You Won’t Need to Sleep With the Lights on After Reading These 13 Spooky-Not-Scary Books

You might have seen Emily Carroll's viral comic "His Face All Red" floating around the internet — and you'll find it again here in Through the Woods ($13), along with four other short stories in this illustrated novel. In these "fairy tales gone seriously wrong" stories, you'll discover that your brother's fiancée might not be what she seems or find yourself travelling to your neighbour's house . . . and can't seem to find your way back. Whether you savor each story or read her collection in one go, each piece will stick with you in a beautiful, haunting way.

Fans of Practical Magic, this book is for you. In The Ex Hex ($14), young witch Vivienne Jones recovers from a broken heart the way anyone would: bubble baths, vodka, and of course, a curse on her ex-boyfriend. She doesn't think anything of it — aside from the curse possibly giving him a bad hair day or two — until heartbreaker himself, Rhys Penhallow, returns to Graves Glen and has one nearly-fatal incident after another. With Graves Glen under attack, Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their bubbling chemistry to save the town and break his curse before it's too late.

The Distant Hours ($13) starts the way any great book should — a long-lost letter arriving in the post. From there, Edie Burchill finds herself journeying to great (and decaying) Milderhurst Castle, which houses the Blythe spinsters and is where her mother stayed during WWII. Inside the castle, Edie tries to unravel the secrets to her mother's past, but Milderhurst houses other secrets, and it's been waiting for someone to find them.

Agatha Christie's iconic novel And Then There Were None ($8) is the blueprint for so many horror movies in Hollywood — if you've ever watched Clue, you'll definitely feel influences of this novel in that movie. In Christie's book, 10 people, each with something to hide, are invited to an isolated mansion by a mysterious host who fails to show up. One by one, the guests share their darkest secrets and wicked deeds, and one by one, they begin to die . . . which one is the killer, and will any of them make it out alive? Although this premise seems spooky, it's less "scary, keep-you-up-at-night" horror and more of an interesting mystery, just in time for Halloween.

Kelly Link's Get In Trouble ($17) is a collection of short stories that will transport readers into a brilliant and unique fictional universe. Step inside the life of a caretaker of visitors who inhabit a cottage in rural North Carolina, or arrive on the set of a ghost-hunting reality show in swampy Florida. In each of her fantastical stories, Link injects humour and wonder, and you'll find yourself drawn to the main characters, who all have a knack for . . . getting in trouble.

Carmilla ($12) is the vampire novel — it even predates Bram Stoker's Dracula! In this short gothic novella, Laura is isolated in a remote mansion in the middle of a European forest and longs for companionship. Enter Carmilla, a secretive and erratic woman who Laura recognises from a dream she had when she was young. The women are instantly drawn to her, but as Carmilla's actions get more volatile, Laura's health begins to mysteriously decline.

If you're more of a nonfiction reader, I'm Looking Through You ($15) is a perfect read for October. Jennifer Boylan is no stranger to creaking stairs and mysterious whispers — she grew up in the "Coffin House," a mansion in Pennsylvania that's widely known to be haunted. In this memoir, Boylan relates what it means to be "haunted," looking back on the spirits that invaded her childhood home and how it relates to her coming out as transgender.

Anya's Ghost ($25) is a graphic novel that's not your typical coming-of-age story. The main character, Anya, is struggling with everything — her family, school, her maybe-friend Siobhan, her body image, and more. After falling into a well at the park, she meets Emily, a ghost that's been stuck in the hole for 90 years. They quickly become friends, but Anya is about to discover that Emily isn't kidding about the "forever" part of "best friends forever."

The first book in this queer, Latinx-infused fantasy series, Labyrinth Lost ($9) focuses on Alex, a bruja, and the most powerful witch in her family. But she hates magic, especially after it made her father disappear. And while most girls celebrate a quinceañera, Alex has to prepare for her Deathday, the only opportunity to rid herself of her magic. But after her family vanishes after the curse she performs during the ceremony backfires, Alex is left alone and must travel to Los Lagos, a dangerous and mysterious Wonderland-like space to get her family back.

In this love letter to novel reading, The Thirteenth Tale ($16) tells the story of reclusive author Vida Winter. Vida has spent the past 60 years penning 12 books that describe alternative lives for herself. Now, she's ready to reveal her violent and tragic past she's kept hidden for so long, and calls on young biographer Margaret Lea to do so. Margaret is fascinated by the gothic strangeness of Vida's past, but demands the whole truth from Vida — and together, they confront the ghosts that have haunted them their entire lives.

It's a classic for a reason! If you don't know the story of this gothic novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ($7) is narrated by London legal practitioner Gabriel John Utterson, who begins investigating his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, after he begins acting strangely. This story examines the duality of human nature, deals with the impact of substance abuse, and has enough mystery and thrills that even if you know the ending, you'll still love finding your way there.

Now a Netflix movie, Rebecca ($11) tells the story of an unnamed narrator who, after impulsively marrying a wealthy widower, finds herself and their Cornwall estate haunted by the memory of his late first wife, Rebecca. Less spooky and more atmospherically mysterious, this 1938 gothic novel is still a great read 83 years later.

Of course we had to put Neil Gaiman on this list! If you loved Coraline, get your hands on a copy of The Graveyard Book ($9) ASAP. In it, you'll find that Nobody (Bod) Owens is a completely normal child. That is, he would be if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts. Although Bod enjoys finding grand adventures in the graveyard, he knows that if he leaves, Jack will come after him — and Jack has already killed Bod's family.