A Gothic Halloween Book Club (That Was More Treat Than Thriller)

A Gothic Halloween Book Club (That Was More Treat Than Thriller)

Our next book club meeting leaned fully into the season: Halloween, gothic style, spooky snacks, candlelight, and a mystery/thriller pick that felt perfect for October.

We chose None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell — a book that promised secrets, suspense, and a chilling story hiding just beneath the surface. Naturally, we planned a night to match.

The Theme: Gothic Halloween

Everyone understood the assignment.

The dress code was gothic-inspired — dark colours, lace, boots, dramatic touches, a little bit haunting and a lot of fun. It was honestly one of my favourite themes we’ve ever done because it gave everyone an excuse to be creative, playful, and just slightly mysterious for the night.

And of course… the food.

Each person brought an appetizer with a spooky twist, and the spread turned into a Halloween dream: festive, delicious, and perfectly on theme. The table looked absolutely incredible — one of those setups where you just want to pause for a second before anyone touches anything.

A Little Background on the Book

None of This Is True follows the story of a popular podcaster who meets a woman named Josie on her birthday… and what begins as a chance encounter slowly turns into something much darker. Josie inserts herself deeper and deeper into the narrator’s life, sharing unsettling personal stories and raising questions about what is true, what is exaggerated, and what may be dangerously manipulated.

Lisa Jewell is so good at building that creeping sense of discomfort — the kind of psychological suspense where you feel something is off long before you know why.

It was definitely an interesting choice for spooky season, and it gave us plenty to discuss.

That said…

More Fun Than Frightening

If we’re being honest, the book ended up being not quite as mysterious or thrilling as we expected. The premise was so good, but the twists weren’t exactly twist-ing in the way we hoped.

But what can you do?

Sometimes the best part of book club isn’t whether the book is a five-star thriller… it’s the gathering.

And this night was exactly that: fun, festive, full of laughter, incredible food, and the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to host themed book club meetings forever.

A gothic Halloween success — even if the book wasn’t quite as spine-chilling as our table decor.