DARK ACADEMIA READING LIST | Cozy books for Autumn & Winter

Are you looking for some cozy reads this autumn and winter? We’ve compiled a Dark Academia reading list with the best books for cool crisp weather that you can enjoy with a nice cup of tea.

DARK ACADEMIA READING LIST

To create this list we simply asked our book club members for their suggestions and the result was a wonderful mix of classic literature, cozy mysteries, and spooky stories. How many have you read of these?

If you want any of these books, please know that our cozy book list includes affiliate links to which you can purchase any of the titles you’ll see in this list. Let’s jump straight in, shall we?

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, for which we make a commission if you click and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you. Click each title to go to the book on Amazon or check out our Charming Cottage Shoppe on Amazon for more bookish gift ideas.  

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The most iconic one of the classic Halloween books. A ghost story that has endured popularity since it was first published, in 1820 by Washington Irving.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” takes place at the time of the American Revolution. You’ll get to know the new school teacher, Ichabod Crane, who just arrived in the little town called “Sleepy Hollow.” This short story involves superstitions, greediness, and love. The main question is, will your head roll tonight? It is one of the best classics to read for Halloween.

Sleepy Hollow, NY is a well-known little village from Washington Irving’s famous short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. But, did you know it is also a real town that you can visit?

The House of Seven Gables

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterful tales describe the brooding hold of the past over the present, twisting and turning through many generations of a venerable New England family. A true classic of American literature.

A gripping psychological drama concerns the Pyncheon family, a dynasty founded on pious theft, who live for generations under a dead man’s curse until their house is finally exorcised by love.

The Raven

Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven’ delves into the hidden horrors of the human psyche. Poe is a definite contributor to any dark academia lists.

Originally published in 1845, the poem is narrated by a melancholy scholar brooding over Lenore, a woman he loved who is now lost to him. One bleak December at midnight, a raven with fiery eyes visits the scholar and perches above his chamber door. Struggling to understand the meaning of the word his winged visitant repeats — “Nevermore!” — the narrator descends by stages into madness…

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Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is a novel released the year of 1847, written by Charlotte Brontë under the pseudonym “Currer Bell.” Her magnificent work became an immediate success.

A flagship of Victorian fiction, Jane Eyre intrigues readers through the vigorous courage of Jane’s voice, a forceful depiction of childhood injustice, an unflinching examination of the restraints placed upon women, and a worthy exploration into the complexities of both faith and passion.

Wuthering Heights

A very popular and beloved classic from 1846 by another Brontë sister, Emily, under the pseudonym “Ellis Bell”.

In the classic Wuthering Heights Catherine is forced to choose between passionate, tortured gypsy Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar Linton. Catherine surrenders to the expectations of her class and sets off a domino effect with lasting consequences. As Heathcliff’s bitterness and vengeance at his betrayal are visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the lover’s tortured past.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

“Elementary my dear Watson” is one of the iconic quotes that most people know by heart even if they’ve never read any Sherlock Holmes in their whole life. Sherlock’s lifestyle is in itself a very inspiring source of the dark academia aesthetics.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of twelve short stories by Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle, is considered a milestone in the genre of detective fiction. With Sherlock Holmes’s clever disguises and ability to solve even the most complicated mysteries, as well as Holmes’s loyal friend and biographer, Dr. Watson, you will enjoy the suspenseful ride you are about to take.

Murder on the Orient Express

Fall foliage from a cozy train window is one of the most relaxing things during Autumn. Although, it’s a different story on the Orient Express.

Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer. Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man’s enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was first published in the July issue of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Even if it received very harsh criticism Wilde proved its literary value for generations to come.

Oscar Wilde brings his enormous gifts for astute social observation and sparking prose to The Picture of Dorian Gray, his dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. This dandy, who remains forever unchanged- petulant, hedonistic, vain, and amoral- while a painting of him ages and grows increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying, enchanting, obsessing, and even corrupting readers for more than a hundred years.

Frankenstein

Some critics claim Frankenstein to be the very first science-fiction novel in the world.

Shelley’s message is more powerful today than ever, as mankind grows closer to bringing her nightmare to reality. In a world of cloning and gene splicing, where man plays God on a daily basis, we should all take heed of Frankenstein’s lesson.

Dracula

Bram Stocker’s classic vampire novel was inspired by the murderous Vladd II of Wallachia (also known as Vlad the Impaler) and Countess Elizabeth Bathory.

Drácula is the essential vampire novel in which Stoker sparks the core themes of the subgenre: the fight between good and evil and the sensuality of the vampire. It tells the story of Jonathan Harker, an estate agent whom the enigmatic Count Dracula summons to his castle in Transylvania to help find a home in London–so Dracula may find new victims and spread his curse.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Whether you’re a Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or a Gryffindor; it’s not difficult to love J.K. Rowling’s popular series of books. Also, since Dark Academia is about the academic lifestyle you might wanna have a grand school such as Hogwarts in your list.

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy – until he is rescued by a beetle-eyed giant of a man, enrolls at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch, and does battle in a deadly duel. The Reason, Harry Potter is a wizard!

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

This was Shirley Jackson’s final work, released in 1962. It is a mystery novel that many readers taken to their hearts.

Taking readers deep into a labyrinth of dark neurosis, We Have Always Lived in the Castle is perhaps the crowning achievement of Shirley Jackson’s brilliant career: a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the dramatic struggle that ensues when an unexpected visitor interrupts their unusual way of life.

The Halloween Tree

Bradbury’s novel “The Halloween Tree” has everything a perfect Halloween should have. Some trick or treat and history will make you finish the book knowing a little more about your favorite holiday than when you started.

In The Halloween Tree, master of fantasy Ray Bradbury takes readers on a riveting trip through space and time to discover the true origins of Halloween. Originally published in 1972, this striking new hardcover edition features dramatic illustrations throughout by Gris Grimly, giving a new generation of readers a chance to discover the magic.

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman is a master of writing exciting stories. His palette of genres is wide but he never disappoints. The first line sets the tone “There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” …Perhaps go lock your door.

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place–he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their ghostly teachings–such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern wrote her beloved debut novel for the annual writing competition NaNoWriMo. Whether it won or not does not matter since it is a true winner in the literary world.

Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in The Night Circus, the spellbinding New York Times best-seller that has captured the world’s imagination.

We hope you enjoyed our book list and find this fall to be the coziest book reading of your life. Please feel welcome to sign up to become a free member of our COZY COTTAGE BOOK CLUB (Formerly known as the Sleepy Hollow Book Club)

Bye for now,
Lindsay Dianne & Jonas

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