It’s August 2023 and I’ve just found your channel by looking up fall all year because I’m so sick of summer and the heat and SO ready for fall. In need of the fall vibes and just so happy I found your channel. Binge watching all your fall/autumn videos!
Ok first let me just say that NO ONE does an aesthetic background like you!😩🎃 Second I immediately called my local book store to put Fangs and Dracul on hold for me and I’ll be binging both this weekend so thank you!! Love your videos as always I’m your biggest fan 🥺
I was coming to comment something similar! My college offered a vampire literature class with one of the strangest professors I’ve ever had a class with. Their name was actually Dr. Hitchcock and they infused horror into all of their literature classes, even English 101, lol. So all of my college English classes had a very spooky literature atmosphere. So fun.
Love that edition of 'The Haunting of Hill House' by the way. I read it for the first time just last month (based on your recommendation) & then watched the 1963 movie right after. As you said, it's subtle horror. That's what I liked about it, that it was much more psychological than causing an intense feeling of fear just because...
Arghhh, the scariest thing about this is that my tbr pile has just increased by a ton of books!! You give the best recommendations and totally describe the books with so much enthusiasm, it's impossible not to want to read them all!! Thank you. Love your content
I’m currently reading, The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow..it tells the story of the Headless Horseman from her point of view! Perfect for October! 🎃
I bought Fangs because of you and I LOVED it. I got so much meaning from it. THANK YOU for the great recommendations. I bought Scritch Scratch but have not read it yet.
You speak of books so well you very often make me want to read them, like almost all of them lol ! My favourite spooky books are Stephen King’s. I love how his books can be horrifying and/or « horrifyingly »moving depending on the story or chapter...
If you're in the Dracula frame of mind, I totally recommend The Historian- by Elizabeth Kostova. It's about the daughter of an oxbridge professor solving the mystery of why he suddenly disappeared. She chases the tale all through western and eastern europe and turkey. It's a great atmospheric read and makes me want to be a professor in some small town in new england. Sorta similar vibes to Discovery of Witches (you'd also probably love), but more dark.
I wanted to read a book for adults and one for younger audiences so I read The Broken Girls and afterwards Scritch Scratch and it was such a beautiful spooky fall reading experience. I love both of these books so much!
I’m reading the lost ones and home before dark right now!!! I always love your book recommendations! My TBR list is HUGE right now and I’m pretty sure 50% of the books are from your videos. The books are always so good!
As I am my usual late to the party self, am watching this in 2022 in preparation for spooky season! One book I have ALWAYS read during autumn (I recommend doing so on a stormy night, by fire or candlelight) is Frankenstein. But, a couple of years ago, I discovered Asylum by Madeline Roux. SO SPOOKY! SO GOOD! AND THE TWIST! I recommend the series!
I love the Darren Shan series! Especially the first book, Madame Okta is just so good! It's old-school vampires, circus with a freak show and spooky vibes!!
“Slade House” by David Mitchell is a great adult horror, almost leaves with a cliffhanger and left me thinking about it for months! Also “The Old Willis Place” by Mary Downing Hahn is a great middle grade horror, great twist and storyline!
Two really good spooky middle grade books: Small Spaces and Dead Voices by Katherine Arden. The first one is total Fall vibes and takes place in Autumn. The second is Winter.
I just finished Dracula so Dracul sounds really good! My fave spooky-not -scary-but-gothic novel is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield; a must read!!
I just finished Frankenstein (because you recommended it in one of your other videos) and I LOVED it!! So far, I'd say that's probably my favorite "spooky" novel, or And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Also, I found your channel a few weeks ago and I just want you to know that you are now like my FAVORITE youtuber I seriously love your videos so much they make me so happy and you've made by TBR list grow by like twenty books but hey, I'm not complaining! So anyway thanks for what you do and keep it up!!
So excited to see Dracul getting a rave review because I found a 25 cent copy at a library sale and had only heard bad things about it so I was hoping to hear good things!
I just read Dracul this year too!! And it was amazing!!!! I absolutely adored it and also thought it was better than Dracula. Also I don’t know if you know, but Dacre Stoker also wrote a sequel to Dracula about Bram Stoker’s son- I haven’t read it but I saw it at the thrift store the other day and was so excited to see that he’d done another book 😁
I can highly recommend "Never the Bride" by Paul Magrs. It's about two older ladies who investigate mysteries in the Northern England town of Whitby. It's all told entirely from the point of view of one of the ladies, Brenda, who has a mysterious past. If possible, it's best to go into it without knowing much else about it beforehand, as there are some excellent surprises in it. It's spooky and atmospheric, rather than being particularly scary.
It doesn't matter if I would have picked up these books by myself but you always make me fall in love with every single one of them. You present them with so much love and passion that I can't not love them too😅🥰❤
This is a great list! I’ve never heard of Dracul before but your explanation of it sounds really intriguing. My favorite spooky books are mystery/thrillers like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, classic Agatha Christie books and Edgar Allen Poe’s writings.
There were a few books on your list that I definitely want to add to mine as I've been compiling my own Autumn reads. A few you might like: 1. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury, a story both creepy, atmospheric, sad, hopeful, and nostalgic, involving a mysterious carnival with a frightening secret; 2. Powers of Darkness, by Bram Stoker, a different version of Dracula, retranslated back into English; 3. The October Country, by Ray Bradbury, a collection of Halloween appropriate short stories; 4. This Body's Not Big Enough for the Both of Us, by Edgar Cantero, just imagine if Jekyll and Hyde were a Bogart-style private detective; 5. Jane, by Aline Brosh McKenna and Ramón K. Pérez, a modern, graphic novel retelling of Jane Eyre; 6. Comes Like Shadows, by Welwyn Wilton Katz, a girl joins a production of Macbeth only to find it may be more intentionally cursed than she first suspected... There are just so many amazing, fun, and interesting reads out there!
I just finished watching Maven's newest video with Dacre and here you are talking about Dracul :D I really need to read it! And I think you're really going to love the ending in "We Have Always Lived in a Castle." I still have no idea, how can a book be on one hand so unsettling, and on the other cozy and quite comforting :DDD I'm living for Shirley Jackson's writing style.
I love Riley Sager's books and thought Home Before Dark was a creepy fun read! I recommend Alex North's The Shadows. Definitely had me creeped out and surprised by the twists!
Sounds cheesy but one of my all time favorites other than the turning of the screw …. Is The Doll in the Garden , also Stone Words was a good one growing up definitely spooky vibes . But as I got older I was a Gothic romance/ horror fan and loved anything classic ghost story, just started reading The winter people and it’s amazing ghost story!
Thank you so much! I definitely try to purposefully include books that aren’t always talked about. Because who wants to watch a video all about books they’ve already heard of in 5 other videos? 🧡 So thank you!!
Ohh Dracul has been on my physical TBR shelf since last year, and I do believe you've just convinced me that now is the time to read it! Can't wait! The Lost Ones I read earlier in the year and really enjoyed it...lots of twists and turns towards the end iirc. Adding Scritch Scratch to my purchase list for sure haha. Great video as always, lady!
JUST what I needed! Thank you, my friend! I love Haunting of Hill House. I am currently reading Home Before Dark. I have We Have Always Lived in a Castle on hold at the library. So I definitely appreciate your recommendations!
I actually still really love goosebumps. Not sure if it’s the nostalgia or what- but I just love them. Along with books I also read as a kid like “wait till Helen comes,” etc. idk they make some pretty scary books for kids lol. Wait till helen comes was actually pretty horrifying, and surprisingly pretty sad.
Frankenstein is my favorite spooky classic!! Nothing is better 😅 but I recently read a middle grade novel The World’s Greatest Detective and it sounds like something you’d like. I’m not sure if kids would think it’s spooky. But it was really exciting trying to solve the mystery and definitely gave me autumn vibes.
You have to read Katherine Arden’s small Spaces and the sequel. That one scared me. I loved Home Before Dark. I watched Haunting of Hill House and nearly peed myself 😂. I added all these to my TBR.
Love, love, love your channel! I’ve always loved to read but you have made me get back into it full swing during my favorite time of the year!! 🧡👻 The book that gave me nightmares was The Amityville Horror.
That warms my heart 🥺🧡 So happy you’ve gotten back into reading. And omg I need to read that one! It’s been on my list forever. I’ve listened to multiple podcast episodes about it, and it sounds so awful! Definitely one I need to read soon.
A new favorite I found this year is September House by Carissa Orlando. It’s a fun haunted house story. I’m looking forward to the books you recommended!
Yay! A middle grade I’ve never heard of, thank you! My favorite spooky book I’ve read so far is Small Spaces by Katherine Arden. It’s a middle grade book perfect for Halloween and very spooky at times (but heartwarming too). It’s a book for book lovers. HIGHLY recommend
My husband & I were part of a paranormal investigation group before our son was born. I’m always drawn to ghost hunting stories because of this. Just finished the Haunting of Hill House, followed by Home Before Dark. I still can’t decide how I feel about Hill House. The ending was too vague for me. Home Before Dark was awesome. The pacing of the story was great. It’s a new favorite!
I don't know if you are into Stephen King at all...but his book 'Salem's Lot is so good! It is my favorite book by him, easy to follow...not as long as some of his others...I just love it.
I remember as a child Goosebumps scared the heebie jeebies outta me lol. I still love them for the nostalgia now, and I'm not ashamed to say that, even as a full-grown adult, R.L. Stine's Haunting Hour tv show still creeps me out in the best ways. I'll definitely be checking many of these out. My favorite spooky novel is Christine by Stephen King.
Definitely a great middle grade book with Halloweeny vibes is “Nightmares” by Jason Segal (i think that’s how you spell his name?) It’s a super great read especially if you’re into Halloween related but not super scary books. Also the book “Asylum” scared me soooooo much but it was also sooooo good- but I literally could not finish the second one because it was so scary. also desi- your videos are literal masterpieces.
Have you read A Night in the Lonesome October? It's not super scary but perfect for Autumn and Halloween! A friend and I read a chapter a day each day in October and finished it on Halloween and it was perfect.
I'm loving all your autumn videos so much!! And all your recs as well. It's so rare for me to find a booktuber who makes me add so many books to my tbr :p I also don't do modern horror but I love spooky, atmospheric books and gothic classics. My fav spooky read for this time of year is my old, worn, sweet-smelling copy of The Legend of Spooky Hollow. I also love The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde - a funny sweet haunted house story. And I usually try to read a few short stories by Edgar Allen Poe or Algernon Blackwood. In manga/anime, I love Mushishi, and Natsume's book of Friends - there are spirits/yokai but only mildly spooky and more emotional like Violet Evergarden anime (which I also love and recommend for the nostalgic feels and aesthetic, even though it has nothing to do with spooky books or autumn!).
So grateful that I stumbled upon your channel 🥧😚 I've watched almost all of your videos lol. I was hoping that you'd mention any Riley Sager book as Im a huge fan of his. funny enough, Home before dark was a book of his that took me so long to read because of how scary it actually is! Its the most perfect spooky read. lots of love xxx your new biggest fan.
I am late coming to this channel, so I am answering a 2 year old question; favorite spooky book. I must answer “Something Wicked This Way Comes” by one of my absolute favorites, Ray Bradbury. I adore this book! I don’t find it scary because it’s so beautifully written! I love the words, the sentences, the descriptions! However, I am recommending this to everyone because I adore it so much - and my friends that read it, tell me it’s super scary. Hmm. Well, there you have it!
I discovered the middle grade book Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh this year. Loved it and I recommend it. My absolute favorite author to read this time of year is Wendy Webb. Loved The End of Temperance Dare. It is a paranormal, gothic, thriller.
I know I'm a bit late, but The October Country by Ray Bradbury is one you should definitely add to your list for next year! It is a collection of spooky short stories that I highly recommend!
I adore The October Country!! I read it every autumn ☺️ From the Dust Returned is another one of my favorite from Ray Bradbury books, the Halloween imagery is so good 👌🏻☺️
Shirley Jackson is a master of atmosphere & unease and that's what you get with her books. I do need to recommend the 1963 British Horror classic The Haunting directed by Robert Wise. It's EXCELLENT. Really, all British Horror is, but referencing this adaptation here. The special effects still hold well today. They executed some really interesting effects, satisfyingly spooky. The spiral staircase scene - GAHHHHH!!!!
should I read Dracula before reading Dracul? I'm very very intrigued and want to read both (Dracul a little more though) and am just curious if I HAVE to read one before the other or if it doesn't particularly matter. great recommendations Desi!! I absolutely love that you recommend books outside of the mainstream. these are the books I want to read, the hidden gems, the gothic, the classic, the historical, the mysterious, GIVE IT ALL TO ME
Desi, have you read any of Michael Norman's "Haunted America" books? There are 4 books in the series, and I'd recommend them to anybody looking for engaging "real" ghost stories with an American History theme. Some of my other underrated favorites are Leslie Rule's "Ghosts Among Us," "Coast to Coast Ghosts," and "Ghost in the Mirror." BTW, if you ever make it out to San Jose, CA, be sure to check out the Winchester Mystery House!
Your outfit is just perfect! You look like your ready to go sit in the Great Hall at Hogwarts with all the floating jack-O-lanterns floating overhead. Great books too!! And I love the bats on the wall behind you. 😀
Desi, I need to know where you got that dress (...shirt?). It's so pretty! And great video, as always - I plan to read Dracula in November, so I might listen to the Dracul audio book later. Some spooky books I love: Frankenstein, Rebecca, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Sandman. Oh, you might also enjoy the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. It's YA and has quite a few spooky elements
Hey lovely, im currently reading The Whitby Witches, its set in one of my favourite gothic towns here in the UK where the Abbey is that inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula, im finding it super spooky and loving every page! Thank you for this little bit of happiness in UA-cam form! I've added so many books to my wishlist! Hugs and stay safe!!!
@@DarlingDesi its really good so far. Im 150 pages in and its creepy and atmospheric, i love whitby so much though so im a bit biased, I think you would enjoy it!!
Oh she asked for spook recommendations.... I've read many favourites just this year alone: Middlegame, If we were Villains, the secret history, The Picture of Dorian Gray... yes I have been on a dark academia kick hehe and for middlegrade ABSOLUTELY read the Potkin and Stubs series, but I also really liked City Of Ghost... If you want s good vampire series I def recommend giving The Morganville Vampires a try :)
Simone St. James has written way more than 2 books! She has a whole bunch of 1920s era stories that all take place in the same world. They are awesome.
Oh I know! I was just saying that this was her second novel. Because I know a lot of people talk about her newer novels, but I don't see as many people talk about her older ones :) This was my first one by her though. I can't wait to read more!
The cover of Home Before Dark glows in the dark. I discovered that by accident last night, and it made me happy, and I had to share, lol
Ummm whoa! I need!
My spooky novel is jack the ripper.
Yeah, but the book sucks.
@@karamarie6781I was about to pick this up to read!! Why does it suck?
It’s August 2023 and I’ve just found your channel by looking up fall all year because I’m so sick of summer and the heat and SO ready for fall. In need of the fall vibes and just so happy I found your channel. Binge watching all your fall/autumn videos!
Ok first let me just say that NO ONE does an aesthetic background like you!😩🎃
Second I immediately called my local book store to put Fangs and Dracul on hold for me and I’ll be binging both this weekend so thank you!! Love your videos as always I’m your biggest fan 🥺
Haha maybe no one besides YOU!! Literal queen of spooky aesthetic 🙌🏻 And yay! I think you’ll love Fangs. The CUTEST little graphic novel ever 😫👌🏻
Ohhhh I'm so glad to see my two fav booktubers commentating for each other..so cute...YOU ARE SO MUCH ALIKE ...The Winter Queen n The Autumn Faerie.❤
I took a class at my college called Wizards and Vampires in Film, TV, and Literature. Without a doubt one of my favorite experiences in academia!
Okay THAT SOUNDS AMAZING 😍
I was coming to comment something similar! My college offered a vampire literature class with one of the strangest professors I’ve ever had a class with. Their name was actually Dr. Hitchcock and they infused horror into all of their literature classes, even English 101, lol. So all of my college English classes had a very spooky literature atmosphere. So fun.
@@KBurns7 I love it!!!!
Wow!
Love that edition of 'The Haunting of Hill House' by the way. I read it for the first time just last month (based on your recommendation) & then watched the 1963 movie right after. As you said, it's subtle horror. That's what I liked about it, that it was much more psychological than causing an intense feeling of fear just because...
Arghhh, the scariest thing about this is that my tbr pile has just increased by a ton of books!! You give the best recommendations and totally describe the books with so much enthusiasm, it's impossible not to want to read them all!! Thank you. Love your content
I’m currently reading, The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow..it tells the story of the Headless Horseman from her point of view! Perfect for October! 🎃
I love all things Sleepy Hollow!
I bought Fangs because of you and I LOVED it. I got so much meaning from it. THANK YOU for the great recommendations. I bought Scritch Scratch but have not read it yet.
You speak of books so well you very often make me want to read them, like almost all of them lol !
My favourite spooky books are Stephen King’s. I love how his books can be horrifying and/or « horrifyingly »moving depending on the story or chapter...
If I’m missing fall time I always go back to your channel!
If you're in the Dracula frame of mind, I totally recommend The Historian- by Elizabeth Kostova. It's about the daughter of an oxbridge professor solving the mystery of why he suddenly disappeared. She chases the tale all through western and eastern europe and turkey. It's a great atmospheric read and makes me want to be a professor in some small town in new england. Sorta similar vibes to Discovery of Witches (you'd also probably love), but more dark.
I wanted to read a book for adults and one for younger audiences so I read The Broken Girls and afterwards Scritch Scratch and it was such a beautiful spooky fall reading experience. I love both of these books so much!
Wait, why aren’t more people talking about Fangs?? It looks so adorable! Thank you for introducing me to it - literally just ordered it!
I’m reading the lost ones and home before dark right now!!!
I always love your book recommendations! My TBR list is HUGE right now and I’m pretty sure 50% of the books are from your videos. The books are always so good!
As I am my usual late to the party self, am watching this in 2022 in preparation for spooky season! One book I have ALWAYS read during autumn (I recommend doing so on a stormy night, by fire or candlelight) is Frankenstein. But, a couple of years ago, I discovered Asylum by Madeline Roux. SO SPOOKY! SO GOOD! AND THE TWIST! I recommend the series!
I love the Darren Shan series! Especially the first book, Madame Okta is just so good! It's old-school vampires, circus with a freak show and spooky vibes!!
Dracul seems great! We have always lived in the castle is in my TBR for this fall 😊😊😊
“Slade House” by David Mitchell is a great adult horror, almost leaves with a cliffhanger and left me thinking about it for months! Also “The Old Willis Place” by Mary Downing Hahn is a great middle grade horror, great twist and storyline!
Two really good spooky middle grade books: Small Spaces and Dead Voices by Katherine Arden. The first one is total Fall vibes and takes place in Autumn. The second is Winter.
Ahhh I adored Small Spaces & Dead Voices! So spooky!! 🙌🏻 I think I liked Dead Voices the most. But they’re both so good!
I have become addicted to your channel this week❤
Omg the woman in black was one of the first books that ever made me genuinely terrified - so much better than the on screen adaption!!
I just finished Dracula so Dracul sounds really good! My fave spooky-not -scary-but-gothic novel is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield; a must read!!
I just finished Frankenstein (because you recommended it in one of your other videos) and I LOVED it!! So far, I'd say that's probably my favorite "spooky" novel, or And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
Also, I found your channel a few weeks ago and I just want you to know that you are now like my FAVORITE youtuber I seriously love your videos so much they make me so happy and you've made by TBR list grow by like twenty books but hey, I'm not complaining! So anyway thanks for what you do and keep it up!!
So excited to see Dracul getting a rave review because I found a 25 cent copy at a library sale and had only heard bad things about it so I was hoping to hear good things!
I just read Dracul this year too!! And it was amazing!!!! I absolutely adored it and also thought it was better than Dracula. Also I don’t know if you know, but Dacre Stoker also wrote a sequel to Dracula about Bram Stoker’s son- I haven’t read it but I saw it at the thrift store the other day and was so excited to see that he’d done another book 😁
I can highly recommend "Never the Bride" by Paul Magrs. It's about two older ladies who investigate mysteries in the Northern England town of Whitby. It's all told entirely from the point of view of one of the ladies, Brenda, who has a mysterious past. If possible, it's best to go into it without knowing much else about it beforehand, as there are some excellent surprises in it. It's spooky and atmospheric, rather than being particularly scary.
It doesn't matter if I would have picked up these books by myself but you always make me fall in love with every single one of them. You present them with so much love and passion that I can't not love them too😅🥰❤
Same!
This is a great list! I’ve never heard of Dracul before but your explanation of it sounds really intriguing. My favorite spooky books are mystery/thrillers like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, classic Agatha Christie books and Edgar Allen Poe’s writings.
Omg I loved Fangs! It was both wonderfully gothic and wonderfully fun, so happy to see this on someone's channel 🧛
I've been watching the goosebumps show on Netflix and the stories are pretty spooky and creative. I loved the books as a child
There were a few books on your list that I definitely want to add to mine as I've been compiling my own Autumn reads. A few you might like:
1. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury, a story both creepy, atmospheric, sad, hopeful, and nostalgic, involving a mysterious carnival with a frightening secret; 2. Powers of Darkness, by Bram Stoker, a different version of Dracula, retranslated back into English; 3. The October Country, by Ray Bradbury, a collection of Halloween appropriate short stories; 4. This Body's Not Big Enough for the Both of Us, by Edgar Cantero, just imagine if Jekyll and Hyde were a Bogart-style private detective; 5. Jane, by Aline Brosh McKenna and Ramón K. Pérez, a modern, graphic novel retelling of Jane Eyre; 6. Comes Like Shadows, by Welwyn Wilton Katz, a girl joins a production of Macbeth only to find it may be more intentionally cursed than she first suspected... There are just so many amazing, fun, and interesting reads out there!
Desi! Oh my goodness I read inquiry in to love and death.. LOVED it!! Thank you so much for recommending!!
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole is fun. It's weird and was said to have been the beginning of Gothic Horror fiction.
anyone else rewatching to get into the season 🧡🖤🧡🖤
I have to say this once again: I love the aesthetic of your autumn/halloween videos!
I just finished watching Maven's newest video with Dacre and here you are talking about Dracul :D I really need to read it! And I think you're really going to love the ending in "We Have Always Lived in a Castle." I still have no idea, how can a book be on one hand so unsettling, and on the other cozy and quite comforting :DDD I'm living for Shirley Jackson's writing style.
The way you got so excited over Dracul!! I ordered it! I’m so excited to read :)
Omg yay! It’s definitely a bit long and dense at times, but SO GOOD!! And make sure to read all of the authors note at the end. It blew my mind 🤯
The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman is a must read. It’s a spooky page turner!
I love Riley Sager's books and thought Home Before Dark was a creepy fun read! I recommend Alex North's The Shadows. Definitely had me creeped out and surprised by the twists!
I’ve heard a lot about The Shadows! It definitely seems creepy. Thank you for the recommendation! 🧡
I love all of these suggestions! I’m adding most of these to my must read list! Especially Fangs!
Home Before Dark was so good! I bought it in a whim and I am so glad I did.
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu is PERFECT for this season. It’s a vampire story that came out before Dracula.
Sounds cheesy but one of my all time favorites other than the turning of the screw …. Is The Doll in the Garden , also Stone Words was a good one growing up definitely spooky vibes . But as I got older I was a Gothic romance/ horror fan and loved anything classic ghost story, just started reading The winter people and it’s amazing ghost story!
You learn something new everyday! Bram Stoker was actually crazy...
you always have the best recommendation videos!! i love that you highlight so many books that not a lot of ppl talk about on booktube - thank you!
Thank you so much! I definitely try to purposefully include books that aren’t always talked about. Because who wants to watch a video all about books they’ve already heard of in 5 other videos? 🧡 So thank you!!
@@DarlingDesi I really really appreciate it and how much work you put into your vids! ✨🧡
Favorite Classic - The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ohh Dracul has been on my physical TBR shelf since last year, and I do believe you've just convinced me that now is the time to read it! Can't wait! The Lost Ones I read earlier in the year and really enjoyed it...lots of twists and turns towards the end iirc. Adding Scritch Scratch to my purchase list for sure haha. Great video as always, lady!
JUST what I needed! Thank you, my friend! I love Haunting of Hill House. I am currently reading Home Before Dark. I have We Have Always Lived in a Castle on hold at the library. So I definitely appreciate your recommendations!
I actually still really love goosebumps. Not sure if it’s the nostalgia or what- but I just love them. Along with books I also read as a kid like “wait till Helen comes,” etc. idk they make some pretty scary books for kids lol. Wait till helen comes was actually pretty horrifying, and surprisingly pretty sad.
Frankenstein is my favorite spooky classic!! Nothing is better 😅 but I recently read a middle grade novel The World’s Greatest Detective and it sounds like something you’d like. I’m not sure if kids would think it’s spooky. But it was really exciting trying to solve the mystery and definitely gave me autumn vibes.
You have to read Katherine Arden’s small Spaces and the sequel. That one scared me. I loved Home Before Dark. I watched Haunting of Hill House and nearly peed myself 😂. I added all these to my TBR.
I second that re. Small Spaces
I would add the word "Delightful" along with Darling to describe Desi. Thank you for the recommendations, I will most definitely get the book Fangs!
Aww you’re so sweet 🥺 thank you!! And yesss I hope you love Fangs! 🧡 It’s so good!
Love, love, love your channel! I’ve always loved to read but you have made me get back into it full swing during my favorite time of the year!! 🧡👻 The book that gave me nightmares was The Amityville Horror.
That warms my heart 🥺🧡 So happy you’ve gotten back into reading. And omg I need to read that one! It’s been on my list forever. I’ve listened to multiple podcast episodes about it, and it sounds so awful! Definitely one I need to read soon.
I am so happy that you came back, your videos are beautiful and even more I love your book recommendations!!
It's my favorite booktube channel!! 💛
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King!!! A true terrifying vampire story x
Read this long ago when it had just came out and I thought about it at random times for years. Thanks for re-reminding about it!
A new favorite I found this year is September House by Carissa Orlando. It’s a fun haunted house story. I’m looking forward to the books you recommended!
Yay! A middle grade I’ve never heard of, thank you! My favorite spooky book I’ve read so far is Small Spaces by Katherine Arden. It’s a middle grade book perfect for Halloween and very spooky at times (but heartwarming too). It’s a book for book lovers. HIGHLY recommend
Can’t wait to watch this after I’m done work! I’m sure I’ll be adding more books to my ever growing list... 👻 🎃
My husband & I were part of a paranormal investigation group before our son was born. I’m always drawn to ghost hunting stories because of this. Just finished the Haunting of Hill House, followed by Home Before Dark. I still can’t decide how I feel about Hill House. The ending was too vague for me. Home Before Dark was awesome. The pacing of the story was great. It’s a new favorite!
I don't know if you are into Stephen King at all...but his book 'Salem's Lot is so good! It is my favorite book by him, easy to follow...not as long as some of his others...I just love it.
Okay but Fangs looks SO CUTE
I love Scritch Scratch! It's definitely spooky!
YEAH!!! I finally found another person that reads books by RL Stine. I love his Fear Street books.
Thank you for all those recommendations! My list of spooky books I want to read keeps growing haha ❤️
lol
This is the best October book channel I've ever seen.
Oh my gosh THANK YOU 😩
Scritch Scratch was AMAZING. I thought about this book for days afterward
I read Fangs and it is a wonderful delight of entertainment and joy.
I remember as a child Goosebumps scared the heebie jeebies outta me lol. I still love them for the nostalgia now, and I'm not ashamed to say that, even as a full-grown adult, R.L. Stine's Haunting Hour tv show still creeps me out in the best ways. I'll definitely be checking many of these out. My favorite spooky novel is Christine by Stephen King.
Goosebumps Night of the Living Dummy scared the crap out of me as a kid. I’m still unnerved by ventriloquist dummies.
Definitely a great middle grade book with Halloweeny vibes is “Nightmares” by Jason Segal (i think that’s how you spell his name?) It’s a super great read especially if you’re into Halloween related but not super scary books. Also the book “Asylum” scared me soooooo much but it was also sooooo good- but I literally could not finish the second one because it was so scary.
also desi- your videos are literal masterpieces.
Okay I actually love your taste in books, every single one of these were put onto my TBR✨👏🏼subscribed
Have you read A Night in the Lonesome October? It's not super scary but perfect for Autumn and Halloween! A friend and I read a chapter a day each day in October and finished it on Halloween and it was perfect.
I'm loving all your autumn videos so much!! And all your recs as well. It's so rare for me to find a booktuber who makes me add so many books to my tbr :p I also don't do modern horror but I love spooky, atmospheric books and gothic classics. My fav spooky read for this time of year is my old, worn, sweet-smelling copy of The Legend of Spooky Hollow. I also love The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde - a funny sweet haunted house story. And I usually try to read a few short stories by Edgar Allen Poe or Algernon Blackwood. In manga/anime, I love Mushishi, and Natsume's book of Friends - there are spirits/yokai but only mildly spooky and more emotional like Violet Evergarden anime (which I also love and recommend for the nostalgic feels and aesthetic, even though it has nothing to do with spooky books or autumn!).
So grateful that I stumbled upon your channel 🥧😚 I've watched almost all of your videos lol. I was hoping that you'd mention any Riley Sager book as Im a huge fan of his. funny enough, Home before dark was a book of his that took me so long to read because of how scary it actually is! Its the most perfect spooky read. lots of love xxx your new biggest fan.
Great video, Fangs sounds so good and I really need to pick up Simone St James books as I have heard so many good things about them 💜👻💜
Yes!!!! Dracul!!!! I can’t believe how awesome that book is.
I am late coming to this channel, so I am answering a 2 year old question; favorite spooky book. I must answer “Something Wicked This Way Comes” by one of my absolute favorites, Ray Bradbury. I adore this book! I don’t find it scary because it’s so beautifully written! I love the words, the sentences, the descriptions! However, I am recommending this to everyone because I adore it so much - and my friends that read it, tell me it’s super scary. Hmm. Well, there you have it!
Ah I love these videos! Have gotten so many good recommendations from you! 🎉
Absolutely love The Swallow by Charis Cotter it's a spooky middle grade ghost story
An inquiry into love and death was amazing !!!
You should try RL Stine’s Fear Street series. He wrote Goosebumps, but Fear Street is his teen horror series.
I discovered the middle grade book Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh this year. Loved it and I recommend it. My absolute favorite author to read this time of year is Wendy Webb. Loved The End of Temperance Dare. It is a paranormal, gothic, thriller.
I know I'm a bit late, but The October Country by Ray Bradbury is one you should definitely add to your list for next year! It is a collection of spooky short stories that I highly recommend!
I adore The October Country!! I read it every autumn ☺️ From the Dust Returned is another one of my favorite from Ray Bradbury books, the Halloween imagery is so good 👌🏻☺️
@@DarlingDesi His writing is always *chef's kiss*. Next In Line from the short story collection always gives me chills while reading it!
Shirley Jackson is a master of atmosphere & unease and that's what you get with her books. I do need to recommend the 1963 British Horror classic The Haunting directed by Robert Wise. It's EXCELLENT. Really, all British Horror is, but referencing this adaptation here. The special effects still hold well today. They executed some really interesting effects, satisfyingly spooky. The spiral staircase scene - GAHHHHH!!!!
should I read Dracula before reading Dracul? I'm very very intrigued and want to read both (Dracul a little more though) and am just curious if I HAVE to read one before the other or if it doesn't particularly matter.
great recommendations Desi!! I absolutely love that you recommend books outside of the mainstream. these are the books I want to read, the hidden gems, the gothic, the classic, the historical, the mysterious, GIVE IT ALL TO ME
Your decorating is amazing!
Thank you for the suggestions :) I have to read Dracul.
I really liked Horrid by Katrina Leno, spooky ghost story, I think you’ll like it.
This setting and your outfit are amazing 😍
Thank you so much! 🥰🧡
Desi, have you read any of Michael Norman's "Haunted America" books? There are 4 books in the series, and I'd recommend them to anybody looking for engaging "real" ghost stories with an American History theme. Some of my other underrated favorites are Leslie Rule's "Ghosts Among Us," "Coast to Coast Ghosts," and "Ghost in the Mirror." BTW, if you ever make it out to San Jose, CA, be sure to check out the Winchester Mystery House!
Your outfit is just perfect! You look like your ready to go sit in the Great Hall at Hogwarts with all the floating jack-O-lanterns floating overhead. Great books too!! And I love the bats on the wall behind you. 😀
Desi, I need to know where you got that dress (...shirt?). It's so pretty!
And great video, as always - I plan to read Dracula in November, so I might listen to the Dracul audio book later.
Some spooky books I love:
Frankenstein, Rebecca, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Sandman. Oh, you might also enjoy the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. It's YA and has quite a few spooky elements
Do you have to do a vid featuring books about witchy families??looking for ideas...loved Nora Roberts dark witch trilogy ,so so perfect
Have you read any TJ Greene?
Ooohhhh One for Sorrow, Mary Dahning Hahn...spooky good
The Phantom of the Opera is good classic too👻🍁🎃
Hey lovely, im currently reading The Whitby Witches, its set in one of my favourite gothic towns here in the UK where the Abbey is that inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula, im finding it super spooky and loving every page! Thank you for this little bit of happiness in UA-cam form! I've added so many books to my wishlist! Hugs and stay safe!!!
Ohhh that one sounds amazing!! Definitely adding it to my list and looking it up right now 😍 Thank you for the recommendation! 🧡🙏🏻
@@DarlingDesi its really good so far. Im 150 pages in and its creepy and atmospheric, i love whitby so much though so im a bit biased, I think you would enjoy it!!
Have you tried TJ Greene whitehaven witches series? V v good
Oh she asked for spook recommendations.... I've read many favourites just this year alone: Middlegame, If we were Villains, the secret history, The Picture of Dorian Gray... yes I have been on a dark academia kick hehe and for middlegrade ABSOLUTELY read the Potkin and Stubs series, but I also really liked City Of Ghost...
If you want s good vampire series I def recommend giving The Morganville Vampires a try :)
Simone St. James has written way more than 2 books! She has a whole bunch of 1920s era stories that all take place in the same world. They are awesome.
Oh I know! I was just saying that this was her second novel. Because I know a lot of people talk about her newer novels, but I don't see as many people talk about her older ones :) This was my first one by her though. I can't wait to read more!
When you said "the great British baking show" I laughed and fist pumped the air and yelled, yes! Same😄. awesome recs
I cant wait for the Dracul reading vlog
Ooh fantastic, just ordered Dracul :)