Horror Books to Read in One Sitting This Halloween
We’re only a few days away from Halloween, so if you’d like to squeeze in some seasonal reading before November arrives, I’ve gathered together six horror novellas and graphic novels that you can read in one sitting. Get through a few in the coming days or save them for Halloween itself! As a bonus, each of these checks off a task in the 2026 Read Harder Challenge.
Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky
In this satirical graphic novel, a transfeminine person named Sammie is invited to an old friend’s bachelor party. The party is at El Campo — think Las Vegas turned up to 11 on a floating island. This is a dystopian capitalist world where you can hunt your clone as casual entertainment. There, Sammie seems to be the only one who notices a creepy cult slowly converting all the other members of the party, while everyone else tells them they’re overreacting. Even without the supernatural elements, though, the constant misgendering and micro- and macro-aggressions Sammie experiences are pretty upsetting. Luckily, they are always able to call their wife and queer friends for advice and support. There are plenty of over-the-top elements, but the emotion is grounded, and Sammie felt like a defiant character who refused to be swept up in the cult of cisheteromasculinity around them. —Danika Ellis
Task #4: Read a novel with a main character who uses they/them pronouns
Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez
Cynthia Gómez’s debut horror novel packs a big punch in under 200 pages. This sapphic Gothic horror novel is set in 1968 and follows Natalia “Nati” Fuentes, a young woman who has learned all about witchcraft from her grandmother. So when she finds out the young and beautiful heiress Violeta Miramontes has been paralyzed by a mysterious illness, Nati suspects black magic, and she thinks she might have the cure. From the very first page, you know that Nati and Violeta will fall for each other, but the way their romance unfolds will surprise you. —Emily Martin
Task #6: Read a gothic novel published in the last ten years
All Access members, read on for four more horror books to read on Halloween that complete 2026 Read Harder Challenge tasks.
Strange Cases by Riotbones
Jude is a law student who returns to the town of Lazaro to take over his late mother’s law practice. He soon discovers that his mother was keeping secrets, and his clients are monstrous in every sense of the word. This gothic graphic novel looks like a fascinating mash-up: it’s paranormal horror meets crime drama set in a world inspired by Filipino and European history. —Danika Ellis
Task #6: Read a gothic novel published in the last ten years
The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown
This space horror follows the last humans as they try to make their way back to Earth from the failed colonies their ancestors founded. Jacklyn is the captain of their doomed ship, which seems to be hurtling towards having its inhabitants starve or meet some other horrible fate. Like, say, the bloody, violent deaths that are befalling crew members. She has to figure out what’s killing people before they’re all gone. —Erica Ezeifedi
Task #20: Read a book set in space
Nameless by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnhamm, et al
This six-issue comic book series from 2017 sees an occult hustler known only as Nameless sent on a suicide mission. An asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. It’s no mere asteroid, though. It’s a piece of a lost planet long destroyed by elder gods. What’s more, one of those horrifying gods is in the asteroid, just waiting to exact revenge. —Chris M. Arnone
Task #20: Read a book set in space
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir, translated by Mary Robinette Kowal
Iðunn suffers from constant fatigue, but doctors can find no cause with medical tests and thus dismiss her concerns. Her family and friends have become fonts of helpful but ultimately useless advice—except the person who suggests she buy a step-counting watch. And the watch reveals that during the night while she was supposedly asleep, she took 40,000 steps. Soon, she begins waking up with injuries, each more concerning than the last, and no one will believe her. —Alex Acks
Task #21: Read a genre (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) book in translation
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