but when a picture of Stacey Stallard, passed out and slung over a local guy’s shoulder, hits the Internet, she realizes she missed a lot. Stacey files charges against four of Kate’s classmates, and suddenly the whole town is taking sides. As some unsettling facts emerge, it becomes clear that somebody knows exactly what happened… but will they tell the truth?
The Witch of Lime Street: Séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World
Author: David Jaher
If real-life scares are more your thing, you’ll enjoy this larger-than-life battle between famous magician Harry Houdini and the “Witch of Lime Street,” a fraudulent psychic. The Spiritualism movement of the 1920s promised after-death communication with loved ones lost in WWI or the Spanish flu epidemic. So-called psychics and mediums became celebrities — and made lots of money. The Witch of Lime Street, aka Margery, was endorsed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who urged her to enter a contest sponsored by Scientific American that sought proof of psychic powers. Four out of the five judges were convinced… but Harry Houdini, illusionist-turned-fraud-debunker, was sure she was faking it and determined to expose her.
The Witches: Salem, 1692
Author: Stacy Schiff
This comprehensive history of the Salem witch trials arrives just in time for Halloween. You probably know the general outline from school: teen girls having strange seizures and convulsions, widespread hysteria tearing communities apart, and hasty trials ending in hangings. But bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff dives deep into the historical record, arguing that the Salem witch trials were a crucial turning point for women in American history. Witches, man!
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That Salem history by Schiff really looks interesting. I think that’s moving up my reading list. And thanks for *this* list!