25 Best and Scariest Horror Books Ever

In three grotesque and shocking novellas, Eric LaRocca’s Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes takes you from a macabre ballet to an isolated island and then to a dangerous neighborhood game. These disturbing stories will burrow into your mind and live there long after you’ve finished reading.

So many pieces fit together to make The Hunger unmissable — the Donner party retelling, the sparkling prose, the weirdness of the west, the bizarre historical foundations. It’s all here, and it is masterfully woven to take you on a tense and gripping journey into the darkness of human nature. (And when you’re finished with this one, pick up Alma Katsu’s latest, The Fervor.) 

For over sixty years, Shirley Jackson’s unnerving novel has been hailed as one of the best haunted house stories ever written.  On the page or on the screen, this is a riveting tale about four people who arrive at a notoriously hostile house. Don’t miss Elizabeth Hand’s upcoming horror novel A Haunting on the Hill, the first ever authorized work to return to Shirley Jackson’s world.  

A complicated family + a haunted house = a wildly entertaining, heartfelt and horrifying story from Grady Hendrix. For even more bone-chilling information about this novel, listen to Grady Hendrix talk about what makes a home into a haunted house, the horrifying history of puppets and dolls and more on our Poured Over podcast.

You’ve never read anything like this book. In fact, to even call it a book feels overly simplified. This is a creepy, curvy horror story of magnificent effect. One does not simply read the maze-like House of Leaves, you experience it. Enter if you dare. 

Short, sharp and scary! Do you have a manga fan in your life that’s looking for the perfect spooky narrative or ghost story? Cassandra Khaw’s Nothing but Blackened Teeth is the book. It is full of Japanese folklore and vivid images that will sit with you long after the last page.  

Stephen King describes this book as “old-school horror”, and the man’s not kidding. A scout troop encounters an unexpected and horrifying foe deep in the woods of the Canadian wilderness. Will they be able to survive the harrowing trip?  

We weren’t sure what to expect with Road of Bones, but we immediately realized it was going to be way more than we bargained for. Travel on a haunted highway across the frozen tundra of Siberia in this atmospheric horror filled with ghost stories, local legends and otherworldly beasts. 

From horror mainstay Darcy Coates comes another thrilling tale that will keep you checking over your shoulder with every snap of a twig. The search for a missing girl is anything but ordinary, and the forest being searched holds more than foliage. Buckle in for the ride, this is sure to keep you checking over your shoulders every time you hear leaves rustle. 

If you like Edgar Allen Poe, horror or speculative fiction, then this retelling of Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a spooky read that will make you think twice before heading into the woods. Listen to T. Kingfisher talk about what she’s working on next, her love of gothic stories and more on our Poured Over podcast.   

At the crossroads of horror, poetry, and history sits The Only Good Indians. You will forever hear the stories of these four characters in your mind, and in those stories is a deep history of American Indian culture. Sometimes the true horror in a novel goes beyond the passages that keep you up at night. 

When a book gets adapted into a movie series, a tv show and a manga, you know it’s one people can’t get enough of, and Ring has made all those rounds. Centering a deadly phenomenon involving a mysterious videotape that promises (and delivers) death, this is an eerie story that will keep you hooked from start to finish. 

Do you feel that? This book is beckoning you… but you might not want to get too close. This utterly terrifying psychological horror story will make you double check every noise in your home — and question reality. 

Do not go lightly into this book. It takes you into the sadistic mind of a killer and to the thoughts that breed such heinous acts. Exquisite Corpse does not hide from how disturbing it is as it travels around the world for the sake of murder, and yet it still hooks readers.  

A Head Full of Ghosts walks the fine line between the supernatural and the psychological, exploring the very nature of evil through one young girl, perhaps schizophrenic, perhaps possessed. It’s scary, it’s poignant and it is sharp — exactly what you’d expect from Paul Tremblay (The Cabin at the End of the World). 

You may have seen the movie, but the novel is rich with its own terrors that have captivated decades of dedicated horror readers for more than 50 years. This is the story of one little girl possessed by evil, and it is raw, shocking and unforgettable.

“Redrum,” “the twins,” repeated outbursts from the main character — these are all moments in The Shining that will be forever burned into your frontal lobe. Memory, attention span and emotions will be thrown into turmoil as you read one of King’s most recognizable horror books.

That fantastic and far-too-rare combination of haunted and humorous, Hidden Pictures is a unique and satisfying read on multiple levels. It’s a familiar story (nanny to a boy with strange powers) told in an unfamiliar way that offers all the creepy delights of an unforgettable ghost story.

A dark fairytale for modern audiences, this is Victor LaValle (Lone Women) at his storytelling best. The Changeling pulls you into Apollo and Emma’s world, weaving themes of corruption with ancient folklore, preternatural love and an undercurrent of facing our monsters. Read it before the TV series. Read it after the TV series. Read it if you’ve read it before. It’s a story worth staying lost in. 

Frankenstein might be known for its monster, but that’s not the only horror in this book. You can’t help but be drawn into the madness that is the world of Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Kick off your horrifying TBR list with a book about a chilling creature, a fearful town and scientist who just can’t help himself. 

In this debut, Gerardo Sámano Córdova pens a creative, visionary and fantastic examination of grief and love; parents and children; friends and lovers. When Santiago passes away, his mother seeks to bring him back to life and creates Monstrilio, a monster who tries to be a man. This terrifyingly tender story is one you won’t be able to put down… we dare you to try.  

Vampire stories might be popular, but you haven’t seen a vampire story like this. Rich with a nightmare-inducing plot that’s saturated with real human emotion, this story of a twelve-year-old hoping for revenge and the new girl in town (who only comes out at night) is one you’ll want to sink your teeth into…  

The beginning of it all. The first vampire on the page and the one who spawned an unquenchable thirst for more. The story starts with an ill-fated real estate transaction for poor Jonathan Harker, who unearths a biting danger. This ghastly story is incredibly entertaining and guaranteed to suck you in.

Read the horror classic that influenced writers like Poe and Hawthorne. This is a twisted story of an abbot giving in to temptation and wandering into the depths of depravity — the kind that that lands a man in a special place in hell. (It may not have been welcomed in 1796, but now this timeless classic is one of the most grisly horror stories on our shelves.) 

We’ve been big fans of Catriona Ward since The Last House on Needless Street in 2021, but we couldn’t look away from this suspenseful novel about faith and family. A devastating story about one clan preparing for the end of the world, Little Eve is a must-read for anyone looking for a cultish read filled with twists and turns that will shock you in the most haunting way possible.