Wow, friends and fiends, somehow Halloween is just a week away. If you were thinking you were going to get a lot of horror books read this spooky season and are finding yourself a little behind schedule, you’re not alone! But time’s not up! If you’re looking to squeeze in a few extra scary stories before the end of the month, here are some super short horror novels to get your scares in before Halloween hits.
Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
If you like your horror to also be a little bit heartbreaking, then pick up Mapping the Interior right now. This story is about 12-year-old Junior, who lives in a trailer with his mom and his younger brother Dino. It’s been the three of them alone for the past eight years, ever since his father mysteriously drowned. Then one night Junior sees the ghost of his father standing in their trailer. Has his father returned to take care of his family the way he never did when he was alive? As Junior begins to hunt his father through the house, the true intentions of his father’s return are revealed.
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
A short little 106-page horror novel about mermaids? Yes, this is also a must-read. You think you might know how mermaids work in fairy tales. Just like in The Little Mermaid, this mermaid becomes mute to join those who walk on land. But this is a horror story, and this mermaid has teeth. After her daughters devour her kingdom, she teams up with a mysterious plague doctor. Together, they must confront the darkest parts of the world (and themselves) if they ever hope to survive.
Linghun by Ai Jang
What if the ghosts aren’t the ones haunting us? What if we’re haunting them? That’s the premise of Ai Jang’s Linghun, a novel about a world called HOME, where the grief-ridden living are unable to let the dead go. The living interact with the dead as much as possible to keep them present in the living room. If they were ever able to let go, then their beloved dead would pass on to the next world. But is anyone ever really ready to let go?
For even more short and spooky reads, try these knockout horror short story collections. And here’s another big batch of short horror books for Halloween reading and beyond.
Keep being scary out there, horror fans!
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