It's that time of year when towering skeletons sprout in my neighbors' front yards, the entrance to the grocery store is lined with overflowing crates of weirdly misshapen pumpkins, and the scariest thing I've seen is the Costco aisle where giant bags of candy lurk, plotting to murder my diet.

It's enough to make me want to bring in the jack-o-lanterns, turn off the porch light and huddle up with a good book until Thanksgiving.

I love medieval fantasies, but I'm also known to enjoy a good ghost story or two, especially this season. If you're similarly inclined, here are some fantasy novels that mix mages, warriors and castles with ghosts, ghouls and general creepiness. Basically, a mashup of Medieval Times and Disney's Haunted Mansion. Enjoy the eldritch and savor the spooktacular!

Kill the Dead by Tanith Lee (1980)

A lush, poetic and deeply macabre fantasy in which a cursed, stagnant city is haunted by the literal spirits of its past.

Sabriel by Garth Nix (1995)

In a pseudo-medieval realm divided by a magical wall, a young necromancer uses magical bells to lay restless, terrifying spirits and undead entities back to rest. The first in Nix's Old Kingdom series.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip (1974)

A lyrical high fantasy with mythical creatures and a heavy undercurrent of isolation, ancient sorcerous ghosts and cold vengeance.

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman (2012)

During the Black Death in 1348 France, a disgraced knight and a young girl navigate an apocalyptic medieval landscape where Hell's demons and restless human ghosts walk the earth.

The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Hanrahan (2019)

Set in an ancient, stone-hewn city, this unique dark fantasy features a brilliant and terrifying magic system populated by ghouls, crawling thieves, and the ghosts of dead gods. First in the Black Iron Legacy series.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (2006)

This first book of Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series follows an elite group of thieves in a city based on pre-Renaissance Venice as they encounter eerie supernatural occurrences and terrifying blood magic.

Once Was Willem by Mike Carey (2025)

In 12th-century England, a man literally rises from the dead to defend his village. A masterpiece of twisted folklore, macabre medieval magic, and wandering souls.

Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman (2025)

A boy on the run takes refuge in a ruined abbey and encounters a chorus of murdered ghostly girls and a fearsome Battle Bishop. Did I mention the mercenary dragon? Set in the same world as Seraphina, Tess of the Road and other Hartman books.

Lent by Jo Walton (2019)

A friar in late-medieval Florence has the supernatural ability to see demons and human ghosts wandering the city streets.

BONUS PICK: Shadow of the Jade Cat by yours truly (2019)

If you can forgive a little shameless self-promotion: An untrained young priestess joins with two master mages in a desperate plan to stop an ancient predator created by a goddess.

All Hallow's Eve is upon us. Carve the pumpkin, wear the costume, eat the candy corn; and whatever creatures of the night may skulk outside your door, never stop reading.