From Frankenstein to Dracula: 7 Timeless Classics for Halloween Night

1. Frankenstein

“If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear!”

What better way to set the Halloween mood than with the timeless Gothic masterpiece that still brings chills down the spine? Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is the ultimate blend of horror and science — and one of the very first works to spark the science fiction genre as we know it.

It follows Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist whose ambition leads him to create life, only to recoil in horror at what he’s brought into the world. If you’re into dark atmospheres, moral dilemmas and haunting explorations of isolation and companionship, this one’s an essential on your classics for Halloween list.

2. Dracula

“I want you to believe...to believe in things that you cannot.”

No Halloween reading list is complete without Dracula by Bram Stoker — the classic dark lore of Gothic horror. When Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to assist Count Dracula with a property deal, he finds himself trapped in a nightmare that’s far beyond anything he could imagine.

What unfolds next is a series of diary entries, letters, and newspaper articles, as Dracula's evil escapes to England to prey on its citizens. Seductive, sinister, and dripping with atmosphere, Dracula is the ultimate classic for Halloween — the kind of tale that never loses its bite (pun intended).

3. Carmilla

“You must come with me, loving me, to death; or else hate me, and still come with me.”

Before Dracula ever rose from his coffin, there was Carmilla — the OG vampire classic that started it all. Written twenty-six years before Stoker’s tale, this one’s got everything: mystery, queer desire, and just the right amount of gothic gloom for Halloween.

It follows Laura, a young woman tucked away in a lonely castle, who befriends the beautiful and secretive Carmilla — not knowing her charming guest has a rather… bloodthirsty tendency. Best enjoyed under moody lighting with a cup of something warm, Carmilla is your perfect pick if you like your Halloween nights steeped in slow, sapphic, and deliciously unsettling vampire tales.

Also read: Forbidden Yet Unforgettable: 10 Classics That Were Once Banned

4. Wuthering Heights

“You said I killed you—haunt me, then! [...] Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!”

Halloween nights wandering the wild Yorkshire moors? Oh, absolutely yes. If you’ve ever wondered what the hype is about, this one’s pure, haunting passion wrapped in wind, rain, and ghostly whispers. Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights isn’t horror in the traditional sense, but it’s gothic in every breath.

From the tortured love between Heathcliff and Catherine to the eerie, desolate moors that feel almost alive, it’s a story that chills the heart as much as it breaks it. Perfect for a stormy Halloween read when you want emotions just as wild as the weather.

Buy here: Wuthering Heights

5. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

“Good and evil are so close as to be chained together in the soul.”

If you’re into psychological chills and stories that mess with your mind, this one’s a Halloween essential. Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde dives deep into the dark corners of human nature — where good and evil aren’t just opposites, but two sides of the same soul. It shows Dr Jekyll experiments with a potion that unleashes his sinister alter ego, Mr Hyde.

A perfect classic for Halloween when you want your scares psychological, shadowy, and a little too close to home.

Buy here: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

6. Rebecca

“It wouldn't make for sanity would it, living with the devil.”

If you like your Halloween reads draped in mystery, obsession, and slow-burning dread, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a must. The story follows a young woman who marries the charming widower Maxim de Winter and moves into his grand estate, Manderley, only to find herself living in the shadow of his late wife, Rebecca.

Haunted not by ghosts, but by memory, jealousy, and secrets that refuse to stay buried, this Gothic classic is perfect for a Halloween night that calls for elegance with a hint of unease.

7. Phantom of the Opera

“Blood!...Blood!... That's a good thing! A ghost who bleeds is less dangerous!”

For a touch of eerie elegance this Halloween, The Phantom of the Opera hits all the right notes. Gaston Leroux’s gothic classic takes you deep into the shadowy corridors beneath the Paris Opera House, where a masked genius — part musician, part monster — haunts the halls in the name of love and obsession.

With candlelit chambers, haunting music, and a love that teeters between passion and madness, this one’s made for those who like their Halloween classics beautifully tragic and eerily unforgettable.

Curl Up, Creep Out, and Read On

If you’ve made it this far, hopefully you’ve found at least one bone-chilling classic for Halloween night to sink into. Each of these tales brings its own kind of thrill — from gothic romance to eerie horror — all stitched together with that perfect, old-world spookiness.

So this Halloween, dim the lights, grab your cosiest blanket and a warm cuppa, and let these timeless stories pull you into the darkness — one haunting page at a time.

Happy Halloween, and happy reading!

Your next read: Why RL Stine’s Goosebumps Still Give Us Chills (and Smiles) Decades Later