From tales told around the campfire to major literary classics, there’s a reason we turn to folklore when we want a scary story with staying power. Stories from mythology and folklore persist through the centuries because there’s something in them that speaks to us on a deep human level—and makes us check over our shoulder one more time to be sure we’re really alone.
Folklore sits at the center of my new novel, Let the Dead Bury the Dead. The book opens at the end of the Napoleonic wars, when a strange woman named Sofia arrives at a palace just outside of St. Petersburg. She seems relatively ordinary at first, but those pulled into her orbit come to suspect there may be something more to her seductive power. Is it possible she’s really a vila, a shape-shifting spirit from Slavic folklore known for their support of legendary heroes—and their violent ruthlessness?
Scary stories blended with myth and legend are exactly what spooky season calls for. Here are six of my favorite books that delve deep into folklore for their twists and turns, with truly terrifying results.
Melmoth, by Sarah Perry
Dark academia meets psychological horror in this novel from the author of The Essex Serpent. Helen, a translator working in Prague, discovers a mysterious letter in a library warning her about Melmoth the Witness, a dark-robed figure from legend who condemns all those who see her to an eternity of tormented wandering. Which sounds like fairy stories and nonsense… until Helen’s friend vanishes, and mysterious cloaked shadows start shifting in the streets of Prague. If you’re looking for a myth-inspired thriller that will seduce you with beautiful prose and also make you sleep with the lights on, this is the one for you.
Jackal, by Erin E. Adams
Something is very, very wrong in the woods of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Black girls are going missing in this faded rust-belt town, and no one but Liz Rocher, temporarily back in her mostly white hometown, notices the pattern. But when her best friend’s daughter Caroline disappears, Liz is determined not to let her become another statistic. She sets out determined to find the young girl—and finds something else altogether. I won’t spoil the twist, which makes for a whirlwind of a final act, but trust me: it’s a propulsive and surprising horror story that absolutely belongs on this list.
The Witch of Tin Mountain, by Paulette Kennedy
This dual-timeline historical thriller features one of my favorite horror tropes: the rural town has a suave new preacher, and the narrator does not trust him. The book opens in 1931 with Gracelynn Doherty, a woman who provides healing magic and small spells to her Depression-era Arkansas town. But the arrival of the new preacher sends Gracelynn’s grandmother into terror-stricken illness. Because Granny has seen this smooth-talking holy man before, and surely he should have aged by now… Haunting, atmospheric, and fast-paced, this is ideal October reading.
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
Yeah, yeah, Dracula is doing just fine without my promotion. But it’s my favorite classic novel (I named my cat after Mina Harker), and so many people have only met the Count through film that I feel obligated to recommend the original. Obviously this is the granddaddy of all horror novels that popularized vampire folklore. But what I love about Stoker’s novel is how it simultaneously manages to be sexy, queer, funny, frightening, and genuinely bonkers. A smooth-talking Texan pulls out a handgun and tries to shoot Bat-Dracula in the face. A literal skeleton pilots a ship through a hurricane. Dracula slithers face-first down a wall like a gecko. I love this book so much.
Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado
I’m probably not the first person who’s recommended this gruesomely amazing short story collection to you, so I suggest you give in to peer pressure and pick it up already. Machado’s ability to blend fairy tale, urban legend, pop culture, and pure horror is completely unique, and every story in it will linger with you for a different reason. Standouts include “The Husband Stitch,” a formally inventive and deeply unsettling retelling of The Girl with the Green Ribbon, and “Especially Heinous,” the weirdest Law & Order: SVU horror fan fiction you’ve ever read in your life. The whole collection feels like an impossibly cool, queer camp counselor with a PhD is telling you scary stories around the campfire.
Small Angels, by Lauren Owen
This was one of my favorite reads of 2022, and I will continue to shout about it as long as I’m given the opportunity. For Chloe, Small Angels is the perfect little church on the edge of the woods, the ideal place for her long-awaited wedding. For Kate, the sister of the groom, Small Angels is the site of the most horrifying event of her life. As wedding preparations continue, the dark spirit from that tragedy is stirring again—and this time, Harry refuses to be ignored. For a certain kind of nerd (i.e., me), I can describe the plot as “literally an English murder ballad come to life” and you’ll be hooked. But all readers who like their ghost stories to be both heartbreaking and genuinely terrifying should run, not walk, to the nearest bookstore.
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