11 Spooky Season Recommendations

For those who can only handle being moderately creeped out.

I've never been one to enjoy being scared on purpose.

I don't watch horror movies, relish psychological thrillers, or visit haunted houses.

This isn’t necessarily because of any moral objections to this genre of storytelling (as I detail in my book The Cross in the Culture).

It’s more because I have an overactive imagination and startle easily, facts that don’t necessarily jive well with living alone in the woods—but life is full of these little ironies.

Funny story: Immediately before moving up here, I was quite ill and spent several weeks in bed watching movies, one of which was the dark Korean thriller Parasite. If you’ve never seen it, let’s just say it’s not a film I’d recommend inhaling right before moving into a large, empty house with basements and crawlspaces.

But I digress.

Despite my natural disinclination for the darker side of storytelling, occasionally, on a long fall evening, I will settle in with something that matches the season.

A story that will make me shiver—but only a little.

If you like to cover similar emotional territory, you've come to the right place.

Below are some books, podcast series, and episodes to keep you moderately creeped out.

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Books

Bird Box, by Josh Malerman

The author had me right where he wanted me, held captive with nothing but my fear of the unknown propelling me forward. I think I read it in a day, finishing during dinner just before it got dark.

(No, I haven’t seen the film adaption.)

Wildfell, by London Clarke

Creepy Gothic suspense with a modern twist. Romance, travel feels, and things that go bump in the night.

Yes, please.

11/22/63, by Stephen King

This isn't the only Stephen King book I've read, but it was the first, largely because I was told it "wasn't too scary."

And it really wasn't.

Just super intense and psychologically twisty.

Because Stephen King.

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova

This is not only a vampire book for people who aren't into vampire books, but it's also a creepy book for people who can't handle creepy books.

If that sounds like you, go for it.

Podcasts

Lore, hosted by Aaron Mahnke

I actually gave this one up because it started scaring me too badly when I was out running alone.

If I only listened to podcasts from the safety of my home, though, I'd probably still be hooked.

Dr. Death, Season 1, reported by Laura Beil

Fair warning: this is real life.

You may find yourself avoiding medical care after listening to this one.

Happy Face, produced by HowStuffWorks with Melissa Moore

In 1995, Melissa Moore learned that her father was the Happy Face Killer.

In this series, she reviews her childhood and adolescence, analyzing her life through the lens of this knowledge, understanding her past in a new way.

Individual Podcast Episodes

From This American Life: "House on Loon Lake" 

This might just be my favorite recommendation on this whole list.

Enjoy shivering your way through the account of one man's lifelong obsession with an abandoned house.

From Stuff You Missed in History: "The Hagley Woods Murder" 

Truth is always creepier than fiction.

Who put Bella in the witch elm?

From Criminal: "A Bump in the Night" 

What would you do if you realized someone was living in the crawlspace above your bedroom and that he might be in the house right now...?

As a single woman who lives mostly alone, I found this true story almost too much to handle.

From Fictional: "Give Him a Hand" 

Enjoy this creeptastic modern retelling of the classic short story "The Monkey's Paw." 

I first listened one blustery night as I walked through my Florida neighborhood at dusk. Palm branches flailed against low clouds and raindrops dribbled down the back of my neck as shadows faded to inky black night.

I was never happier to get back to the house.

Have your own moderately creepy recommendations?

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