Great Halloween Reads

I've always loved Halloween and dressing up. I've been a pirate (my dad even made me a cutlass out of wood), Sherlock Holmes, Medusa. I also spent my teen years watching every scary movie with a group of my friends. But, I don't remember reading many books with a scary, creepy or eerie vibe except for Stephen King (thanks to my college roommate, Michelle!). But that might be changing with the help of author Amy Sampson-Cutler who is stopping by today with a list of some great spine-tingling reads just in time for Halloween.

Amy is on a WOW blog tour with her latest book: To Have and to Hold, to Love and to Kill: An Agreement of Souls. You can check out a great author interview HERE.

More About Amy Sampson-Culter

Amy Sampson-Cutler, author of To Have and to Hold, to Love and to Kill: An Agreement of Souls and A Shadow of Love, is a writer who earned her master's degree in creative writing from Goddard College. Her work can be found in Slut Vomit: An Anthology of Sex Work, Tales to Terrify, WOW! Women on Writing, The Pitkin Review and more.

She is the Executive Manager at Mount Peter Ski Area, where she grew up skiing in the

winter and dreaming up stories in the summer. Her favorite days are spent knocking around story ideas with her husband. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband, son, and a ridiculous amount of furry family members. 

Website: https://amyshippiehut.com/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/AmysHippieHut

Instagram: https://instagram.com/amyshippiehut

More About To Have and To Hold, To Love and To Kill

In her past life, after causing the death of a little boy, Nikki was so devastated that her soul mate promised to murder her in their next life, to make her pay for what she had done. With no knowledge of this, Nikki lives for years as an addict, down on her luck, until she is rescued by Ken, who helps her with all aspects of her recovery. With the help of a few new friends and a cat named Destiny, Nikki turns her life around. What she doesn’t know is that someone out there is destined to kill her, and he is watching, his passion for killing her growing stronger each day.

The question is: Can an agreement made between two souls be broken, and how far will one soul go to keep a promise made in a desperate attempt to save the other?

My Favorite Books to Read on Halloween

By Amy S Cutler

Halloween month and scary stories go together like ice cream and chocolate syrup. Like

puppies and snuggles. Like pasta and wine. Even if you don’t like any of these things,

you catch my drift – nothing completes a darkening fall day quite like a scary story and

some candlelight.

I am always down for a scary book, or movie, but this time of year just begs for it. As we

round the bend on Halloween, I would love to share my absolute favorite scary reads

with you. If you need help getting into the Halloween spirit or are looking for more to

love, check out one of these books, as they are sure to please any seeker of fright!

Needful Things by Stephen King – In Needful Things, a mysterious shop opens in the

small town of Castle Rock, Maine, run by the mysterious Leland Gaunt. He sells items

that seem to fulfill each customer's deepest desire—but at a sinister cost. As

townspeople trade their souls and commit cruel pranks for their treasures, tensions

escalate into chaos and violence. Gaunt manipulates the town’s darkest impulses,

revealing the fragility of morality and community. Sheriff Alan Pangborn must confront

Gaunt and the evil infecting Castle Rock before it consumes everyone. The novel

explores greed, temptation, and the destructive power of unchecked desire.

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson - The Amityville Horror tells the story of the Lutz

family, who move into a house in Amityville, New York, where a mass murder occurred a

year earlier. Soon after settling in, they experience disturbing paranormal

phenomena—cold spots, foul odors, swarms of flies, and ghostly apparitions. George

Lutz becomes increasingly erratic, and the family is plagued by terrifying visions and

unexplained events. After just 28 days, they flee the house in fear. Presented as a true

account, the book explores themes of possession, psychological torment, and the thin

line between reality and supernatural horror, sparking decades of debate and

adaptations.

Psycho by Robert Bloch - Psycho is a tense psychological thriller centered around a

lonely motel owner and his complex relationship with his domineering mother. When a

young woman on the run checks into the secluded Bates Motel, her sudden

disappearance sets off a chain of events that unravel dark secrets buried beneath the

surface. Bloch masterfully explores themes of isolation, identity, and the hidden horrors

lurking in everyday life. The novel builds suspense through eerie atmosphere and

psychological depth, keeping readers on edge until its chilling conclusion.

Dracula by Bram Stroker - Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a gothic horror novel chronicling

the battle against the ancient vampire Count Dracula. Told through letters and diary

entries, the story begins with Jonathan Harker’s eerie visit to Dracula’s castle in

Transylvania. After Dracula relocates to England, he preys on Lucy Westenra,

prompting her friends—led by Professor Van Helsing—to investigate. As Dracula’s

influence spreads, the group races to stop him before he claims more victims. The novel

explores themes of fear, superstition versus science, and the clash between modernity

and ancient evil. Dracula helped shape vampire mythology and remains a cornerstone

of horror literature.

Salem’s Lot by Stephen King - Stephen King’s ’Salem’s Lot follows writer Ben Mears

as he returns to his childhood town of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine, to confront past traumas

and write a novel. He soon discovers that the town is falling under the sinister influence

of a vampire named Kurt Barlow, who has taken residence in the eerie Marsten House.

As townspeople begin to vanish or change, Ben joins forces with a small

group—including a priest and a young boy—to battle the spreading evil. The novel

blends classic vampire lore with small-town Americana, exploring themes of fear, faith,

and the quiet invasion of darkness.

Classic Tales of Horror - featuring works by Henry James, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley,

Edgar Allan Poe, and others. This collection is over 800 pages and is the perfect

Halloween read if you’re looking for spine-chilling stories from the masters of the genre.

From haunted mansions to foggy hills and cursed laboratories, the stories evoke eerie,

immersive worlds perfect for Halloween night, or anytime you’re looking for a good, old

fashioned and beautifully written scare.