Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.
This week we’re gearing up for Halloween by discussing our favorite spooky reads!
1. “Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury. Bradbury was the master of the eerie autumn story, with dead leaves, chill breezes, and dark mysteries. “SWTWC” is part coming-of-age tale, part horror story, with the childlike love of the carnival set against the terror of evil magic.
2. “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro. It’s not exactly scary, but you have a constant sense that something is very, very wrong.
4. “Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark.” Remember those horrific illustrations? And the story about the guy spreading out a bloody skin to dry in the sun? And the daughter whose mother disappears on vacation, but no one at the hotel seems to recognize either of them? AAAHHH.
5. Sandman by Neil Gaiman. These graphic novels delve into every aspect of dreams and nightmares, complete with mind-bending art.
6. “The Serialist” by David Gordon. This twisted murder mystery is just lighthearted enough to be enjoyable to readers (like me) who aren’t fans of crime fiction.
7. “The Bone Collector” by Jeffrey Deaver. Alternatively, for crime fiction fans with a stronger stomach, here’s a seriously gory book that can teach you several different ways to strip human flesh off a skeleton. I read it once, got traumatized and gave it away – but it deserve bonus diversity points for featuring a quadriplegic hero.
8. “It” by Stephen King. Speaking of traumatizing, how about this several-pound tome about a demonic clown monster? I went through a Stephen King “phase” in eighth grade that lasted only two books, one of which was this. The other was “Insomnia” which I honestly don’t remember much of, other than people had colorful ribbon-like auras unspooling out the tops of their heads.
9. “Interview with a Vampire” by Anne Rice/”Dracula” by Bram Stoker. I’m mashing these together because a) they’re both seminal vampire tales, and b) I haven’t actually finished reading either of them. Oops. But you should!
10. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. You can read this one right now! It’s a nightmarish short story about a town’s blind loyalty to a brutal lottery.
What’s your favorite scary read? Check out the other TTT recommendations here!
Ruby Bastille 
Great list! I’m always looking for spooky books to read for Halloween! (I just started “A Dark Matter,” which is definitely creepy and reminds me more than a little of “The Secret History.”)
So I need to read more Stephen King for sure. Ray Bradbury is a must on any list of eerie books. And I am STILL haunted by the memory of those “Scary Story” illustrations. I don’t think I ever even read the stories–the illustrations were enough to scare me off!
Whoa, “Dark Matter” sounds seriously freaky! I heard that they reissued the Scary Stories books with safer illustrations, which on the one hand is probably a good idea, but on the other…come on, toughen up! We survived, right? 😉
IT is one of my all time favorite King reads, though I didn’t include it on my list. If you read a lot of King, you notice how almost all of his work is tied together through characters or places or events. With the two books you read, they actually take place in the same town. I haven’t read The Lottery, but I almost included The Haunting of Hill House is a great Halloween read by Shirley Jackson.
Insert “which” appopriately in that last sentence to make it make sense!
Oh, that’s cool! I haven’t read enough King to see that, but it’s a neat idea. I remember seeing bits of the Tommyknockers movie/miniseries on TV and that officially scared me away from any more King books. I’m kind of interested in trying It again, though…
I hate scary reads – but I think Never Let Me Go is a great pick!
I’m not a fan either, mostly because modern scary books turn gory so easily. I do like those subtly freaky dystopian fics like NLMG and The Road, and Gothic stuff like Poe or Jane Eyre…but other than that I’ll probably pass!
I read “The Yellow Wallpaper” earlier this year, and DAYUMMMM, GIRL. That is some creepy-as-hell stuff, perfect for Halloween re-reading. I’m also currently reading a cheesy YA ghost story (All The Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn) because I loved my read-through of another of her books, Wait Till Helen Comes, so much. So campy!
YES oh jeez, Yellow Wallpaper is seriously messed up. Good suggestion!