I'm a little late to the party today, but I didn't want to miss out on TTT. These weekly lists are pretty much all I've been managing to post lately, so...yeah. Today's official topic is Top Ten Typographic Book Covers. I'm not feeling that one; instead, I'm going to go with something more seasonal. Spooky books always appeal to me, but they're even more alluring the closer we get to Halloween. I can't handle anything too gory or horror-y these days as I'm becoming a right wimp in my old age. However, I still enjoy an atmospheric Gothic tale or a shivery ghost story, the kind that are spine-tingling without being nightmare-inducing. My favorite trope by far is the haunted house. Give me a broody old pile with a mysterious past, secrets swirling through the corridors, and plenty of ghosts in the closets (real and/or metaphorical) and I'm a happy reader. The authors I prefer in this genre are: Eve Chase, Carol Goodman, Simone St. James, Riley Sager, Jennifer McMahon, etc. If you've got any suggestions for readalike authors, let me know. In the meantime, I'll share my list of the Top Ten Haunted House Books On My TBR List.

First, though, be sure to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give TTT's fearless hostess some love. Then, make your own list and enjoy a fun evening of blog hopping. It's a good time, I promise!

Top Ten Haunted House Books On My TBR List  

1. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson—For some reason, I still haven't read this classic haunted house novel. It's about four people who gather at a notoriously spook-infested old mansion. Strange happenings occur. 

2. Girls of Brackenhill by Kate Moretti—When human remains are discovered at Hannah Maloney's ancestral castle in the Catskills, she's convinced they're the bones of her sister, who disappeared seventeen years ago. Obsessed with figuring out what really happened all those years ago, Hannah uncovers disturbing secrets from the past.

3. The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell—Two years ago, a young woman left her baby with her mother and headed to a party at a house in the woods. She never returned. In the present, Sophie is strolling through the forest near the boarding school where her boyfriend has just accepted a position. She sees a note that says, "Dig here." Sounds like an intriguing premise...

4. What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie—This is a children's book—how creepy can it possibly be? Probably enough to scare me silly! The story is set in a decrepit old mansion deep in the Michigan woods called Woodmoor Manor. Rumors in the town say it was once the home of a mad scientist whose disturbing experiments roam through the trees, always watching. 

5. The Good House by Tananarive Due—Trying to put her life back together after her son's suicide, Angela Toussaint returns to her ancestral home, the place where her boy took his own life. What she finds is a sentient evil that's causing residents of her town to act out in violence. Is it the same entity her grandmother battled long ago? Just what is it that lurks in her home—and in her family history?

6. Death Overdue by Allison Brook—The first installment in a series, this cozy mystery features a haunted library in Connecticut. When a retired homicide detective who claims to know the murderer of a beloved library aide is killed, the library's new event planner vows to find his killer. 

7. Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas—Located deep in the forests of Pennsylvania, Catherine House is an elite, unconventional school that has educated some of the most brilliant minds in America. School policy demands that students leave their outside lives behind and devote three years of their lives to an intense education. Ines is finding herself inside the strange institution when tragedy strikes, making her question everything that's happening at Catherine House.

8. The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen—In an attempt to outrun her past and finish the cookbook she's writing, Ava Collette retreats to an old pile on the coast of Maine. Her peaceful reverie is broken when she starts hearing strange noises in the night. When an apparition appears to her, Ava begins looking into the disappearance of the house's previous renter. Something sinister is going on and Ava intends to get to the bottom of it.

9. The Winter Guest by W.C. Ryan—Once a grand Irish mansion, Kilcolgan House is now a crumbling pile filled with broken people and whispering ghosts. When Lord Kilcolgan's oldest daughter is killed, an IRA intelligence officer comes to the home to investigate. As he digs into the secrets of Kilcolgan House, he uncovers secrets galore. Can he use them to find the murderer?

10. The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates—Coates has several books that fit this genre, but this one sounds especially good to me. Plus, I like the symmetry of ending my list with a title similar to the one I began it with. The plot concerns a woman who inherits a creepy old house after the owner, a mysterious recluse, dies. With ominous messages scrawled on the wallpaper, a hidden grave in the backyard, and portraits that seem to watch her every move, the new occupant is understandably unnerved. As she digs into the house's sinister past, she begins to believe every terrifying rumor she's ever heard about the place...

There you go, ten haunted house novels that should make for excellent, eerie Halloween reading. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Can you think of any similar books I might like? I love recs! What books did you feature on your TTT list today? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.