Creepy books to read for Halloween

Halloween is almost here! I love a good book that gives me the creeps. I don't need blood, guts and gore to give me that eerie feeling. Give me suspense, good pacing and some mystery and I'm a happy camper.

Here are some of my favorite books that I would recommend not reading before bed.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

A classic haunted house story with a wonderful Gothic atmosphere. Sarah Waters takes her time slowly building the suspense but I was never bored. The characters and their relationships are well done and really held my interest.

Season of Passage by Christopher Pike

Sci-fi, horror, fantasy this book has it all. A crew is sent to Mars to find out what happened to a group of scientists sent to Mars that never came back. This book literally gave me chills, why it has not been made into a movie or tv show by now I don't know. Season of Passage is not a YA book despite Pike being known for that. Read with the lights on for sure.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

This book takes some time and dedication. The gist of it there's a haunted house, mysterious tapes and a story within a story within a story. The pages of the book itself are like nothing I've seen before. Words form a spiral into the center of the page, sections are blacked out and some pages may only have one or two words written on it. Danielewski wants you to feel like you're losing your mind and it works.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Unwind is a YA novel and gave me the creeps but not in the traditional scary story way. A war is fought over abortion and the compromise to end the war is that parents can chose to "unwind" their children between the ages of 13 to 18. If a child is unwound their body parts are harvested and sent off for use elsewhere. There were quite a few passages I had to reread because they were so powerful and chilling.

Feel free to share some of your favorites in the comments.