Atmospheric Books for Halloween Reading

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is about atmospheric books.  A lot of times atmospheric books are dark and eerie, making it a perfect Halloween topic. But a book can be atmospheric without being scary as well. I think of an atmospheric book as one that really immerses you in the setting of the book, or one where the setting is almost a character in the book. So a book that really focuses on the natural environment, like Foster or Flight Behavior, could also be atmospheric.

Thomas Hardy, one of my favorite authors, is a particularly atmospheric writer. In his novels, like The Return of the Native, the land very much reflects the mood of the book and influences the fates of the characters. Wuthering Heights, though not a favorite of mine, is a perfect example of an atmospheric book. Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is another classic example.

Here are ten books that came to mind when I think about a book with a really powerful setting, where as a reader you feel like you’re there. I tried to pick books you might not already have thought of.

Fantasy and Horror:

• The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
• Lone Women by Victor LaValle
• Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Historical Mystery:

• A Deadly Fortune by Stacie Murphy
• Down a Dark River by Karen Odden

Mystery/Thriller:

• The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
• Faithful Place by Tana French

Historical Fiction:

• Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
• The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
• News of the World and Chenneville by Paulette Jiles

Those are my top ten picks for atmospheric novels. What do you recommend?