Horror Book Recommendations
A big list of great horror books
| Book Title | Author | Type | Tag | Tag |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/22/63 | Stephen King | novel | time travel | science fiction |
| And The Devil Cried | Kristopher Triana | novel | extreme horror | splatterpunk |
| Bag of Bones | Stephen King | novel | ghosts | literary |
| Bath Haus | PJ Vernon | novel | crime | thriller |
| Below | Laurel Hightower | novella | creature feature | psychological horror |
| Benny Rose, the Cannibal King | Hailey Piper | novella | creature feature | folklore |
| Bone White | Ronald Malfi | novel | small town | supernatural |
| Booth | Jason Pellegrini | novel | time travel | science fiction |
| Brother | Ania Ahlborn | novel | family horror | cannibalism |
| Carrie | Stephen King | novel | psychic powers | epistolary |
| Children of Chicago | Cynthia Pelayo | novel | crime | folklore |
| Crossroads | Laurel Hightower | novella | family horror | psychological horror |
| The Cuck | Aron Beauregard | novella | extreme horror | splatterpunk |
| The Dead Zone | Stephen King | novel | psychic powers | literary |
| Dear Laura | Gemma Amor | novella | stalker | mystery |
| Desperation | Stephen King | novel | survival horror | supernatural horror |
| The Devil Crept In | Ania Ahlborn | novel | posession | demons |
| The Darkest Lullaby | Jonathan Janz | novel | posession | family horror |
| Different Seasons | Stephen King | collection | multiple genres | novellas |
| Dolores Claiborne | Stephen King | novel | family horror | domestic horror |
| Dracula | Bram Stoker | novel | vampires | epistolary |
| Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales | Stephen King | collection | multiple genres | short stories |
| The Exorcist | William Peter Blatty | novel | posession | religious horror |
| Fear | Ronald Kelly | novel | small town | creature feature |
| The Final Girl Support Group | Grady Hendrix | novel | slasher | meta horror |
| The Fireman | Joe Hill | novel | psychic powers | postapocalyptic |
| Firestarter | Stephen King | novel | psychic powers | dystopian |
| Full Brutal | Kristopher Triana | novel | extreme horror | splatterpunk |
| Ghost Story | Peter Straub | novel | ghosts | literary |
| Gilchrist | Christian Galacar | novel | small town | cosmic horror |
| The Girl Next Door | Jack Ketchum | novel | extreme horror | true crime |
| Gloria | Bentley Little | novel | multiple realities | family horror |
| Go Down Hard | Ali Seay | novella | crime | splatterpunk |
| Gone to See the River Man | Krostopher Triana | novella | extreme horror | splatterpunk |
| Hannibal | Thomas Harris | novel | procedural | crime |
| The Haunted | Bentley Little | novel | haunted house | meta horror |
| The Haunting of Hill House | Shirley Jackson | novel | haunted house | psychological horror |
| A Head Full of Ghosts | Paul Tremblay | novel | posession | meta horror |
| Hearts Strange and Dreadful | Tim McGregor | novel | historical fiction | dystopian |
| I Am Legend | Richard Matheson | novel | vampires | postapocalyptic |
| Insomnia | Stephen King | novel | multiple realities | dark tower |
| The Institute | Stephen King | novel | psychic powers | science fiction |
| It | Stephen King | novel | small town | coming of age |
| Itsy Bitsy | John Lindqvist Ajvide | collection | creature feature | short stories |
| The Jigsaw Man | Nadine Matheson | novel | procedural | crime |
| The Lake is Life | Richard Chizmar | novella | ghosts | supernatural horror |
| The Last House on Needless Street | Catriona Ward | novel | crime | psychological horror |
| Later | Stephen King | novella | crime | ghosts |
| Legion | William Peter Blatty | novel | posession | crime |
| Let the Right One In | John Lindqvist Ajvide | novel | vampires | coming of age |
| Lisey’s Story | Stephen King | novel | ghosts | literary |
| The Long Walk | Richard Bachman | novella | dystopian | science fiction |
| The Lottery | Shirley Jackson | short story | dystopian | literary |
| Manhunt | Gretchen Felker-Martin | novel | dystopian | postapocalyptic |
| Mapping the Interior | Stephen Graham Jones | novella | family horror | literary |
| Mirror in the Attic | Jennifer Bernardini | novel | crime | thriller |
| Misery | Stephen King | novel | survival horror | psychological horror |
| Mongrels | Stephen Graham Jones | novel | werewolves | literary |
| My Best Friend’s Exorcism | Grady Hendrix | novel | posession | meta horror |
| My Heart is a Chainsaw | Stephen Graham Jones | novel | slasher | meta horror |
| Needful Things | Stephen King | novel | small town | supernatural horror |
| Night of the Mannequines | Stephen Graham Jones | novella | comedy | literary |
| Night Shift | Stephen King | collection | multiple genres | short stories |
| The Night Stockers | Kristopher Triana and Ryan Harding | novel | comedy | splatterpunk |
| Nightmare Yearnings | Eric Raglin | collection | multiple genres | short stories |
| NOS4A2 | Joe Hill | novel | vampires | coming of age |
| The Only Good Indians | Stephen Graham Jones | novel | folklore | psychological horror |
| Pet Sematary | Stephen King | novel | family horror | supernatural horror |
| The Posession of Natalie Glasgow | Hailey Piper | novella | posession | supernatural horror |
| The Pretty Ones | Ania Ahlborn | novella | slasher | crime |
| Queen of Teeth | Hailey Piper | novel | body horror | dystopian |
| Razorblade Tears | S.A. Cosby | novel | crime | mystery |
| The Razorblades in my Head | Donnie Goodman | collection | multiple genres | splatterpunk |
| Red Dragon | Thomas Harris | novel | procedural | crime |
| The Regulators | Richard Bachman | novel | survival horror | supernatural horror |
| Revival | Stephen King | novel | supernatural horror | coming of age |
| The Road | Cormac McCarthy | novel | postapocalyptic | literary |
| Rose Madder | Stephen King | novel | supernatural horror | domestic horror |
| Rosemary’s Baby | Ira Levin | novel | supernatural horror | domestic horror |
| The Ruin Season | Kristopher Triana | novel | literary | coming of age |
| Sacrilege | Barbara Avon | novella | psychological horror | family horror |
| Salem’s Lot | Stephen King | novel | vampires | small town |
| Seed | Ania Ahlborn | novel | posession | family horror |
| The Shining | Stephen King | novel | ghosts | family horror |
| The Shuddering | Ania Ahlborn | novel | survival horror | creature feature |
| The Silence of the Lambs | Thomas Harris | novel | procedural | crime |
| Skeleton Crew | Stephen King | collection | multiple genres | short stories |
| The Slob | Aron Beauregard | novella | extreme horror | splatterpunk |
| Snow | Ronald Malfi | novel | survival horror | creature feature |
| Son of the Slob | Aron Beauregard | novella | extreme horror | splatterpunk |
| The Stand | Stephen King | novel | postapocalyptic | supernatural horror |
| Sundial | Catriona Ward | novel | psychological horror | family horror |
| Survivor Song | Paul Tremblay | novel | postapocalyptic | survival horror |
| Tales from Greystone Bay | Robert McCammon | collection | ghosts | short stories |
| The Talisman | Stephen King and Peter Straub | novel | fantasy horror | coming of age |
| They All Died Screaming | Kristopher Triana | novella | postapocalyptic | splatterpunk |
| Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke | Eric LaRocca | novella | epistolary | psychological horror |
| The Thirteenth Koyote | Kristopher Triana | novel | werewolves | western |
| To Offer Her Pleasure | Ali Seay | novella | creature feature | psychological horror |
| The Tommyknockers | Stephen King | novel | aliens | science fiction |
| True Crime | Samantha Kolesnik | novella | true crime | survival horror |
| Twisted: Tainted Tales | Janine Pipe | collection | multiple genres | short stories |
| Undertaker’s Moon | Ronald Kelly | novel | werewolves | small town |
| Unfortunate Elements of my Anatomy | Hailey Piper | collection | multiple genres | short stories |
| Waif | Samantha Kolesnik | novella | body horror | domestic horror |
| We Have Always Lived in the Castle | Shirley Jackson | novella | family horror | psychological horror |
| Wedding Day Massacre | Aron Beauregard | novella | extreme horror | comedy |
| With Teeth | Brian Keene | novella | vampires | extreme horror |
| The Worm and His Kings | Hailey Piper | novella | cosmic horror | psychological horror |
| Yellow | Aron Beauregard | novella | extreme horror | splatterpunk |
| You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood | Eric LaRocca | novella | steampunk | splatterpunk |
What is this list?
An ongoing, sortable list of good horror books, because sometimes you just want a list of scary books or an idea of what book to read next! Simply put, these are all of the books that I’ve read that I enjoyed enough to recommend on this list. To start, I just grabbed all of the books that I rated 4 or higher on Goodreads. The result is a curated list of horror / crime / thriller books that I think are very good!
You can sort the list by author, book type, and keywords that represent two traits/descriptive words I chose for the book. So if you like vampires, or prefer a novella over a longer read, you can group those books together. Book titles contain Amazon affiliate links.
A note on repeated and well-known authors
It’s probably clear from this list I like Stephen King. As well-known much of his work is, sometimes you are just looking for a good new Stephen King book to read. At least I know I am! That said, like the other authors on the list, my choices here are what I consider to be King’s best. There’s lots of other repeats as well – Kristopher Triana, Ania Ahlborn, Hailey Piper and others have multiple spots on my list. I like what I like! I am always looking for new authors to read. If you have any suggestions, please send me a DM on Twitter.
My goal is to read as much indie horror as possible and introduce these authors to readers looking for something new. But if I wind up really liking a famous book, it’s going to make the list. Maybe you haven’t read it? Or maybe I just wanted to see “Dracula” and “The Shining” on another list of Must Read Horror Books.