Get ready for Halloween with some unsettling stories by Shirley Jackson. 

The Haunting of Hill House

This intelligent and atmospheric thriller conjures up nice spooky feelings of dread.  It also inspired the excellent 1963 movie The Haunting.

Come Along With Me

Jackson’s brand of psychological terror is made scarier by its juxtaposition with extremely realistic settings.  Try her story The Summer People for a chilling example.

The Lottery and Other Stories

These stories aren’t as eerie as you’d expect, but they’re excellent: precisely written slice-of-life stories set in the 1940′s and ’50′s, with just a hint of unease.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

This surprisingly lighthearted tale of arsenic poisoning and madness is many readers’ favorite Shirley Jackson novel.

Life Among the Savages

While primarily remembered for her scarier work, the author is also known for her domestic memoirs.  This is a madcap look at life as a housewife and mother of four in mid-century Vermont.

-Beth