Historical Fictionistas discussion

It's spooky season! In honor of one of my favorite times of the year, we're going to get spooky.

For October 2024's group read, we're going to read a spooky book. All nominated books need to be historical fiction with some kind of spooky element. Witches. Ghosts. Haunted Houses. Occult Themes. Any thing that can be spooky. For this round of nominations Historical Fantasy will be accepted as long as it has a spooky element.

All nomination posts MUST include:
1.) Book Title
2.) Book Author
3.) What makes the book spooky
If any of these one things is missing, your nomination will not be counted.

REMINDERS
NO SELF NOMINATIONS- 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 THE ISLAND SETTING OF THE NOMINATED BOOK - 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...

This thread will remain open for nominations until 8/23.

I am nominating The Strings of Murder by Óscar de Muriel. The book deals with a pair of investigators who take on mysteries that deal with occult themes.

The Reformatory by Tanandive Due
It’s spooky because of the killings, the beatings and the ghosts of dead boys that haunt the place.

I nominate The King's Witches by Kate Foster is about witches in the 16th century in Scotland, so it could work:) It also received above a 4 rating on Goodreads, which I appreciate.

The Highland Witch by Susan Fletcher

The Highland Witch by Susan Fletcher

accused witch, orphaned herbalist, and unforgettable
heroine―is imprisoned for her supposed involvement in a massacre in the Scottish highlands. Suspected of witchcraft and murder and awaiting her death, she tells her story to Charles Leslie, an Irish propagandist who seeks information to condemn the Protestant King William, rumored to be involved in the massacre. Hers is a story of passion, courage, love, and the magic of the natural world. By telling it, she transforms both their lives.

I nominate The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

It is about a ghost investigation in the early 1900s.

I nominate Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo This is about marriage to the ghost of a dead son of a wealthy family in exchange for a life of ease!

The Ghost Bride by [Author:Yangsze Choo

The Ghost Bride was good.

Nominated highland witch

I nominate The Putnams of Salem by Greg Houle. It is a historical fiction take on one of the most spooky episodes in US history- the salem witch trials. The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials

I nominate In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. Set in San Diego in 1918, this young adult novel features the spiritualism movement, particularly seances and spirit photography. War, pandemic, spirits and ghosts - what more could you asked for??!

It was a finalist for the Morris Award (YALSA debut novel) and a Bram Stoker nominee.

Still She Wished for Company
Very romantic as well as spooky

I nominate Hour of the Witch bu Chris Bohjalian. “Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.”

I second

I nominate The Secret Pact: The Battle Ends, the War Continues in Secret. The Secret Pact is a thrilling historical fiction; an adventure into the heart of 18th-century Jamaica, where the Maroon War has ended and a fragile peace hangs in the balance. A captivating tale of two young Maroons, who dare to defy an oppressive treaty. While Obeah—an African-rooted spiritual practice involving herbalism, divination, and the manipulation of spiritual forces—pervades the narrative, it remains on the periphery, enhancing the story without dominating its central focus.

FR-Pub wrote: "I nominate The Secret Pact: The Battle Ends, the War Continues in Secret. The Secret Pact is a thrilling historical fiction; an adventure into the heart of 18th-century Jamaica, wh..."

If you can prove this isn't some kind of self promotion, I might allow for it.

I second The Reformatory by Tananarive Due.

I second The Highland Witch

Here's a second for The Haunting of Maddy Clare

I second "The Putnams of Salem: A Novel of Power and Betrayal During the Salem Witch Trials."

I nominate The Asylum by John Harwood https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

It’s a Gothic thriller set in an asylum

I second The Reformatory

I nominate Mai Mochizuki's "The Full Moon Coffee Shop" translated by Jesse Kirkwood. The book features a "pop up" shop that appears only on the nights of the full moon, hosted by talking cats (who occasionally appear as humans) and embody the planets' names while helping disappointed citizens understand how sometimes their horoscopes contribute to their choices in life. I am a "don't read, not-a-fan-of-horoscopes" person who enjoyed this book.

I second The Reformatory by Tanandive Due

I second Hour of the Witch.

I nominate Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Set in Mexico city in the 50s the main character must traverse a creepy gothic mansion to save her newlywed cousin from the dark secret of the family she's married into.

I second Mexican Gothic

I second Hour of the Witch

I second The Ghost Bride.

I second The Highland Witch by Susan Fletcher

I second Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Margaret wrote: "I nominate Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo This is about marriage to the ghost of a dead son of a wealthy family in exchange for a life of ease!"

We've already read this. It won't be counted

Susan wrote: "I nominate Mai Mochizuki's "The Full Moon Coffee Shop" translated by Jesse Kirkwood. The book features a "pop up" shop that appears only on the nights of the full moon, hosted by talking cats (who ..."

This doesn't appear to be historical fiction of any sub-genre.