These are 5 perfect Halloween reads for October - one is 1818 classic

As the sun begins to set earlier and earlier every night, we are approaching the point of the year when leaving the house after 7pm becomes out of the question. All you want to do is cosy up, put your favourite pyjamas on and reach for your favourite autumnal read. If you are unsure what your go-to books for a bit of cosy escapism will be this October, then you could be in luck. From Mary Shelley's classic 1818 Frankenstein to a controversial pick by Stephanie Meyer, here are my five recommendations to read during spooky season.

The book's synopsis reads: "Shirley Jackson's beloved gothic tale of a peculiar girl named Merricat and her family's dark secret.

"Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate. This edition features an afterword by Jonathan Lethem."

The book's blurb reads: "About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how dominant that part might be - that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. Deeply seductive and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight is a love story with bite."

The book's synopsis states: "Bram Stoker's Dracula begins with solicitor Jonathan Harker's journey to Transylvania to finalize a property deal for Count Dracula, who is secretly a vampire. Harker escapes Dracula's castle, while the Count moves to Whitby, England, where he preys on Lucy Westenra. A group of men, led by Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, eventually hunts and kills Dracula, though not before he attempts to transform Harker's wife, Mina."

The book's synopsis reads: "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a living being from reanimated parts, but is horrified by its appearance and abandons it. Rejected by society and his creator, the abandoned creature seeks revenge against Victor, leading to a tragic chain of events that results in the deaths of Victor's loved ones and his own pursuit of the creature to the ends of the earth."

The blurb reads: "Harry Potter, along with his best friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can't wait to get back to school after the summer holidays. (Who wouldn't if they lived with the horrible Dursleys?) But when Harry gets to Hogwarts, the atmosphere is tense. There's an escaped mass murderer on the loose, and the sinister prison guards of Azkaban have been called in to guard the school..."