61 Best Horror Books of All Time to Scare You Silly

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Salem's Lot by Stephen King

20.0049% OFF$10.19 at Amazon

For fans of: The Outsider by Stephen King

If you’re looking for a book you won’t be able to put down, reach for Salem’s Lot, published in 1975. One of Stephen King‘s earliest books, this story of a small town overrun by vampires is deliciously chilling. As residents experience a growing list of strange encounters and start putting the pieces together, you’ll feel yourself tensing up in anticipation of the final reveal and confrontation. Sometimes slow burns make the best horror fiction!

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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

17.9990% OFF$1.80 at Amazon

For fans of: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

This 1938 book is a prime example of how an atmospheric setting can enhance suspense and fear. An isolated mansion by the sea, an evil housekeeper and an absentee husband? What a fantastic setup. In Rebecca, a young bride sent to her new family estate hears rumors that her husband might be responsible for the death of his first wife. As her suspicions grow, her senses heighten, and the lines blur between reality and imagination.

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Beloved by Toni Morrison

17.0048% OFF$8.77 at Amazon

For fans of: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

One of Toni Morrison’s most influential works, Beloved (1987) takes place in Ohio after the Civil War and follows Sethe, an escaped enslaved person who has lost her husband and child. Years after her escape, Sethe is still plagued by the horrors she endured. In a chilling twist, she’s also haunted by her deceased baby, whom she must eventually confront in a terrifying blur that will have you questioning what’s real and what’s not. 

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Tiny Threads by Lilliam Rivera

28.0054% OFF$12.98 at Amazon

For fans of: Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy

Set to be published in September 2024, Tiny Threads lands on our list of the best horror books at the recommendation of Angie Cruz, an editor, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and the author of the novel How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water. “[The book] tells the riveting story of Samara, whose dream job in the glamorous world of fashion turns into a nightmare,” says Cruz. “I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to read a propulsive, smart, haunting supernatural thriller.” If you’re in the mood for a hallucinatory, terrifying tale that involves a character’s sanity unraveling, add this one to your TBR pile.

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The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

17.9925% OFF$13.46 at Amazon

For fans of: Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

The reason The Exorcist was made into one of the scariest movies of all time is that was one of the scariest novels of all time. Published  in 1971, it follows the demonic possession of an 11-year-old girl named Regan. As the child’s erratic behavior, which includes screaming obscenities and spitting, builds to a crescendo, her mother desperately hunts for an exorcist. If you’ve seen the classic movie adaptation, you have an idea of how scary this situation gets … but the book is arguably even more terrifying.

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The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

28.0020% OFF$22.47 at Amazon

For fans of: How to Sell a Haunted House and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, both by Grady Hendrix

The “final girl” is the last woman standing at the end of a slasher movie. (Think Laurie Strode in the Halloween franchise.) But what happens to these women when the film is over? According to Grady Hendrix’s 2021 novel, The Final Girl Support Group, survivors go to therapy to cope with their respective horrors—until one of them stops showing up. This delightful horror book weaves a suspenseful tale of nerve-racking thrills and grisly terror as the remaining girls band together to face their mysterious common enemy.

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We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

28.9932% OFF$19.80 at Amazon

For fans of: The Moorstone Sickness by Bernard Taylor and The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

Marketed as Get Out meets Parasite, Marcus Kliewer’s 2024 debut horror book is chilling in its slow unraveling from an ordinary day to utter madness. We Used to Live Here opens when a conservative religious family knocks on the door of the old house recently bought by Eve and Charlie, a lesbian couple who flips houses. “I used to live here,” says the father before asking if he can take his family for a quick tour of his old haunts. “Just fifteen minutes,” he promises. But this is horror fiction, so the family overstays their welcome. And the longer they stay, the more apparent it is that there’s something sinister going on beneath the house’s surface, including in the labyrinthine basement. 

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

9.9924% OFF$7.64 at Amazon

For fans of: The Good House by Tananarive Due

Widely considered one of the scariest stories of all time, The Haunting of Hill House has been made into a movie and a successful Netflix series. If you loved the screen adaptations, you’ll be pleased to know the book, published in 1956, is even better. (Isn’t it always?) Here’s what happens: A quirky researcher gathers a bunch of strangers in a haunted house. They’re meant to record supernatural stirrings, but they’re soon swept away by the nightmarish sights and sounds in the house. Will anyone make it out alive?

“Wonderfully unsettling. That’s the best way I can describe The Haunting of Hill House,” says Dawn Yanek, a Senior Editor at Reader’s Digest. “I’ve read this book numerous times, and it always makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end—even when I just think about it! Hill House itself is ‘not sane,’ and while the structure itself is disorienting and frightening to Eleanor and crew, the book is really an exploration of loneliness, mental illness, guilt and trauma that will make you think beyond the scares. The 2018 Netflix adaptation, which was written and directed by Mike Flanagan, is stellar too, and both will stay with you long after you reach the final haunting line.”

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William by Mason Coile

27.0044% OFF$15 at Amazon

For fans of: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov and the Black Mirror Netflix horror series

I’m a sucker for the quiet, noir-ish terror of Black Mirror. If you’re a fan of slow-burn horror books too, William is for you. Written by bestselling author Andrew Pyper under the pen name Mason Coile, this 2024 book centers on Henry, a whip-smart but agoraphobic engineer who has created a brilliant robot in the attic laboratory of the smart home he shares with his pregnant wife, Lily. The bot, William, is unsettlingly snarky and mean. The more time Henry spends with William, the more Henry begins to fear his creation. When Lily’s old co-workers show up for brunch, Henry introduces the trio to William, triggering a series of harrowing events.

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Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

17.9939% OFF$10.90 at Amazon

For fans of: A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

A mysterious virus makes all animal meat poisonous to humans. In desperation, the government makes cannibalism legal. Some are sent to “special meat” processing plants, while others—like a man named Marcos—must keep the supply chain intact despite their own questions and misgivings. If you’re a fan of dystopian fiction, this 2017 speculative horror story should be on your must-read list.

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Dracula by Bram Stoker

15.9938% OFF$9.99 at Amazon

For fans of: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Published in 1897, Dracula is the vampire book that has defined all vampire books. A solicitor named Jonathan Harker takes a business trip to a foreboding castle in Transylvania. Despite being warned about Count Dracula’s strange appetites, Jonathan trudges to meet the nobleman. Surely you can guess what dreaded deeds unfold next.

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Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

17.0065% OFF$6 at Amazon

For fans of: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher and The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

In Mexican Gothic (2020), Noemí Taboada is summoned to the Mexican countryside to comfort her newlywed cousin, who seems beside herself with anxiety. Once Noemí arrives, she can see why: The new husband and his father are foreboding, threatening figures, and the house itself seems to cause bloody nightmares. As the women band together to uncover the strange family’s secrets, they discover a heritage of violence and madness. Can they escape this wretched place before it entraps them forever? This deliciously spine-tingling tale is a new classic in the canon of books by Hispanic authors.

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The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

17.9948% OFF$9.34 at Amazon

For fans of: Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones and Crota by Owl Goingback

The Only Good Indians (2020) comes highly recommended by Brandon Baker, a BookToker and Bookstagrammer. “It really played out like a movie in my head, and I hope it gets adapted someday,” he says. “Jones has a very distinct voice that is prevalent in all of his works, but I love this one especially because it has so many things I love in horror: vengeful entities, slow descents into madness, and strong, fleshed-out characters.”

The book, set on a Blackfoot reservation, blends Blackfoot legends and modern-day reality to tell twin tales of four men haunted by vengeful elk. Reader beware: Like many horror books, this has its fair share of hair-raising gore and violence—to both people and animals.

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Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman

$12.99 at Amazon

For fans of: The Terror by Arthur Machen

In 1935, a professor fleeing scandal moves with his wife to a family home in Georgia near the ruins of a plantation that his ancestors owned. Every month, in a strange, sacrificial ritual, the townspeople adorn two pigs with flower garlands and send them across the river. The animals never return. What, exactly, is consuming them? And what will happen when the residents stop sending pigs? This 2011 supernatural-inflected Southern Gothic illustrates the price we pay for the sins of the past, and it is one of the best books to read on Halloween and beyond.

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The Ruins by Scott Smith

19.0013% OFF$16.44 at Amazon

For fans of: Jaws by Peter Benchley and The Forgotten Island by David Sodergren

In this 2006 novel by Scott Smith, a group of young, happy-go-lucky travelers in the Mexican jungle stumble upon the site of ancient ruins—and ancient evil. When one of the friends enters the jungle alone and subsequently disappears, the others form a search party. But this is no ordinary jungle. And if you think that a botanical kingdom can’t be turned into a source of fear, well, you haven’t read this particular brand of survivalist horror.

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White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

18.0056% OFF$7.99 at Amazon

For fans of: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

In a spooky house near the cliffs of Dover, the Silver family is grieving. Matriarch Lily has died, leaving twins Miranda and Eliot to keep the family and labyrinthine house from collapsing. But something strange has overtaken Miranda. She starts suffering from unfamiliar illnesses, eats chalk and turns inward as her family looks on helplessly. This 2009 spine-tingling Gothic tale seamlessly weaves together ghosts, dark family secrets and how fear of outsiders can take over when a family becomes an echo chamber. 

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It by Stephen King

$21.58 at Amazon

For fans of: Clownflesh by Tim Curren and When the Circus Came to Town by James Davidson

It should come as no surprise that Stephen King appears on a list of the top horror books more than once. The author of more than 60 novels, he is one of the scariest authors—the reigning king of terror. It, first published in 1986, taps into a pervasive phobia: clowns. Pennywise, the killer clown, dwells in the sewers of Derry, Maine, and preys upon the town’s young residents by shapeshifting into their deepest fears. A group of kids (the so-called Losers Club) must band together to defeat him.

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Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

17.9944% OFF$9.99 at Amazon

For fans of: Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

The premise of Something Wicked This Way Comes—two young boys meet the malevolent, wish-granting Mr. Dark at a carnival—is pure Ray Bradbury. The 1962 horror novel may not be his best-known book, but it might be the scariest. Through the turbulent, colorful setting of a traveling carnival, the author drags you through the boys’ and townspeople’s greatest fears. If you’re creeped out by halls of mirrors, dark corners and sinister figures masquerading as carnies, this book will terrify you.

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Come Closer by Sara Gran

17.009% OFF$15.49 at Amazon

For fans of: The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

Published in 2003, Come Closer has been called “a perfect horror novel” by Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World. It’s the twisted story of Amanda, a successful woman in a successful marriage, who slowly realizes she is being possessed by an otherworldly presence.

Andrew Pyper, author of The Demonologist and The Residence, writes: “A demonic possession novel like no other, Sara Gran’s Come Closer is initially comic in tone, but becomes dreamier, increasingly frightening and utterly convincing over its short length. Demons are lonely, and that lonesomeness runs through the book, leading the reader to an ending that’s at once horrifying and heartbreaking.”

Looking for your next great book? Read four of today’s most compelling novels in the time it takes to read one with Fiction Favorites. And be sure to join the community!

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The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

28.0049% OFF$14.33 at Amazon

For fans of: None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell and Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Isolated cabins and lake houses make the perfect setting for horror novels, and the Vermont vacation home in The House Across the Lake, published in 2022, is no exception. After widowed actress Casey Fletcher escapes to the countryside to recalibrate, she develops a penchant for peeping on her neighbors through a pair of binoculars. The more she watches, the clearer it becomes that the high-society couple’s life is not as perfect as it seems. You’ll definitely want to add this book to your summer reading list.

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The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston

19.0037% OFF$11.97 at Amazon

For fans of: Beating Back the Devil by Maryn McKenna

Yes, nonfiction can be nightmarish too. Published in 1994, The Hot Zone recounts the evolution of the Ebola virus, including how it began, spread like wildfire and laid bare health-care vulnerabilities. “I will never forget where I read The Hot Zone: out loud on a cross-country road trip with an old beau,” recalls Ann Hood, author of The Stolen Child, The Knitting Circle and The Book That Matters Most, who recommends this as one of the best horror books. “Periodically, I had to stop reading and drop the book, as if I might get Ebola just by holding this terrifying story in my hands. Anyone interested in knowing about dangerous filoviruses needs to read this—and after the recent pandemic, who isn’t?”

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Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh

$27 at Amazon

For fans of: A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

Fancy a read on the supernatural side? Called “a relentless gore fest” by New Republic, this dark story about a medieval village grappling with ancient forces of life and death was one of the best horror books of 2022. It’s about a young shepherd boy whose mother died in childbirth. Growing up, he learned to navigate a cruel culture of cannibalism, self-flagellation and threats by powerful men. Lapvona‘s chilling look at life in the Middle Ages will make you glad that you live in the here and now.

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Coraline by Neil Gaiman

19.9928% OFF$14.39 at Amazon

For fans of: Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This 2002 book contains perhaps the scariest idea of all: a dark villain who takes the shape of someone you love and trust. Young Coraline stumbles into an alternate reality where familiar things turn dark and scary, and someone who looks like her own mother—but with creepy buttons for eyes—rules the roost. It can be good to read horror stories—they help us face our fears from a safe distance—but Coraline might hit a little too close to home for some young readers. If the child in your life gets scared easily, give them one of these Halloween books for kids instead.

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The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

18.9947% OFF$9.99 at Amazon

For fans of: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and My Sweet Girl by Amanda Jayatissa

In 2022, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McMahon delivered a deliciously creepy horror book with The Children on the Hill. Told in dual timelines, the story centers on a Vermont psychiatric facility. In the 1970s, renowned doctor Helen adopts a feral child who learns to hunt monsters. Later, in 2019, monster aficionado and podcast host Lizzy travels back to Vermont to investigate a kidnapping and becomes involved in a monster hunt that feels extremely personal. The author’s deep dive into themes of monsters and mental illness makes this a fascinating and chilling read.

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The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

17.0033% OFF$11.45 at Amazon

For fans of: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Hacienda is a classic Gothic ghost story that might be one of the scariest books of all time. When Beatriz is offered the chance to marry handsome, rich Don Rodolfo Solórzano, she jumps at the chance. She moves to his family’s grand estate, while her new husband works in the capital. But Beatriz soon begins to hear voices and feel eyes watching her every move, and she turns to a local priest who promises a transformative exorcism.

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Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons

24.9918% OFF$20.61 at Amazon

For fans of: The Terror by Dan Simmons

Carrion Comfort, published in 1989, is “one of the three greatest horror novels of the 20th century,” according to the master of horror himself, Stephen King. The villains here represent an intriguing twist on a familiar antagonist: They’re “mind vampires” who, instead of feasting on humans, can inhabit victims’ minds and manipulate them into doing the unspeakable. The book follows psychiatrist and concentration-camp survivor Dr. Saul Laski on a quest to track down these evil henchmen. One word of warning: This blend of horror and historical fiction includes some potentially triggering racist language and situations.

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Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier

$25.99 at Amazon

For fans of: The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier and We Lie Here by Rachel Howzell Hall

On Vanessa Castro’s first day as police chief in Seaside, she is faced with a mystery: There’s a rotting corpse inside Wonderland, an old-fashioned amusement park. Soon enough, a young amusement-park employee goes missing, and the hunt is on for the killer. The suspense in Wonderland (2016) builds as Vanessa’s sleuthing takes her around the clown museum, wax replicas and antique porcelain dolls—and, finally, the chilling House of Horrors.

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Doing Harm by Kelly Parsons

$20.99 at Amazon

For fans of: The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton and Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

People die in hospitals all the time. So there’s no better place to cover up a murder—especially if the psychopathic killer is a staff member. Kelly Parsons’s riveting medical horror story follows Steve Mitchell, a young, ambitious surgeon on the cusp of a career-making promotion. But when patients start dropping like flies and Steve falls under a cloud of suspicion, the surgeon must find a way to uncover the murderer without putting himself in the crosshairs. If you’ve ever thought going to the hospital was scary, Doing Harm, published in 2014, will make you jump out of your skin.

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The Resting Place by Camilla Sten

17.9941% OFF$10.59 at Amazon

For fans of: The Sanitorium by Sarah Pearse

There are two types of horror books: slow, suspenseful burns and action-packed, gory thrillers. The Resting Place is the former. Eleanor, a young woman with prosopagnosia (an inability to recognize faces), has recently inherited a sprawling mansion in the woods. She’s also recently brushed shoulders with her benefactor’s killer—if only she could remember the person’s face. As Eleanor and her boyfriend settle in, they begin to feel disturbances in the air. What have they awoken, and how does it relate to the murder? This one feels chillingly close to a true-crime book because the horror feels so realistic—and maybe a little close to home.

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The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

19.9948% OFF$10.30 at Amazon

For fans of: The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Aliens invading Earth? We can fight them with every weapon at our disposal. Aliens inside our children? That’s a trickier problem—and the premise of the 1957 sci-fi horror book The Midwich Cuckoos. The golden-eyed, hyper-intelligent kids who communicate by telepathy rank among the greatest (and spookiest) villains of all time, and humanity’s race to extinguish the aliens among them gets seriously ghoulish. Fun fact: The 1960 film Village of the Damned was based on this book.

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The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker

$7.67 at Amazon

For fans of: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson and The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood

Artist Sylvia Wren has lived under a false identity for years. It’s her way of distancing herself from her family and their tragic deaths. But when a nosy journalist comes knocking, she’s confronted with her demons and an opportunity to untangle the mess once and for all. The Cherry Robbers is a mash-up of historical fiction, Gothic horror and good, old-fashioned suspense. Fans of dystopian books will gobble this up in one sitting.

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Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories, selected by Roald Dahl

17.0042% OFF$9.79 at Amazon

For fans of: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Roald Dahl, the spinner of so many off-center tales for young readers, claimed that he pored through 749 short stories at the British Museum Library before selecting the 14 featured in this 1983 anthology. His main criterion for inclusion was that the story “should give you the creeps and disturb your thoughts.” This spook-tastic collection makes for perfect reading aloud around the campfire, curling up on Halloween or any good reading session on a dark and stormy night.

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We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

$21.32 at Amazon

For fans of: The Push by Ashley Audrain

We Need to Talk About Kevin, published in 2003, is terrifying for any parent, anyone considering becoming a parent or anyone who knows a teen. Eva never dreamed of becoming a mother, but she concedes to her partner’s wishes. And once she gives birth to their son, she regrets it almost immediately. Kevin is odd. Shrewd. Manipulative. And that’s before he murders seven of his classmates just before his 16th birthday. Eva’s rage, guilt and fear leap from the pages as she processes how a child can grow into a stranger capable of perpetrating terrifying wrongs.

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Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

18.9923% OFF$14.53 at Amazon

For fans of: Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

Here’s one for those who love fantasy novels and scary books brimming with monsters and witches. Juniper & Thorn, published in 2022, centers on the city of Oblya, where magic is fading. But Marlinchen and her sisters, who live under the thumb of their wizard father, still make a pretty penny dealing in the supernatural. When the girls’ sneaky forays into the city start to make waves, an ancient and bloodthirsty power awakens. Can Marlinchen use her family’s powers to face this formidable foe and save her town from destruction?

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Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

6.9514% OFF$5.95 at Amazon

For fans of: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Perhaps you read this classic book in high school and hated it. That’s probably because you were too young to understand the horror fully. Read Ethan Frome now that you’re an adult, and you’ll understand why it earned a spot on our list of the scariest horror books. The unnerving love affair between farmer Ethan and his wife’s cousin highlights the everyday horrors of ill-fated love triangles, lustful obsession and romantic tragedies. Good luck getting this melancholy horror novel, published in 1911, out of your head.

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Minion by L.A. Banks

20.9940% OFF$12.64 at Amazon

For fans of: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer and House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

Here’s a dark twist on the vampire genre for all the Twilight lovers out there. Damali Richards is a successful spoken-word artist during the day and a vampire hunter at night. After an alarming number of murders occur in her city, Damali realizes she’ll have to fight the most powerful vampire she has ever encountered. If you love this book, you’re in luck: Minion, published in 2003, is the first book in a 12-part series.

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

11.0010% OFF$9.90 at Amazon

For fans of: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Dracula by Bram Stoker

There’s a reason Frankenstein has stood the test of time: The tale of a mad doctor and his creation will grip you differently each time you read it. Ultimately, the plot begs the question: What could go wrong when a human plays God? A Gothic horror, romantic tragedy and philosophical musing all in one, this 1818 classic by Mary Shelley definitely deserves a read (or reread).

“Mary Shelley’s masterpiece is an absolute must-read if you’re a horror fan,” says Yanek. “Even if you think you know Dr. Frankenstein and the Creature, this book will still draw you in with its protagonist’s obsession, fantastic prose and contemplations on ethics and morality. It’s even more amazing when you remember that Shelley was just 18 years old when she wrote this as part of a ghost-story competition when hanging out with a bunch of friends.”

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Lord of the Flies by William Golding

12.0045% OFF$6.59 at Amazon

For fans of: Animal Farm by George Orwell

In this 1954 book that’s a favorite of English teachers everywhere, a plane crash leaves a group of schoolboys stranded on a deserted island. At first, they celebrate their newfound freedom, but eventually, they find themselves embroiled in a terrifying and violent war of their own making. Lord of the Flies is a frightening book because it suggests that no matter how “civilized” we believe we are, it might only take a bit of time and isolation to bring out our inner monsters.

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Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

$57.66 at Amazon

For fans of: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer and Blindsight by Peter Watts

Science-fiction pioneer Octavia E. Butler kicked off her haunting Xenogenesis series in 1987 with Dawn. In a post-apocalyptic world, aliens have kidnapped the last remaining humans. They don’t want to hurt the humans. Instead, they want to study them and genetically merge with them to repopulate Earth. But is that even worse? Told through the eyes of Lilith, a human widow awakened hundreds of years after Earth’s destruction, this story of forced reproduction, half-alien children and a devastated planet will unsettle you for months to come.

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Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

16.9941% OFF$10.02 at Amazon

For fans of: How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix and Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

Modern-day horror master Grady Hendrix provides a contemporary twist on the familiar haunted-house motif: Instead of a creepy old mansion, the hauntings occur in an Ikea-like furniture store. Three employees volunteer to take overnight shifts to get to the bottom of the unexplained destruction that’s been greeting shoppers every morning. Naturally, horror ensues. Horrorstör (2014) might sound a little cheesy, but once you’ve plunged into the story, you might find yourself reluctant to reenter your local Ikea.

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The Hunger by Alma Katsu

19.007% OFF$17.67 at Amazon

For fans of: The Troop by Nick Cutter and Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

In this 2018 reimagining of a real-life, 19th-century mystery, arguments and the strange death of a little boy have driven the Donner Party to madness. They can’t seem to escape tragedy and the feeling that someone (or something) is watching them. As the group of survivors struggles through blood-boiling hot days and stark, snowy nights, their terror grows … and their numbers shrink. What ravenous evil lurks in these mountains, and who will disappear next? The Hunger seamlessly combines psychological terror and historical fiction.

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The Other by Thomas Tryon

17.9513% OFF$15.56 at Amazon

For fans of: Double Betrayal by Ada Frost and Sundial by Catriona Ward

Do you know the classic horror trope of the evil twin? Blame it on The Other, first published in 1971. Twins Holland and Niles have opposite personalities, but that doesn’t stop them from telepathically communicating. And after their father’s passing, Holland’s pranks escalate into dangerous territory. It’s up to Niles to get through to his brother and discover the root cause of the issue. Of course, that’s easier said than done. This formidable psychological thriller explores the disturbing darkness that could live within us.

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The Shining by Stephen King

20.0038% OFF$12.36 at Amazon

For fans of: Pet Sematary by Stephen King and American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

No list of the best horror books is complete without The Shining. In this 1977 novel, Jack Torrance is a middle-aged writer in search of inspiration, and landing a job as the winter caretaker of the historic Overlook Hotel seems like the perfect way to spend time brainstorming. But as snow and temperatures fall, the grand hotel feels more like a prison than an oasis. His imagination runs wild at every creak and whistle of the wind, and no, that’s not a good thing, especially for his wife and 5-year-old son.

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The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

18.9918% OFF$15.49 at Amazon

For fans of: The Haunted: The True Story of One Family’s Nightmare by Robert Curran

The Lutz family has finally moved into their new home on Long Island. Sure, they knew a series of murders had occurred in that house, but the price was too good to pass up. Over the next 28 days, the family experiences enough paranormal mischief to make them pack up and leave in a frenzy. But what makes it so scary is how it’s told from multiple viewpoints. Readers get an interview with the family, a report from an investigator and a narrative from a priest afflicted by illness after he tries to exorcise the house. Frightening fact: The Amityville Horror, published in 1977, was based on real-life events.

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Ring by Koji Suzuki

$13.95 at Amazon

For fans of: Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn and Uzumaki by Junji Ito

In The Ring, a 1991 Japanese mystery novel that spawned an equally terrifying movie, an enigmatic video warns watchers that they will die in exactly one week unless they follow specific instructions. The video ends abruptly, seemingly taped over by an advertisement. After four teenagers die post-viewing, journalist Kazuyuki Asakawa sets out to investigate what actually happened. But can he watch the tape and solve the mystery before a week has passed?

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Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine

15.9532% OFF$10.90 at Amazon

For fans of: In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

In Stillhouse Lake (2017), Gina and her family live an average life until the aftermath of a car accident sheds light on a shocking secret: Her husband is a serial killer. To escape public scrutiny, Gina gathers her two children and heads to a secluded lake house. But then a body is found in the lake, and threatening letters arrive in the mail. Gina must fend off police suspicion and untangle a dark web of family secrets before the murderer gets to her and her children.

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The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

19.0042% OFF$10.99 at Amazon

For fans of: Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

It’s 1982, and Viv Delaney desperately wants to move to New York City. To save up her pennies, she snags a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel. Then one night, Viv vanishes. Poof. No body, no trail. Fast-forward to 2017. Viv’s niece, Carly Kirk, heads to the motel, determined to find out what happened to her aunt all those years ago. That’s when all paranormal hell breaks loose. If you’re a fan of The Twilight Zone and Hitchcock noir, The Sun Down Motel, published in 2020, will be the perfect shudder-inducing horror read for you.

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The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup

18.9937% OFF$11.97 at Amazon

For fans of: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides and The Whisper Man by Alex North

A psychopath known as the Chestnut Man is causing chaos in Copenhagen. His trademark post-murder clue is a handmade doll built from matchsticks and chestnuts. When a forensics team discovers the fingerprint of a long-dead girl on one of the dolls, two detectives forge an unlikely partnership to solve the case. While The Chestnut Man (2018) sounds like a straightforward police procedural, it takes the horror up a notch with gripping descriptions, incredibly dark scenes and plenty of gory twists and turns.

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Bird Box by Josh Malerman

17.9945% OFF$9.89 at Amazon

For fans of: Dark Matter by S.J. Patrick and I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

You may have caught the Netflix adaptation, but the 2014 novel Bird Box is worth reading. Malorie is one of the sole survivors after a mysterious creature takes over the world. Every time someone looks at this monster, they are driven to deadly violence. Malorie blindfolds herself and sets out on a 20-mile rowboat journey to escape the madness and bring her children to safety. Through masterful descriptions, Josh Malerman reminds us that what’s left unseen can be just as horrific as a gruesome play-by-play.

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Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

19.0045% OFF$10.37 at Amazon

For fans of: Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson and The Retreat by Mark Edwards

At the beginning of 2019’s Lock Every Door, Jules is ready for a new beginning. Heartbroken and just plain broke, she takes on an apartment-sitting position at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most sophisticated buildings. The rich, the famous, the dark and the mysterious live here—but as a lowly sitter, Jules has been instructed to remain invisible to them. When she learns that the Bartholomew has a history of disappearing apartment sitters, however, Jules starts investigating the building’s sordid past. Can she make friends and pinpoint her enemies before she becomes the next victim?

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Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

16.9944% OFF$9.54 at Amazon

For fans of: The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

In Imaginary Friend, Kate and her son, Christopher, are on the run from Kate’s abusive boyfriend. But not long after settling into a new town, Christopher goes missing. A few days later, he comes out of the woods, claiming he hears voices in his head. Though Kate seeks psychiatric help, nothing seems to calm Christopher, and soon, the feverish imaginings and mysterious voices transfer to other people in town. Kate and her new beau, the town sheriff, are up against the clock and their neighbors to get to the bottom of the forest-borne curse. Creepy would be an understatement for this 2019 novel.

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The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

17.0018% OFF$14 at Amazon

For fans of: The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill and Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver

In The Woman in Black, a young lawyer named Arthur Kipps travels to the English countryside to settle a dead widow’s affairs. The case should be open and shut, but the townsfolk act awfully edgy when Arthur arrives. At the widow’s funeral, Arthur can’t help but notice a gaunt woman dressed in black from head to toe. The situation gets stranger when no one else remembers seeing her. Back at the estate, Arthur catches glimpses of the woman again. Could the house be haunted, or are the locals messing with the lawyer’s head? This creepy 1983 horror story written by a female author has all the classic elements: a potentially haunted house, mysterious strangers and a possible ghost.

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The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chen

$13.99 at Amazon

For fans of: Severance by Ling Ma and Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

Looking for a modern horror story that taps into very real fears? Jessamine Chen’s 2022 debut, The School for Good Mothers, should do the trick. “[It’s] the scariest book I’ve ever read. How scary? I couldn’t sleep in the same room as it,” says Flynn Berry, the author of Trust Her. “What makes this speculative fiction so terrifying is its plausibility: It seems just a hair’s breadth away from current events. In the novel, women who make mistakes, large or minor, can be separated from their children and sent to a facility to be assessed as mothers. The state will decide if they deserve to be reunited with their children. I recommend this book to everyone: friends who love sci-fi, friends who love big, intense literary fiction, friends who love thrillers. Even writing this description, months after reading the book, is making my stomach knot. It’s a modern masterpiece.”

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The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

17.0035% OFF$10.99 at Amazon

For fans of: White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi and Get in Trouble by Kelly Link

In 1979’s The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter takes on classic fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood and retells them with hair-raising panache. The short-story collection makes a perfect bedside companion in dark and dismal October or any of the chilling winter months. Full of dark magic, sexually explicit horror and languid Gothic descriptions, the yarns have been transformed from children’s tales to adult bedtime stories.

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The Bad Seed by William March

17.0012% OFF$14.95 at Amazon

For fans of: Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage and The Push by Ashley Audrain

For years, Rhonda’s mother, Christine, thought her daughter was the epitome of innocence. But then a neighbor suffers a series of accidents. Wherever Rhonda is, terrible things seem to follow. Christine is a good mom from a good family. Could it be possible that she gave birth to a very, very bad child? Though these questions and themes are no longer new to horror literature, they were groundbreaking when William March wrote The Bad Seed in 1954. Of course, Rhonda—and the possibility of a Rhonda being born into your own family—is still terrifying enough to make your stomach turn.

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Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

18.0043% OFF$10.25 at Amazon

For fans of: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Don’t let the title fool you. This is no romance novel. It’s also not your traditional Gothic horror story. The Binewskis are a circus family that has raised a crew full of oddities with the help of some notable drugs. When the family takes its act across the country, their bizarre, nightmarish habits are put on full display … along with their decidedly human sibling rivalries and family drama. Published in 1989, Geek Love is one of the best horror novels for fans of American Horror Story.

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American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

17.9547% OFF$9.48 at Amazon

For fans of: The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

American Psycho, a 1991 international bestseller, has been categorized as horror, psychological thriller, dark comedy and even satire. What’s so scary about a New York City investment banker in the 1980s? Well, he’s also a serial killer, for starters. This twisted, first-person narrative of a man giving into his every torturous whim has become a modern horror classic for its glaring look at what a completely disconnected human being is capable of.

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Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo

28.9913% OFF$25.26 at Amazon

For fans of: These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever and If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Published in 2021, Summer Sons blends horror with LGBTQ+ Gothic summertime angst. Andrew and Eddie are two best friends who did everything together. When Eddie goes off to graduate school, he dies by presumed suicide. But Andrew suspects foul play. When he starts digging into the mystery, he realizes that he might not have known Eddie as well as he thought—and that the frightening vision of a spirit with bleeding wrists might not be all in his head.

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Horrid by Katrina Leno

17.9926% OFF$13.40 at Amazon

For fans of: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

After the death of her father, Jane and her mother moved from sunny California to chilly Maine. To cope with bullying at school and her mother’s isolating grief, Jane turns to reading and replaying old memories of her dad. One day, she finds the “storage room” unlocked. That’s when she realizes the room isn’t as utilitarian as her mother has described. It’s a young girl’s bedroom, perfectly set up as though someone is still living there. Could her mother be going mad with grief? Or is there someone else living in the house? This twisted psychological thriller, published in 2020, explores grief and mental illness.

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The Outsider by Stephen King

18.9949% OFF$9.77 at Amazon

For fans of: Blood on the Bayou by D.J. Donaldson and The Hymn by Graham Masterton

No one ever imagined that Little League coach Terry Maitland could kill anyone, especially a child. But he was the only one traced back to the crime scene, so he is eventually convicted of murder. As Terry continues to maintain his innocence, Detective Ralph Anderson also begins doubting the conviction. But if it wasn’t Terry, who was it? The investigation leads the men to a trail of death and destruction that goes far beyond the murder of one young boy. In classic Stephen King form, The Outsider (2018) grows more and more monstrous with each new clue.

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Ghost Story by Peter Straub

18.0050% OFF$9.03 at Amazon

For fans of: Floating Dragon by Peter Straub and The Fisherman by John Langan

In upstate New York, four older men reunite to tell ghost stories. But the most terrorizing tale is their shared history, the story they lived together long ago. Sorry, no spoilers here, but let’s just say that if you’re a fan of layered horror stories that build tension until you’re practically ripping the pages to get to the next scene, this 1979 cryptic murder mystery is for you.

Additional reporting by Daryl Chen and Emma Taubenfeld.

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Sources:

• Andrew Pyper, author of The Demonologist and The Residence
• Brandon Baker, BookToker (baker.reads) and Bookstagrammer (@baker_reads)
• Ann Hood, author of The Stolen Child, The Knitting Circle and The Book That Matters Most
• Flynn Berry, author of Trust Her
• Angie Cruz, editor, professor at the University of Pittsburgh and author of How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water