11 hair-raising Halloween reads
BY Emily Powter-Robinson
29th Oct 2024
Cosy on up under a blanket and light that pumpkin-spiced candle, because spooky season is upon us! Whilst some like to mark the start of autumn by perfecting their soup repertoire or rewatching Gillmore Girls for the umpteenth time, here at CBC we’re all about the seasonal reads.
Whether you’re after hair-raising hauntings, wicked witches or ghosts and ghouls, this reading list, featuring CBC former students and the teaching team, has something for everyone.
WITCHES
Now She is Witch by Kirsty Logan
Witches and poison and revenge, oh my! When two women team up to destroy a man who has wronged them, they uncover dark secrets that entangle them with dangerous adversaries. Now She is Witch is an empowering read which conjures a world where women grasp at power through witchcraft, sexuality and performance.
Kirsty is a tutor on our six-week online Writing Gothic & Supernatural Fiction course. Learn how to write your own ghost stories, witches, horror, creatures of transformation and the occult.
She is also the tutor on our brand new one-day intensive Zoom course Writing Your First Page. Learn the vital ingredients to a compelling story-opening – then write your first page and get expert feedback. Apply by 11 Nov.
Read our interview with Kirsty
The Drownings by Hazel Barkworth
Dark academia meets witch-lit in Hazel Barkworth's second novel. When several young women are assaulted on a university campus, the institution's history of witch trials soon comes to light. Readers of The Things We Do to Our Friends, Weyward and Promising Young Woman will be hooked by this intoxicatingly atmospheric novel.
Find out more about Hazel's time studying with us
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Emilia Hart’s debut novel, Weyward, is sure to cast a spell over you this Halloween. A woman fleeing an abusive relationship heads for Weyward Cottage and makes a startling discovery about her ancestors in this multigenerational story of untameable women.
Read our joint interview with Emilia Hart & her literary agent Felicity Blunt
MAGIC
The Temptation of Magic by Megan Scott
If witch-lit isn't your thing but you still want a touch of magic, you'll want to pick up Megan Scott's YA fantasy novel. Following Nicole – an Empyreal with the ability to kill any deadly supernatural, think Serpent and Dove meets A Discovery of Witches. Forbidden romance, enemies-to-lovers, and forced proximity, meet your new romantasy obsession.
Read our interview with Megan Scott
HAUNTINGS
The Other Side of Mrs Wood by Lucy Barker
What do you get if you cross two competing clairvoyants with Victorian London? Lucy Barker’s historical comedy, The Other Side of Mrs Wood. Transport yourself to the 1800's and get ready for a spine-tingling séance in this ghostly debut.
Lucy studied on our six-month Writing Your Novel course
Hear Him Calling by Carly Reagon
With a brilliant build-up of dread, and characters you really care about, Hear Him Calling is a tense, creepy exploration of place, memory and obsession. Carly Reagon's second novel will keep you up through autumn nights.
Find out more about Carly's time studying with us
HORROR
Where the Dead Wait by Ally Wilkes
Did someone say creepy Victorian Gothic horror story? Queen of Halloween Ally Wilkes (and CBC Editor) tells the story of a disgraced Arctic explorer who sets out on a voyage to track down his former crewmate, only to be confronted by the ghosts of his cannibalistic past...
Read Ally's 2023 Halloween recommendations
Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley
CBC Tutor and award-winning novelist Andrew Michael Hurley is no stranger to horror and ghostly and gothic tales. Starve Acre was published by John Murray in 2019, with a film adaptation starring Morfydd Clark and Matt Smith released in 2023.
Andrew Michael Hurley is a frequent tutor on our online Writing Your Novel course.
Find out more about Andrew's approach to teaching
BODY HORROR
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
If you're already looking ahead to next year's spooky season (or perhaps your love of creepy reading lasts all year round), you'll want to preorder The Lamb. A gripping, sinister folktale set in contemporary Cumbria for fans of Sophie Mackintosh, Angela Carter, Daisy Johnson, Margaret Atwood and Julia Armfield.
In this gothic coming-of-age tale, debut novelist Lucy Rose explores how women swallow their anger, desire and animal instincts.
Lucy studied on our Breakthrough Mentoring Programme in 2022.
Watch our TikTok with Lucy Rose
LITERARY TALES
Things Don’t Break on Their Ownby Sarah Easter Collins
If literary thrillers are your vibe, Sarah Easter Collins’ haunting and twisty story doesn’t just terrify and shock, but leaves you intrigued and deeply moved. Told through the lens of memory, it’s an unforgettable story of sisterly bonds and the power of female friendship.
Find out more about Sarah's time studying with us
Women Eating by Claire Kohda
For a book with a little more bite, you'll want to add Women Eating to your reading list. A young, mixed-race vampire must find a way to balance her deep-seated desire to live amongst humans with her incessant hunger.
Claire Kohda is a judge for the Discoveries Prize 2025. Enter by 13 Jan 2025.
Find out more about the Discoveries Prize judges
The books linked in this blog can be found on our Bookshop.org shop front. Curtis Brown Creative receive 10% whenever someone buys from our bookshop.org page.
See more Halloween book recommendations on our TikTok.
If you're writing your own strange, spooky story join our Writing Gothic & Supernatural Fiction course taught by Kirsty Logan.