Katie's parents never told her "no" when she asked for a book, which was the start of most of her problems. She has an MLIS from the University of Illinois and works full time as a Circulation & Reference Manager in Illinois. She has a deep-rooted love of all things disturbing, twisted, and terrifying and takes enormous pleasure in creeping out her coworkers. When she's not at work, she's at home watching the Cubs with her cats and her cardigan collection. Other hobbies include scrapbooking, introducing more readers to the Church of Tana French, and convincing her husband that she can, in fact, fit more books onto her shelves.
Twitter: @kt_librarylady
Halloween is just around the corner, but this year has me thinking a lot about the real horrors happening across the country and around the world. Some of them are truly frightening, like the Chicago-area ICE raids and the rash of fake bomb threats being made against college libraries. Other updates are horrifying in that I can’t believe this is real life and not a headline from The Onion, like the news that the director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library in Kansas was ousted because he refused to give the Trump administration a historic sword from the Library’s collection to gift to King Charles III. (Yes, this is a real headline circulating on Beyonce’s internet in the year 2025.)
Don’t worry, though—in this post, I’m focusing on fictional horrors that will terrify your patrons. Because somehow haunted houses and possession stories seem less frightening than real life. (And stick around till the end for a couple of new releases perfect for scary season.)
Horrifying Resources
- Alma Katsu and Becky Spratford talk about why horror is having such a moment right now.
- Speaking of Alma Katsu, if you listen to the Read or Dead podcast, make sure to tune in for our October 31st episode, when Kendra Winchester and I kick off a brand new book club feature! Our first pick is Alma Katsu’s latest novel, Fiend, which came out in September!
- New Halloween picture books for kids.
- Cute and silly Halloween books for young readers.
- 31 YA horror novels guaranteed to keep you up at night.
- 6 horror stories set in theme parks and carnivals.
- 7 speculative memoirs featuring monsters.
- 7 haunted and sinister libraries.
- 10 dark academia books to read this fall.
- Rachel Harrison picks her favorite possession novels.
- 31 of the best books to read for Halloween.
- Horror books with “How to” titles.
- Great horror inspired by Frankenstein.
- Horror about lust and desire.
- Gothic novels about compulsory heterosexuality.
We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad
We Love You, Bunny takes place after the events of the first Bunny novel, with Sam Mackey having published her first novel to critical acclaim. However, her former friends (the Bunnies) are not happy with the way they’ve been portrayed in Sam’s novel, so they kidnap her on her book tour and force her (and the reader) to hear their side of the story. (Here’s hoping this is just as delightfully bonkers as Bunny was!)
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Somebody is Walking On Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys by Mariana Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell
Mariana Enriquez has made a name for herself with her surreal literary horror tales and short stories, but in this latest book, she takes readers on a tour of the most iconic cemeteries in the world. It’s part travel memoir, part haunted history, part sociological exploration of the dead. As a fellow cemetery enthusiast, this book sounds absolutely fascinating!
English (US) · 