As we enter fall’s shorter days and cool and dark nights, it’s the perfect time to curl up with a good book. But sometimes we crave a book that takes us somewhere a little less comfortable. And given the interest our audiences have shown in suspenseful dramas like Turn of the Screw and Rebecca, we think this might appeal to you too. Here are eight recommendations from GBH staff that take us into darker places. Some are traditional spooky stories while others bring you into worlds that challenge and unsettle you. And because it’s that time of year, we made sure a few bring you back to school.
1. Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
Babel follows a group of students in the early 1800s studying in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, aka Babel. A center of translation and magic, the school is both the pinnacle of the pursuit of knowledge but also a driving force of colonization. The main character must decide if the place he dreamed of is worth betraying his motherland for. Combining historical fiction and fantasy, this book has very high stakes, deep emotion, and dark explorations of imperialism and discrimination. “It’s academia and magic! What more could you ask for?” said Cathleen Cusachs from Marketing and Communications.
2. Ninth House Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
This book, recommended by Madison Goldstein from Development, is definitely for those seeking the truly scary as it brings together academia, demons, and dangerous magic. Stephen King called the first book, Ninth House, the best fantasy novel he has read in years. In this book, Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the only survivor of a mass homicide. Mysterious benefactors send her to Yale to learn about secret societies, and she finds herself facing forbidden magic and those who wish to raise the dead. This novel is followed by Hell Bent and then Dead Beat released this year.
3. Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
Readers may know Mandel from Station Eleven, and this speculative fiction novel is just as captivating says Heather Leet from our Development office. Set in Los Angeles in 2031, the United States has collapsed but the constraints of the civil war are now over. People celebrate their new freedom after years of curfews. At one house party, a person emerges who looks so much like the host that he could be the man’s twin, and then the host vanishes into thin air. This story of surveillance states, doubles, shadow worlds, and splintered timelines will keep you guessing.
4. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
In this haunting story, Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud leads eight trick-or-treaters on a journey to find their missing friend. They journey through space and time, visiting ancient Egypt and France, and eventually Mexican cemeteries on el Día de Los Muertos. Can they save this young person from a terrible end before it’s too late? “I have been reading this every year to get me into the Halloween spirit,” says Heather Leet from Development. “It really brings Halloween to life.”
5. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
In this gothic romantasy, a young woman hides a dangerous secret: she shares her mind with the Nightmare, a spirit who protects her but demands a price. When she crosses paths with a highwayman (the treasonous nephew of the King), the two team up on a race against time to cure the kingdom’s dark infection before the Nightmare completely takes over her mind. This book came to us from Megan Stokes of our Development Department.
6. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
A mysterious woman washes ashore on a remote island. The island is home to a seed vault, a cohort of researchers, and a family of four who serve as groundskeepers. But why is no one else left on this island? The woman is determined to find out. “It’s a suspenseful, beautiful, slightly spooky story of family trauma, the environment, and spirits of the land,” says Dana Barraco from our Product/IT Department “The landscape is hauntingly beautiful, full of mist and wild storms.”
7. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Certainly many would pick The Lottery when thinking about spooky stories from Jackson, but this gothic tale is another great selection says Emma Muminovic from Development. It features an isolated and deeply disturbed, possibly murderous, family. Merricat Blackwood and her sister have always lived in the castle and Merricat’s rituals and magic keep them safe. But when a cousin comes to visit, bringing in the outside world, the past threatens her family once again. What will Merricat do to protect the ones she loves and their way of life?
8. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
In this thriller, pregnant teenage girls are housed in a maternity home in 1970, afraid and separated from their families. When a librarian teaches them witchcraft, they feel power for the first time. But what is the price they will pay for this magic? “This book is about girlhood, friendship, and magic as much as it is about serious topics, like how pregnant people have historically been treated in the healthcare industry and broader society, and how the most vulnerable people in the world can also be the most powerful. It’s very spooky and the witch stuff makes it great for readers who love fall because of Halloween,” said Gilda Geist from CAI. While Hendrix books are often intensely scary, this one is a bit more approachable, but still pushes those boundaries so be prepared.
