October is an exciting month for so many reasons. For horror fans, it’s a great time to really into our biggest obsessions, which is all things scary. But for all book fans, October is the perfect time to really focus on hitting our reading goals. We are, after all, nearing the end of the year, and it’s time to get serious about making sure we’re making time to read. Especially now that the weather is colder, is there anything better than staying in with an atmospheric new horror novel?
That’s where these spooky read-a-thons come in. Here are a few upcoming Halloween-themed read-a-thons to kick off your spooky season.
Gothtober Read-A-Thon
Gothtober 2025 is underway! This annual read-a-thon is back to celebrate creepy horror books and dark, Gothic stories. This year, the theme is Gothic architecture and buildings–all about a spooky setting. This read-a-thon is hosted by Olivia’s Catastrophe, LadetteM, and withluvtish. All of the hosts will be sharing lots of reading sprints, games, arts & crafts events, and much more on both YouTube and Instagram.
Here’s a Google Drive with lots of extra info, including a calendar of events. Looking for some recommendations? Olivia’s got you covered. Here’s the official Gothtober Instagram so you can follow along here as well.
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The Halloweekend Read-A-Thon
If you really want to home in on the weekends when you’re planning your reading sprints, go for this Halloweekend Read-A-Thon. Every weekend in October features new prompts to get you reading spooky books. What’s more, this game board style read-a-thon will have you navigating each weekend of prompts by exploring a haunted house.
You can participate every Thursday night through Sunday night from October 2 to November 2. Ready to go? Here’s the Google Drive folder with all of the things you need!
Halloween-A-Thon 2025
This spooky a-thon is a horror read-a-thon, movie watch-a-thon, and spooky season activity-a-thon. If you need all the Halloween things this season, this will keep you busy.
This one started on September 22 and runs through Halloween. If you’re just finding out about the events now, you can fully start whenever you want. It’s casual. It’s for everyone, and you can do as much or as little of it as you want. Participating in even one activity makes you an official “Pumpkinhead.” Lots of Book Tubers are participating, so there are lots of videos and Instagram posts and Discord channels you can follow.
If you’re looking for more ideas for what to do for the Halloween-A-Thon, check out these Halloween-A-Thon book recommendations.
But of course, why should scary book read-a-thons be relegated to spooky season? If you’re looking for a horror read-a-thon that goes on all year round, check out Horror Bingo 2025-2026. Because every month should feel like October!
