To be honest, I am not a reader of horror. Most of my reading takes place at the end of my day, as I lull myself to sleep immersed in an engaging book. Horror is just too scary for me to read while the world is fast asleep — besides keeping me wide awake with fear. But because there are so many fans of horror — and it is almost Halloween — I created this list for those of you are not faint-hearted. I have to admit, these books sound spine-tingling good and might even make you too afraid to sleep, as you keep your lights burning to frighten off what might be out there in the dark. Have fun! — Vick
A chilling new contemporary fable about art, aesthetic obsession, and the gaze that peers back at us from behind our reflections.
Taking inspiration from the gothic tales that have come before it, and punctuated by startling shocks of color amid black-and-white pages, "A Guest in the House" is a perfect blend of domestic and supernatural horror. There’s a pervasive sense of wrongness simmering just under the surface of this story that will make readers’ skin crawl from the first page.
Bestselling authors Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey have teamed up to deliver a dark new story with magic, monsters, and mayhem, perfect for fans of Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill.
"Frankenstein" meets "Inglourious Basterds" in this stunning Jewish historical horror novel from the award-winning author of "The City Beautiful." "Haunting, exhilarating, and a howl of vengeance." -- Andrew Joseph White, author of Hell Followed With Us
"To read the work of Elle Nash is to be restored to faith in the wildness, wetness, and visceral power of contemporary American fiction. "Deliver Me" is a barbed liturgy of bugs, babies, meat, the gospel, women lusting women, women lusting men, and the human body. Get saved." -- Melissa Broder, author of Milk Fed, The Pisces, and Death Valley
Equal parts "The Turn of the Screw," "Picnic at Hanging Rock," and gothic thriller, "Twice Lost" was admired by such authors as Elizabeth Bowen, Rebecca West, and John Cowper Powys — yet the strange, haunting novels of Phyllis Paul are themselves a mystery with no simple solution. Virtually lost to time even before her death, her novels have been out of print for more than fifty years, and fetch fantastic prices in the rare book trade.
Seventeen stories claw at you from that dark space in the corner of your eye in this new collection by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Robert P. Ottone.
Told with equal parts horror and humor, "Edenville" explores the urban legends that fuel our nightmares and the ways in which ambition can overshadow our best instincts. "Edenville is a delightfully gooey blend of gothic, cosmic, folk and body horror churned by a sharp-bladed critique of academia." — Lucy A. Snyder, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Sister, Maiden, Monster
A techno-horror portrait of the fears and desires of six young artists whose lives are upended by a controversial video game, from National Book Award finalist Mónica Ojeda. Unsparing, addictive, and perverse, "Nefando" takes us to the darkest corners of the web, revealing the inevitable entanglement of digital and physical worlds, and of technology and horror.
When the murder of his classmate at an elite boarding school seems to be forgotten overnight, Douglas must confront centuries of secrets in the school’s past and a vengeful creature in the forest surrounding the campus in this dark paranormal thriller pitched as "Witch Haven" meets "A Lesson in Vengeance."
The visionary writer and director of "Get Out", "Us," and "Nope," and founder of Monkeypaw Productions, Jordan Peele, curates this groundbreaking anthology of all-new stories of Black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation.
"Starling House" is a gorgeous, modern gothic fantasy from the author of "The Ten Thousand Doors of January." “This book has everything you could possibly want this fall...a cursed town, a haunted house, a vivid and eerie setting — plus, characters willing to risk everything.” — Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club October ’23 Pick)
Three suburban girls meet at a boarding school for troubled teens. Eight years later, they were dead. This is not a work of fiction.
Selected and introduced by the author of "The Time Traveler’s Wife" and "Her Fearful Symmetry" — including Audrey Niffenegger’s own stunning illustrations for each piece — this is a “spine-tingling” (Chicago Tribune) collection of some of the best ghost stories of all time.
"Knock Knock, Open Wide" weaves horror and Celtic myth into a terrifying, heartbreaking supernatural tale of fractured family bonds, the secrets we carry, and the veiled forces that guide Irish life.
In the year 1900, a section of the Mid-Western United States, known as The Infested, is overrun with ghosts and monsters. Despite the evil that lurks just outside their door, Desdemona and her family live in The Infested. Their home is a haven for those that make the treacherous journey from east to west. While magic keeps them safe, Desdemona has always felt indescribably drawn to the Infested. When a shadow creature appears on their land, and mysterious, alluring visitors arrive, Desdemona is forced to do something she never wanted: lead her family. If they can’t escape the darkness and overcome the tension that has grown between them, their father may very well return to nothing but a graveyard.
When Jennifer receives a message from Scott Dwyer after twenty years without contact, her first reaction is one of excitement. Scott was her first love. Now in her forties and in the middle of a divorce, nostalgia for her youth gets the better of her. From the author of "Gone to See the River Man" comes a chilling novel that reminds us that old ghosts are the ones that haunt us most.
From Alison Rumfitt, the author of "Tell Me I’m Worthless" comes this searing body horror novel of obsession, violence, and pleasure. Shocking, grotesque, and downright filthy, "Brainwyrms" confronts the creeping reality of political terrorism while exploring the depths of love, pain, and identity.
A riveting, deeply personal memoir of more than twenty years of death-scene investigations by New York City death investigator Barbara Butcher.
Discovering her father’s strange final manuscript has brought only mayhem and darkness to Haven Marbury’s life. In Book Two of the "Malice Compendium," what has leapt off the page threatens everybody.
"Last to Leave the Room" is a new novel of genre-busting speculative horror from Caitlin Starling, author of "The Death of Jane Lawrence."
Mona Awad’s "Bunny" meets "Stranger Things" when a summer storm sweeps through a sleepy town, unleashing a monstrous power that threatens to bend reality, from the Bram Stoker award winning author of "Queen of Teeth."
A gripping, snappy creature feature from the master of horror noir about two detectives —one dead, one living— hired by an embittered old landowner to banish a bloody cosmic monster from his ancestral home, perfect for fans of Cassandra Khaw, Charles Stross and Lucy A. Snyder.
True crime author John Glatt reconstructs the rise of the prestigious Murdaugh family and the shocking double murder that led to the downfall of its patriarch, Alex Murdaugh.
Welcome to the Dark. We are all familiar with tropes of the horror genre: slasher and victims, demon and the possessed. Bloody screams, haunted visions, and the peddler of wares we aren’t sure we can trust. In this YA horror anthology, fans of Jordan Peele, Lovecraft Country, and Horror Noire will get a little bit of everything they love — and a lot of what they fear — through a twisted blend of horror lenses, from the thoughtful to the terrifying.
From debut author Andrew Duplessie, a terrifying collection of teen short horror stories — and accompanying videos — that will keep you up long into the night! Perfect for fans of "Five Nights at Freddy’s."
In "Murderabilia," veteran true crime writer Harold Schechter presents 100 murder-related artifacts spanning two centuries (1808–2014), with accompanying stories of various lengths. A visual and literary journey, it presents a history unlike any previously told in the true crime genre, one that speaks to the dark fascination of true crime fans while also presenting a larger historical timeline of how and why we continue to be captivated by the most sensational crimes and killers among us.
Evie once again leaves her world behind to rescue Blight Harbor’s ghosts in this second book in the bone-chilling middle grade "Blight Harbor" trilogy that’s reminiscent of "Doll Bones" and "Small Spaces."
Explore our fascination with UFOs and extraterrestrial intelligence through exclusive interviews, archival photos, and strange but true stories from history. Do you want to believe?
Everyone has a story about Posthaste Manor. None of the stories end well, but that doesn’t stop the hopeful from hoping and the desperate from trying. This composite novel stands as both history and eulogy of one very haunted house, as recounted by artists, real estate agents, and beloved family pets; by the debauched, the dead and the dying, and anyone looking for one last chance. Raise a glass in celebration. Just don’t linger within its walls for long.
Hugo Award winning editor and horror legend, Ellen Datlow presents a terrifying and chilling horror anthology of original short stories exploring the endless terrors of winter solstice traditions across the globe, featuring chillers by Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu and many more.
December 12th, 2019, Jade returns to the rural lake town of Proofrock the same day as convicted Indigenous serial killer Dark Mill South escapes into town to complete his revenge killings, in this “superb” (Publishers Weekly) sequel to "My Heart Is a Chainsaw" from author Stephen Graham Jones.
In this gripping, horror-laced debut, a young Cree woman’s dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home.
For the true fans of true crime: If you think nothing can shock you, think again.
With heart-pounding real-life stories of serial killers, sadistic torturers, flesh-eating cannibals, and creepy evil-doers of all kinds, "Totally Terrifying True Crime Trivia" gives you the gory details your curiosity craves. Meet the most demented figures of all time, like Richard Chase, the necrophile who delighted in drinking his victim’s blood; Gilles Garnier, the self-proclaimed werewolf who hunted children; and Ed Gein, who used his victims’ bodies like craft supplies. You’ll be double-checking your deadbolt every night after stepping into the twisted minds of killers like:
- Pedro Rodrigues Filho, a.k.a. the Brazilian Dexter, who considered himself a vigilante for justice and took the lives of over 100 drug dealers, murderers, and rapists.
- Mother-daughter cult leaders May Blackburn and Ruth Rizzio, who went from sacrificing animals to baking thirty-year-old Florence Turner to death in a sacrificial oven.
- Professor Khaw Him Sun, who offed his wife and daughter in 2015 with the most unlikely of murder weapons: a poison yoga ball.