October 2025 Nominations > Likes and Comments

The nominations for occult are now open

The theme for the month is simple and is going to be the spirit of Halloween. Think witches, occult, horror, ghosts, spooky.

I love Halloween, so in keeping with the spirit of Halloween our group read for October will reflect that. As a theme, the book does not need to revolve around Halloween, rather it needs to capture that energy of spookiness, horror, or the occult. However you chose to interpret this, you MUST explain it in your nomination. For example, if you nominate a book that features witches explain that it is about witches and that feels "Halloween" to you. This theme allows quite a bit of freedom, but I will turn down books that are a complete stretch. Please note, the book must still be Historical fiction.

REMINDERS
NO SELF NOMINATION- Any member who self nominates a book, will have the post deleted and the member will be removed from the group.
NOMINATION POST MUST INCLUDE: TITLE, AUTHOR, AND EXPLANATION OF HOW IT RELATES TO THE THEME - If any one of these three things is missing from the nomination post, it will not be counted.
EVERY MEMBER GETS ONE NOMINATION AND ONE SECOND - Please make sure you are clearly marking if you are nominating and/or seconding a book. Too much extra chatter in the nomination thread makes it difficult for the moderators to keep track of the books that need to be counted.
BOOKS IN A SERIES MUST BE READ IN SERIES ORDER -Book 4 in a series cannot be nominated if the group has not read books 1-3
For a complete breakdown of how the nomination process works, see this thread - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE look over the bookshelf containing all of the past group reads. Past group reads cannot be nominated again -
https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

I nominate The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish by Paula Brackston
This is a spooky book to me.
Theme Ghosts and paranormal, haunted cathedral

Setting England 1881 Hereford Cathedral stands over the city, keeping its secrets and forgotten souls.

New York Times bestselling author Paula Brackston returns with a new, magic-infused series about Hecate Cavendish, an eccentric and feisty young woman who can see ghosts

Small Town Big Magic by Hazel Beck

Erica wrote: "Small Town Big Magic by Hazel Beck"

Hi Erica. Please remember to include your explanation in order for your nomination to be counted.

I want to nominate THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND for October’s group read. It’s not about Halloween, but it’s an important book about people loosing their eyesight.
I started reading it yesterday, and it’s very moving. It’s a Historical book, and it’s an important subject.

I would like to nominate the historical book THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND, It is the true story of people who lost their eyesight years ago. I started reading it this week, and it’s a very important subject for people who’ve not lost their eyesight.

I nominate The Ghost of the Mary Celeste by Valerie Martin. It's about a ghost ship and spirtualism. Perfect for October!

Reader wrote: "I want to nominate THE COUNTRY OF THE BLIND for October’s group read. It’s not about Halloween, but it’s an important book about people loosing their eyesight.
I started reading it yesterday, and ..."

I'm not sure how this relates to our theme. Also, upon further examination it looks like this is a memoir, not a work of historical fiction.

I second The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish.

I nominate The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley. 432 pages.

Per the book description here at GR:
The Invincible Ninth Roman Legion Marches from York to Fight The Northern Tribes. and then Vanishes from the Pages of History. Archaeologist Verity Grey has been drawn to the dark legends of the Scottish Borderlands in search of the truth buried in a rocky field by the sea. a local boy has "seen" a Roman soldier walking in the fields, a ghostly sentinel who guards the bodies of his long-dead comrades.

Goodreads lists this as both Historical Fiction and Paranormal.

My suggestion is Jodi Picoult's historical fiction novel By Any Other Name.

A dual timeline piece with one of the timelines being Shakespearen!

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. A psychological and supernatural thriller set in post-WWII England. A country doctor is called to a decaying aristocratic home, where he becomes entangled in the family's secrets and the strange, malevolent presence haunting the house.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Blood on the Sand by Neil Sammons is getting great reviews. As good as a safari from the comfort of your own home.

Cheryl wrote: "My suggestion is Jodi Picoult's historical fiction novel By Any Other Name.

A dual timeline piece with one of the timelines being Shakespearen!"

I read this and I didn't feel it had a Halloween theme.

I nominate Such Quiet Girls by Noelle W. Ihli. It is a horror.

I nominate Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier - a spooky gothic tale set in early nineteenth century Cornwall, England.

I second Jamaica Inn

I third Jamaica Inn by du Maurier. After reading The Scapegoat, I want to read more of her books beginning with Rebecca and now Jamaica Inn.

I nominate Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian. A historical fiction about an early American witch hunt. The theme is superstition and witchcraft.

Cheryl wrote: "My suggestion is Jodi Picoult's historical fiction novel By Any Other Name.

A dual timeline piece with one of the timelines being Shakespearen!"

Please explain how it fits the Halloween theme.

Sarah wrote: "The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo"

Please explain how it fits the theme.

Neil wrote: "Blood on the Sand by Neil Sammons is getting great reviews. As good as a safari from the comfort of your own home."

Please explain how it fits the theme.

Neil wrote: "Blood on the Sand by Neil Sammons is getting great reviews. As good as a safari from the comfort of your own home."

Also, our rules clearly say no self-nominations. Going forward if this happens again you will be kicked from the group.

Nominations up to post#24
Jamaica Inn-2 seconds
The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish-1 second
The Ghost of the Mary Celeste
The Shadowy Horses
The Little Stranger
Hour of the Witch

Not counted
Such Quiet Girls--This looks like it is not HF. It needs to be HF along with horror. Sorry I did not catch that in the original post.


If you do not see your nomination on this list it is because of one of three things, or a combination of them:
1. You did not give an explanation of how it fits the theme (which was specified in my first post).
2. Your pick does not qualify as historical fiction.
3. You self-nominated (which was specified in my first post and is in our group rules).

I'm going to nominate Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas. Taking place during the Mexican-American war, the novel features vampires and is horror/historical fiction.

I nominate The Reformatory by Tananarive Due.

It is a historical fiction that explores what happens to young boys in a reformatory “school” in the Jim Crow south. It has “haints” and hints of horror.

Maureen wrote: "I second Jamaica Inn"

Can I fourth Jamaica Inn?

I fifth Jamaica Inn

I nominate The Seventh Room: An odd little woman in the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare The Seventh Room by Nicola Belluomo

This book dances with the occult, and it had me jumping at shadows in corners! As WW2 starts, a young midwife, Tomasin West, is haunted by night terrors of the medieval witch burnings, and angry that Hitler’s latter-day witchfinders are reviving the Burning Times in Europe. Tommie is a midwife, and fears that she is having the dreams because she is a hereditary witch – and she’s conflicted about what that means to her. She joins SOE to confront the enemy, but soon finds a shadowy antagonist might be hiding within herself. Confronting an SS officer who also believes her to be a witch, she finds herself delving deep into her own darkness to defeat him.

here's a nomination for Welcome to Meadowbrook by Cassandra L. Thompson........a new twist on the old "haunted house" trope 🧚‍♀️🙋🏼.

I second (or sixth) Jamaica Inn.

I nominate The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Master storyteller Ray Bradbbury’s original perspectives on time, space, and, of course Halloween keeps readers and listeners on the edge of their seats. A favorite of Lynn’s and mine ;)
"A fast-moving, eerie...tale set on Halloween night. Eight costumed boys running to meet their friend Pipkin at the haunted house outside town encounter instead the huge and cadaverous Mr. Moundshroud. As Pipkin scrambles to join them, he is swept away by a dark Something, and Moundshroud leads the boys on the tail of a kite through time and space to search the past for their friend and the meaning of Halloween. After witnessing a funeral procession in ancient Egypt, cavemen discovering fire, Druid rites, the persecution of witches in the Dark Ages, and the gargoyles of Notre Dame, they catch up with the elusive Pipkin in the catacombs of Mexico, where each boy gives one year from the end of his life to save Pipkin's. Enhanced by appropriately haunting black-and-white drawings."--Booklist "A fast-moving, eerie...tale set on Halloween night. Eight costumed boys running to meet their friend Pipkin at the haunted house outside town encounter instead the huge and cadaverous Mr. Moundshroud. As Pipkin scrambles to join them, he is swept away by a dark Something, and Moundshroud leads the boys on the tail of a kite through time and space to search the past for their friend and the meaning of Halloween. After witnessing a funeral procession in ancient Egypt, cavemen discovering fire, Druid rites, the persecution of witches in the Dark Ages, and the gargoyles of Notre Dame, they catch up with the elusive Pipkin in the catacombs of Mexico, where each boy gives one year from the end of his life to save Pipkin's. Enhanced by appropriately haunting black-and-white drawings."--Booklist

Here's a second for The Halloween Tree

I second Vampires of El Norte

I second The Halloween Tree

Nominations up to post #36
Jamaica Inn-5 seconds
The Halloween Tree-2 Seconds
The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish-1 second
Vampires of El Norte- 1 second
The Ghost of the Mary Celeste
The Shadowy Horses
The Little Stranger
Hour of the Witch
The Reformatory
The Seventh Room: An odd little woman in the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare

***************Cut off********************
Welcome to Meadowbrook

I would like to nominate The Girl From Rawblood by Catriona Ward. It’s about a cursed family, and nothing is more Halloween than curses!

I second The Shadowy Horses.

I second The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish

This topic will be closing tomorrow, August 27th, and the poll will be released.

Jamaica Inn