Summerween 2026: The Best Horror Books to Kick Off Spooky Season Early

Summer is heating up... so naturally it's time for ghosts, monsters, haunted camps, cursed lakes, and things that go bump in the night. 

Joe is joined by Bre to celebrate Summerween 2026, the growing tradition of bringing spooky season into the middle of summer. Whether horror readers are looking for gothic classics, unsettling literary horror, creepy middle grade adventures, camp slashers, psychological thrillers, or terrifying short story collections, this episode is packed with recommendations to fill every Summerween TBR. 

From vampires and haunted campgrounds to folk horror, cosmic dread, ghost stories, and nostalgic Halloween favorites, this conversation explores horror across every age and subgenre. Along the way, Bre also shares details about her July Noir 2026 reading weekend and Discord community for readers looking to celebrate all month long. 

Whether Summerween is already an annual tradition, or this is the first spooky-season celebration in July, this episode is full of horror book recommendations perfect for every kind of reader. 

Looking for the video version of our show? Check out the Libby App YouTube channel! 

Links: 


Bre’s links 





July Noir 2026 Announcement 





July Noir Discord 





Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/locd_booktician_/  




Titles mentioned: 

Bre’s Picks: 


Carmilla – Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 





Dead First – Johnny Compton 





On Sundays She Picked Flowers – Yah Yah Scholfield 





Gyo – Junji Ito 





You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight – Kalynn Bayron 





The Jumbies & Rise of the Jumbies – Tracey Baptiste 





Why I Love Horror – ed. Becky Siegel Spratford 




Joe’s Picks:  


How to Survive Camping Series (Book 1: How to Survive Camping) - Bonnie Quinn 





 The Lady in Chains 





The Ancient Things (September 2026) 





The Unmothers – Leslie J. Anderson 





The Bog Wife – Kay Chronister  





Smothermoss – Alisa Alering 





Don’t Turn Out the Lights – ed. Jonathan Maberry 





Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – Alvin Schwartz 





Our Shadows Have Claws – ed. Yamile Saied Méndez, Amparo Ortiz 





The Lake House – Sarah Beth Durst 





Tastes Like Candy – Jessica Lacy  





Camp Scare – Delilah S. Dawson 





Summer’s Never Over – Darby Bozeman  





A Murder Most Camp – Nicolas DiDomizio 





13 Months Haunted – Jimmy Juliano 





Chasing the Boogeyman – Richard Chizmar 





80s Ghosts – VS Lawrence 




Time stamps: 00:00:00 Title 00:00:23 Intro & Seasonal Update 00:01:40 Thoughts on Summerween 00:07:24 Our Summerween 2026 picks! 01:28:46 Thank you to Bre and outro 

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode in Libby. Library friends can add these titles to their digital collections for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy. Check out our Cumulative List for the whole season, or this list for today’s episode! 

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog! 

We hope you enjoy this episode of Book Lounge by Libby. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can watch the video version of our show on the Libby App YouTube channel. Keep up with us on social media by following the Libby App on Instagram!  

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