Everyone always asks, “Which was better, the book or the movie?” but I prefer stories where I can enjoy both — especially with a pumpkin-flavored snack as the weather begins to get cold.
Unfortunately, I’m the type of person who can’t watch horror movies, but there’s nothing I love more than a spooky story, especially this time of year. So in the spirit of the season, I’ve listed my favorite stories with book-to-screen adaptations from most spooky to mildly spooky, for anyone like me who wants to celebrate the season but still sleep at night.
“Crimson Peak” | Nancy Holder
The brooding suspense which followed me throughout both the book and film kept me asking, “What’s worse, the price of learning the truth or the restlessness of not knowing?”
This gothic romance is as close to a scary story as I can handle, following Edith Cushing as she’s swept away into a haunted marriage by a seductive stranger, all drenched in crimson blood.
“Crimson Peak” is not scary, but rather unsettling.
Holder’s writing in the book is so visual that I could see the haunted mansion, the blood-stained hill and every atrocity that unfolded as if it were in front of my eyes, and the movie did a good job replicating that sense.
For anyone looking for a chilling tale of ghosts and love, add this to your list, and when the time comes to watch the story unfold, beware of “Crimson Peak.”
“Flowers in the Attic” | V. C. Andrews
When I was in middle school, one of my friends asked me to read this book so she could talk to someone about how sickening it was, and to this day it’s one of the most disturbing stories I’ve ever encountered.
To the Dollangangers, everything is perfect. But that all changes when an accident rips them from their seemingly beautiful lives, trapped at the mercy of their dying grandfather’s fortune. Children Cathy, Chris and the twins are locked in an attic, hidden away from their grandfather by their mother and grandmother, struggling to stay alive and forced to grow up as the days become years locked away in the attic.
I’m getting a little nauseous just writing this summary, but simply put, this story is messed up. It’s twisted and claustrophobic. If you’re looking for a chilling, sinister story I do recommend this, but I also recommend reading some trigger warnings online first.
“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” | Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen
Yes, you read that correctly.
Did I think this was good? Absolutely not. But am I in love with it? Undoubtedly, and this is coming from someone who got too freaked out to finish the first season of “The Walking Dead.”
This campy take on Jane Austen’s classic, witty masterpiece is as grotesque as it is surreal, adding modern zombie culture to the mix of manners and marriage. As an avid lover of Austen’s works and sword-fighting book heroines, this parody collided those worlds into an apocalyptic gem, providing a unique, spooky twist on the classic work.
“The Haunting of Hill House” | Shirley Jackson
The storyline of the book and screen adaptation differ with this story, but both revolve around Hill House, a rotting property notorious for death and ghosts. What the protagonists don’t realize is Hill House keeps the souls of those dead to itself, preying on those who enter even after they’ve left.
In both the book and modernized TV mini-series, “The Haunting of Hill House” has a chilling way of isolating the characters and then suffocating them with that isolation. However, it’s the haunting melancholy and love that made me finish the story.
What captivates me about The Haunting of Hill House is that my imagination freaked me out the most, rather than any true horror, and the dread followed me as the story unfolded. For anyone looking for a gothic tale about a haunted house, “The Haunting of Hill House” is a good pick.
“Turn of the Screw” (“The Haunting of Bly Manor”) | Henry James
The TV mini-series of “Turn of the Screw,” titled “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” is one of my favorite on-screen sequences of all time. It’s eerie and mysterious, filled with ghosts and death, but it’s not a ghost story — it’s a love story.
The show is based on the 1898 gothic horror novella but is modernized to take place in the 1980s. It follows Dani Clayton, a young American who moves to England after a tragic end to her engagement. She accepts a job as an au pair at Bly Manor, where she’ll watch over two orphaned kids, Flora and Miles, whose previous au pair mysteriously died. However, the manor isn’t just home to the living, and the children seem to be the only ones who know how dangerous the manor can be.
With romance, friendship, murder, ghosts and more, “The Haunting of Bly Manor” and “The Turn of the Screw” are both deadly stories with restless specters, perfect for anyone looking for a spooky story that won’t keep them up at night.
“Rebecca” | Daphne du Maurier
Based on the 1938 novel, this darkly romantic mystery is as elegant as it is haunting. The story follows our heroine, who remains unnamed, as she marries a widower and is brought back to his expansive English estate. She struggles to live in the shadow of her new husband’s former wife, Rebecca, whose death is speculated to have been at her husband’s hand.
I originally watched the 2020 movie, but loved it so much that I read the book. Throughout the entire story I was questioning the narrator, the characters and myself about how Rebecca died and whether her spectral presence was her legacy or her ghost.
“Outlander” | Diana Gabaldon
Listen — I know calling this story “spooky” might be a bit of a stretch, but if I walked through an ancient-standing stone in the British Isles and got transported back to 1743, I’d be pretty freaked out. Plus, the book and the show both start the series by cryptically talking about people disappearing, followed by a ghost sighting.
Oh, and it happens to be one of the best historical romances ever written. It’s sensual and adventure-filled, following Claire as she transcends 200 years into the Scottish Highlands amid a rebellion, separated from her husband.
Filled with adventure, “Outlander” is a perfect pick for any season but especially in the fall when the passing of time ripples through the weather and leaves. If you want something romantic with a little bit of spice, I highly recommend this story.
“The Princess Bride” | William Goldman
If the spookiest you can go this season is dread pirates, rodents of unusual size, a torture dungeon, murder and resurrection of the dead, “The Princess Bride” is a perfect pick. This satirical fantasy about love, adventure and romance is a classic that doesn’t take itself seriously. Truly, its whimsy and comedic appeal is inconceivable. While this may be at the bottom of the list on the spooky scale, that’s only because it’s teasing the aspects that might make it scary, unless you count the poison scene as a psychological thriller.
