Best Thrillers With a Supernatural Twist

Welcome to Owl Book World. If you’re new here, then my name is Kaili! I’m the one who runs this blog, and I like to focus on horror and thriller books. Every so often, I do read other types of books as well. But today we’re talking about the best thrillers with a supernatural twist!

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31 horror books to read this October for a spooky season

It’s SPOOKY season!! I know I’m a little late with the post-31 horror books to read this October. If you’re a fast reader, I’m sure you could have probably read one of these books a day. But I’m sure many of you can’t read that fast, me included.

Spooky season is one of my favorite times of the year. It always brings so much joy to me. Even as a kid, it used to be one of my favorite times of the year. The weather started cooling off just enough that it wasn’t so hot anymore, and I could dress up as whatever I wanted to and get free candy. I loved it. If it weren’t for it being frowned upon, I probably would have trick-or-treated throughout my teens. So when I finally stopped, I started to spend more time reading spooky books and spooky movies. So, what are some great horror books to read this October?

If you’re anything like me, then this is the time when you like to read and watch everything horror. So, there are 31 horror books to read this October that will help get you in the mood for spooky season.

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Thriller tropes: What are my favorites

Good morning or afternoon, my fellow Owl book Coven! Today, I’m coming at you with awesome thriller tropes. I have tried to include almost all of the thriller tropes in the list. At least it includes a lot of the most popular tropes, whether it’s tropes that are popular among readers or tropes popular among authors.

With that being said, what exactly is a trope, let alone a thriller trope? It is a literary device that is used through books to create tension and suspense in the story.

If it weren’t for tropes, then stories wouldn’t be all that great. Who exactly wouldn’t want to read a book that didn’t have a little bit of tension in it? If it didn’t have these tropes, then the story would be very, very boring, and most of us would probably put it down.

Thriller tropes

List of tropes

A lot of these are the most popular thriller tropes. I know you have probably heard many of these. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t heard of all of these. There are a couple of these I had never heard of, or at least I didn’t realize it was considered a trope. Now that I’m going through them, though, I’m starting to realize how many of them I’ve read over the years.

But here is a list of those tropes. Let me know in the comments which ones you have read and haven’t read!

  • Broken down vehicle
  • Isolated local
  • Mysterious stranger
  • Stalker or unhinged ex
  • Toxic friendship and cults
  • Powerful protagonist
  • Fearful protagonist
  • Victium gets revenge
  • Intelligent psychopath
  • Unreliable narrators
  • Blackmail
  • Kidnapping
  • Framed
  • Unassuming villain

Top ten psychological thriller tropes

These are some of the best psychological thriller tropes, and I have to admit that I’ve read quite a few stories with some of these, and I have to say that usually I really enjoy them. If I had to pick a favorite, I’m not sure I could. But I do know that I really enjoy the unreliable narrator, creepy small town, isolation, cult, and dark family secret.

I’m not really picky, though. When it comes to thriller tropes and horror tropes, I like almost all of them as long as the book is really well done.

  • The unreliable narrator
  • Amnesia
  • Creepy small town
  • the doppleganger
  • Isolation
  • Cat and mouse
  • The manipulator
  • the cult
  • dark family secret
  • Paranormal twist

Psychological thrillers are some of my favorites, though. I love books that kind of play with my head and keep me guessing the entire time. I don’t like being able to figure out how a book is going to end way before I even get there.

Conclusion to thriller tropes

What are some of your favorite thriller tropes? I know you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t like thrillers at least a little bit. Did I miss any of the tropes that are your favorite? I know I probably missed a few tropes that some of you guys enjoy.

With that being said, there are quite a few thriller tropes out there. In my opinion, there’s something out there for just about everyone. If you enjoy thrillers, there has to be! If you enjoyed this post, then you might like my post on haunted house movies worth watching.

September 2025 book releases perfect for spooky season

September seems to be a great month for new books. There are so many September 2025 book releases that seem like great books.

I know I don’t need any books right now. Who am I kidding? I always need new books. But I know I want to try and read some of these. Maybe once I get some of my TBR knocked out, then I’ll try to get some of these.

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10 gripping thrillers perfect for cozy fall afternoons

Guess what, guess what, guess what? Fall is nearly here! I don’t know if you’re a fan of the fall, but I know a lot of people are! I know what I’m most looking forward to is Halloween and spooky season! With that comes gripping thrillers and spooky books that will set the mood for this time of year!

What kind of books do you typically think about this time of year? Do you like to read more uplifting books, or would you rather read darker books?

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9 Dark Academia Books for back to school thrills

Where I live in the United States, some schools have already started. Others start later, but where I’m at, they usually start at the beginning of August. It’s early, I know, but we’re used to it here. It’s normal, and now I don’t think anything about it. But with school starting here now, that means it’s time to find some great books that revolve around school itself. So, that means some great dark academia books!

So what exactly does dark academia mean? After looking it up the dark academia meaning is actually vague. But for me, dark academia is usually books that take place in private or prep school. It usually follows the “elite” kids, and obviously, something dark happens and secrets are exposed. There are some exceptions to this where it doesn’t completely take place in a private school. But it usually follows students who have something dark hidden, and it gets found out and exposed.

But here are some great dark academia books that you should add to your TBR!

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Books you can’t put down (and want to skip class for)

Life is great. You wake up well rested and get to do all of the things that you want to do. That includes reading books that you enjoy. You’re getting unlimited uninterrupted reading time and almost every book you’re reading are books you can’t put down. Sounds amazing, right?

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How to get back into reading after a busy summer

Summer is close to coming to an end. Where I’m from, school is actually about to start. So, summer break is coming to an end here too. If you’re a parent, or even if you aren’t, but are busy during the summer season, then you might struggle to get back into reading. But how to get back into reading after a busy summer?

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How to read more as a busy mom (realistic tips)

As a busy mom who has her kids full-time and homeschools, it is really hard to get a whole lot of reading done. But reading is something that I have always identified with. Becoming a mom, I kind of lost that. I kind of lost a lot about myself since I’m so focused on being a good mother and being involved. It didn’t take long for me to realize that, yes, I should be an involved parent, but I definitely need to take time out for myself as well. So, how to read more as a busy mom?

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Top 10 BookTok books that are being talked about in 2025

For a long time, I felt that books weren’t all that important. It was important to me, obviously, and there are quite a few others too. BUT!! It seems that a significant number of people were not reading. I bet before TikTok became popular, reading wasn’t a super common hobby. A lot of people kind of lost their love of reading, or it was never there for them to begin with. But the more TikTok became popular, I feel like the more popular books started to become popular again. But what are the top 10 booktok books that are worth it?

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