5 Books with an Ominous Tone

Many people enjoy reading more mysterious or spooky books around Halloween, and this book list is inspired by my reading Thomas Hardy for the first time earlier this year. The title—The Distracted Preacher and Other Tales—initially made me laugh; I definitely wasn’t expecting what I encountered. This collection of short stories and novellas surprised me, and I thought it would be a fantastic choice for October. Its ominous tone reminded me of a few other literary novels.