The Best Horror Books of 2025

The king of horror has returned — along with a few old friends. Holly Gibney is back to investigate a terrifying threat and serve as a bodyguard to an activist with a target on her back. Taut, immersive and chilling, this is Stephen King at his best.

Unearthing the depths of Hill’s imagination, this fantastical tale delivers with a villainous dragon steering the ship. It’s a satisfying horror that plays out the pitfalls of the human condition — with a side of romance.

The bestselling author of The Only Good Indians and I Was a Teenage Slasher returns with a chilling tale of blood, buffalo and revenge. Based on gruesome true events, Jones blends history and horror in a haunting story of vengeance and survival.

Grief, love and rock and roll. After her musician father’s death, one woman sets out to discover the truth about one mysterious night that haunted her for decades.

In under 200 pages, Agustina Bazterrica gives us a harrowing look at a dystopian future through an unforgettable heroine. Cults, climate crises and extremism collide in this razor sharp story.

Pulling apart the gritty stings of fear faced by marginalized communities in the wake of an alien invasion, White’s adult debut is raw, horrifying and will rip you out of your comfort zone.

Gothic horror at its finest, this time Kingfisher invites us on a haunted rescue mission cloaked in the eerie decay of American coal mines.

Daring and dark, Hungerstone is a decadent retelling of a centuries-old classic. Centered on a woman’s unraveling at the hands of a ravenous houseguest, this one is not for the faint of heart.

When overconsumption of news media takes over the human spirit like demonic possession, families are divided, and a political apocalypse ensues. Part satire, part social commentary, part macabre, this visceral, thought-provoking novel is not just horror but a wake-up call.

Has a book ever totally changed your life? A group of teens at a home for pregnant girls face adversity, shame and more until a book of witchcraft changes everything for them. Triumphant and terrifying, you won’t put this one down.

A young boy in danger and an empathetic young woman determined to protect him. This chilling and lingering horror thrives in how grounded and realistic it feels, despite a rather hairy foe. Good luck sleeping after reading this.

After a deadly plague, Alba and her family flee to an isolated Mexican silver mine for safety. But strange and unsettling occurrences begin to take place, and soon a sinister presence sinks its teeth into Alba in this Gothic mystery filled with tense longing.

Take a trip back to Stephen King’s expansive universe with a collection of new stories that take place in the world of The Stand. A tribute to postapocalyptic horror, this anthology features punchy new stories from the most exciting writers of the genre.

This medieval fever dream follows a group of women who descend into madness as they are confronted by mysterious, god-like figures who seize control of their castle.  

It’s hunt or be hunted in this gritty vampire tale from Keith Rosson that asks how far humanity will go before descending into violence.

In this fun and frightening story, Clio moves back into her childhood home but soon learns that the mysterious presence she felt as a child is still there…waiting for her in the shadows.