The PERFECT Autumn Vibes Reading List For 2023

The Last Word by Taylor Adams

Read it if you want: a psychological thriller with a secluded & atmospheric setting + slasher horror movie level suspense

Listen, this is a great fall read thanks to the amount of psychological suspense as well as the rainy, isolated Washington State coastal setting that adds to the spook factor.

It’s about a woman who is house-sitting an isolated coastal house in Washington off season, wanting to get away for personal reasons, and one of the things she does in her quiet life is read a lot of books.

She reads a horror novel that she think is truly awful and leaves a 1 star review for it on Amazon — a review that upsets the author who tries to make her take it down and eventually threatens her after their back and forth. When some unsettling incidents start happening at night, she wonders if it’s a coincidence or if the angered author is stalking her.

It’s bananas & over-the-top but the perfect kind of Fall read if you re-watch all your favorite slasher flicks during spooky season.

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

Read it if you want: a Gothic and inventive re-imagining of Frankenstein

Whether you were a fan of the classic Frankenstein or not, this is a fantastic Fall read to add to your list.

It features Frankenstein’s great niece, Mary, an ambitious and budding scientist/paleontologist who wants to be taken seriously and contribute in a greater way to the scientific community but is looked down on — mostly for being a woman.

When she discovers some of her missing uncle’s notes, she decides she’s going to take the scientific community by storm and make a name for herself (along with the help of her scientist husband) by creating life — a life no human alive has ever seen and one that won’t be able to be ignored.

This one was unexpected — it’s subversive and unique and plunged you right into the Victorian area and really built quite an atmosphere perfect for Fall.

I will note — the pace is a little slower for the first half of the novel but it builds nicely and really takes off as things really heat up. My advice? Savor it and nice warm cuppa on a crisp Autumn day.

Weyward by Emilia Hart

Read it if you want: an atmospheric Gothic-feeling read about witchy women and the natural world

You know when you sit down with a book and think “oh I wish I read this in Fall” because it just FEELS like a Fall read? That was my experience with this book.

Perfect for someone who wants some Fall vibes but prefers to read women’s fiction/historical and is okay with a dash of magic and witchery (of the earthy/natural kind).

It spans 300 years and follows 3 generations of strong Weyward women — one on trial for being a witch in the 1600’s, one in the 1940’s feeling trapped in her life and another in the present who is on the run from an abusive partner and ends up at the crumbling Weyward cottage where she learns about her family heritage and secrets.

The three women’s stories are woven together beautifully and we see how they are connected by the special gift they share as well as by their resilient natures after enduring some pretty awful things.

How To Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Read it if you want: creepy horror that is a little bit campy

I don’t want to give too much away with this one — it’s best not to, honestly.

But just know it’s about two rather estranged siblings who have to work together, after their parents die in an accident, to get their parents house for sale — a task that becomes difficult as they sift through the house and all the very interesting things (creepy dolls for one!) inside it and the ghosts of their childhood are unearthed.

A creepy horror with a side of grief, family issues and generational trauma!

The Year of The Witching by Alexis Henderson

The Handmaid’s Tale meets the Salem Witch Trials meets The Village (or any other sort of cult-like puritanical society). A perfectly dark horror fantasy to give atmospheric air to your autumn reads list.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow:

Sister + witches + suffragettes….what’s not to like about that for Fall??

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

Atmospheric! Disturbing! A little unusual at times (just promise me you won’t let the cat POV dissuade you)! A perfect Fall read that will keep you on your toes with this tightly written, layered story that you just need to go into with as little info as possible. Out September 28.

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Like slasher flicks of the 80’s and 90’s? Check out this one is about a woman who survived a massacre 22 years ago and whose therapy group of fellow “final girls” has been targeted to be picked off one by one. Out now.

Wanna be creeped out on a chilly Fall day AND love things like Amityville Horror/other infamous haunted houses? Pick this one! A woman inherits the house that, when she was a kid, she and her family fled from and made famous with the horror-filled memoir they wrote about living in the haunted house — an account SHE doesn’t even believe. Upon returning to the house to get it ready to sell, she realizes there are dark forces, otherwordly or not, that haunt this house when she starts experiencing things out of her dad’s book.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

If you loved The Blair Witch Project, check this Swedish set book. It’s about a woman who, with a documentary crew, goes exploring the lost village that her grandmother’s whole family disappeared from in the 50’s. Trying to find the truth surrounding this tragedy, they find mysterious and threatening things start to happen and realize just maybe they aren’t alone.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

Read it if you want: more of a quirky & cozy fantasy romance for Fall than something scary or thrill-driven

LISTEN –just listen to me and pick this one up. It’s the perfect cozy autumn read with immaculate vibes for the season. Fans of Howl’s Moving Castle or The House in the Cerulean Sea who also love romcoms (with a little spice) will be delighted for sure.

It’s macabre and whimsical! It’s You’ve Got Mail (the pen palling is top tier)! It’s enemies to lovers! There is zombies and demigods!

If you are coming looking for high fantasy with high stakes, you will not find that. Just settle into the unique world and get to know Mercy (an undertaker trying to keep her family’s failing business afloat) and Hart ( a grumpy, lonely marshal who hunts zombies and such in the wilds).

These two can’t stand each other and don’t know they have been writing anonymously to one another becoming each other’s confidante and support about things going on in their lives. Such a good enemies to lovers romance!

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Want something more romance-y and light but still has those perfect fall vibes? This witchy romance is the perfect companion for a cozy fall reading list — romance, friendship, found family. It’s the book form of a warm hug — perfect book if you loved The House In the Cerulean Sea.

It was one of my absolute favorite books of last year! Just an absolute delight.

Out now.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

Hocus Pocus but make it spicy. If you want you a lighter (not scary or gory) Fall read that still brings all the Fall vibes, check out this romcom! A silly breakup hex gone wrong sends two exes, reunited after 9 years when he returns to town to charge the ley lines, on a mission to save their town and break the very real curse while staving off their own still-standing chemistry among other things.

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden:

You may know this author from her adult fiction however don’t dismiss it for being middle grade! It’s a perfect fall book even for adults — a ghost story adventure!

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfeld:

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle:

Every October the main character’s family becomes accident prone with some sort of curse despite the precautions they try to take every year. Every year they hope to uncover the mystery of why they are cursed and how to break it. Thriller-y with a dash of magical realism and a feeling like you just don’t know what’s real or not real! You’ve never read anything like it!  Perfect too if you want a book set in Fall!

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater:

This is the perfect book to read in late October or early November — as November 1st is when the races take place. It’s that chilly bit of Fall where you can feel winter looming and the atmosphere of this book captures it so much. Every October these deadly murder horses come out of the water and people attempt to capture and train them for The Scorpio Races. The writing transports you to this island with this deadly game.

The Diviners by Libba Bray:

This is a most perfect YA Fall read to add to your autumn reading list. It’s a supernatural thriller/mystery series set in the 1920’s in NYC that’s super atmospheric and eerie. It’s a long book too — perfect to curl up with on a chilly day! (The Diviners is also one of the best YA audiobooks to listen to also!)

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand:

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox: 

Anything witch related is always added to my Fall reading list! I MEAN HOW NOT??

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

A YA retelling of Frankenstein from the eyes of the girl who grew up around him!

The Storybook of Katrina Van Hassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow

If you like new twists on familiar classics, check out this twist on Sleepy Hollow which gives Katrina more of a vibrant role in the story letting her jump from a one dimensional character to a fully fleshed out one with a story of her one to tell that just isn’t being the love interest of Ichabod and Brom.

Rebecca by Daphne DuMurier:

While My Cousin Rachel is my favorite of this author, Rebecca is a book I love so much and makes for some perfect autumn reading if you love classics and romantic Gothic mysteries set in a large and haunting mansion.  It’s about a woman who is swept into a romance with a rich widower and whisked away to his sprawling mansion where his late wife’s presence looms large and threatens their marriage.

We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson:

The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins:

A classic mystery from the Victorian era!

The October Country by Ray Bradbury:

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

If scary isn’t your speed but you still want something atmospherically fall (a secluded & crumbling estate) that is also a page-turner, you’ve got to check out this thrilling murder mystery about an estranged family coming together for the 80th birthday party of the matriarch. Perfect for Agatha Christie Fans!

Little Eve by Catriona Ward

Looking for something super atmospheric to really bring the Fall vibes for Fall 2023?

This dark Gothic horror novel, set off the coast of Scotland, is going to do the trick to get you in the Fall mood as you get brought into the story of a family of orphans who think they are preparing themselves for the end of the world. A horrific scene starts the book off and starts to unravel, in dual timeframes and multi-narrators, the secrets and tragedy of this family. I’m being vague but purposefully so.

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

If you, like me, end up in front of the tv watching all your fave 90’s slasher flicks during the month of October, this one is for you! A thriller about shocking murders in a small town — that happened 15 years apart and are eerily familiar — and the race to figure out the connection between the two and stop the killer once and for all. Out now.

Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates

Perfect for fans of horror, haunted houses, things that go bump in the night that might make you leave the lights on when you sleep.

It’s an atmospheric read about a woman who inherits her family home/winery, rumored to be cursed, after the unexpected death of her parents. As she settles into the house, she begins to realize the curse may be more real than she thought and she might be the next victim. Out now.

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

A perfectly creepy (and thick) book for Fall! Horror but with some high concept elements. It follows a family making a move to the rural town the parent’s grew up in to try to help their son, who has a special ability nobody knows about, after a breakdown. Soon after moving there, all three of them experience very out of the ordinary things related to the dark past of the town. The premise isn’t as simple as it sounds so definitely check it out if you enjoy something Stephen King-esque.