The Bookish Ashley

Halloween isn’t just for haunted houses and horror movies — sometimes the scariest monsters are the ones inside people’s minds. If you love a story that messes with your head, keeps you guessing, and makes you sleep with one eye open, psychological thrillers are where the real magic (and mayhem) happens.

Here are the best twisty, chilling, can’t-put-it-down thrillers to binge during Halloween week.

1. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

This one will have you gasping out loud. A woman takes a job cleaning a wealthy family’s home — but nothing is as it seems. Every time you think you’ve figured it out, McFadden pulls the rug right out from under you. It’s claustrophobic, clever, and perfect for a late-night read.

2. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

The perfect marriage? Think again. This domestic thriller about a seemingly picture-perfect couple is unsettling from the first chapter and doesn’t let go until the end. It’s a masterclass in slow-building dread.

3. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

A famous artist shoots her husband and never speaks another word. A psychotherapist becomes obsessed with finding out why. The final twist is legendary — the kind that makes you flip back through the pages just to see how you missed it.

4. Verity by Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover swaps heartbreak for horror in this dark, mind-bending tale of obsession, lies, and forbidden love. It blurs the line between truth and fiction so well that you’ll question everything. Don’t read it alone at night unless you enjoy mild psychological torture.

5. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

A teenage girl vanishes, and years later her mother meets a man whose daughter looks eerily familiar. It’s equal parts heartbreaking and disturbing — Jewell weaves suspense and emotion like a spider spins silk.

6. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

No Halloween thriller list is complete without this modern classic. When Amy Dunne disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, her husband becomes the prime suspect — but that’s just the beginning. Sharp, dark, and wickedly smart.

7. The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

A jealous woman schemes to steal another woman’s perfect life — until the game turns deadly. It’s high-society drama meets psychological warfare, and it’s deliciously sinister.

8. You by Caroline Kepnes

Told from the perspective of Joe Goldberg, a charming bookstore employee turned stalker, You will make you uncomfortably aware of how easily obsession hides in plain sight. Creepy, funny, and brilliant — just like Joe himself.

9. A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

Six teenage girls went missing twenty years ago, and now it’s happening again. The main character’s father was the original killer — or was he? It’s a slow-burn thriller full of unease and emotional depth.

10. Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

A young woman becomes an apartment sitter in a luxurious Manhattan building — only to realize its residents may not all be alive. It’s Gothic, modern, and packed with eerie suspense that builds to a cinematic finale.

Final Word:

Psychological thrillers are the perfect Halloween companions because they don’t rely on jump scares — they crawl under your skin. Whether you like dark secrets, twisted relationships, or unreliable narrators whispering lies in your ear, these books will keep your pulse racing long after you’ve turned the last page.

So light a candle, lock the doors (seriously, double-check them), and let your mind wander into the shadows. Happy haunting — and happy reading.