The Ultimate Guide to Autumn Reading (2024)

The Fiction Fox
Oct 1, 2024
5 min read

Updated: Dec 28, 2024

Although I'd personally rather skip the colder seasons entirely, I can't deny the appeal of autumnal reading... From mysteries to cozies, from fantasy to full on horror; everybody craves something different when the leaves start falling. For that reason, I've compiled my annual seasonal recommendationlist to emcompass a wide variety.

Divided in 4 categories, with varying levels of "spook", I bring you 100 books that would make perfect additions to your autumnal TBR-list.

Jump directly to:

Just Cozy Vibes
Dark, but not horror
Supernatural horror
Natural- and Environmental horror
Human horror

Just Cozy Vibes...

Books that feel like walking on crunchy leaves...

Whether it's because of the fact that they all share an autumnal forest setting with lush atmospheric descriptions, or that they're all written in a crips but warm narrative style; you can practically feel the forestfloor under your feet with these books.

Lanny - Max Porter
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V.E. Schwab
The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater
The Queens of Innis Lear - Tessa Gratton
Circe - Madeline Miller

Cozy Fantasy...

Want the mood of your fantasy novel to match the warmth of your cozy blanket and steaming mug of pumpkin-spice-coffee? Look no futher than these titles.

The House in the Cerulean Sea - T.J. Klune
The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst
A Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - Sangu Mandanna
Tress of the Emerald Sea - Brandon Sanderson
Elatsoe - Darcie Little Badger

Middle-grade Spooks...

Want to dip your toes into the spooky waters, without diving in head-first? Consider giving these middle-grade titles a go? Regardless of your age, these balance the right amount of creepy with a good dose of wholesome.

Field of Screams - Wendy Parris
Spirit Hunters - Ellen Oh
Not Quite a Ghost - Anne Ursu
Root Magic - Eden Royce
Ghost Girl - Ali Malinenko

A little darker, but not quite horror...

It's Always Foggy...

From thick haunted fogs to whispy coastal mists: these stories bring strong autumnal haunting vibes to the table with some atmospheric weather.

Creatures of Passage by Morowa Yejide
The Lightkeepers by Abby Geni
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
Fen - Daisy Johnson
They Drown Our Daughters – Katrina Monroe

Modern Gothics...

Gothic authors like Edgar Allan Poe laid the foundation for the atmospheric seasonal novel, but that isn't to say that his modern counterparts didn't add to the genre.

Tripping Arcadia - Kit Mayquist
Our Hideous Progeny - C.E. McGill
The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry
Piranesi - Suzanna Clarke
Meet me at the Surface - Jodie Matthews

Dark Academia...

Septembers "back-to-school" excitement has faded; enter the horrors of academic life. Whether it be in fantasy-settings or in real life, it's safe to say that academia can be murder...

Vita Nostra - Marina & Sergej Dyachenko
All's Well - Mona Awad
The Centre - Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
My Dark Vanessa - Kate Elizabeth Russell
Middlegame – Seanan McGuire

Witchy Vibes... From Salem trials to your contemporary garden-witch; there's a bit of magic for everyone...

Now She is Witch - Kirsty Logan
The Spellbook of the Lost and Found - Moira Fowley Doyle
Priceguide of the Occult - Leslye Walton
The Lighthouse Witches - C.J. Cooke
Weyward - Emilia Hart

Fantasy meets murder-mystery...

A match made in heaven that I didn't know I needed before this year; murder and fantasy combine perfectly in these detective/mysteries set against a fantasy-background.

The Tainted Cup - Robert Jackson Bennett
The Hexologists - Josiah Bancroft
Voyage of the Damned - Frances White
Elatsoe - Darcie Little Badger
The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton

Supernatural Horrors

Ghosts & Possessions

It's a genre-stable for a reason: the classic ghost-tale (with a modern twist) will haunt you in the best possible way...

Later - Stephen King
My Darling Dreadful Thing - Johanna van Veen
Creatures of Passage - Morowa Yejide
Build Your House Around My Body - Violet Kupersmith
The Haunting of Velkwood - Gwendolyne Kiste

Haunted Houses

Few ideas are more terrifying than being in danger in the one place you were supposed to be completely safe: your home...

House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski
We Used to Live Here - Markus Kliewer
The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
Mexican Gothic - Sylvia Moreno Garcia
Model Home - Rivers Solomon

Cosmic horror The strongest emotion of man is fear, and the strongest fear is fear of the unknown. Prepare for incomprehensible horrors that will make your mind reel...

The Fisherman - John Langan
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
The Hollow Kind - Andy Davidson
By the Light of Dead Stars - Andrew van Wey
The Library at Mount Char - Scott Hawkins

Cryptid and Creatures

Still think humans are at the top of the food-chain? The creatures in these works will show you how quickly we can be reduced to prey against the wrong foe...

Nestlings - Nat Cassidy
The Anomaly - Michael Rutger
Near the Bone - Christina Henry
Into the Rolling Deep - Mira Grant
The Hollows - Daniel Church

Nature and Environmental Horror

Nature- and Eco-horror

Nothing more relaxing than a hike in the woods. Until the woods start biting back...

Annihilation - Jeff Vandermeer
Green Fuse Burning - Tiffany Morrison
Wilder Girls - Rory Power
Chlorophobia - A.R. Ward
What Moves the Dead - T. Kingfisher

Alien- and Sci-fi Horror

From prowling aliens in the bowels of your space-ship to electric ghosts to haunt your android dreams; the future is terrifying...

Alien Clay - Adrian Tchaikovsky
Leech - Hiron Ennes
The Scourge Between Stars - Ness Brown
The Luminous Dead - Caitlyn Starling
We Have Always Been Here - Lena Nguyen

Aquatic Horror

Ever feel uneasy when swimming in unclear, deep waters, unaware of what's lurking deep beneath your dangling feet? Prepare for extra chills the next time you go for a dip after reading these books.