8 Haunting Historical Novels on the Scarier Side

THE REFORMATORY is Tananarive Due’s novel that follows twelve-year-old African American Robert Stephens in 1950 Florida as he’s sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, better known in town as “The Reformatory.” Sent there as a means of punishment for kicking the son of a wealthy white man, Robert must survive an institution known for its horrid racism—in addition to a fire, thirty years earlier, that killed over twenty boys. Able to communicate with ghosts, Robbie interacts with these trapped young souls and ends up being coerced by the Reformatory’s warden into “collecting” these ghosts (who are desperately seeking revenge upon the warden) on his behalf. All this while Robbie’s sister fights ‘50s segregation and prejudice in an attempt to free her brother before it’s too late. One part historical fiction, one part ghost story, THE REFORMATORY explores a shameful period of our past within a dazzling narrative.

During the Korean War, a widow named Hak Jeonga is forced to cover up a scandal involving her young son, Gwangmu, and his teacher’s sister, Hayun. A pregnancy threatens to expose the matriarch Jeonga and her family, but she is able to arrange for Hayun to travel to the United States. Years later an adult Gwangmu leaves Seoul for Chicago and eventually reconnects with Hayun. It is in the present, with Jeonga now 105, that she learns, via letter, that descendants of her son and her estranged sister are set to marry, unaware that they are related. Again determined to avoid embarrassment, Jeonga travels to Chicago to stop the wedding. There she is hit by a bus and killed, only to be awakened in the afterlife. Desperate for a second chance at life, Jeonga sets out to repair relationships with her sprawling family, a journey that touches upon sisterhood, colonialism, and being displaced from your homeland. THE APOLOGY is Jimin Han’s epic novel told through the life (and death) of one unforgettable woman in a story equally as memorable.

Ritu Mukerji’s debut novel, MURDER BY DEGREES, tells the tale of Dr. Lydia Weston, physician and teacher at a women’s medical college in 1875 Philadelphia. Unsurprisingly, Weston is the victim of abuse by her male colleagues, who deem her unfit for her profession because of her gender. But when the body of one of her patients is pulled from the river, police are forced to invite Dr. Weston into the case. The deceased, Anna Ward, was a housemaid for a wealthy family of the city (a family disinterested in helping find the murderer). While the plot itself provides readers an insight into early modern medicine and forensics, Mukerji’s talent is for weaving in a history of social class and power dynamics—especially in a city like Philadelphia. With an awe-inspiring heroine at the lead, MURDER BY DEGREES is the definition of a haunting historical novel, perfect for this Halloween season or any other.

There are haunting historical novels and then there are just plain historical horror novels. If you’re looking for the latter category, check out Ally Wilkes’s ALL THE WHITE SPACES, which tells the tale of Jonathan Morgan, a grieving young man whose response to losing his brothers in World War I is to embark upon a dangerous adventure of his own. This means stowing away on an expedition to Antarctica, led by famous explorer James “Australis” Randall. While at sea, Jonathan finds a sense of peace both in quelling his grief and in living as his true gender. All is well until the expedition is forced to make an unexpected landfall in Antarctica and the crew, including a skeptical scientist, must survive parts unknown. And survival becomes the sole focus once a supernatural force begins to attack the crew in a number of ways. An ode to nineteenth-century adventure fiction, ALL THE WHITE SPACES is historical fiction that both scares and satisfies. P.S. When you’re done, Wilkes’s latest, WHERE THE DEAD WAIT, is coming soon and it’s just as thrilling. Alert your TBR list.

THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE is Simone St. James’s debut novel. Set in 1920s England, it features Sarah Piper, a young woman working at a temp agency, and her newest employer, Alistair Gellis, a World War I veteran and writer. After the horrors of the war, Alistair has found a passion investigating haunted sites. His latest “case” is that of Maddy Clare, a young housemaid haunting a local barn where she killed herself. But Maddy, supposedly, hates women, and Alistair needs Sarah to communicate with the spirit in order to uncover her intentions—one of which seems to include Alistair’s personal assistant, Matthew. It isn’t long before Sarah and Matthew learn that Maddy has plans of revenge, and unless they can stop her, townspeople will soon be in the crosshairs. Chilling and all-consuming, THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE combines a modern gothic with historical fiction for a pulse-pounding result.

It’s 1793 Stockholm, and Mickel Cardell, watchman and veteran of the war with Russia, spends his days drinking. It isn’t until a mutilated body is discovered in a polluted lake that he’s forced to act. Luckily, lawyer Cecil Winge is also on the case, hoping to identify both the corpse and the killer—and do so before his recent consumption diagnosis does him in. The two hit the streets, quickly finding themselves knee-deep in the maze that is Stockholm’s dark underbelly. What readers find is a detailed exploration of societal classes, including those who find themselves in the poor workhouses and the wealthy that operate like a secret society. It’s intricate and equally as enthralling, with characters that are fully formed and uniquely memorable. As author A.J. Finn described, “It’s THE ALIENIST set in eighteenth-century Stockholm,” and if that isn’t haunting historical fiction, I don’t know what is. 

Staying in the eighteenth century, THE SQUARE OF SEVENS follows a young girl named Red in 1730 Cornwall. The novel is told as a memoir, beginning with Red’s life on the road with her father, who makes a living telling fortunes using playing cards. Her father’s system is called the Square of Sevens, and when he eventually dies, that system (in addition to Red herself) is entrusted to an antiquarian. As Red grows older, living a life as a lady in Bath, she cannot help but seek answers to questions about her mysterious past, mostly around the identity and death of her mother. When she learns that the scholar her father granted guardianship to also was given documents with clues about Red’s mother, she sets out for London to infiltrate high society and get answers. Filled with detailed scenes of dangerous intrigue, Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s THE SQUARE OF SEVENS is a work of historical fiction that will leave a lasting impression.

While technically not historical fiction, THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS by Stephen Graham Jones effectively explores the past and how tradition can often conflict with the present. The novel begins with an incident in which four young Blackfeet men break tribal law by firing upon an elk herd on land reserved for the elders. This brazen violation sets into motion an act of future retribution in which a supernatural entity preys upon the men and their families. As this vengeful spirit invades each of their lives, the novel takes time to explore the life and experiences of the American Indians, such as their cultural traditions, their connection to animals, and their interpretations of the past. It’s horror, suspense, and everything in between, but no matter its exact genre, THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS is haunting until the last page.