10 Spooky authors to read for the spooky season

Everything has its season — clothes, makeup, TV shows, and movies — where different things will be in style depending on the time of year. Books also have their own seasons, and in the month of October, it is spooky book season — which includes horror, thrillers, and lots of psychological thrillers. If you want to partake in spooky book season but have no idea where to start, no need to fear — these 10 spooky authors have books that will satisfy your horror book hunger.  

Stephen King

King is known for his horror books but some of his big horror books are “It,” “The Shining,” “Pet Cemetery,”  and “Salems Lot.” If you’re in the mood to add some recommendations to your movie watch list as well, most of his most popular novels have been produced into pretty good movies. 

James Patterson

Patterson writes within a couple different genres, one of them being thrillers. Some of his more recent books are “Juror #3,” “The President is Missing,” “Womens Murder Club” series, and “13 Minute Murder.” Many of his thriller books are novel forms so you can pick up a book without the worry of being in the middle of a series.

Gillian Flynn: 

Two of Flynn’s books will sound familiar — one is a movie, and the other is a mini TV series through HBO, but the books are honestly better than the show and movie.  Check out “Sharp Objects,” “Gone Girl,” and “Dark Place” to read during the Halloween season. Flynn’s novels are sure to give you goosebumps. 

John Saul

Saul writes suspense and horror books ranging from supernatural, hauntings, crimes, and much more. If you want a wide range of different types of horror books, this is the author for you. “House of Reckoning,” “Suffer the Children,” “Midnight Voices,” and “Sleepwalk” are Saul’s most notable novels. 

AJ Finn

Finn only has one book — “Woman in the Window” — and it has been a popular hit, with plenty of twists and turns. The book is even being made into a movie, which is code for “we are going to turn this really good book into a movie and try and make it just as good.” Read the book before you see the film to make this decision for yourself.

Caroline Kepnes

Kepnes is also one of those authors that has recently had a book put into a TV series on Netflix and is coming out with a second season notably in December — “You.” Her book “Hidden Bodies” is also great for spooky season.

Peter Blatty

Blatty wrote the “The Exorcist,” which was a book before the movie — and if you’ve seen the movie you know how creepy it is, so just imagine reading it. If you haven’t seen the movie, the book is about a demonic possession of an 11 year old girl and the attempt to exorcise the demon.

Ira Levin

Levin’s “Rosemary’s Baby” — another book that has been turned into a creepy movie — is a classic, so why not read it and be freaked out? If you haven’t heard of the storyline, it follows a mother who believes that her newborn is not from the earthly world. The success in this book in the 1960’s helped make the horror genre in the success it is today. 

Alex Michaelides

Published earlier this year, “The Silent Patient” has had many reviews about how suspenseful it is and how people can’t put it down, wanting to know what happens. A wife has acts of violence towards her husband, and a therapist who is obsessed with trying to figure out why the wife did what she did. An unsettling story to set the ambiance for your Halloween holiday spirit. 

Alex North

Also published this year, North’s “The Whisper Man” is a horror fiction, psychological thriller, about a 20 year old murderer who has been caught, but as the same type of crimes continue, and the investigator wants to solve the crime. How the Whisper Man would target his victims was by whispering at their windows at night, and if that isn’t creepy and sound super realistic like and episode of “Dateline,” then you are a braver soul than most.