By Alana Joli Abbott
It's the day after two of the year's best holidays—Halloween, and 1/2 Price Halloween Candy Day—and I'm loathe to let that Halloween feeling go as November settles in. Among Team Outland, I'm well known as one of the least scare-friendly writers and editors. (If you want scares, that's Cullen Bunn's territory!) But I love Halloween with a passion, and I love books that may not mention Halloween, but have that fall-friendly flair, with a side of spooky.
That means I'm extra excited for Kate Martin's latest Myst & Labrynths saga, The Silent One, to release on Tuesday! Kate's gothic fantasy is packed with demons, soulless, witches, seraphs, and a missing god. It's all those Halloween vibes (and it's only about as scary as, say, Dragon Age, which makes it my cup of dark fantasy).
In honor of the release of The Silent One, I rounded up eight other must-read titles that offer low-scares but high Halloween atmosphere, whether the season is mentioned or not. Some are cozier, some offer a mystery, and others are great to share with middle grade or YA readers in your reading circle. So brew a cup of pumpkin spice, light an orange candle, and check out these books.
The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning
Billed as Knives Out but with witches, Henning's YA novel is part con, part murder mystery, and a whole lot of fun. Ruby and Wren are normal teenagers working at a renaissance festival to save money for college. When a mysterious woman approaches them with an offer—pretend to be her granddaughters at one single dinner party, and she'll pay them more than they've made all summer—Ruby's suspicious, but Wren jumps at the opportunity. What could it hurt to make an old woman happy?
Of course, there's more to it than that, and the girls become embroiled in magical politics as a the head of an important magical family is murdered—and subsequently locks them in the family estate until her murder is solved. Abandoned by their mysterious benefactor, Ruby and Wren have to stick to their story if they have a hope of getting out of the spell alive—and they have to find hidden relics and help solve a murder, too. Alternating between Ruby's point of view and the voice of Auden, one of the magical teens also stuck in the locked room mystery, Henning conjures a tale of deceit, where readers will root for all the characters to get down to the truth of things—and find a way forward once everything comes to a head.
Full Shift by Jennifer Dugan and Kit Seaton
If you're more fond of weres than witches, this original graphic novel might be just your thing. Teen werewolf Tessa doesn't fit in with her pack. She's afraid to shift—she can't shift fully—which makes her feel broken, especially after the death of her father. When her secret crush Maddie promises to reveal a secret, Tessa's convinced Maddie's also a supernatural. Tessa shows off her werewolf side as Maddie comes out as LGBTQ—and in the disastrous moments after, Tessa's sure she's lost another person she cares about.
Then: Hope. Some werewolf hunters supposedly have a cure, and Tessa thinks that getting rid of her wolf would solve all her problems. But she'll need Maddie's help to find them—and when those hunters aren't what Tessa expected, she realizes that everything she's done has put both Maddie and her pack in danger. For readers who like stories about being true to yourself and celebrations of found family, Tessa's tale is to howl for.
The Glass Scientists volume 2 by S. H. Cotucno
For the aficionado of mad scientist stories, you've never seen Jekyll and Hyde like this! Cotucno (of Gravity Falls and Owl House) concocts a creepy combination of gothic horror stories: Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau, and a host of others experimenting with the weird and macabre populated these pages. It's Dr. Jekyll's dream to have a place where weird science can be explored, respectably. The society he founded is having their grand exhibition, and everything must go right for the society to gain the funding from patrons to make its way into the future. That means that he's got to keep Hyde from making trouble—an impossibility, even after Jekyll locked Hyde away in volume one.
Now releasing all Jekyll's nightmares, Hyde's determined to get control of their body and make his way to the Blackfog Bazaar. Where Hyde goes, chaos follows, putting everything at risk, not just for the society, but for Jekyll himself. Cotucno manages to make both Jekyll and Hyde sympathetic characters and surrounds them with a host of others who bring heart to the story: wildlife scientist Jasper and their indominable society manager Rachel have an entire substory of their own, with romance and friendship at the center. Playing in this version of London is a delight, and volume 3 (and the story's conclusion) can't come out soon enough!
Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas
This sequel to The Sunbearer Trials starts with the end of the world. After winning a series of divine challenges, winner Teo is told to kill the lowest scorer in the games. The sacrifice meant to renew the sol stones, protective talismans from the god (and sun), Sol. But Teo knows it's wrong, and as a trouble maker, he's never been afraid to say no and stand up for what he believes before.
It's just that this time, his refusal means that the biggest, baddest evil gods of their world are set free from their prison (thanks to Teo's young friend Xio, secretly the son of Venganza, head of the obsidian gods). It also means the sun goes out. And the obsidians steal most of the other semidioses—demigods—and imprison them in the most dangerous part of their world.
It's not looking great for Teo and his friends.
But starting at the lowest point means at least things can't get worse. Teo and his friends set off to restore the sun and trap the obsidian gods for good—but with monsters roaming the world and mortals in danger, just getting to obsidian territory is going to be as big a challenge as the games. Thomas switches the narration between Teo's and Xio's perspective, giving insight into both sides of the story (and showing Xio's continued growth and development, especially as the truths of the world's history are revealed). The Latinx setting mixes mythology and modern life, with the semidioses watching videos on TuTube when they're not fighting off stone jaguar monsters. The obsidian gods and the monsters they rule over are plenty creepy enough for the Halloween vibes, but stay for the heroism and awesome cast of characters.
House of Frank by Kay Synclaire
Halloween and All Saint's Day run back to back, and while the one focuses more on ghosts and goblins, the other makes room for grief. House of Frank is much the same; while the cast involves ghosts, cherubs, fairies, and witches, the soul of the story is about a woman whose sister has died—and who doesn't know how to cope with the hole her death left.
Saika is a witch who doesn't ride a broom; she says she prefers walking. The truth is, she has limited magical power remaining, and none of it her own. Instead, she draws on what's left of the magic of a fallen star, using enchantments instead of innate magic like most witches. Though she's on a mission to fulfil her sister's final request—being planted in Ash Gardens, a place where her ashes will grow into a tree—Saika finds it hard to let go, especially as she becomes involved in the lives of the people at Ash Gardens. Something's going on with Frank, the keeper of the gardens, and strange storms threaten to destroy them altogether. In order to help others, Saika may just have to learn to accept help herself. Synclaire creates a loveable group of eccentric characters, all of whom have suffered loss, and all of whom deserve to find joy in the lives that lay ahead of them.
Hexes Go Well with Tequila by LeAnna Ehrsam
Ehrsam's debut novel starts from a place of grief, as Ursula realizes that she's become invisible in her own life. A woman in her late 30s, she's made herself small in order to fit into the place she's allowed herself to have, reducing her size in the presence of a partner the narrative indicates she once loved. As she makes the realization that she's mourning a future that seems bleak, a new door opens: A mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, promising her a place to stay if only she decides to leave. And so she does, taking her dog with her to a house in Salem, Massachusetts, where magical things happen so frequently, she wonders if she's dreaming the whole experience.
After agreeing to become the caretaker of the Lost Souls House, she begins to form friendships with women in the community—who may or may not believe in magic—and though she tries to steer clear of a certain grumpy bachelor, her friendship with his niece, Bess, draws her into his orbit. When a modern day witch hunt begins to threaten Ursula's new life, she's not about to let herself become invisible again! Pair this one with coffee (black) and maybe some snuggles from a local dog. (Borrow a friend's if you don't have your own! Cat snuggles may be an acceptable substitute.)
Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan
Many readers who grew up on Percy Jackson are now adults—and getting to revisit the first person voice of Percy from the original five books, where an older Percy is trying to get recommendation letters from the gods so he can go to college, is such a joy. Wrath of the Triple Goddess is a literal Halloween book, as the story is set over that holiday. Percy is hired to pet sit for Hecate, goddess of magic, over her sacred holiday (during which she receives offerings of candy from mortals, of course). It should be an easy assignment, except that Hecate seems to have left temptations for Percy and his friends, and if they fail, chaos breaks loose. (The hellhound and polecat also break loose. It's as chaotic as it sounds.)
This novel and the previous in this sub-trilogy of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (The Chalice of the Gods) really feel like warm hugs to the readership. They're low stakes, because readers who have moved ahead in the Trials of Apollo series already know Percy will succeed. But then, getting into college and living the life you choose has personally high stakes, and seeing that side of Percy's life, when he's not just saving the world, feels more grounded and relatable, even for adults who can hardly see their college days in the rearview mirror. The huge Halloween party in this one makes it a perfect way to revisit Halloween, no matter when you pick it up to read it. (Bonus points if you spot the cameo of Outland game designer and author Carlos Hernandez!)
Pick up any of these books while you're waiting for the release of The Silent One, which hits bookstore shelves on Tuesday, November 5!
Alana Joli Abbott the Editor in Chief of Outland Entertainment, where she also co-edits anthologies like Never Too Old to Save the World. She's a reviewer and game writer, whose multiple-choice novels, including Choice of the Pirate and Blackstone Academy for Magical Beginners, are published by Choice of Games. She is the author of three novels, several short stories, and many role-playing game supplements. You can find her online at VirgilandBeatrice.com.