Spooky season is officially here, and what better way to celebrate than with a few good ghost stories? Thankfully, there are plenty of spine-tingling tales from the last few years perfect to help you into the Halloween spirit. Read on!
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Beatriz knows marrying Don Rodolfo is the only way to save her life. After her father is executed, it’s the only way people will believe she’s on the right side. But after she arrives at her new home, Hacienda San Isidro, Beatriz quickly realizes it isn’t the sanctuary she hoped for. Invisible eyes follow her everywhere, strange messages appear on the walls, and Rodolfo’s sister refuses to enter the house at night. After hearing rumors about the fate of Rodolfo’s first wife, Beatriz must take action before the house destroys her completely.
The Hacienda is a fantastic supernatural gothic novel, and Beatriz is the perfect gothic heroine. She’s newly married but isolated and prone to an active imagination. Thanks to Isabel Cañas’ prose, the ghosts of Hacienda San Isidoro will stick with you.
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The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
Not only is Jake Livingston gay and one of the only black kids at St. Clair Prep, he can also see dead people. He’s mostly able to keep to himself until Sawyer, a school shooter with unfinished business, starts haunting him. Sawyer has plans for his afterlife, plans that involve Jake. As bodies pile up, all the rules Jake knows about ghosts and life itself go out the window, and high school becomes a true game of survival.
A literary successor to Get Out, The Taking of Jake Livingston deals with queer trauma and microaggressions alongside homophobia, bullying and abuse. Jake and Sawyer’s tale is mysterious and bloody, and Ryan Douglass has created a ghost story for the ages.
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Elatsoe has the power to summon the spirits of deceased animals, a skill inherited from her Lipan Apache family. When her cousin is murdered in a town hiding dark secrets, Elatsoe is determined to uncover the truth and protect her family. She must rely on her skills and friends to expose the grim reality behind the picturesque Willowbee.
Elatsoe is more than just a simple ghost story. Darcie Little Badger’s YA novel combines mystery and adventure with some scare-your-pants-off horror. There’s also one of the best ghost dogs you’ll even read about.
RELATED: 6 More Spooky WEBTOON Series to Read for Halloween
Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
After his best friend Eddie dies, Andrew is left with a strange inheritance: a new home, friends he didn’t ask for and Eddie’s ghost. As Andrew tries to figure out what really happened to Eddie, he discovers how little he knew about the person he trusted the most.
As far as ghost stories go, Summer Sons is gruesome. The apparition haunting Andrew is truly terrifying, and Lee Mandelo merges fantasy, horror and mystery into a genre-bending whirlwind.
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
In 1982, Viv Delaney takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. There, she encounters something eerie and unsettling. In 2017, her niece Carly returns to the Sun Down to investigate her aunt’s disappearance. But the sinister mysteries of the Sun Down are still very much alive…
What’s scarier than a haunted motel? With a twisty narrative moving back and forth in time, Simone St. James’ The Sun Down Motel will send plenty of chills down your spine.
These are just a few of the ghastly ghost stories published in the last few years. All of them are available for purchase at your local independent bookstore or Bookshop.org — which one will you check out first?
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