Enter If You Dare: Spooky Books, Gifts, and More Await
Looking for a ghoulish read? We've got you covered. Plus upcoming events, fun gift ideas, and more.
In this month's newsletter, we’re excited to share new arrivals that perfectly capture the essence of the changing season, along with staff picks that are ideal for the coziest (or the spookiest) evenings. Don’t forget to wander over to our website and check out our list of Dark Academia Reads or our Ghosty Reading List!
Upcoming events
Author Discussion with Kim Liao led by Jill Gallagher
Monday, October 7 at 6:00 pm
Tomorrow evening we’ll be hosting author Kim Liao to discuss Where Every Ghost Has a Name: A Memoir of Taiwanese Independence with author Jill Gallagher.
Where Every Ghost Has a Name explores Liao’s 2010 trip to Taiwan to uncover her family’s history, discovering that her grandfather’s legacy had been erased from records, reflecting the broader silencing of Taiwanese history during martial law.
Book Club hosted by Chrissie Lorraine
Friday, November 1 (this still counts as Halloween, right?), at 6:30 pm
Martin House Books presents the Peculiar Book Club, hosted by Chrissie Lorraine (with assistance from Bookseller Jess)!
What is the Peculiar Book Club? A free event where likeminded individuals gather to talk books. This book club is for those who’d like to read across genres, as long as the books are dedicated to the dark, the weird, the mythic, the delightfully dreadful, the sinister or the spooky.
The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo will be our first read, with the longer I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones for the next meeting. So mark your calendars, order your book, and get book suggestions ready for the next Peculiar Book Club pick! We hope to see you there.
→ Order The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo
→ Order I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
SpoOoOoOoOoky New Releases
Embrace the chill in the air this October with some of our spookiest new releases. From haunted mansions to vampire rom-coms, these books are perfect to enjoy as the nights grow longer.
A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand
Elizabeth Hand's novel follows playwright Holly Sherwin, who discovers Hill House's dark secrets in a haunting, modern twist on Shirley Jackson’s classic horror.
✨ Bookseller Jess is a long-time fan of Elizabeth Hand! ✨
Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials by Marion Gibson
Witchcraft examines global witch trials, exploring how fear, power, and gender shaped history through demonization, with 13 distinct cases across Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Graveyard Shift by M. L. Rio
In this slender novella, a ragtag group of night shift workers meet in a local cemetery to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave. This is M. L. Rio’s first book since her bestselling first novel, If We Were Villains, a staple of dark academia!
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
The Bog Wife blends Southern gothic and eco-horror as five siblings face supernatural forces and buried family secrets on their ancestral West Virginia land.
✨One of Bookseller Jess’s favorite reads this October! Curious but not quite sold yet? Click here to read a great review in the Chicago Review of Books! ✨
Fang Fiction by Kate Stayman-London
Tess Rosenbloom’s life changes when she rescues a vampire, plunging her into a perilous, romantic adventure on a secret island of dangerous vampires.
Modern Magic by Michelle Tea
In Modern Magic, Michelle Tea combines stories and rituals to help witches deepen their practice, blending magic with queer, feminist, and anti-racist values.
New Releases for the Not-Spooky Crowd
The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop
Gilmore Girls fans, rejoice! Here’s a warm, unapologetic, and captivating memoir from a woman with a lifelong career in, as Miss Patty would say, “the biz we call show.”
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich’s The Mighty Red explores love, loss, and community at a tense North Dakota wedding, where lives are shaped by nature and fate.
Be Ready When Luck Happens by Ina Garten
In this long-awaited memoir, Ina Garten invites readers to take a seat at her table — and spills the beans on adventures, misadventures, challenges expected and unexpected in her career! This one’s going fast, so be sure to reserve your copy.
Gift Spotlight
Our customers love our earring collection—and these fun skeleton studs are not to be missed. Mix and match to create your own custom set with sparkly or detailed designs.
Staff Picks
Local author highlights
We’re fortunate to be situated in a region rich with talented artists. While our local author section spans genres, these three selections will immerse you in the fall mood with their thrills, chills, and mystery.
A Sinister Quartet by Mike Allen, C.S.E. Cooney, Amanda J. McGee, and Jessica P. Wick
A Sinister Quartet presents original novellas from four authors, offering haunting and beautiful stories in unique, unsettling settings.
→ Already read it? Check out Monsters in the Mills—the latest collection of horror inspired by Rhode Island's abandoned mills. 👀
Last Night by Luanne Rice
Amid a fierce blizzard, a body is discovered at Ocean House, prompting Detective Reid and others to uncover dark secrets tied to the victim's life.
Daughters of Block Island by Christa Carmen
Two estranged sisters are ensnared in a gothic mystery on Block Island, where family secrets, murder, and ghosts haunt a century-old mansion.
We’re excited for this author’s forthcoming novel, Beneath the Poet’s House, out December! Keep an eye on our events calendar to see why. Preorders are open now!
Additional picks
Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
Recommended by Jess — This is it. Your October read! It’s cozy and creepy, soft and cutting, heartfelt and unnerving. I very much wished to spend more time with the main character, Mara, as she works as a P.A. for a reality show where the gimmick is home repair, but all the homes are really haunted! Or are they? I loved this.
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
Recommended by Michaela — The Memory Police explores a world where state surveillance erases memories. There’s something so chilling about this book—its concept and execution are so unique, and the story has stuck with me for years since first reading it.
Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley
Recommended by Jess — A revenant story, creepy and sad and angry and fun, this fast-paced YA horror is a lot of fun. Feeling vengeful? Like folk horror and heroines with an edge? This one’s for you!
The latest from Cafe 1888
Cafe 1888 hosted their first (super successful and awesome) wine tasting in September. If you couldn’t join us but are interested in trying some of the wines, drop by and enjoy a glass.
If wine isn’t what you’re looking for, never fear! Fall is here, bringing with it all your favorite fall flavors, like pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, maple — and we have cider, too!
Thanks for stopping by,
Martin House Books