I’ve seen this meme from The Broke and the Bookish quite frequently on several of the bookish blogs I follow, and I finally decided to jump on the bandwagon. I only wish I had done so sooner because the past two memes I would have loved to answer! I think I’ll still do them though, maybe for the next two meme questions which don’t strike my fancy as much :)

So without further ado, here is my post for the Top Ten Best Books To Read During Halloween (in no particular order):

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë – I love the gothic elements in this novel, and it is guaranteed to freak you out if you’re like me and find yourself reading until the wee hours of the morning.
• The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe – I first read this short story in 8th grade and it is still freaks me out just thinking about what the main character does at the end (no spoilers from me)! If you love books and themes that involve disguises, then check this one out.
• The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe – Poe is the master of short stories, especially gothic ones. I would recommend any of his works for Halloween reading, but this one is full of creepy imagery.

• Macbeth by Shakespeare – This is what I am currently reading, and it definitely fits the Halloween atmosphere with its witches, murder, and ghosts. And it also revolves around the theme of “nothing is as it appears.”
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling – To me, this is the most Halloween-ish of the Harry Potter books. There is lots of mystery and suspense, as well as other dark gothic elements. I love the film version of this movie as well, especially how everything seems to have this foggy grey filter.
• A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner – (I picked a French cover for this one because the English one was wayyy to creepy) this is (so far) the only thing I’ve read by William Faulkner that I actually like, and that may be because of how it is written. There are no 10-page long sentences! And I do love the suspense he creates.

• The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell – Another short story I was introduced to in the 8th grade (I had an amazing English teacher!). The premise: being hunted (literally) by a psychopath.
• Dracula by Bram Stoker – A classic. I don’t know if I need to say more about why this is on my list.
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – Another classic, but this one surprised me when I first read it in 12th grade. I enjoyed it a lot more than most of my peers did at the time. Fun fact: Shelley originally wrote this for a horror story competition she was having with some friends, including her husband Percy Shelley and Lord Byron.
• The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne – Ok, so half of these entries are short stories, but I love short stories! This one has a great moral and a climactic ending.

What are some of your favorite spooky reads?