Written by Henry (the librarian)
The temperatures are getting cooler, and evenings are getting dark and spooky!
From magicians and sorcerers, incantations and ooze to pumpkins, skeletons and spiders, there are books and events to suit everyone in libraries this October.
Here’s our round up of scary books to enjoy this October and over Halloween so grab a cup of tea and get ready to be horrified…
Adult Fiction
Lakiriboto by Ayodele Olofintuade
Murder, betrayal, and witchcraft collide – with explosive results.
When her grandmother dies in the night, Moremi’s fate falls to her uncle, the grasping family chief who sends her off to work as a housemaid in Lagos
Mixing horror, family saga, mobster pulp, and queer coming-of age, Lakiriboto is a staggeringly original and surprising novel about Nigeria’s queer and feminist communities, the struggles they face, and the lengths they will go to overcome them.
Reserve the paperback of Lakiriboto
The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis
One long summer, a heatwave descends. As the stifling heat grips the village, so does a strange rumour: the Mansfield sisters have been seen transforming into a pack of dogs.
With the witch trials only a recent memory, hysteria sets in. Slowly but surely, the villagers become convinced that something strange is taking root in Little Nettlebed. And when a bark finally leads to a bite, the sisters will be the ones to pay for it.
Reserve the hardback of The Hounding
Of the Flesh: 18 Stories of Modern Horror by Susan Barker, J K Chukwu, Bridget Collins, Michel Faber, Adorah Nworah, Irenosen Okojie, Lucy Rose, Lionel Shriver and more…
These stories from eighteen master storytellers will curdle your blood, haunt your dreams and redefine terror. This collection plumbs the depths of the psyche and dredges up some very modern horrors.
Reserve the paperback Of the Flesh: 18 Stories of Modern Horror
Top nonfiction
The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World by Malcolm Gaskill
In the frontier town of Springfield in 1651, peculiar things begin to happen. Precious food spoils, livestock ails, and property vanishes. As tensions rise, rumours spread of witches and heretics, and the community becomes tangled in a web of spite, distrust and denunciation.
‘The Ruin of All Witches’ tells the dark, real-life folktale of witch-hunting in a remote Massachusetts plantation. These were the turbulent beginnings of colonial America, when English settlers’ dreams of love and liberty, of founding a ‘city on a hill’, gave way to paranoia and terror, enmity and rage.
Reserve the paperback of The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World
Feeding the Monster: Why Horror Has a Hold On Us by Anna Bogutskaya
Zombies want brains. Vampires want blood. Cannibals want human flesh. All monsters need feeding.
Yet loving the genre still prompts the question: what’s wrong with you? Anna Bogutskaya examines how horror responds to and fuels our feelings of fear, anxiety, pain, hunger, and power.
Reserve the paperback book of Feeding the monster
Top audiobook
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
The celebrated author of the terrifying modern classics A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World unleashes another spine-chiller about a notorious art school horror film and the dark secrets revealed when Hollywood start making a reboot.
Borrow Horror movie from Libby
Reserve the paperback book of Horror Movie
A Witch Hunt in Whitby by Helen Cox, read by Colleen Prendergast
A serial killer is loose in Yorkshire and has claimed three victims in three months. Eleven days before each murder, a large purple V is painted on the front door of the victim’s house. The victims, all of whom have some association with the occult, are found drained of blood with two red marks on their neck.
Borrow the paperback of A Witch Hunt in Whitby on ULibrary
Reserve the paperback of A Witch Hunt in Whitby
Top children’s fiction
The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner and other Stories by Terry Pratchett
Poor Mr Swimble is having a bad day. Rabbits are bouncing out of his hat, pigeons are flying out of his jacket and every time he points his finger, something magically appears – cheese sandwiches, socks and even a small yellow elephant on wheels!
Reserve the paperback of The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories
Borrow the audiobook of The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories
Children’s Nonfiction
Take away the A: an Alphabeast of a Book by Michael Escoffier; illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo
Without the A, the beast is best. Without the W, the witch has an itch!
This is an alphabet book like no other. An irreverent exploration not only of letters in their alphabetic order, but also of how they form words and communicate ideas.
Packed with humour and wordplay, the author and illustrator effortlessly play off each other to enhance humour and meaning. Children will not be able to resist inventing imaginative examples of their own.
Reserve the paperback book of Take Away the A: an Alphabeast of a Book
