Last weekend was Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon, and every October readathon, I pack my TBR full of short Halloween-themed reads. Naturally, those are usually queer. This year, I’ve discovered a couple of sapphic YA graphic novels that are perfect Halloween romps. They give Halloween vibes—one even has a talking Jack o’Lantern!—but aren’t too scary. They’re also both books that you can finish in one sitting, so you still have to read them before (or on!) Halloween.
Hollow by Shannon Watters, Branden Boyer-White, and Berenice Nelle
First of all, let’s hear it for a butch/masc woman of color as a main character. There are not nearly enough of those. As you might have guessed, this graphic novel is inspired by “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” We follow Izzy Crane just after she moves to Sleepy Hollow, where she quickly learns that everyone is obsessed with the story—and believes the spirit is real. Despite her skepticism, she makes a couple new friends at school, including Vicky Van Tassel. Vicky has a lot of expectations put on her as the youngest Van Tassel, and I liked how we saw her challenge these rigid ideas of who she is in part with her extremely varied wardrobe. Izzy has to get their help when she’s visited by the spirit and is forced to admit the local superstitions are true, and Vicky is in danger. Together, the three of them investigate what’s really happening in Sleepy Hollow. This is such a fun comic from the co-creator of Lumberjanes, and it has a talking jack-o’-lantern! How much more Halloween can you get? There’s also a very cute romance between Izzy and Vicky, and this is going to be a series! Volume two comes out in July 2025.
Specter Inspectors by Bowen McCurdy and, Kaitlyn Musto
I picked this up because reviews made it sound like a queer ghost hunting graphic novel with Scooby Doo vibes, and it lived up to that! This follows Noa and her fellow ghost hunters as they investigate one of the most haunted towns in America for their online paranormal investigation show. Despite never before finding anything paranormal, that hasn’t shaken Noa’s beliefs, even if everyone else in the group is less of a believer. In Cape Grace, though, things quickly get out of hand: one of them gets possessed by a demon. Together, they’ll have to unearth the hidden history of the town and the demon if they want to save Astrid. This is another fun, Halloween-y read, which a few more scary moments than Hollow. Like Hollow, this also has a budding F/F romance between two of our investigators. It also has a nonbinary side character. (Gus, Noa’s younger sibling.) Content warning for child death (off page).
Both of these are perfect picks for something Halloween-themed, but not too horrific, and they’re both books you can finish in one sitting. They even have coordinating covers! Another great option is That Full Moon Feeling by Ashley Robin Franklin, if you’d like to go the romance route. Happy Halloween, and happy reading!
