8 Semi-Scary Books for Halloween

I don't know about anyone else reading this, but I'm not big on the scary/frightening things. Books, movies, TV shows (sorry to all of those that I started and never finished). And I'm not big on gore and overkill blood either. Which makes it difficult to find scary books that I 1) enjoy and 2) aren't overly terrifying. Which is why I thought I'd put together this list of books for anyone else who wants to sleep at night, or is just looking for a little less scary read. (Although I would still not suggest reading most of them at night.)

1. The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

This book is about children ghost-hunters in a sort of alternative Victorian England. It's one of the scariest books on this list (for me) but really well written and just the sort of thing I like. It's very much like Ghostbusters in Victorian times and has awesome characters and worldbuilding.

2. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline is a well know, creepy little kids book. It's about a girl named Coraline (could you guess?) and the house she moves into. It's kind a scary version of the Chronicles of Narnia or Wonderland. They also made a movie off of it, but I haven't seen that because I'm a bit nervous that it might too scary for me.

3. Dracula by Bram Stoker

A very classic, but very spooky book. I really enjoyed the story and seeing where all the vampire lore came from. If you want a book about vampires, without reading trash like Twilight, go for this one. It's got it all. Creepy castles, vampires, giant bats, blood sucking, all the trimmings.

4. 100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson

I've talked about this one before, so you can read my full review there. But it's another great semi-scary read that's meant for kids, but anyone an enjoy. And there are two more books and a prequel, I believe, so if you like this one, there's plenty more for you to read. It's also got lots of classic elements and interesting twists.

5. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

This is kind of an X-Men book, full of children called peculiars who have unique abilities. There's also time travel and creepy monsters and weird old black and white photos. It's a very unique concept and there are now three more books in the series, so plenty to enjoy. I'd love to watch the movie, to see what they did, but I'm undecided about whether that would be a good idea or not.

6. Roseblood by A. G. Howard

I love the Phantom of the Opera, so this Phantom inspired novel is perfect for fans of it. It can be scary, and is a bit more adult than all the others on this list. It's got energy sucking vampires, and violins, and singers and scary music schools in the country. Everything you might want for Halloween. And just look at that cover.

7. Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith 

Crytids are fiction monsters (Loch Ness monster, yetis, chupacabra, things like that), but in this series they're real. Which means that it can get a bit scary. But they're really well written, fascinating books that actually contain a lot of science and deductions and such.

8. Lock and Mori by Heather W. Petty

This is the only true mystery on this list, and is based off of Sherlock Holmes, only in this one both Sherlock and Moriarty are teenagers in modern London, and Moriarty is a girl (a clever twist which is one of the reasons I like it so much). But like any Sherlock based thing, it can be a bit frightening at times. Still a good read.

Have you read any of these books, or  have any to recommend? Do you like things super scary or semi-scary? Tell me in the comments.

Suggested posts:

My Favorite Book Tropes
My Favorite Fictional Detectives