Halloween is coming up, and we have been diving into a ton of eerie reads perfect for the season. One of our favorite kind of scary books are ones that include ghosts, spirits, and the undead! These books have so many great ghostly characters that you will absolutely love.
Our Favorite Bookish Ghosts
1. Jesse from Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
When Lucie Herondale was a little girl, she met a boy in the forest. When she is older, she meets the same boy in the ballroom of the London Institute — except no one sees him besides her. Jesse is a ghost…but is he really? This is one of many exciting plot lines in Cassandra Clare’s newest Shadowhunters series, Chain of Gold.
2. The Revenant from Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
The Revenant is not only one of our favorite bookish ghosts, it is also one of our all time favorite Margaret Rogerson characters. Sarcastic and witty, the Revenant and Artemisia’s dynamic is super fun to follow, and as their relationship grows, you learn to love the Revenant more and more.
3. Blob Ghost from Beetle and the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne
We only need one word to describe the Blob Ghost from Beetle and the Hollowbones: A-DOR-A-BLE. This gorgeously illustrated graphic novel gives us everything we could ever want in a witch story, including a delightful little spirit sidekick. Join Beetle and her childhood friend, Kat, as they fight to protect Blob Ghost’s home before Kat’s mentor destroys it for good!
4. Shari from Remember Me by Christopher Pike
Teenage angst thrives even in the afterlife. In Remember Me, we only know Shari for a few chapters before she is murdered. But Shari is determined, even as a spirit, to figure out who ended her life way too soon. Joined with another friendly ghost, Shari spies on her friends and family to investigate her own death, all while evading contact with a terrifying spiritual monster, the Shadow.
5. Nami from The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Just like Remember Me, we only know Nami for a couple of chapters before she, too, is murdered. But Nami isn’t a ghost in the way we’re used to. There’s no transparent specters or scary hauntings here. Rather, we join Nami as she awakens in a new world–the afterlife. Only, this afterlife has been hacked by an evil AI who is determined to ending human afterlife forever.
6. Owen from Magic Dark and Strange by Kelly Powell
Catherine Daly has an unusual talent: she can awaken the dead for a few precious moments for loved ones to say their final goodbyes. Only, with Owen, it doesn’t quite work out that way. When Owen mysteriously comes to life as a living, breathing boy, Catherine must unravel the connection between Owen and a missing timepiece, a connection that can mean the difference between life and death.
7. July from The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson
Dino is used to death. His family owns a funeral home and, well, death is literally his family’s business. That is, until his ex-best friend July is brought back from the dead (stuck somewhere between alive and unalive). In July and Dino’s attempt to figure out what is happening, they both must also confront how their friendship completely fell apart.
8. Mama Jova from Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
Voya is a witch…at least she will be when she passes her ancestors’ test, which will trigger her true powers. But this task isn’t so easy, especially when the ancestor who shows up to give Voya her task is Mama Jova. Mama Jova demands Voya kill her one true love, or else she and the rest of her family’s witchy powers will go away forever.