64 Paranormal, Supernatural, and Magical Romances for Spooky Season

Posted by Sharon on September 26, 2024
Adriana Herrera was born and raised in the Caribbean and now lives in New York City. When not at work as a trauma therapist, she writes stories with unapologetic happily-ever-afters about people who look and sound like her people. Her books, which The New York Times has called "sweet and thoughtful, but delightfully filthy too," include the contemporary Dreamers series as well as historical romances like her Las Leonas series.

For fall, we thought, "Who better than the author of The Hellmouth Guardian's Lover to recommend a reading list of supernatural and paranormal love stories for our audience?" Below, find Herrera's picks from her extensive mental Rolodex of romance titles! 

Spooky Season is upon us, and we have you covered! The fall is the perfect time to dip your toe into spicy books with a bit more bite to them…see what I did there? If, like me, that knot in Ali Hazelwood’s Bride left you craving for more or if you are now a certified #MonsterLover, I have 60 books on this list to keep you reading well into the winter. We're talking sexy shifters, villainous vamps, wicked witches, delicious demons, and everything in between. What better way to start cuffing season than with a few horny heroes? (No, but really…they have horns.)

For this Spooky Romance extravaganza, I’ve rounded up a selection that will tempt anyone to take a little stroll into the dark side. Every book on the list is available to read now. Most have been published in the last few years, but there are a few classics I could not help to shout out. Now get that Pumpkin Spice Latte and reading blanket ready, because you will need them!
 

Ghouls in Schools: Dark Academia

 

Cozy Witches

 

Supernatural Anti-Heroes

 

Demons and Lovers


Horrormance


The OGs: Paranormal Masterpieces

 

Old-Timey Magical Vibes

 

Shifters Do It Better

 

OMG Omegaversing

 

Monster Smash

 

Why Choose: Monsters and Demons Edition

 

Ghost Love

 

Small-Town Magic

 

Vamps

 

A Little Fantasy, A Little Horror

 

The Vibe Is…Slasher




Your turn! Let us know YOUR favorite spooky-season romance reads in the comments below!


Comments Showing 1-50 of 56 (56 new)


soni ୨୧ casual reader might add a few to my PTR !!!


message 2: by Mica (new)

Mica I have Mexican Gothic on my TBR list!


message 3: by Kirby (new)

Kirby Lots of great titles on this list! The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and Starling House are some of my all time favorites! I also love the Stay a Spell series by Juliette Cross- and the whole series is on Kindle Unlimited too!


Here are some more of my favorite Spooky Season Romances:
Mating the Huntress(werewolf & werewolf hunter on Halloween)
Throne in the Dark (glacially slow burn) (the whole series is amazing)

Young Adult:
House of Salt and Sorrows (gothic retelling of 12 dancing princesses)
Carry On (MM Harry Potter vibes)(series)
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin (witch and witch hunter)(series)


message 4: by Jeanine (new)

Jeanine I have a few on my TBR list.


message 5: by August (new)

August Athena wrote: "List feels obviously catered towards the romantasy booktok crowd."

I mean, it is a romance list.


message 6: by Matt (new)

Matt Kirby wrote: "Lots of great titles on this list! The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and Starling House are some of my all time favorites! I also love the Stay a Spell series by Juliette Cross- and the ..."

Just in case you didn't know, Juliette has the sequel series coming in February for Stay a Spell. The kids are grown up. The Rebel without Claws.


message 7: by Tannie (new)

Tannie Davis Was hoping for an actually spooky section on this list so kind of bummed.


message 8: by Sarah (new)

Sarah Kirby wrote: "Lots of great titles on this list! The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and Starling House are some of my all time favorites! I also love the Stay a Spell series by Juliette Cross- and the ..."

Thanks for the recommendations! I will give Throne in the Dark a try.


message 9: by A (new)

A From this list I’ve read The Magpie Lord and How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager. Both are excellent books that I highly recommend.


message 10: by Melissa (new)

Melissa I refuse to believe there’s no book by Sarah Hawley in this list


message 11: by Anshika (new)

Anshika I expected something thrilling to find here.


message 12: by R (new)

R S Absolutely criminal that there's nothing by Jayne Krentz on here. You can't get more spooky paranormal romance than her.


message 13: by Heather (new)

Heather Crutcher I’ve read Darkfever, and The Ex Hex on this list. I recommend Ava Reid, Kim Harrison, Laurell K. Hamilton, B.B. Easton, Abigail Owen, and Holly Black.


message 14: by Megan (new)

Megan Casket Case by Lauren Evans! Not everyone seems to like it, but I enjoyed it.


message 15: by Daniella (new)

Daniella So many great books 💕 the Belladonna series is my current favorite paranormal !


message 16: by Chinnu (new)

Chinnu I have dead romantics on my tbr but I haven't read it. So excited to read it. I wish I was into fantasy and lore but I am not. I am so sad but it's ok because I have many books that I will like.


message 17: by Julianne (new)

Julianne Wish there was more queer stories on this list! If anyone has some LGBTQ+ recs for spooktober lmk :)


message 18: by Ali (new)

Ali Lind Nocticadia by Keri Lake needs to be on this list -- it's amazing! Dark romance and academia--- equal parts plot and romance. SO GOOD.


message 19: by Laura (new)

Laura I mean, I Married a Lizardman by Regine Abel is not paranormal monster romance, it's a sci-fi alien romance.
But it's great, so I'd still recommend!


message 20: by Bertha Alicia (new)

Bertha Alicia Tannie wrote: "Was hoping for an actually spooky section on this list so kind of bummed."

Read any Darcy Coates' books!


message 21: by Venessa (last edited Oct 03, 2024 02:46AM) (new)

Venessa I'm so glad to see Minion by L.A. Banks on this list. The Vampire Huntress series does not get the love it deserves!


message 22: by Christina (new)

Christina So many books on this list that I have added to my TBR! Can't wait to read them all.


Cristina ♡ ♘ ♘ TBR One Dark Window!!


No Apology Book Reviews And my TBR grows......


Me, My Shelf, & I read 14 on this list and DNFd an additional 2. not sure I fully agree with all the entries here, but would definitely add these to the list:

House of Roots and Ruin (Sisters of the Salt, #2) by Erin A. Craig House of Roots and Ruin
A gothic romance with a ton of spooks and twists-- absolute banger that everyone should read (and a completely different book from House of Salt and Sorrows, which is also a decent spooky season romance)

Phantasma (Wicked Games, #1) by Kaylie Smith Phantasma
Phantasma is another fun one that just recently released, if you like a competition and/or had a crush on Danny Phantom then this one's for you

Belladonna (Belladonna, #1) by Adalyn Grace Belladonna
Another gothic romance, first in a trilogy, with a strong murder mystery element.


message 26: by Whitney (new)

Whitney Absolutely shocked that The Nightmare Before Kissmas isn't on this list. Brand new and has the princes of Christmas and Halloween. So cute!


message 27: by Amy (new)

Amy Some great recommendations added to this list. I'm honestly surprised that so many of the long-time great authors are missing too. Hamilton (previously mentioned), Krentz (previously mentioned), Annette Blair, Lynsay Sands, Saranna DeWylde, Virginia Nelson, Ashlyn Chase, Michelle Bardsley, Yasmine Galenorn, Bree Moore, etc. Those are some of my auto-buy authors.


message 28: by Kay (new)

Kay Where’s Phantasma?


message 29: by Lucinda (new)

Lucinda The Summer and the May


message 30: by mai ☾ (new)

mai ☾ Oh definetly a very interesting list! Loved it.


message 31: by Kirby (new)

Kirby Me, My Shelf, & I wrote: "read 14 on this list and DNFd an additional 2. not sure I fully agree with all the entries here, but would definitely add these to the list:

House of Roots and Ruin (Sisters of the Salt, #2) by Erin A. Craig[book:House..."


👀 Oooooh color me intrigued! Thanks! Adding to my TBR!


message 32: by La'Shea (new)

La'Shea English I just added a few of these to by TBR :-)


message 33: by Roxy✨ (new)

Roxy✨ Read ZA, DNFed Butcher & Blackbird and want to read My Roomate is a vampire and some more


message 34: by CinCO (new)

CinCO Read three, had six on TBR, added 10! more.


April • A.M. Flynn • So many good ones! :D


message 36: by Kathleen (new)

Kathleen Rebecca Rivard!


message 37: by Nicholl (new)

Nicholl McIntyre Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne belongs on this list. I am wildly disappointed in Goodreads for not including it. It's the absolute BEST.


message 38: by Stephanie (new)

Stephanie Saleman Is someone paying someone to keep putting Mexican Gothic on these lists? It was terrible.


message 39: by Zamg (new)

Zamg The categories are so funny !! Love it !


message 40: by Kirby (last edited Oct 08, 2024 01:14PM) (new)

Kirby Nicholl wrote: "Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match by Sally Thorne belongs on this list. I am wildly disappointed in Goodreads for not including it. It's the absolute BEST."

That book was so weird and campy! It seems like people either love or hate it, but I LOVED it! I heard an interview with the author and she was saying it was her quarantine Frankenstein fan fiction and isn't that amazing?!


message 41: by Jessica Steele (new)

Jessica Steele Another good one -- Bloodshed by Molly Doyle, it's part of a series - that's the main book and there are 2 novellas that go with it (One of which is Scream For Us)!


message 42: by Kahtahah (new)

Kahtahah ok, why did Goodreads kinda eat??


message 43: by Aly (new)

Aly Mance Children of Fallen Gods has nothing to do with dark academia? There’s not a school?


message 44: by Amanda (new)

Amanda DNFed A Soul to Keep, which is a shame bc I was excited to read a monster romance with an actual MONSTER, not “human with horns”.


message 45: by LaceyGoodBooks (new)

LaceyGoodBooks All of these books sounds really interesting to me


message 46: by Douglas (new)

Douglas Solvie Stephanie wrote: "Is someone paying someone to keep putting Mexican Gothic on these lists? It was terrible."

I didn't care for it either.


message 47: by Qui2 (new)

Qui2 ame ୨୧ wrote: "might add a few to my PTR !!!"

I thought Mexican Gothic was awful. I agree with Stephanie - no clue how it keeps ending up on these lists.


message 48: by Qui2 (new)

Qui2 The Carrow Haunting by Darcy Coates is really good, but not on this list


message 49: by Bill (new)

Bill julianne wrote: "Wish there was more queer stories on this list! If anyone has some LGBTQ+ recs for spooktober lmk :)"

Chuck Tingle: Camp Damascus and Bury Your Gays


message 50: by MK (last edited Oct 16, 2024 04:52PM) (new)

MK julianne wrote: "Wish there was more queer stories on this list! If anyone has some LGBTQ+ recs for spooktober lmk :)"

It was mentioned just before you posted - the Witches of Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper is predominantly queer, with the one straight book still having queer characters front and centre.


« previous 1
back to top