3 spooky novels to double the goosebumps this fall

Anticipation builds as the time for Halloween creeps nearer and nearer. The prospect is as spine-chilling as anything eerie and frightening. Some spent months preparing for the big day, so why not make the most of the remaining days while they last?

Here is a list of our favourite modern novels that will get you started for the tricks before you get to the treats.

‘The Haunted Mask’ by RL Stine

If you’re new to novels and a fan of Russell Chuck’s The Mask, this is the perfect book for you. The story follows Carly Beth Caldwell, a young, bullied girl who purchases a frightening mask from a shady store and dreadfully discovers that it has affixed itself to her face permanently.

To her horror, Carly Beth discovers that the mask is in fact a living face that requires a symbol of love to detach itself from the wearer. So begins a frightful journey where Carly Beth must struggle against the constraints of her personality to achieve her end-goal. This thriller will have you in a grip as you worry for this little girl with trepidation tearing up your heart.

'It' by Stephen King

This might look like an intimidating mega novel at first sight. However, it packs a punch that lasts the entire time you're reading. The novel centres Bill Denbrough, who loses his younger brother to a shape-shifting killer clown - a monster in disguise, who reveals himself only to children.

The tale follows Billy and his friends as they navigate horrors invisible to the adult eye. If you're afraid of clowns, maybe this is not the book for you, or it is the perfect one if you like to be thrilled. King brings dread to life through the power of his words alone and paints a picture that will have you grasping for comfort as you are denied any semblance of it.

'The Haunting of Hill House' by Shirley Jackson

This psychological ghost story is set in a haunted mansion and incorporates a series of mysteriously eerie events that plague the protagonist to the point of madness. The lack of explanation from the author's end is what makes this book the terrifying piece of literature that it is known as.

As a reader, you too are cursed to live with Eleanor Vance's insanity as she herself is. Jackson brilliantly plays her audience into questioning what is real and what isn't, and who doesn't love a solid unreliable narrator? This novel is your go-to for spooky season if you want your lines between the paranormal and the psychological blurred.

While tastes are subjective and good literature has no strict definition, these books surely set the scene if you're new to the foreboding loom of the horror genre. So make your Halloween experience as immersive as possible. It'll be over in a day before you know it!

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