I am a scaredy cat and I enthusiastically avoid gruesome stories, whether in movies or in books. But I do love fantasy and pieces that flirt with the haunting realm of witches, vampires and ghosts. In the spirit of Halloween, things that go bump in the night and send a shiver down our collective spines, I’ve compiled 3 of my favorites. These couldn’t be different in setting, mood or narrative, but share a satisfying exploration of the supernatural realm. A little romance, a little classic, and a little post-apocalyptic for you varied fans out there:

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness DB 72629

After scholar and witch Diana Bishop requests an alchemical manuscript from the depths of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, she finds the magical power within the leather cover disturbing and hastily sends it back. But the book’s reemergence causes a chain reaction through the paranormal community. Descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2011.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë DB 25178

This classic nineteenth-century English novel, set in the wild moor country of Yorkshire, is about Heathcliff, a foundling raised in the Earnshaw home, who passionately loves Catherine. He dedicates his life to the realization of that love and revenge on those who oppose him. First published in 1847.

The Passage by Justin Cronin DB 71422

Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte becomes humanity’s last hope after the North American populace is decimated by a terrifying viral infection–the product of a secret military experiment housed in a remote compound in the Colorado mountains. Violence, strong language, and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller.  2010.