We asked Loyola Library staff members to share their favorite spooky books in time for Halloween. Books available at the Loyola Libraries are hyperlinked.
Karen from the access services department recommends In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz.
“One of my favorite books! A few of the stories scared the bejesus out of me. And looki
ng back, I don’t really know why. But there is still something about this book that brings me back childhood.”
Abby of the reference department says, “it’s not SUPER spooky, but I love the Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. It is really eerie, and unsettling at times, which I think makes it fall into the spooky category.“
Katherine from the cataloging department suggests Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy
“This is one of the most 
chilling books I’ve ever read. The basic plot follows a brother—Culla—and his sister—Rinthy—sometime around the turn of the century. Culla abandons his and Rinthy’s newborn baby in the woods to die. When she discovers that the baby didn’t die in childbirth, Rinthy sets out to find it. Culla then goes out searching for her, but three mysterious men—who may be the literal embodiment of evil—are also roaming the bleak landscape, leaving destruction in their wake.”
David Schmidt of the access services department says, “I’m all about the classics. I recommend Don’t Look Now by Daphne duMarier (or, really, anything else by her) or The Collected Ghost Stories of M.R. James. Both are wonderfully enchanting authors who tell a great story with just the right chill for the Halloween season!”
Sarah from the serials department suggests Broken Harbor by Tana French.
“I’ve been reading a lot of detective novels lately and this one stands out as being particularly creepy. Every detail that is revealed throughout the story just adds to the creepiness, even the title is creepy.”
One thought on “Staff Picks: Spooky Books”
Comments are closed.
I first read Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories in high school and continue to return to them when I want something scary to read. The Tell-Tale Heart and the Pit and the Pendulum hold up very well after all these many decades.