Getting Moody: New Dark & Twisty Reads Across Genres

Posted by Cybil on October 1, 2024


Do you like it darker?
 
If so, today’s collection is for you. In honor of Halloween reading season, we’ve prepared another installment of our semi-regular and oddly popular Dark & Twisty series, designed for those seeking a moody and atmospheric kind of reading experience.
 
It’s all about the vibe with this collection. Scroll through the options below, and you’ll see that these books represent (and sometimes transcend) a variety of genres—horror, fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, historical fiction, mystery. We’re selecting for mood and atmosphere, mostly, whether its gothic family drama in Italy, dark academia in Savannah, or ghost stories in space.
 
The Dark & Twisty approach is one of our stronger nontraditional sorting techniques, if we do say so ourselves. In fact, truth be told, several Goodreads employees have disappeared wandering these collections. We presume they’re safe, just off reading somewhere. Anyway, be careful.
 
Click on the book cover images for more information about each title, and use the Want to Read Button to place any interesting leads on your digital shelf.



Do you have a dark & twisty read to recommend? Share it with your fellow readers in the comments below!


Comments Showing 1-26 of 26 (26 new)

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message 1: by Lisette (new)

Lisette I loved the atmospheric The hollow places by T Kingfisher


message 2: by Mica (new)

Mica I have The Familiar and Murder Road on my TBR!


message 3: by Kirby (new)

Kirby I like this list! I'm not into hardcore horror, I prefer gothic or spooky reads. Here are some more I'd add:
Starling House
Ninth House
Weyward
Rebecca
And Then There Were None (Agatha Christie Mysteries Collection

Young Adult:

House of Salt and Sorrows
Through the Woods (Graphic Novel)
Coraline by Neil Gaiman


message 4: by Angela (new)

Angela I Cheerfully Refuse was a random grab off of a library shelf and my first introduction to Leif Enger. I loved it so much I read every one of his other novels in the last few months. Highly recommended.


message 5: by Law (new)

Law The only book I've read on this list was The Familiar, which disappointed me. Can you recommend me another book to read from this list?


Your local cryptid I read the ARC of haunting of Velkwood and I absolutely adored it. Big September House vibes if it was set in a town instead of a house


message 7: by Patricia L. (new)

Patricia L. O’Leary I want to read “the familiar” and “a sorcess comes to call”


message 8: by LaceyGoodBooks (new)

LaceyGoodBooks Wow, these books sounds great interesting


message 9: by Rebecca (new)

Rebecca Sparrow in a Tin Can


message 10: by Darian (new)

Darian Great list!
I would also love to add Lover’s Oath by A.Wyne


message 11: by Susan (new)

Susan I love horror books. I’ve read six of these and want to read a lot more.


message 12: by Kara (new)

Kara Cecchi The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years was incredible!!!


message 13: by John (new)

John Jennifer McMahon deserves a mention on this list too! Winter People is especially good.


message 14: by devynreads (new)

devynreads Surprisingly I've only read 2 on this list (so far), but I do have 11 on my WTR shelf. Looking forward to I Cheerfully Refuse, Sleep Tight, and My Darling Dreadful Thing!


message 15: by Alan (new)

Alan Now, this was a list, at long last. I've already read a few here, but found several that interested me that I wasn't familiar with before. Keep putting out lists like this one in the future.


message 16: by Alan (new)

Alan Kirby wrote: "I like this list! I'm not into hardcore horror, I prefer gothic or spooky reads. Here are some more I'd add:
Starling House
Ninth House
Weyward
[boo..."


This list was NEW books. You listed some books that are over 80 years old. Not the intent of this article.


message 17: by David (new)

David Can someone recommend me a good horror novel? Never read horror before, but I think I should give it a try this Halloween. Thought about IT by S. King or Mexican Gothic, what do u think? :)


message 18: by Gabriela (new)

Gabriela Accioly hey guys, happy halloween!! the books "salt and broom", "the last party" and "the unquiet bones" are available on Kindle Unlimited! I hope you're all having amazing reads this fall.


message 19: by Marcin (new)

Marcin Sadly, I haven't read any of these books. But many looks interesting!


message 20: by Shivani (new)

Shivani In fact, truth be told, several Goodreads employees have disappeared wandering these collections. We presume they’re safe, just off reading somewhere. Anyway, be careful.

Amazing lines!! :D


message 21: by CinCO (new)

CinCO I've read two and have 12 on my WTR list. Really enjoyed Salt and Broom.


message 22: by Allan (new)

Allan Batchelder This Thing of Darkness should be on this list. Historical Fiction and Horror! Shakespeare and Grendel!


message 23: by Lucinda (new)

Lucinda The Summer and the May


message 24: by Panda (new)

Panda David wrote: "Can someone recommend me a good horror novel? Never read horror before, but I think I should give it a try this Halloween. Thought about IT by S. King or Mexican Gothic, what do u think? :)"

It depends on the type of horror you are looking for. Stephen King is the king of horror and has several novels to choose from, anything from ghost stories, to psychological thrillers, to murderous entities like in IT.

I also read The Reformatory by Tananarive Due, it came out last year but I just read it this year and it was excellent.

If you are looking for something specific, feel free to drop me a DM or check out my horror reviews as I read a ton of horror and may have some good suggestions for you on my read list.

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻🍬🦇💀🧡


message 25: by Erica (new)

Erica David wrote: "Can someone recommend me a good horror novel? Never read horror before, but I think I should give it a try this Halloween. Thought about IT by S. King or Mexican Gothic, what do u think? :)"

T Kingfisher would be a great author to try. She has some that are more like and fairy-tale vibes (nettle and bone), some that are twists on classics (what moves the dead), and some that are more disturbing (house with good bones).

If you're going to start with King, I'd recommend Needful Things or The Shining first. While IT is great, it's not the smoothest read to start with. If you're interested in short stories, King's collections are also great to jump into.


message 26: by Mrs (new)

Mrs Bowsky I've read, home is where the bodies are. Trying to choose my next read


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