During October, I always dive into spooky books, movies and TV shows in the lead up to Halloween. My love for horror had me wondering where this all might have begun, and I believe it can be chalked up to watching Scooby-Doo as a child.
Premiering in 1969 with the eerie yet light-hearted series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, the mystery-solving gang – Mystery Inc. – consisted of Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and their talking Great Dane, Scooby-Doo, as they investigate supernatural mysteries. Full of humour and fun archetypes, with many modern adaptations since, the series was a first introduction to monsters for many children, with the comfort that at the end of the episode the mystery would be solved, and the monster was always a human in a mask. Rewatching Scooby-Doo is a nostalgic flashback into my childhood that sparked an obsession with mysteries, true crime and everything magical and supernatural.
So if you’re wondering what book to read for spooky season, just pick your favourite Scooby-Doo character for a Halloween recommendation, ranging from horrifying thrillers to literary classics and cosy whodunnits!
Fred Jones
Athletic, brave, and charming, Fred is the leader of the Mystery Inc. gang. Although he may not be the smartest or most resourceful of the group, he was always the one to give them the courage they needed to fight the monsters.
How to Survive Camping: The Man with No Shadow is an original, fun and frightening novel following Kate, manager of Goat Valley Campground, as she tries to protect her campers from the supernatural horrors haunting the campsite, and from a potentially gruesome demise.
The most quintessential of horror classics, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a terrifying novel in which a group of friends team up to hunt down the sinister vampire, Count Dracula, to try and stop him from destroying everything they love. The classic follows the same themes of friendship, fraternity and the battle against good and evil that we all loved about the Scooby-Doo gang.
Following another team of youths up against a supernatural evil, the cast in Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House investigate a haunted house with a tragic past, writing on the walls, and a malevolent ghost that comes out at night. Just don’t expect the same neat conclusion that you got in the Scooby-Doo cartoon!
Daphne Blake
Fashionable, cheery and resourceful, Daphne was who I wanted to be growing up. From her impeccable wardrobe to the many ways she proved herself to be more than just a ‘damsel in distress’, Daphne is as much of a heroine as the book-smart Velma.
Obviously, Mona Awad’s Bunny is a feminine horror perfect for those whose favourite character was Daphne. Blending Mean Girls and Heathers with gore and guts, this friendship group is not one I would put my trust in.
In Scooby-Doo, the monsters are always humans beneath a mask – or in the case of Mona Awad’s Rouge, beneath the face mask. Written with a similar surreal and fairytale-like prose to Bunny, Rouge is a dazzling descent into madness exploring the horrors of the beauty industry.
And straight away I knew, if there was one classic Daphne would love, it would be Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. A Gothic romance set in an isolated mansion, with the ghost of a dead wife haunting the protagonist’s every movement, this novel explores themes of love and obsession, jealousy, and a struggle for identity.
Velma Dinkley
Known for being the brains of the group, Velma can solve any mystery with her sharp wit, logic, and intellect.
Riley Sager’s The Only One Left and Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic are two chilling novels perfect for those who choose Velma – a haunted house with a bloody history, a female protagonist who will not stop to uncover the truth, and a horrifying conclusion that will make you question whether the mystery should’ve stayed hidden.
Velma is also extremely bookish and scientific, so Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the founder of the science fiction genre, is a perfect classic for her. Frankenstein is a beautifully tragic and philosophical book that questions who is truly the monster, what it means to be human, and the horrors of human creation.
Shaggy Rogers
Now this is where things get a bit macabre. Shaggy, as well as being goofy, lovable and cowardly, is known for his love for food. But when you combine horror and food, things get… homicidal, very quickly.
The Eyes Are the Best Part is a thrilling story of obsession, food and murder, as the protagonist grows an increasing hatred for her mother’s new boyfriend.
A Certain Hunger explores the culinary adventures of Dorothy, a food critic whose taste for meat becomes more and more experimental and murderous.
But for me, Asako Yuzuki’s hit sensation Butter is the ultimate one for Shaggy fans. Why? The premise is a gourmet cook who’s been arrested for murdering men by seducing them with her delicious homemade meals. If Shaggy was going to die in one way, this would be it.
Scooby-Doo
Now for the star of the show. Whilst I could easily continue with the list of cannibalistic thrillers to match Scooby’s immeasurable appetite, how could I ignore the many canine classics that are howling to be recommended?
Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles is the ultimate spooky read for any dog lover, as the detective duo, Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson, investigate the terrifying appearance of a demonic hound haunting the gloomy moors.
Stephen King’s Cujo was, I believe, the source of many people’s phobia of dogs (my mum made the mistake of watching the 1983 horror film at age 5 and was subsequently terrified of dogs for at least a decade).
And finally, to end all this doom and gloom on a happy note, we have a canine classic that looks at the love and loyalty of a dog – Agatha Christie’s Dumb Witness, in which Hercule Poirot must solve the murder where the only witness was the victim’s dog. This cosy whodunnit is perfect for a Scooby-Doo fan who loves a puzzling mystery, a multitude of red herrings and a satisfying ending.
For anyone who loved the villains of Scooby-Doo the most, I also have recommendations for some of the most iconic monsters!
● If you love The Black Knight, read… The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. Widely regarded as the first Gothic novel, Walpole’s classic includes a haunted medieval castle, ghostly knights and supernatural omens.
● If you love Captain Cutler, read… Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. A woman is distressed when her lover returns home from a deep sea mission inexplicably changed…
● If you love The Creeper, read… Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio. A creepy novella featuring a misfit group of students and a mysterious gravedigger who triggers a chain of disturbing events.
● If you love Ghost Clown, read… IT by Stephen King. For obvious reasons.
