The evenings are getting darker, and a frosty bite hangs in the air. Thick woollen blankets are coming out of the airing cupboard, and large mugs of hot chocolate are getting brewed once more.
It's now time, if you don't all year round, to curl up and fall into the world of a good book. Autumn for me is Halloween, and what is Halloween without a spooky TBR?
As the big day approaches the need for the chills that run the length of my spine intensifies. Stories of ghosts, ghouls, monsters, and murder are calling out to be read.
So here are three of the books which I plan to read this Halloween.
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Misha is a jaded scriptwriter who has been working in Hollywood for years, and has just been nominated for his first Oscar. But when he’s pressured by his producers to kill off a gay character in the upcoming season finale―”for the algorithm”―Misha discovers that it’s not that simple.
As he is haunted by his past, and past mistakes, Misha must risk everything to find a way to do what’s right―before it’s too late.
Tingle, C. (2024). Bury Your Gays. Tor Nightfire.
Bury Your Gays has been on my TBR list for a couple of months now, and is getting bumped up for the month of October. I've heard nothing but positive things about it. The concept of the trope that it explores is really interesting to me. It's a theory I've always read about academically and I'm curious as to how the author has manged to put it into a world of fiction.
The Woman In Black by Susan Hill
Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House.
The house stands at the end of a causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but it is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black – and her terrible purpose.
Hill, S. and Lawrence, J. (1986). The woman in black : a ghost story. Jaffrey, Nh: D.R. Godine, , © [5Th Softcover Printing.
The Woman in Black is a book we have all heard of, and is the book that I'm most looking forward to reading this Halloween. I've never picked this novella up before because I watched the movie quite a while ago, and I didn't really enjoy it. A few months ago, though, a friend of mine told me that it gave her genuine nightmares. Any book that can provoke such a reaction is perfect for Halloween. I want to see if I, too, find genuine fear within the book pages.
The House in the Woods by Yvette Fielding
When Clovis, Eve and Tom decide to play with a ouija board in an old abandoned house on Halloween, none of them foresees the horrors they’re about to unleash. What starts out as a bit of fun, soon transcends into something far more terrifying when a distressed and determined spirit follows them home. Before long the friends are caught up in a series of events beyond their wildest imaginings and their journey as ghost hunters begins…
Fielding, Y. (2021). The House in the Woods. [online] Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58033973-the-house-in-the-woods [Accessed 21 Oct. 2025].
The House in the Woods differs from the other books on this list. I know it is a children's story, but I think creepy children's stories are the perfect material for cosy reading. This book will be what I read while I prepare meals or when I've got a spare fifteen minutes here and there.
There is also a touch of nostalgia for Yvette Field which makes me look forward to this short book, as, like I'm sure many of us did, I remember nights sitting around with the family to watch Most Haunted.
With these three stories ready to go, the next few weeks are going to be a pleasure to get through. I can't wait to go through all of them, and hopefully leave reviews on this blog soon after.
Happy Halloween, Folks. I hope you have a horrid time!!!
Writings Of A Queer Mind 