best gaunts ghosts books

Gaunt’s ghosts reading order

Here you will find the Gaunt’s Ghosts book order , a scifi series written by British novelist Dan Abnett. These books take place in the fictional futuristic world of Warhammer 40k, and it happens to be regarded to be one of the best series to be introduced into the lore of the novels based on this popular franchise.

Experience a breathtaking medieval fantasy series with elemental magical swords, perfect for teens and fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

The first novel in the Gaunt’s Ghosts series has the honor to be the most read Warhammer 40k novel ever. So it’s time for you to meet commisar Gaunt and his stout men.

Gaunt’s Ghosts book reading order

This series is composed of 3 novels. However, they are no longer published individually, which explains why the original novels are so expensive. We recommend you get The Founding, which happens to be A Gaunt’s Ghosts Omnibus that collects the 3 books in the series:

Maybe you want to get the orignal novels no matter what? if that’s the case, here’s the reading order of the Gaunt’s Ghosts book series:

1. First and Only

2. Ghost Maker

3. Necropolis

This is an action packed story of men fighting the forces of Chaos, will commissar Gaunt’s leadership be enough to lead his men to erase the heretical forces that attemp to destroy their home?

Now that we told you the order of the Gaunt’s Ghosts books, don’t miss these

Are you anxious for more 40k novels? we are glad that you think this way, because we have 3 great recommendations for you. People who have enjoyed the Gaunt’s Ghost book series also read the following:

The 40k universe is huge, and there are many factions. Which means that there’s hundreds of books narrating stories of the most prominent characters and squads.

Also, would you like to read a series that takes place 10 thousand years before the 40k universe? if so, then here’s a list with the the Horus Heresy reading order .

Do you also fancy fantasy novels? say no more, here’s the Gotrek and Felix books in order , the most popular couple of the Old World.

What is this series about?

Gaunt’s Ghosts books tell us about a commisar by the same name and his men having to fight the most evil and horrendous creatures. The 40k universe is a nightmare, galaxies are full of enemies and races more than willing to extinguish humanity, and it’s thanks to men like Imperial Commissar Gaunt that this is unlikely to happen.

From chaos forces to Eldar, this military scifi series will show us the struggle of Gaunt’s men in the most bloody battles. The  Imperial Guard faction is usually regarded as one of the most appealing to readers, since it shows how ordinary men have to deal fighting against monsters and powerful creatures.

While knowing about the lore of WH 40k might be of great help, there’s no need of previous knowledge to enjoy this series, since Dan Abnett does a great job making these novels self-explanatory. The grimdark tone, together with a plot full of treachery and mysteries to discover, makes this a more than enjoyable read for fans of the lore of this table top game.

A list with the Gaunt’s Ghosts book order

Here’s a list with all the Gaunt’s Ghosts books in order by Dan Abnett. This series is concluded, and there are no plans that there will be a sequel to it. However, while there is no indication that this will change, note that this is one of the most popular stories in the WH 40k franchise, so it’s not impossible that there will be more books in a close future.

Gaunt’s Ghosts book order

• Black Library

Reading order:

• First and Only (Gaunt’s ghosts book 1)
• Ghost Maker (Gaunt’s ghosts book 2)
• Necropolis (Gaunt’s ghosts book 3)

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These books are published by Black Library (a publishing company that belongs to Games Workshop ), each of the volumes in this series is around 300 pages long. Because of the violence in this series we recommend this series to 13 years old children and beyond.

Guess what? we have a list with the best Warhammer Fantasy books , so, if you also enjoy medieval stories then make sure you don’t miss the ones that we collected because they are awesome.

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Gaunt’s Ghosts Books In Order

Publication order of gaunt's ghosts: the founding books, publication order of gaunt's ghosts: the lost books, publication order of gaunt's ghosts: the saint books, publication order of gaunt's ghosts: the victory books.

Gaunt’s Ghosts is a series of military science fiction novels written by the bestselling British author of short stories, sci-fi, comics and graphics novels, Dan Abnett. The series is set in Warhammer 40,000 universe and spans fifteen books.

The series features the main character, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, one of the few lucky political commissars of the Imperial Guard to be awarded command of a regiment. Even though Gaunt is the main character, the perspective from which the series is narrated continually changes to accommodate a broader view of events. The series also alludes other books by Dan Abnett such as Ravenor and Eisenhorn and this has resulted in three spin-off works.

Gaunt’s Ghosts started off as a continuing set of loosely connected short stories in the Inferno Magazine issues 4, 8, and 30. The series follows the exploitations of Ibram Gaunt, a Colonel-Commissar and his regiment of recon specialists and scouts, as they serve alongside in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. They often battle against the evil forces of Chaos even though they sometimes fight the orks on the land of Typhon Eight. Up until the sixth novel, the ghosts are majorly pitted against the heretical rebel’s armies. By the last pages of Only in Death, it is revealed that the ghosts have been serving in the crusade for over a decade.

Each novel in Gaunt’s Ghosts series starts off with an extract from a book titled, A History of the Later Imperial Crusades, which summarizes the situation in which the Ghosts have been deployed. The excerpts are often written in the past tense implies that the author wrote them after the Sabbat Worlds Crusade comes to an end.

First and Only

First and Only is the first book in Gaunt’s Ghosts series. Generally, like many novels opening a series, this book is about setting the tone of the entire series: who are these Gaunt’s Ghosts, where do they come from, who is Gaunt. This is a brilliant series opener that revolves around Ibram Gaunt and his regiment of Imperial Guard known as Gaunt’s Ghosts.

Gaunt is politician known as a commissar and also commands his battlefield regiment at the rank of colonel. The story kicks off with a patrol of warships trying to retrieve a Vermillion level communication from the void. Generally, it is required that an astropath has to filter out the signal, retrieve it and decode it. Somehow this signal finds itself in Gaunt’s hands through a date crystal. In between this, Gaunt and his regiment have to battle a war on Fortis Binary and then onto Menazoid Epsilon.

Gaunt is a rare monster in Warhammer 40K, he is both likable and at times detestable. Which is somehow ironic as the primary focus of the story revolves around the inter-regimental battle between Gaunt’s Ghosts and the regiment controlled by Flense.

Gaunt is a real leader, he inspires and makes his followers aspire to be just like him. He cares a lot about his men and does not water lives anyhow unlike Imperial Guard commander who essentially sends them in a “meat grinder” through a battler of attrition. First and Only is an enjoyable story with endless conflicts and space travel.

The liberation crusade continues to push its way to the Sabbat Worlds pushing the warriors of Chaos on every single front. The Tanith First and the Only are sent to Monthax, a world that reminds the Tanith warriors of their lost homeland. The Tanith’s are described as dark haired, pale skinned, with a lilting and sing-song accent, and most of the Tanith men are tattooed with blue ink.

Ghostmaker, book two in Gaunt’s Ghost series, is an exciting read with a strange and unique structure. The first two-thirds of the book consists of short stories that narrate flashbacks to the critical moments of the individual soldiers within Tanith First and also the entire unit from Ibram Gaunt in the hierarchical structure.

The short stories are diverse in nature and their narration, but they are all good, mixing humor, tragedy, and action with fascinating character development.

Several essential Ghost characters were featured in the first book in the series, but the author is able to describe several other interesting details, giving readers an insight to the exciting backstory that illuminates the action in this installment as well as other books in the series. Abnett also makes greater use of the Warhammer 40,000 universe tossing in some appearances of Eldar and Orcs to spice up the story.

The last third of the Ghostmaker story is a more traditional war narration as Tanith First battles against the Chaos forces on Monthax. It’s a solid tale with good writing.

In particular, the author chooses the Imperial Guard to team up with an alien combat group to defend himself against a larger enemy, a trope that several Warhammer 40,000 writers use when needed despite the fact that the association with an alien in the WH40K universe is considered heresy in all circumstances.

Just like its predecessor, Ghostmaker is a collection of short stories that are spread around the main plot of the Imperial invasion. Each short story serves as a quick re-introduction of some of the best men in Gaunt’s regiment mainly focusing on their combat skills and their relationships with the commanding officer. About half of the stories in the novel are based out in quick flashbacks of combat, action, and adventure, and after the main novel narrative picks up, the Imperial Army is commanded to advance into the jungle and fight the ruthless forces of Chaos.

Also just like First and Only, Ghostmaker is a thrilling no-nonsense space war novel with lots of carnage and action and the story only brief interludes showcasing how soldiers spend their free time between demanding missions. One of Dan Abnett’s strengths when it comes to novel writing lies on character building, Ghostmaker is a brilliant example, as the author works through different characters from Gaunt’s Ghosts and vividly explains their history, opinions and the feelings on the loss of Tanith. If you like science-fiction stories set in space, then Gaunt’s Ghost by Dan Abnett is a brilliant match for you.

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Cosy fantasy books for spooky season

Tis the season for witchy rom-coms and books with a werewolf, vampire or ghost love interest.

We love autumn. It’s the season of roll-neck jumpers, thick blankets, rewatching Gilmore Girls for the tenth time and, of course, turning the pages of a good book.

While ‘spooky season’ is the perfect time to crack open your old edition of Dracula , or scare yourself silly with a creepy horror story , it's also a great opportunity to seek out cosy stories with a supernatural element.

Paranormal romances have flourished in recent years, and it's easy to see why. There's something fun and somewhat comforting about witchy rom-coms, or novels with a charming werewolf/vampire/ghost love interest. Like Twilight , only with much less angst and broodiness.

Though sometimes described as “cosy fantasy” on BookTok, these stories are usually set in the real world – albeit with with a fantastical twist. If you love comfort-watching Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic or Halloweentown every October, we think you’ll love reading the below recommendations…

The best cosy fantasy and paranormal romance books

My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine (2023)

We’d usually say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but My Roommate is a Vampire is an exception. Much like its fun pop art-style cover, this story is fresh, exciting , and spooky yet comforting. The story follows Cassie, who finds a stunning, suspiciously cheap apartment in an upmarket neighbourhood, and thinks all her prayers have been answered.

It doesn’t hurt that her new roommate is gorgeous, too. Sure, Frederick mysteriously disappears during the daytime, talks and dresses like a character from Bridgerton , and is secretly a vampire, but nobody's perfect...This love story sizzles with chemistry and is perfect for fans of The Flatshare and Twilight alike.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton (2021)

Cecilia belongs to The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, an association of pirates, thieves , and outlaws, who spend their days pickpocketing and blackmailing people – all before afternoon tea.

Of course, their actions haven’t gone unnoticed, and some people in high places are determined to shut them down. Enter Ned, a paid assassin who has been sent to kill Cecilia. There’s only one problem: he’s falling in love with her.

This Victorian enemies-to-lovers romance with a twist feels deliciously autumnal. It’s also the first in a popular series that includes The League of Gentlewoman Witches and The Secret Service of Tea and Treason .

This Spells Disaster by Tori Anne Martin (2023)

Morgan is a self-proclaimed “messy witch”; her spells – and her life decisions – often end in disaster. But when her dream woman, Rory, agrees to fake-date her during the New England Witches’ festival, Morgan thinks her luck might be changing. As the pair get closer, their chemistry is undeniable, and Morgan wonders if their fake relationship could give way to true feelings.

That is, until she discovers she might have accidentally given Rory a love potion, thus breaking the most sacred Witch Council Law. Now she must sabotage the relationship to break the spell , but will she break her own heart in the process?

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (2023)

Evie is desperate for a job, so when a mishap results in a job offer from Rennedawn’s most infamous villain, she has no choice but to accept. Even as she gets used to working in the dark dungeon, where severed heads hang from the ceiling, Evie faces a more disturbing prospect: she’s developing a crush on her terrifying, temperamental , and drop-dead gorgeous employer.

But there's more trouble on the horizon; Evie suspects that someone is trying to take her boss down, and it’s her job to find out who. Find out if she succeeds in this fun, spooky workplace romance with a twist.

My Boyfriend is a Vampire by Eva Knight (2023)

Hazy is just looking for a college fling. But when she meets her charming neighbour Godric, she can’t help but fall for him. Still, the path of true love never did run smooth, as Godric has a secret: he’s a vampire.

Dating a vampire comes with its own challenges, but things get even messier when Hazy’s ex-boyfriend comes back into the picture – especially when he comes dangerously close to uncovering the truth about her new beau. Can Hazy keep her boyfriend’s secret, or could there be more at stake than their hearts? This paranormal romance is charming and funny, with a high-stakes plot that will keep you hooked until the last page.  

Signs of Cupidity by Raven Kennedy (2023)

Emelle is a cupid, meaning it’s her job to make mortals fall in love. But after a series of terrible matchmaking decisions, she is banished to the fae world. While there, she accidentally attacks a fae prince with love arrows, and he retaliates by pushing her into the physical realm. Now she has a real body, it’s time for her to find her perfect match.

This quirky fantasy romance is the latest work from Raven Kennedy, author of the popular dark fantasy Plated Prisoner series .

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling (2021)

Nine years ago, young witch Vivienne nursed her broken heart with vodka, a bubble bath and placing a hex on her ex. Now, her former flame Rhys is back. But his return to their small town results in a series of disastrous events: toys that come to life, hostile ghosts and a talking cat, to name a few. Everyone’s magic is in turmoil – and now Vivienne and Rhys must work together to break the curse and save their town.

Expect a twisty plot, loveable characters, and a fair amount of spice. If you like witchy rom-coms with the small-town autumnal vibes of Gilmore Girls, you’ll love The Ex Hex and its sequel, The Kiss Curse .

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Comic Book Artists, Writers Launch Creator-Owned Media Company 'Ghost Machine'

Best-Selling author Brad Meltzer has joined forces with a group of writers and artists aiming to shake up the comic book industry and send more of its profits to the creators behind the characters.

The former host of History Channel's "Decoded" has formed Ghost Machine, a media company being unveiled Thursday at New York Comic Con. The unique venture is jointly owned by the founding writers and artists, who will also operate it, and hopefully, profit from it, the company said in a release .

"As the recent Hollywood strikes have shown, creatives are disenfranchised with the traditional industry model - creators seek increased empowerment as a natural progression to an ever-changing entertainment landscape," the statement said. "Ghost Machine's enterprising business model is at the forefront of this evolution with the characters and full company ownership shared by its creators in every way."

"When you tell the stories of comics themselves, the creator doesn't always come first," Meltzer told The New York Times . "The tension goes back to the earliest days of comics: In 1938, the creators of Superman sold their rights to the character for $130, with no inkling of how valuable the hero would become."

Meltzer is joined by Jason Fabok, an artist for many of the Batman titles; veteran D.C. artists and writers Gary Frank, Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi and Francis Manapul; " The Authority " co-creator Bryan Hitch; " Young Jedi Adventures " developer and writer Lamont Magee and writer Maytal Zchut.

The company said it plans to announce additional talent in coming months, "including one major superstar creator." All of the talen will be exclusive to Ghost Machine for their comics work once they've completed projects they've already committed to, the company said..

"Everybody in the business wants to see comics thrive and continue to be an important part of pop culture," Johns, who is known for his work on DC characters like Flash, Green Lantern and the Teen Titans, told The Times. "But the business model shifts so rapidly, we wanted to evolve with it."

Ghost Machine will publish through Image Comics , itself the brainchild of top-selling artists who grew frustrated with their lack of editorial control and the limited earnings from working on characters owned by major media companies — D.C. is part of Warner Bros. Discovery and Marvel is a subsidiary of Disney.

Johns and Frank produced their own creator-owned work in 2021, "Geiger," a six-issue comic about a man living in a post-nuclear-war world published by Image Comics. The critical and commercial success is under development by Paramount Television Studios, The Times reported, with Johns writing the pilot.

Because it was a creator-owned title, the profit "Geiger" generated went to the team and they control the media rights. Both Johns and Frank will be the showrunners for the Paramount project.

"Geiger: Ground Zero," a two-part prequel series, will be Ghost Machine's first launch, coming in November. "Ghost Machine" No. 2, a 64-page comic that The Times said will introduce four shared universes, will debut in January. It will feature First Ghost, who is part of a supernatural story written by Meltzer set in the White House, and the time-traveling Rocketfellers created by Tomasi and Manapul.

"Our ambition for Ghost Machine is to push beyond superheroes, introducing new genres, characters and shared universes, completely co-owned by all the creators involved," the company said. "We see this as the future of how creatives will work and retain creative control and meaningfully participate in success like never before."

The post Comic Book Artists, Writers Launch Creator-Owned Media Company 'Ghost Machine' appeared first on TheWrap .

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Gaunt's Ghosts — by Dan Abnett

# of Books:

First book:, latest book:, series rating:.

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The Gaunt's Ghosts Series in Order (15 Books)

Book descriptions for series: gaunt's ghosts.

"The Tanith are strong fighters, general, so I have heard.' The scar tissue of his cheek pinched and twitched slightly, as often did when he was tense. 'Gaunt is said to be a resourceful leader." "You know him?" The general looked up, questioningly....

THEY WERE a good two hours into the dark, blacktrunked forests, tracks churning the filthy ooze and the roar of their engines resonating from the sickly canopy of leaves above, when Colonel Ortiz saw death. It wore red, and stood in the trees to t...

GAUNT WAS SHAKING, and breathing hard. He'd lost his cap somewhere, his jacket was torn and he was splattered with blood. Something flickered behind him and he wheeled, his blade Flashing as it made contact. A tall, black figure lurched backwards. It...

COMMISSAR GAUNT and his Ghosts are back in action at the forefront of battle on a vital shrine-world of the deepest tactical and spiritual importance. But the vile forces of Chaos will never allow them to hold their prize for long and, as the counter...

IN THE SABBAT Worlds Crusade, the heretical forces of Chaos are fighting back hard. Dangerously overstretched, their supply lines cut by degenerate enemy troops, the Imperial forces grind to a halt. Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and the Tanith First-and-...

ON THE. BATTLEFIELDS of Aexe Cardinal, the struggling forces of the Imperial Guard are locked in a deadly stalemate with the dark armies of Chaos. Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his regiment, the Tanith First-and-Only, are 'thrown headlong into this livin...

A NEW WAVE of hope has been unleashed in the Chaos-infested Sabbat system when a girl claiming to be the reincarnation of Saint Sabbat is revealed. Despite private doubts from the military high command, she proves to be the perfect rallying point for...

Saviour... or assassin? THE FIRST EXCITING installment in a new series of Gaunt's Ghosts novels. A high-ranking Imperial officer has been captured by the foul forces of Chaos. Gaunt must assemble a squad of his most trusted men and venture deep into...

Back from the Dead! As WAR RAGES in the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, Commissar Ibram Gaunt returns from a hellish mission deep behind enemy lines to find his regiment has been disbanded. The Tanith First-and-Only have been integrated into other Imperial...

Liberation or Damnation? IN THE WAR-TORN Sabbat Worlds crusade, Commissar Gaunt returns to the Chaos-held planet of Gereon to confront his personal demons! Still haunted by his lengthy mission behind enemy lines on Gereon, Commissar Ibram Gaunt hea...

Is this the end of the Ghosts? IN THE WAR-TORN Sabbat Worlds crusade, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and his regiment the Tanith First-and-Only struggle for survival against the forces of Chaos. As the crusade to liberate the Sabbat Worlds continues, the ...

CAN ANYONE BE TRUSTED? Pulled back from the front line of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, the men of the Tanith First-and-Only await news of their next deployment. But when an enemy prisoner is brought in for interrogation, Gaunt is drawn into a murder...

THE TANITH FIRST-AND-ONLY embark upon a desperate mission that could decide the fate of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade in the thirteenth book of this bestselling Imperial Guard series. The Ghosts of the Tanith First-and-Only have been away from the front ...

After the success of their desperate mission to Salvation's Reach, Colonel-Commisar Gaunt and the Tanith First race to the strategically vital forge world of Urdesh, besieged by the brutal armies of Anarch Sek. However, there may be more at stake tha...

For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule. The Space Marines of the Iron Snakes strike against heretic enclaves. Ast...

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A Radical Queer Novel Challenges the Idea of History Itself

Justin Torres’s genre-defying new book, “Blackouts,” explores what it means to be erased and how to persist after being wiped away.

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By Hugh Ryan

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BLACKOUTS , by Justin Torres

In erasure poetry, an original text is blacked out to create, or reveal, a different story embedded inside it. Whether the initial author intended this second message is irrelevant; the fact that some later poet could erase it into being is all the authority these writers need to argue that the uncovered piece was there all along. In this way, erasure poetry is much like queer history, a discipline that revolves around reading against the archive — mining biased sources for neutral facts, reading meaning into what isn’t said as much as what is, and flensing useful details off a rotten mass of lies.

In Justin Torres’s lyrical new novel, “Blackouts,” these two forms — erasure poetry and queer history — collide to create one epic conversation between a pivotal 20th-century queer sexology text and two unreliable queer Puerto Rican narrators (or perhaps three, depending how you read the genre-bending conclusion).

“Blackouts” opens with the book’s younger narrator (who is unnamed but affectionately referred to as “nene”) arriving at a mysterious institution called “the Palace,” in search of Juan Gay, an elderly queer man he had briefly met a decade before, when they were held in the same mental hospital. Juan is dying, and he hopes that nene will “finish the project that had once consumed him, the story of a certain woman who shared his last name. Miss Jan Gay.” With this burden comes a bequest, an inheritance of sorts: a two-volume, 1941 sexology study entitled “Sex Variants.” Juan’s copy, which he now gives to nene, has been largely erased to create poetry from its pathologized portraits of anonymous gay research subjects.

The title “Blackouts” refers both to this poetry (presented in photos between chapters) and to fugues nene has been suffering, which cause him to experience gaps in his consciousness. Understanding these episodes is the reason nene sets out to find Juan, the only person he’s ever met who seems like him in a fundamental way.

Nene moves into the Palace, and the pair begin a Scheherazade-esque dialogue, through which we come to learn that Jan Gay was, for a while, Juan’s guardian — and also the primary force behind the writing of “Sex Variants,” though in the end her work was stolen and published without giving her proper credit. Nene realizes that Juan hopes he will take these stories (Jan’s and Juan’s), meld them with his own and pass them on, becoming the latest link in a chain of oral history that stretches from queer to queer across continents and centuries. This, of course, is the only way to truly cheat death, the solution the real Scheherazade found (if she existed): to become an everlasting story.

The further into the novel you go, the less “real” everything outside Juan’s and nene’s stories seems. It is impossible to tell if “the Palace” is a sad charity hospice for dying homosexuals, for instance, or some kind of queer bardo for gay ghosts. The supreme pleasure of the book is its slow obliteration of any firm idea of reality — a perfect metaphor for the delirious disorientation that comes with learning queer history as an adult.

Over and over again, “Blackouts” highlights what has been lost, forgotten or obscured, without finding, remembering or demystifying it in the process. As a queer historian, I’m all for highlighting our obscured past, but Torres is using a more subtle blade here, attempting to chronicle the experience of not knowing, in both literal and metaphorical ways. Torres layers erasure upon erasure: Juan passes on quotes (whose source he can’t remember), calling forth people of color who are so often still forgotten when queer history is “recovered” by white scholars, and in doing so, he is introducing nene, whose own memory is like a cracked pot leaking, to a midcentury queer world that no longer exists. These erasures — and nene’s inheritance of and grappling with them — are the point. It is difficult to make a whole from a hole, but in Torres’s hands, we feel the weight of nothingness and the presence of absence.

Although it is marketed as a novel, “Blackouts” is not easily categorizable as fiction or nonfiction. Because “Sex Variants” was, indeed, a real study. Jan Gay was real too, and her research really was stolen by powerful men, who published it as their own. Readers familiar with Torres’s biography will also notice that nene bears a considerable resemblance to the author himself, and the final pages of the book play with the question of whether Juan was a real person or if he is just a fictional character.

It’s as though the magician has stepped forward at the end of the show to explain the trick, and disappeared himself in the process. Torres haunts this book full of ghosts like a ghost himself, and with this novel, he has passed the haunting on, creating the next link in a queer chain from Jan to Juan to nene to you.

Hugh Ryan is a curator and writer, and the author of “The Women’s House of Detention” and “When Brooklyn Was Queer.”

BLACKOUTS | By Justin Torres | Illustrated | 305 pp. | Farrar, Straus & Giroux | $30

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21 haunting books to read this Halloween, from ghostly thrillers to paranormal romances

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• Ghost books are often horror stories or paranormal thrillers, but can also be romantic.
• Here are 21 of the best ghost books to curl up with this Halloween.
• Want more books? Check out the best Halloween books and horror books .

I try to read a little bit of everything, from lovey romances to timeless classics , but I'm hopelessly obsessed with a good scare . When autumn comes around and Halloween is right around the corner , I can't resist pulling out the books filled with haunted houses, creepy twists, and — best of all — ghosts. 

When you think of ghost stories, you may think of a classic haunted tale, but ghosts are in all kinds of literary genres, from paranormal romances to creepy true crime tales . 

To make this list of perfect ghost books for Halloween, I looked at bestseller lists on Amazon and Audible , plus readers' favorites from Goodreads . So whether you're looking for a good scare or a fun read with a ghostly twist, here are some of the best ghost stories to read this Halloween. 

The 21 best ghost stories to read this Halloween:

A paranormal horror classic.

"The Shining" by Stephen King, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $8.27

In what is considered by many to be Stephen King's best work , Jack Torrance is looking for a fresh start when he takes a job as an off-season caretaker at the Overlook Hotel, hoping to focus on reconnecting with his son and work on his writing. When a winter storm traps Jack and his family inside the building, it becomes clear that something sinister is happening — and only his son, Danny, can see the secrets of the hotel's dark past.

An iconic ghost story

"The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $8.27

First published in 1959 and considered one of the best ghost stories of the 20th century, "The Haunting of Hill House" is a haunted house classic from Shirley Jackson, who also famously wrote "The Lottery." "The Haunting of Hill House" is about four people who volunteer to participate in a paranormal study by staying in a haunted mansion that's more powerful than they ever could have imagined. 

The tale of a young boy growing up in a ghostly graveyard

"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $8.27

"The Graveyard Book" is the young adult story of Nobody "Bod" Owens, who is a completely normal kid — except for growing up in a graveyard and being raised by ghosts. Bod's only rule is he must not leave the graveyard, as the dangers that lurk beyond the gates include the man who killed his family (and is waiting to finish the job). 

The story of a legendary ghost

"The Girl From the Well" by Rin Chupeco, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $9.99

The girl from the well is dead, hunting child murderers like the man who killed her 300 years ago. When a strange boy moves into the neighborhood bringing something eerie with him, the two set off on a terrifying and wicked journey that takes them to Aomori, Japan in this young adult paranormal horror story.  

A ghostly historical horror story

"The Deep" by Alma Katsu available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.99

"The Deep" is a historical fiction horror story set on the Titanic where the passengers believe something sinister is going on from the moment they set sail. Years after the Titanic sinks, Annie Hebbley survived the disaster and is now working as a nurse on the hospital ship Britannic when she comes across an unconscious soldier who she recognizes — but knows did not survive the sinking of the Titanic.

A powerful new ghostly thriller

"Mapping the Interior" by Stephen Graham Jones, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $10.99

When a young boy is wandering his house at night, he sees a strange figure who resembles his father who died mysteriously before his family left the reservation. When he follows the figure through the doorway, he discovers the secrets of their house and their family and finds he must risk everything to save his brother in this powerful and emotional paranormal thriller.

A newly released YA ghost story

"White Smoke" by Tiffany D. Jackson, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $15.19

In this new young adult thriller, Marigold is running from the metaphorical haunts of her old life when she moves to a Midwestern city with her new, blended family. Though their new house seems picture-perfect, strange things start happening, and when Marigold's younger sister can't stop talking about a friend who wants her gone, Marigold knows she must find out what's really happening in their home. 

The tale of a young girl whose best friend is a ghost

"City of Ghosts" by V.E. Schwab, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $6.78

After Cassidy Blake nearly drowned as a young girl, she was rescued by a ghost named Jacob and left with the ability to see the spirits around her. When her ghost-hunting parents take her to Scotland for their TV show, Cassidy meets Lara, another girl who can see the dead and believes they have an obligation to send ghosts beyond the Veil — permanently.

A creepy mystery about a haunted hotel

"The Sun Down Motel" by Simone St. James, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.40

In 1982, Carly's Aunt Viv was working as a night clerk at the Sun Down Motel when she mysteriously went missing and was never found. Now, Carly has taken the same job her aunt once had, determined to uncover the secrets around her aunt's disappearance before whatever frightening thing that haunts the motel can take her too.  

A spine-tingling ghost story set in Japan

"Nothing But Blackened Teeth" by Cassandra Khaw, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $15.86

When a group of five friends reunite in Japan for a destination wedding and rent a Heian-era mansion, they discover the bones of a long-dead bride. The group soon learns that when the bride's fiance died on the way to the wedding, she had herself buried alive beneath the house, waiting for his ghost to come home. Each year after, another girl was buried in the walls to keep her company. In this horrifying thriller, the five ghost-hunting friends are thrilled by the adventure of uncovering this haunted history — until their fun night quickly devolves into a nightmare.

Sign up for Insider Reviews' weekly newsletter for more buying advice and great deals. You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here . Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at [email protected] .

Gaunt's Ghosts

First and only publisher's summary.

A Warhammer 40,000 audiobook.   

In the Chaos-infested Sabbat Worlds, Imperial Commissar Gaunt must lead his men through as much in-fighting amongst rival regiments as against the forces of Chaos.   

Listen to it because: First and Only was one of the first books published by Black Library and is the most read Warhammer 40,000 novel ever, an absolute classic. This story begins the saga of Colonel Commissar Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only that has since grown into a multi-novel epic. It all starts here.  

The story: For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule. And at the forefront of that crusade are Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only - better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. Trapped in the grinding trench warfare of Fortis Binary, the Ghosts find themselves drawn into a conspiracy to assassinate the crusade’s leader, Warmaster Macaroth. 

With enemies all around them and no one to trust, Gaunt and his men must find a way to save the warmaster and prevent the Sabbat Worlds Crusade from falling into anarchy - even if it means waging war on their supposed allies.

You're getting a free audiobook.

First and Only

• Gaunt's Ghost, Book 1
• By: Dan Abnett
• Narrated by: Toby Longworth
• Length: 10 hrs
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 4,538
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 3,909
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 3,892

For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule. And at the forefront of that crusade are Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only - better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts. Trapped in the grinding trench warfare of Fortis Binary, the Ghosts find themselves drawn into a conspiracy to assassinate the crusade’s leader, Warmaster Macaroth.

• 5 out of 5 stars

About Fething Time!

• By Richard James on 11-11-19
• Release date: 11-02-19
• Language: English
• 5 out of 5 stars 4,538 ratings

Add to Cart failed.

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Regular price: $28.45 or 1 credit

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• Gaunt's Ghosts, Book 2
• Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 2,682
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 2,290
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 2,278

On Monthax, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his Tanith First-and-Only await the order to advance into the sweltering jungle and drive the alien eldar from the world. As battle approaches, Gaunt walks the lines, raising his men's spirits and remembering their most heroic deeds - and the tragedies that have dogged Gaunt's Ghosts from the day of their founding on lost Tanith. The day that Gaunt became known as the Ghostmaker. 

love it! Need more Dan Abnett Titles

• By Elvina on 08-03-20
• Release date: 12-14-19
• 5 out of 5 stars 2,682 ratings

• Gaunt’s Ghosts, Book 3
• Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 2,615
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 2,274
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 2,264

On the world of Verghast, a grinding war between two hive cities - one loyal to the Imperium, the other fallen to the worship of the Dark Gods - is bolstered by the forces of the Astra Militarum, spearheaded by the Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and the Tanith First and Only. But bitter rivalries and treachery threaten to derail the defence of Vervunhive, and it falls to Gaunt to take command of the Imperial forces and forge victory from an almost certain defeat.   

Simply awesome!

• By Anonymous User on 06-02-20
• Release date: 05-30-20
• 5 out of 5 stars 2,615 ratings

Honour Guard

• Gaunt's Ghosts, Book 4
• Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 1,973
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 1,724
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 1,716

In disgrace after a catastrophic war, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and the Tanith First are sent to retrieve precious artefacts from a world lost to Chaos. With enemy all around them and time against them, Gaunt's Ghosts and their allies must prevent the holy relics of Saint Sabbat from falling into their foes' hands, and as mysterious events begin to occur, Gaunt begins to suspect that the Saint herself might be aiding them from beyond the grave. 

I see Gaunt's Ghost Novel, I open my wallet!

• By Anonymous User on 09-27-20
• Release date: 09-26-20
• 5 out of 5 stars 1,973 ratings

Guns of Tanith

• Warhammer 40,000: Gaunt's Ghosts, Book 5
• Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 1,639
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 1,433
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 1,427

Gaunt’s Ghosts embark on their most dangerous mission yet as they make a daring drop assault on the world of Phantine. With the elite enemy Blood Pact and vicious xenos mercenaries ranged against them and short of ammunition with no means of escape, things look grim for the Tanith First. But the greatest danger may come from within the regiment as an old grudge is settled and tragedy strikes. 

a group of servators guarded the tech magi

• By Dominic on 12-01-20
• Release date: 11-21-20
• 5 out of 5 stars 1,639 ratings

Straight Silver

• Gaunt’s Ghosts: Warhammer 40,000, Book 6
• Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 1,336
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 1,178
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 1,170

On the battlefields of Aexe Cardinal, the stalwart forces of the Imperial Guard are locked in a deadly stalemate with the dark armies of Chaos. Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his regiment, the Tanith First and Only, are thrown headlong into the living hell of trench warfare, where death by an unseen enemy is always just a moment away. The only chance for Gaunt and his lightly armed scouts to survive is to volunteer for a mission so dangerous that no one else dares accept it.

• 4 out of 5 stars
• By Brandon on 06-26-21
• Release date: 06-19-21
• 5 out of 5 stars 1,336 ratings

Sabbat Martyr

• Gaunt's Ghosts: Warhammer 40,000, Book 7
• Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 1,254
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 1,111
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 1,108

Saint Sabbat has returned, and she is being hunted by the deadliest of assassins. Gaunt's Ghosts must fight to protect her - but can they defend against treachery from within? It's the culmination of a massive story arc that sees tragedy strike even as the Sabbat Worlds Crusade is given new hope with the reappearance of the Saint herself. Mysticism and warfare collide, with compelling results.

Another book finished within a week

• By Damon Barley on 01-04-22
• Release date: 12-18-21
• 5 out of 5 stars 1,254 ratings

Traitor General

• Gaunt's Ghosts: Warhammer 40,000, Book 8
• Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 1,100
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 965
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 960

An Imperial general has defected to the enemy, and the secrets he carries could spell the end of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and a small team from the Tanith First must infiltrate an enemy-held world and gain the trust of the local underground, all the while trying desperately to avoid the ever-present taint of Chaos. Their mission: to stop the traitor general from revealing his secrets - by any means necessary.

Never disappointed.

• By Patrick on 04-21-22
• Release date: 03-26-22
• 5 out of 5 stars 1,100 ratings

His Last Command

• Gaunt's Ghosts: Warhammer 40,000, Book 9
• Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 898
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 799
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 795

It's the end of Gaunt's Ghosts! No, really, the Tanith First has been disbanded, and Gaunt has been sent elsewhere. What will it take to draw them back together? How about a stonking big Chaos attack? The Tanith First are no more. Moved into another regiment under a charismatic new commander, the loyalties of the former Ghosts are put to the test when Colonel-Commissar Gaunt, long believed dead, returns. As the enemy overrun the Imperial forces, Gaunt must fight not only to be reunited with his Ghosts, but to stop all their lives being thrown away in an unwinnable war.

another fantastic addition

• By Austin Moore on 09-10-22
• Release date: 09-10-22
• 5 out of 5 stars 898 ratings

The Armour of Contempt

• Gaunt's Ghosts: Warhammer 40,000, Book 10
• Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 386
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 318
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 318

Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt spent a year fighting as part of the underground resistance on the enemy-held world of Gereon. When he left, he promised that he would bring the forces of the Imperium to liberate Gereon's citizens from their oppressors. Now he has returned, a crusade army at his back, but he finds a world devastated by war and a people irrevocably damaged by the taint of Chaos. Now Gaunt must fight to save Gereon not only from the enemy, but from the Imperium itself.

Amazing performance as always, Not great story

• By Amazon Customer on 02-03-23
• Release date: 01-21-23
• 5 out of 5 stars 386 ratings

Only in Death

• Gaunt’s Ghosts: Warhammer 40,000, Book 11
• Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 12
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 12
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 12

The Sabbat Worlds Crusade has reached the fortress-world of Jago, and the Tanith First are given a vital – and dangerous – mission to defend a key pass against the enemy, garrisoned in an ancient mansion, the Hinzerhaus. Strange things are happening there. There are voices on the wind, and people are disappearing. With the enemy outside and ghosts within, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt and his men must face their fears – for only in death does duty end.

Dry Skulls in a Dusty Valley

• By Kyle L. on 10-08-23
• Release date: 10-07-23
• 5 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

Regular price: $32.71 or 1 credit

Sale price: $32.71 or 1 credit

Salvation's Reach

• Gaunt's Ghosts, Book 13
• Narrated by: James McPherson
• Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 605
• Performance 4 out of 5 stars 549
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 545

The Ghosts of the Tanith First-and-Only have been away from the front line for too long. Listless and hungry for action, they are offered a mission that perfectly suits their talents. The objective: the mysterious Salvation's Reach, a remote and impenetrable stronghold concealing secrets that could change the course of the Sabbat Worlds campaign.

Record all the Gaunt books, I WILL BUY THEM!

• By Patrick Smith II on 04-03-18
• Release date: 09-27-17
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 605 ratings

The Warmaster

• Gaunt's Ghosts, Book 14
• Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
• Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 632
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 571
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 570

After the success of their desperate mission to Salvation's Reach, Colonel Commissar Gaunt and the Tanith First race to the strategically vital forge world of Urdesh, besieged by the brutal armies of Anarch Sek. However, there may be more at stake than just a planet. The Imperial forces have made an attempt to divide and conquer their enemy, but with Warmaster Macaroth himself commanding the Urdesh campaign, it is possible that the Archenemy assault has a different purpose....

Outstanding

• By Berserk on 12-30-17
• Release date: 12-02-17
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 632 ratings

• Gaunt's Ghosts, Book 15
• Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 607
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 543
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 541

Men of Tanith...do you want to live forever? On the forge world of Urdesh, the massed forces of the Imperial Crusade engage in a final bloody battle with the Archenemy commander known as the Anarch and his elite warriors - the barbaric Sons of Sek. A victory for either side will decide more than just the fate of Urdesh...it will determine the outcome of the entire Sabbat Worlds Crusade. 

loved the book but the audio was so quiet on this

• By damien glenn on 02-25-19
• Release date: 02-16-19
• 5 out of 5 stars 607 ratings

• Warhammer 40,000
• By: Dan Abnett, Graham McNeill, Robert Rath, and others
• Narrated by: Emma Gregory, Toby Longworth
• Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 139
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 123
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 122

The Sabbat War is a savage Imperial crusade, cutting a bloody, burning path across a vast swathe of the Imperium's lost territory. On the front line, the stalwart regiments of the Astra Militarum, including the valiant Tanith First-and-Only—better known as Gaunt’s Ghosts—confront the relentless menace of Chaos, the Archenemy of Mankind. There is, and ever will be, only war.

• 2 out of 5 stars

Not what I was expecting

• By Jon zinck on 06-16-23
• By: Dan Abnett , Graham McNeill , Robert Rath , Marc Collins , Matthew Farrer , Justin D Hill , Edoardo Albert , John French , Rachel Harrison
• Narrated by: Emma Gregory , Toby Longworth
• Release date: 06-25-22
• 5 out of 5 stars 139 ratings

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Ghosts series five review – this beautifully warm comedy bows out on a high

Ghosts is one of TV’s best comedies, and this funny and clever final season doesn’t disappoint. It is touching and comforting without being cheesy. Let’s hope they haunt us again one day…

G hosts has been one of the warmest and most consistent comedies of the last few years. One of the many feathers in its extremely feathered cap is that its Christmas specials have proved to be the only truly essential festive viewing left. Still, all good hauntings must come to an end, and this fifth series is the last.

In many ways, its end point is arbitrary. The formula is so good, and so well-oiled, that you get the sense it could have gone on for ever. There is a Simpsons-esque longevity built into its bones that would have been hampered only by its actors getting older, since the ghosts are supposed to remain as they were when they died. The only upside to the creators calling time on Button House now is that there is no danger of it outstaying its welcome.

There is a hint of what a future without Ghosts might look like early on in these final episodes, as Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) wakes up to a house without any ghosts in it. It is a reminder that this is how it must look to her husband, Mike, (Kiell Smith-Bynoe), who can’t see the ghosts at all. But it is only an April fool, a prank played on Alison by the ghosts who plainly adore her. She spends the first episode attempting to take her revenge, picking them off one by one, using scotch eggs, tattoos and balloons to target their weak points. The only nut she can’t crack is Pat, the scout leader, who is used to the horrors of teenagers en masse. “Been there, done it, got the T-shirt, mate,” he says; the way Jim Howick delivers the line had me in an inexplicable fit of giggles. The language is luscious, as always, particularly when it comes to Lady Button, who disapproves of Alison’s “new” tattoos. “My own kith and kin, branded like some lowly navvy, painted like a tawdry jezebel,” she hoots, ripely.

The episodes are beautifully structured, too. As Alison makes her way through the pranking list, Mike has to deal with a “loss adjuster” from the insurance company, there to investigate the Gate House fire. Naturally, all worlds collide. There is talk of selling the land, a ghostly gameshow, a mishap with a walk-in safe and, towards the end of the run, a secret that threatens to unsettle everything. There is also a lot of talk of Is It Cake?, which is, obviously, Kitty’s favourite show.

Ghosts is the ultimate in comfort television, without ever seeming as if it is trying too hard to be that. It is often moving, and can catch you by surprise. There’s nothing in this season with quite the same emotional impact as the departure of Katy Wix’s Mary, though the Captain’s backstory comes close. It is as silly as it is touching, but ultimately, every catastrophe or upset or chaotic decision ends with a gentle triumph, and every mess made by the ghosts or the humans becomes an opportunity to learn and grow. And still, it manages to avoid being cheesy.

There are bigger storylines here, as life changes for Alison and Mike, and decisions must be made about the future of the ever-crumbling Button House. We rarely get to see stories on TV about people struggling financially, in any ordinary sense. Most fictional characters seem to live in pristine Victorian semis with vast kitchen extensions, no matter whether they are an investment banker or a teaching assistant. And if they are evidently strapped for cash, it’s usually because they’ve gambled their lives away or rejected their former life as a gangland boss. While it’s a stretch to call Alison and Mike’s setup recognisable, what with all the ghosts, and the mansion, they are broke at a time when much of the country is feeling broke, too. Ghosts is often far more relatable than you would imagine for a show about historical dead people, and this adds to the notion that it really is a show for everyone.

There is a neatness to proceedings, too. Kitty and the Captain are given flashbacks to their deaths, completing the deck of backstories. I was wondering if the final episode would do something profound, like Blackadder or Derry Girls. I won’t give it away, but it sends itself off in a more humble style, with an episode that feels very much like an episode of Ghosts. It certainly doesn’t feel too final, just in case there is ever any desire to revive it. Television has grown very tense in recent years, but there is a lot to be said for TV that is sweet, funny, clever and warm. I hope that one day Ghosts comes back to haunt us.

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Ghosts aired on BBC One and is available on iPlayer

Most viewed

100 Best Ghost Story Books of All Time

We've researched and ranked the best ghost story books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean, Margaret Atwood | 5.00

Meghan Camarena While I was walking to the gym I finished the last chapter of The Graveyard Book by @neilhimself. I must’ve looked like a mad woman because I was balling my eyes out in public. Damn, what an incredible story. (Source)

Simon Smith @carveresque ...but The Graveyard Book is one of the best books ever. (Source)

See more recommendations for this book...

The Haunting of Hill House

Shirley Jackson | 4.89

Ben Shapiro Very enjoyable. It is a good book. (Source)

Ramsey Campbell This book is one of several novels in which a group of ghost hunters or psychic investigators move into a house with a reputation of being haunted, and see what they find. But what makes this the greatest single ghost novel, in my view, is that it’s at least as much about the psychological interaction of the characters as it is about the overtly spectral. There’s a superb characterisation of the... (Source)

The Woman in Black

Susan Hill, John Lawrence | 4.82

A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens | 4.70

The Shining

Stephen King | 4.69

Daisy Johnson If you think you know the story because you’ve seen the film then you’d be wrong. This book is an absolute classic and a great way into the vast King oeuvre. (Source)

R J Ellory I have always rated Stephen King. I think he is so much more than just a commercially successful horror writer. (Source)

Wait Till Helen Comes

A Ghost Story

Mary Downing Hahn | 4.63

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna, #1)

Kendare Blake | 4.58

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co., #1)

Jonathan Stroud | 4.55

Robin Stevens Lockwood & Co is set in a world where ghosts are real and they walk among us. Hauntings are becoming daily more dangerous—and deadly. Only children can see ghosts, so children become the most important people in this world. (Source)

Heart-Shaped Box

Joe Hill | 4.54

The Haunting of Maddy Clare

Simone St. Jame | 4.49

Don't have time to read the top Ghost Story books of all time? Read Shortform summaries.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

• Being comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
• Cutting out the fluff: you focus your time on what's important to know
• Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.

Anya's Ghost

Vera Brosgol | 4.45

The Turn of the Screw

Henry James | 4.45

The Little Stranger

Sarah Water | 4.45

Ghost Story

Peter Straub | 4.44

The Winter People

Jennifer McMahon | 4.44

Holly Black | 4.43

Stephen King | 4.42

The Whispering Skull (Lockwood & Co., #2)

Jonathan Stroud | 4.42

Deep and Dark and Dangerous (A Ghost Story)

Mary Downing Hahn | 4.41

Bag of Bones

Stephen King | 4.40

The Broken Girls

Simone St. Jame | 4.40

The Thirteenth Tale

Diane Setterfield | 4.39

The Creeping Shadow (Lockwood & Co., #4)

Jonathan Stroud | 4.36

Toni Morrison | 4.35

Esi Edugyan I was shocked by the blunt force of its subject matter and its exquisitely torqued prose. It remains one of my most adored novels. (Source)

Bianca Belair @ylc130 I went to the library when I was in the 3rd grade and read Beloved... I remember being so confused and my Mama having to explain it to me... I later read it as an adult and it hit me completely different. GREAT BOOK! (Source)

Farah Jasmine Griffin Beloved was Morrison’s fifth novel. It’s a gripping story, inspired by a famous abolitionist case, the true story of a woman who runs away from slavery with her children, but when the slave catchers catch up with her, she kills one of her own and tries to kill the others, rather than returning them to slavery. (Source)

Ninth House - Signed / Autographed Copy

Leigh Bardugo | 4.35

Rainbow Rowell I only came on here to say HAPPY BOOKDAY to one of my favorite people, @LBardugo, who has written a kickass book for adults! 🖤🖤🖤 https://t.co/2KSgpgGasB (Source)

Joe Hill Was absolutely thrilled by @LBardugo's 9th House & @LordGrimdark's A Little Hatred... riveting masterpieces both, textbooks in suspense, pacing, and brilliant characterizations. Was wowed by @susanorlean's lovely weird dive into libraries, THE LIBRARY BOOK. https://t.co/f4atN6dxwj (Source)

Marie Lu Possibly the best book I’ve read this year, no surprise, and for so many reasons. @LBardugo ‘s best work to date. That is saying a LOT. 🖤🖤🖤 Take us into the darkness, queen! https://t.co/Ma4h12455u (Source)

All the Lovely Bad Ones

Mary Downing Hahn | 4.34

The Canterville Ghost

Oscar Wilde, Inga Moore | 4.34

Ruined (Ruined, #1)

Paula Morris | 4.33

The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold | 4.31

Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones , unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it,...

Alice Sebold's haunting and heartbreaking debut novel, The Lovely Bones , unfolds from heaven, where "life is a perpetual yesterday" and where Susie narrates and keeps watch over her grieving family and friends, as well as her brazen killer and the sad detective working on her case. As Sebold fashions it, everyone has his or her own version of heaven. Susie's resembles the athletic fields and landscape of a suburban high school: a heaven of her "simplest dreams," where "there were no teachers.... We never had to go inside except for art class.... The boys did not pinch our backsides or tell us we smelled; our textbooks were Seventeen and Glamour and Vogue ."

The Lovely Bones works as an odd yet affecting coming-of-age story. Susie struggles to accept her death while still clinging to the lost world of the living, following her family's dramas over the years like an episode of My So-Called Afterlife . Her family disintegrates in their grief: her father becomes determined to find her killer, her mother withdraws, her little brother Buckley attempts to make sense of the new hole in his family, and her younger sister Lindsey moves through the milestone events of her teenage and young adult years with Susie riding spiritual shotgun. Random acts and missed opportunities run throughout the book--Susie recalls her sole kiss with a boy on Earth as "like an accident--a beautiful gasoline rainbow." Though sentimental at times, The Lovely Bones is a moving exploration of loss and mourning that ultimately puts its faith in the living and that is made even more powerful by a cast of convincing characters. Sebold orchestrates a big finish, and though things tend to wrap up a little too well for everyone in the end, one can only imagine (or hope) that heaven is indeed a place filled with such happy endings. --Brad Thomas Parsons

An Inquiry Into Love and Death

Simone St. James | 4.30

Dark Matter

Michelle PAVER | 4.29

Her Fearful Symmetry

Audrey Niffenegger | 4.29

Wuthering Heights

Emily Bronte | 4.28

John Sutherland The Brontës had this idea of a Samson figure. Rochester, like Samson, has to be mutilated before he can be domesticated. What is interesting about Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights, is that he isn’t. He remains this superman. He is greater than a human being. He is named after two elemental things, the heath and the cliff. We never know what his first name is. (Source)

Robert McCrum Cathy—and all of Emily Brontë’s characters—are more or less feral. That’s why we love them. It’s a different world, it’s a mad world. In some ways, Emily Brontë is more of a poet. But she has inspired many subsequent writers of fiction. You couldn’t imagine Lawrence without her, for example. You couldn’t imagine some of Hardy. (Source)

Riz Khan Again it’s about love turning into obsessions and being all-consuming and how even future generations are manipulated by this love. (Source)

The Hollow Boy (Lockwood & Co., #3)

Jonathan Stroud | 4.28

The Name of the Star (Shades of London, #1)

Maureen Johnson | 4.27

Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to...

Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables.

Long Way Down

Jason Reynolds | 4.26

The Silent Companions

Laura Purcell | 4.26

Raina Telgemeie | 4.25

The Empty Grave (Lockwood & Co., #5)

Jonathan Stroud, Emily Bevan, et al | 4.24

Mary Downing Hahn | 4.24

City of Ghosts

Victoria Schwab | 4.23

The Old Willis Place

Mary Downing Hahn | 4.23

The Diviners (The Diviners, #1)

Libba Bray, January LaVoy, et al | 4.22

Silence for the Dead

Simone St. James | 4.22

This House is Haunted

out of 5 stars46 | 4.21

Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean | 4.20

What's on the other side of the door? A distorted-mirror world, containing presumably everything Coraline has ever dreamed of... people who pronounce her name correctly (not "Caroline"), delicious meals (not like her father's overblown "recipes"), an unusually pink and green bedroom (not like her dull one), and plenty of horrible (very un-boring) marvels, like a man made out of live rats. The creepiest part, however, is her mirrored parents, her "other mother" and her "other father"--people who look just like her own parents, but with big, shiny, black button eyes, paper-white skin... and a keen desire to keep her on their side of the door. To make creepy creepier, Coraline has been illustrated masterfully in scritchy, terrifying ink drawings by British mixed-media artist and Sandman cover illustrator Dave McKean. This delightful, funny, haunting, scary as heck, fairy-tale novel is about as fine as they come. Highly recommended. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson

Simon Smith @lindsanderson @Misterbodd @PaulWat5 @f33lthesun Awesomely scary book full stop! Great though. (Source)

The Sun Down Motel

Simone St. James | 4.20

Collected Ghost Stories

M. R. James, Darryl Jones | 4.19

Ramsey Campbell M R James is arguably the greatest master of the English ghost story. His stories are considerably grimmer and grislier than ghost stories had been up until then. (Source)

Nick Groom This is the only literature that gives me nightmares (Source)

The Night Gardener

Jonathan Auxier | 4.19

The Invited

Jennifer McMahon | 4.19

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)

Darynda Jones | 4.18

Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an entity who has been following her all her...

Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. But what does he want with Charley? And why can't she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in?

With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, First Grave on the Right is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.

Ghost Story (The Dresden Files, #13)

Jim Butcher | 4.18

The Small Hand

Susan Hill | 4.18

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall

Mary Downing Hahn | 4.18

20th Century Ghosts

Joe Hill, Christopher Golden | 4.18

Through the Woods

Emily Carroll | 4.17

The Ghost Bride

Yangsze Choo | 4.17

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irving | 4.17

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1)

Maggie Stiefvater | 4.16

The Seer of Shadows

The Woman in White

Wilkie Collins and Matthew Sweet | 4.15

Lucy Atkins I’ve only read it twice, but it’s lingered in my consciousness: the images and the feel of it. (Source)

Jason Hall The glory of it is you get this story as if it’s a court hearing, everybody is presenting their evidence from their own perspectives (Source)

Small Spaces

Katherine Arden | 4.15

The Doll in the Garden

Mary Downing Hahn | 4.15

The Dollhouse Murders

Betty Ren Wright, Leo Nickolls, et al. | 4.14

Girl of Nightmares (Anna, #2)

Kendare Blake | 4.14

Rivers of London (Peter Grant, #1)

Ben Aaronovitch | 4.14

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

Cat Winters | 4.14

The Winter Ghosts

Kate Mosse | 4.13

Lincoln in the Bardo

George Saunders | 4.13

Bill Gates I thought I knew everything I needed to know about Abraham Lincoln, but this novel made me rethink parts of his life. It blends historical facts from the Civil War with fantastical elements—it’s basically a long conversation among 166 ghosts, including Lincoln’s deceased son. I got new insight into the way Lincoln must have been crushed by the weight of both grief and responsibility. This is one... (Source)

The Shadowy Horses

Susanna Kearsley | 4.13

Odd Thomas (Odd Thomas, #1)

Dean Koontz | 4.12

Craven Manor

Darcy Coates | 4.12

The Overstory

Richard Powers | 4.12

Kwame Anthony Appiah Feels at the beginning like a series of short stories, each of which has some important thing about a tree or a kind of tree in it, but also holds some human character. You’d be a very strange person if you came away from this book not caring about what’s happening to the trees. (Source)

Sarah Dry I had the experience of having the revelation that the author clearly hoped a reader would have, which is that what appears to be a book about distinct individuals—almost a book of short stories— turns out to be something more complex, in which all the characters are linked through time and space. (Source)

Martha Kearney @omrgriffiths @BBCPM @RobGMacfarlane Great idea. Loved that book. (Source)

Slade House

David Mitchel | 4.11

The Haunting of Ashburn House

Darcy Coates | 4.11

Tunnel of Bones (Cassidy Blake, #2)

Victoria Schwa | 4.10

Ammie, Come Home (Georgetown, #1)

Barbara Michaels | 4.09

Scary Stories Paperback Box Set

Alvin Schwartz | 4.09

William Shakespeare | 4.09

Ryan Holiday Philosophy runs through this play–all sorts of great lines. There are gems like “..for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so” which I used in my last book and “Beware of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in, bear it, that the opposed may beware of thee.” was a favorite of Sherman. (Source)

Tim Lott I love the speech when Hamlet’s uncle Claudius admits to being inflicted with the primal eldest curse for killing his brother, and begs on his knees for forgiveness for this ultimate violation of the law of nature. (Source)

The Man in the Picture

Susan Hill | 4.08

The House on Tradd Street (Tradd Street, #1)

Karen White | 4.08

Aunt Dimity's Death (Aunt Dimity Mystery #1)

Nancy Atherton | 4.08

Sparrow Hill Road (Ghost Roads, #1)

Seanan McGuire | 4.08

Paper Valentine

Brenna Yovanoff | 4.08

Bad Girls Don't Die (Bad Girls Don't Die, #1)

Katie Alender | 4.07

Daughters of the Lake

Wendy Webb | 4.07

A Certain Slant of Light (Light, #1)

Laura Whitcomb | 4.07

One for Sorrow

Mary Downing Hahn | 4.07

Lair of Dreams (The Diviners, #2)

Libba Bray | 4.06

The Other Side of Midnight

Simone St. James | 4.06

Lost Among the Living

Simone St. Jame | 4.05

The Clockmaker's Daughter

Kate Morton | 4.04

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)

Ransom Rigg | 4.03

Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely

Lysa TerKeurst | 4.03

Time for Andrew

Mary Downing Hahn | 4.02

Doctor Sleep

Stephen King | 4.02

Devon Sawa @AaronFlux @flanaganfilm This makes me so happy to hear. I can’t wait to love the movie as much as the book. (Source)

The Night Strangers

Chris Bohjalian | 4.01

I Remember You

Yrsa Sigurdardottir and Philip Roughton | 4.00

Shadowland (The Mediator, #1)

Meg Cabot | 4.00

The Summoning (Darkest Powers, #1)

Kelley Armstrong | 4.00

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Gaunt's Ghosts

First and Only

Honour Guard (Gaunt's Ghosts)

The Guns of Tanith

Straight Silver

Sabbat Martyr

Traitor General

His Last Command

The Armour of Contempt

Only in Death

Salvation's Reach

The Warmaster

The Sabbat Worlds Crusade: The Ongoing History of this Famous Struggle Against Chaos

The Founding

Gaunt's Ghosts: The Saint

Double Eagle

The Victory

Sabbat Worlds

The Vincula Insurgency: Ghost Dossier 1

Sabbat Crusade

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