My Favorite Scary Books (Spooktacular Day 8)

BySarra Cannon

Welcome back for another fun Spooktacular post and giveaway to celebrate Halloween and count down to the 11th anniversary of Beautiful Demons! We’ve had a slight change in schedule, and today we’ll be talking about some of our favorite spooky reads.

Ever since I was a young girl, I have loved to read scary stories. In fact, I very clearly remember getting a collection of scary stories and urban legends from the Scholastic Book Fair when I was about nine and reading them over and over again, staying up late into the night and trying to think of my own scary versions of those tales.

I’d love to hear about your favorite scary books or series in the comments, too, if you didn’t post them the other day!

My Favorite Spooky Reads

Let’s chat for a bit about some of my absolute favorite Spooky books I’ve ever read in my life! These books have all inspired me in some way.

I’d love to know what your favorite spooky books or series have been, too. Share them in the comments here or head over to the Facebook group, Sarra Cannon’s Coven, or my Discord server to share books and links that you’ve loved!

The Last Vampire series by Christopher Pike

Okay, to be honest, I loved EVERY SINGLE BOOK by Christopher Pike growing up. Remember Me was another favorite. Scavenger Hunt, Bury Me Deep, Chain Letter, the Final Friends series. All of them. As someone who grew up without a lot of access to books (Oh, what I would have given for ebooks back then!), I would save my money up for months, waiting for a chance to make the drive up to Macon an hour away and look through the books at the bookstore.

If there was a new Christopher Pike novel out, it was the first thing in my basket, and I would read them over and over again for years to come. In fact, I do still have a lot of these old books from my teen years, tattered and ripped. I still cherish them.

I would definitely say that Christopher Pike’s writing has had a huge impact on my own interests as a writer. If you haven’t read any of his books yet, you can find some links here on his publisher’s website. I’m sad to say that a lot of his older standalone books aren’t even available in ebook or to purchase anymore. So weird, right? Let me know in the comments if you loved his books, too!

My upcoming Summer of Ghost stories books are heavily influenced by my love of his books and the way they made me feel as a teenager!

Night Shift by Stephen King

This short story collection is another group of stories that I read a thousand times. There are so many great stories in this collection! Some of the short stories in this book were actually expanded and made into full-length movies or shows.

My favorites were “Quitters, Inc.”, “Strawberry Spring”, “Children of the Corn”, “The Boogeyman”, and “Sometimes They Come Back”. Every story in this collection is excellent and stays with you. If you’re looking for some really good spooky reads, I highly recommend this and any of Stephen King’s other story collections. You can get Night Shift here.

Of course, I love so many of his horror novels, as well. My favorites? The Stand, hands down, is my favorite. I also personally loved his less popular book, Duma Key. Pet Sematary pretty much haunted me my whole life, lol. Under The Dome was excellent.

A funny story about Salem’s Lot is that I started reading it in high school and got so scared that I hid the book under my bed for two years before I finally picked it up again and read it all the way through.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Ooh, this is such a good and spooky, twisty psychological thriller. If you haven’t seen the movie with Leonardo Dicaprio, I highly recommend you buy this book or look for it in your local library first. The movie is actually really well done, but it will spoil the surprise for you, and to me, the book does it so much better!

This book ignited something within me. The twists and turns and the mystery of what the heck is really going on here??? I had to know, and this is one of those books where I literally did not put it down until it was finished.

Have you read it or seen the movie? Let me know if you liked it! I believe it’s currently free on Netflix if you’re subscribed! But please read the book first if you can. I loved it so much.

Okay, now it’s your turn. What are some of your favorite Halloween or scary reads? Let me know in the comments here or on social media. I already asked about this in a previous giveaway, but if you didn’t answer there, I’d love to hear your answer today!

Scavenger Hunt Clue #8

In Book 8 of the Shadow Demons Saga, Forgotten Darkness, go to Chapter 6: I Have Never Been Anything Else.

What is the 5th word in the 10th paragraph?

Keep track of these throughout the Spooktacular, and I’ll post a Google form on October 31 for you to list all 13 answers.

There have been a couple of errors with Chapter numbers and titles not matching up (sorry about that, we kind of worked on this in a group and should have triple checked!) but it’s no big deal! I will accept any answer on the days there were errors, so it’s all good!

I hope you’ve been having fun looking for the clues and keeping track!

Today’s Giveaway: $50 Scentsy Bundle!!!

I am so excited to be giving away this amazing $50 Scentsy Bundle from one of our Coven Admins, Kelly Haer. If you’ve never used any of the scentsy warmers, you are going to love this!! They have so many amazing fall scents that I know you are going to love.

If you have been wanting to give Scentsy a try, please reach out to Kelly Haer here, and she will totally hook you up! If you haven’t met Kelly in the Coven group, you are missing out. She is truly one of the sweetest, most giving people in our community. Definitely reach out to grab some of these awesome products and fall scents if you’re interested.

One winner will get the following:

  • Everything Nice mini warmer
  • Cider Mill wax bar
  • Scary Good wax bar
  • Jack-‘o-lantern bitty buddy
  • Sugar Cookie scent circle
  • Plus tons of samples & other spooky goodies!!

Such a fun prize today! You have until Friday to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tomorrow, we will have our live finale of Demons Forever over on YouTube, so make sure you’re subscribed. Can’t wait to see you there.

Bye for now!

33 Comments

  1. I really enjoy reading scary books. Only I get to infested in them. Sometimes I feel like I am part of the story and I get this extreme adrenaline rush. Hahah I remember when I was reading Deep Dark Secrets, I had to call my sister into my room because I was too scared to read some scene’s alone. I really liked the book The Haunting of Hill house. It’s such a spooky book!

  2. I don’t really like scary books, but sometimes I find ghosts or other paranormal things in the books I read (like in the Murder, She Wrote series)

  3. Since you mentioned the Scholastic book club, I remember specifically when they set it up and I scoped out the books I wanted, then they pulled “The Hunt for the Seventh” out because it was a scary book, but I wanted it. So I had to get special permission from my mom and the principal before they let me buy it. It was such an amazing Young Reader book (and I still have it on my shelf actually).

  4. I really enjoy scary books. I have read everything ever written by Christopher Pike and most books by Stephen King. I also really enjoy Kelly Martin’s books. It’s too hard for me to choose favorites, lol.

  5. I love lots of scary books. Right now I’m re-reading the Autumn series by David Moody.

  6. Absolutely love reading scary books! Christopher Pike was my favorite when I was younger. Spellbound was the first I read of his and still a favorite.

  7. Absolutely love reading scary books! Christopher Pike was my favorite when I was younger. Spellbound was the first I read of his and still a favorite. Saved up my money for the Scholastic book orders every month.

  8. Oh my goodness, scary books, I am not sure I have a favorite. I loved Pet Semetary by Stephen King and Salem’s Lot oh and Christine. So I guess he would be my favorite. Of course than there is Clive Barker. I love him as well. I am not a big scary book reader, but I will indulge sometimes.

    1. I still like Scary Stories to tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz I have all 3 collected works. Right now I am re-reading some suspense novels of Iris Johansen. I love her . But Stephen King is the King when it comes to scary things Dream Catcher, Christine, Delores Claiborne, Rose Madder, IT, Cujo, Pet Cemetery, The Stand, The Body, I could go on butvI would be here forever lol .

  9. I have a nice collection of books and a very large Stephen King collection. I am currently reading the Night Shift.

  12. I like scary books, but probably more on the thriller side than super creepy…creepy things keep me up at night

  13. I love scary books, and just put shutter island on hold at my library, thanks for sharing your favs with us! And for all the fun spooktacular events!

  14. I don’t mind scary books. I haven’t read too many recently, but use to read heaps as a teenager from Christopher Pike, R.L.Stine etc. The latest I read was Tik Tok by Dean Koontz

  17. I love Stephen King books and The Stand was my favorite also Salem’s Lot which was scary. I also read a few books by Dean Koontz. I don’t read scary books anymore as much but I really enjoyed Eternal Sorrows books. You have me hooked on zombies now.

  18. Though I love all things horror, I never really got into reading horror books. I think I mistakenly misjudged them as boring and campy. Funny story tho, my mom read The Exorcist when it first came out and had to call my dad home from a poker game because she was terrified!

  19. The Last Vampire series is life. I have the whole series in their original bindings. I also collect old Fear Street and Goosebumps. All those books were integral in my love for all things horror. Although I have to say I tried reading Salem’s Lot and I couldn’t do it. I got 150 pages in and was struggling. Night Shift I did like though and the eBook is actually on sale right now. The Scary Stories series by Alvin Shwartz is very much up there too. With all those Stephen Gammell drawings that still haunt me to this day. I can’t help but laugh thinking about how they tried to unscary the drawings at one point and people REVOLTED. If you’re looking for original releases of those old Christopher Pike or RL Stine books, any used bookstore is bound to have a few, and AbeBooks.com usually has a selection too.

  20. I don’t like scary books so much, but I did my Undergrad Thesis on Dracula, so that has a special place in my heart. I also read Out To Get You by Josh Allen to my little boy. They’re not so scary that he doesn’t sleep after them. I seriously recommend that book. Especially for boys.

  21. I loved Christopher Pike… I still have my childhood books and the Last Vampire series is among them! I loved R.L. Stine and his Fear Street Book the Secret Bedroom ( a super creepy ghost story and possession… at least it was back then) still gives me knots in my belly. I never got into Stephen Kings books (love the movies based on his books though). I’ve enjoyed Dean Koontz for years ( his books can be creepy). I haven’t read many ghost stories or borrow in the recent years because now I get REALLY scared lol. I did just read Southern Spirits (a ghost story) by Angie Fox, it was scary and enjoyable but I didn’t have nightmares lol. I can’t wait to read your ghost stories though. Growing up I loved ghost stories so much.

  22. I don’t do well with scary. I’m a big wimp and the gore and screaming of horror movies makes me panic. BUT, I do remember being about 13 years old and reading Coraline for the first time. I had a reading corner in my bedroom on the opposite side of the room from the bed, with a lamp I would read by at night when I was supposed to be sleeping. I was so spooked after I finished that book that when I had to turn off the lamp to go to bed, I was suddenly hit with absolute terror at the thought of crossing my room in the dark! I’m pretty sure I ran blind and dived under the covers, hahaha. Even so, I love Coraline and Neil Gaiman’s work to this day. The Graveyard Book is another great spooky autumn read.

  26. I specifically remember page 50 in a paperback copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula where I literally threw the book across the room because I was so scared. I ended up writing one of my best papers in university on Dracula because the fright I felt was so real and so easily conveyed. If you’ve never read the book and decide to give it a try – good luck!

  27. I think I generally read more spooky books in fall. One of the book groups I’m in always pick creepy stories or ghost stories for group this time of year. Some my favorite spooky reads in the last few years have been The Haunting of Hill House and Dark Tales By Shirley Jackson, Never Contented Things By Sarah Porter and I remember reading Phantoms By Dean Koontz while also working in a dark room printing pictures. Anyone that has read that book, knows that wasn’t the brightest idea but I had down time between printing and someone had left that book behind, so I read it.

  28. I love paranormal and murder mystery books. Debora Geary and her witch series is one of my favorite series. I also like JD Robb’s In Death series. And of course, ALL of Sarra’s books!

  31. I read IT by Steven King many many years ago and scared myself so much l couldn’t sleep for day’s lol but l prefer a book where you can feel like your part of that world and the Shadow Demons series does just that. So looking forward to book twelve.

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