Actually Scary Books and Films for Halloween 2020

Photo by Raquel Reyes.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The leaves are turning, the nights are getting cosy, and I’ve been playing The Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack on repeat for a week. To me, October (yes, the whole month) is a time for scary media consumption and revelling in all things that go bump in the night. This year, I’m reviving my actually scary books and films for Halloween from 2019 and giving you a healthy recommendation list for this spooky season. Once again, I’ve given you some categories so you can decide just how scary you want to go. Enjoy the frights!

NOTE: MANY OF THESE FILMS AND NOVELS CONTAIN SOMETIMES GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF DEATH, GORE, SELF-HARM, DISORDERED EATING,  AND PHYSICAL AND/OR MENTAL ABUSE. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU USE DOESTHEDOGDIE.COM TO RESEARCH POTENTIALLY DISTRESSING CONTENT. IF THE CONTENT IS PARTICULARLY STRONG OR GRAPHIC THERE IS A NOTE AT THE END OF THE RECOMMENDATION.

Halle Berry as Jordan in The Call (2013).

Creepy

White is for Witching, Helen Oyeyemi

A multiple-perspective gothic horror that leans into one of my favourite horror tropes: the haunted house. A gorgeously written, labyrinthine story that won’t completely freak you out but will likely compel you to keep the lights on.

The Call (2013)

Halle Berry stars in this thriller about an emergency operator that receives a call from a teenage girl trapped in the car trunk of a kidnapper. It’s a great premise for a thriller and will hopefully give you some scares.

Follow Me To Ground, Sue Rainsford

This is a southern gothic tale about a ‘girl’ named Ada and her father who have the power to cure human beings by ripping open their bodies and placing them in an ominous place they call the Ground. As Ada’s life becomes tangled with a boy from the local town, she finds herself torn between her power, the Ground, and the life she wants to live.

Attack The Block (2011)

A pre-Star Wars John Boyega leads in this simultaneously scary and funny film about inner-city London teenagers that have to fight off flesh-eating alien invaders in their block of flats.

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

After receiving a disturbing letter from her newlywed cousin, young socialite Noemí heads to High Place, the family home of her cousin’s new husband. In this isolated mansion, Noemí must uncover the secrets of the house and its family if she is going to save both her cousin and herself. This book is a slow burn but certainly spooky. It also has a very interesting take on the concept of a haunted house that creeps up on you as the plot simmers.

Sennia Nanua as Melanie in The Girl with All the Gifts (2017)

Chilling

Sour Candy, Kealan Patrick Burke

A short novella (67 pages in my copy) that’s good for dipping your toe into the scarier end of horror. Phil and his son Adam appear to be nothing more than a normal father and son, enjoying days in the parks, the zoo, and the museum. However, there is nothing normal about this pair: Phil is a prisoner and had never met this child until a few weeks ago.

No Exit, Taylor Adams

On a trip from Colorado to Utah, college student Darby Thorne is caught in a blizzard that forces her to halt her journey and wait out the snow storm with four strangers at a highway rest stop. When attempting to make a call, Darby discovers that one of these strangers has kidnapped a girl and locked her in their van. With no phone reception and no way to escape, Darby has to figure out who the kidnapper is and find a way to save herself and the girl. This was one of the most intense reading experiences of my life and if you’re looking for a truly intense, wintery thriller then I can’t recommend it enough. 

The Vegetarian, Han Kang

This is an extremely difficult novel that absolutely chilled me to my core. The book is told in three parts, focusing on a woman named Yeong-hye who suddenly stops eating meat after terrible dreams of animal slaughter. It is told from the perspective of her husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister, with interludes from Yeong-hye herself. It’s a dark story of mental decline, the uncanny, and human appetite. Content warning: disordered eating, self-harm, sexual abuse, suicide.

The Girl with All the Gifts (2017)

This film is a brilliant take on post-apocalyptic zombie horror. It follows Melanie, a young girl who is immune to a fungal infection that has turned the majority of the population into flesh-eating ‘hungries’. Melanie’s immunity may be the last chance of humanity to find a vaccine to stop the fungus wiping out the population.

Vera Farmiga as Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring (2013).

Petrifying

The Troop, Nick Cutter

This is the most disturbing book I’ve ever read, and probably will ever read. This is body horror, parasite horror, and wilderness horror at their best. I still get nightmares. The book follows a small group of boys who head into the Canadian wild with scoutmaster Tim Riggs for three days of outdoor activities. When their campsite is disturbed by an intruder they have to struggle to survive as their group is invaded by an invisible killer. Content warning: body horror, graphic animal abuse, gore.

The Conjuring (2013)

A haunted house horror that is the best of the Conjuring Universe. This film follows a large family that moves into a farmhouse in Rhode Island. From the moment they move in, unsettling events start to occur that lead them to uncover the curse of a witch that once lived in the house. As by-the-numbers as it sounds, this film is truly scary and kicked off one of the most successful horror franchises of all time.

Rings, Kōji Suzuki

Following the unexplained deaths of four teenagers in Tokyo, a reporter decides to launch a personal investigation into the mystery. This book is the inspiration for the wildly successful 90s and 00s Japanese and American film franchises. The book goes deeper and darker than the films and is filled with the kind of slow burn suspense that only a book can give you.

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† This post is not sponsored, however as an affiliate we may receive a small percentage from any purchase made through The Attic On Eighth's Bookshop page dedicated to this reading list at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!

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Eliza Campbell is Culture Editor at the Attic on Eighth. When she’s not reading, writing, or in a rehearsal room, she loves to sit in galleries, libraries, and coffee shops listening to period drama soundtracks and watching the world go by.