Scares, Skeletons, Ghosts, and Ghouls, and just like that the season is upon us, and as the leaves change, the temperature drops, and our tastes become prone to all manner of pumpkin, apple, spice, hearty stew, and October brews, so too do the ambitions for a few scary stories by the fire and under a blanket.
So, as your tea steams thick in front of you, here are some recommendations to keep the haunted vibes strong on a dark and stormy night or a restful Sunday. Here is an extensive list of books and movies to keep the goosebumps and shivers going:
Books
The Troop by Nick Cutter | Staff Pick from Sean Willey, Library Assistant
A Scoutmaster takes a group of Boy Scouts on a weekend camping trip to a remote island off the coast of Prince Edward Island. The excursion turns into a nightmare when a stranger arrives harboring a horrific, bioengineered parasite. As the deadly infection spreads, the boys are forced to fight for survival against the gruesome creature and each other in brutal psychological and physical force.
The Gathering by C.J. Tudor | Staff Pick from Sean Willey, Library Assistant
In a remote Alaskan town where humans coexist with an ostracized colony of vampires, a teenage boy is found brutally murdered and drained of blood. Forensic detective Barbara Atkins is brought to investigate and determine if a government-sanctioned vampire hunt is warranted. Teaming up with the town’s reclusive former sheriff, she uncovers deep-seated community prejudices and historical secrets.
You Weren’t Meant to be Human by Andrew Joseph White | Staff Pick – Tyler Riley, Marketing and Outreach Manager
Set in rural Appalachia, this body horror novel follows Crane, a mute autistic trans man who finds something like belonging in a parasitic alien hive, until an unwanted pregnancy puts everything at risk. The parallels to the body autonomy battles we are living through right now are impossible to ignore and honestly rage-inducing, but White still leaves you with something that feels like hope. That balance is incredibly hard to pull off, and this book does it.”
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix | Staff Pick from Ally Blumenfeld, Grand Street Branch Manager
In the summer of 1970, a group of pregnant teenagers is sent to a strict home for unwed mothers in Florida to secretly give up their babies for adoption. When fifteen-year-old Fern acquires an occult book on witchcraft from a local librarian, the girls suddenly find themselves holding immense supernatural power. They attempt to use magic to reclaim their freedom and bodily autonomy from the controlling adults who govern their lives. However, their power also comes at a dark price.
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
An eccentric and disturbed young governess named Winifred Notty arrives at the dreary Ensor House in 1850s England to tutor a wealthy family’s children. She struggles to suppress her violent, murderous compulsions. As Christmas approaches, members of the manor’s staff begin to mysteriously vanish. Winifred meticulously plots a gruesome series of holiday “gifts” for her employers, leading to a visceral display of gore and dark humor.
The movie is coming to theatres November 2026.
Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
A successful social media influencer inherits a retro Connecticut house following the sudden death of her estranged mother. The property was the site of a traumatic childhood breakdown where her mother claimed a demon occupied the closet. Hoping to flip the house for content, the influencer begins renovations. The construction stirs up old memories and brings out a very real and malicious entity.
Odessa by Gabrielle Sher
Set in Russia during the height of the anti-Semitic pogroms, a grief-stricken father turns to ancient magic to resurrect his teenage daughter, Yetta. Although Yetta successfully returns to the living, she is profoundly changed and realizes her family is hiding a dark secret from her. She soon discovers a monstrous, vengeful creature stalking both the villagers and their enemies in the surrounding woods.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
Set in 1988, high school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been inseparable since the fourth grade. After a night of skinny-dipping in the woods, Gretchen begins showing malicious behavior and extreme mood swings. Abby grows increasingly convinced that a demonic entity has possessed her best friend. Abby embarks on a terrifying, retro-fueled quest to save Gretchen.
Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona
In October 1993, a seventeen-year-old babysitter with a severe anxiety disorder is left in charge of two children for the night. Amy relies on her love of vintage horror films to manage her panic, finding comfort in their predictable tropes. However, the evening turns terrifying when mysterious phone calls and unexpected visitors breach the suburban New Jersey home. By midnight, a dead body lands in the kitchen, forcing Amy to overcome her paralyzing fears.
The September House by Carissa Orlando
Margaret loves her Victorian home, ignoring that it undergoes a gruesome haunting every September where the walls bleed, and ghosts emerge. She maintains a peaceful coexistence with the spirits by following strict rules. Her orderly arrangement shatters when her estranged daughter arrives determined to find her missing father. The hauntings intensify, and Margaret is forced to confront the dark, domestic horrors buried within the house.
A dedicated list to the modern master of Horror himself: Stephen King.
Pet Semetary Horror/Thriller Book Club Member Pick
Dr. Louis Creed moves his family to rural Maine, which sits near a makeshift cemetery of buried pets. Beyond lies an ancient, cursed Mi’kmaq burial ground capable of resurrecting the dead. Driven by overwhelming grief after a family tragedy, Louis ignores warning signs and uses the forbidden land. The entity that returns is malicious, twisted, and alive in things his children once played and cuddled with.
The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon
Nine-year-old Trisha McFarland becomes lost in the dense woods of the Appalachian Trail after wandering away from her bickering mother and brother. Days pass without rescue, and while she experiences dehydration, hunger, and terrifying hallucinations, she maintains her sanity and courage by imagining her idol, Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Tom Gordon, is with her. Meanwhile, a malevolent supernatural presence stalks her.
The Shining
Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic, takes a job as the winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. He moves in with his wife, Wendy, and their young son, Danny, who possesses a psychic ability known as “the shining.” As winter storms trap the family, the hotel’s malevolent supernatural forces manipulate Jack’s unstable mind. Driven to madness, Jack turns violent.
Salem’s Lot
Writer Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine, to write a book about the town’s notorious, abandoned Marsten House. A sinister entity has moved into the estate and is turning the town’s residents into vampires. Ben teams up with a small group of locals to combat the undead threat. Together, they must fight to destroy the master vampire before the entire community is lost to darkness.
You Like it Darker (novellas and short stories)
This anthology compiles twelve chilling short stories and novellas. The collection features a mix of supernatural horrors and psychological thrillers, including the sequel to the novel Cujo. Each tale reminds us that the dark side of our world is often closer than it appears.
Movies
The Vanishing (1988) | Staff Pick – Rosary Van Ingen, Information and Digital Services Librarian
Rex and Saskia, a young couple on vacation, stop at a service station. There, Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.
Children of the Corn (1984) | Staff Pick – Alex Sherlock, Library Assistant
Based on the short story by Stephen King. A young couple is trapped in a remote town where a dangerous religious cult of children believes that everyone over age 18 must be killed.
(Available on Kanopy) House on Haunted Hill (1959) | Staff Pick – Ally Blumenfeld, Grand Street Branch Manager
Eccentric millionaire Frederick Loren invites five strangers to spend one night locked in a haunted old mansion on a dark and stormy night to earn $10,000 each. A twisted game of frights, suspicion, and murder ensues.
(Available on Kanopy) The Ring (2002) | Horror/Thriller Book Club Member Pick
Journalist Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) investigates a cursed videotape rumored to kill its viewers seven days after watching it. As she uncovers the tape’s dark origins and the tragic story of a ghostly girl named Samara, Rachel races against time to break the cycle before it claims her and her son.
(Available on Kanopy) The Fog (1980) | Staff Pick – Sean Willey, Library Assistant
Local legend tells of a ship lured onto the rocks of Antonio Bay and enveloped by a supernatural cloud as it sank. The myth says that when this mysterious fog returns, the victims will rise from the depths seeking vengeance.
(Available on Hoopla) Let the Right One In (2008) | Staff Pick – Sean Willey, Library Assistant
A Swedish Vampire tale about a young boy who is constantly being bullied at school but makes friends with the new girl in the neighborhood. When strange disappearances and murders start happening in the town, all signs point to the new girl and her father, who only come out at night.
(Available on Hoopla) Hereditary (2018)
When the matriarch of the Graham family passes away, her daughter (Toni Collette) and grandchildren begin to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry, trying to outrun the sinister fate they have inherited.
(Available on Hoopla) The Innkeepers (2011)
After over one hundred years of service, The Yankee Pedlar Inn is shutting its doors for good. The last remaining employees, Claire and Luke, are determined to uncover proof of what many believe to be one of New England’s most haunted hotels. As the inn’s final days draw near, odd guests check in as the pair of ghost hunters begin to experience strange and alarming events that may ultimately make them footnotes in the hotel’s long, unexplained history.
(Available on Hoopla) Midsommar (2019)
A young American couple, their relationship foundering, travel to a fabled Swedish midsummer festival where a seemingly pastoral paradise transforms into a sinister, dread-soaked nightmare as the locals reveal their terrifying agenda.
(Available on Hoopla) Nosferatu (1922)
A vampire count ravages the countryside in this classic silent horror movie. For its 100th anniversary, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrors, directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck, has been given a brand-new score by innovative composer Hugh Doolan.
(Available on Kanopy) Friday the 13th (1980)
A group of teenage camp counselors attempts to reopen an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but a mysterious, relentless killer stalks them.
(Available on Kanopy) Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
As a New York couple is expecting their first child, the young mother-to-be suspects her friendly elderly neighbors and her husband are hatching a devilish plot against her and her baby. The 2-part TV series starring Zoe Saldana also available on Kanopy.
(Available on Kanopy) The Wicker Man (1973)
When a young girl mysteriously disappears, a police sergeant travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate. But this pastoral community, led by the strange Lord Summerisle, is not what it seems.
(Available on Kanopy) Sleepaway Camp (1983)
At Camp Arawak, teenagers learn the joys of nature and each other. But when these happy campers begin to die in a series of horrible accidents, they discover that someone, or something, has turned their summer of fun into one of slasher horror.
Classics to revisit
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (Then take a quick ride on the Metro-North to the town! Washington Irving is also buried there.)
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe (Then take a trip to Poe’s cabin in the Bronx)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
With your Hoboken Public Library card, you receive 20 free borrows on Hoopla and 60 tickets on Kanopy a month. If you are not set up with these services yet, please ask a library staff member or email reference@hobokenlibrary.org.
Want to keep the spooks going year-round? Join the library’s Horror/Thriller Book Club by searching events or email sean.willey@hobokenlibrary.org for details.
Comment below with your recommendations.
Written by:
Sean Willey
Information and Digital Services Assistant
