Summary
- These 10 horror books, including The Hunger and The Troop, are sure to send chills down your spine with their gripping plots and terrifying imagery.
- The authors, like Stephen Graham Jones and Grady Hendrix, craft intense atmospheres with their details and sensations, immersing readers in chilling stories.
- With novels like Pet Sematary and Tender is the Flesh, readers will be haunted by themes of resurrection and inhumanity long after turning the final page.
As someone who loves the horror genre, I’ve read many scary books in my time, but there are some that stick out because of just how terrifying they were. While audiences mostly get into horror via movies, new horror books are a massive part of the literary world. Reading words on a page may not seem that horrifying, but some authors have a way of making their readers feel as if they are truly in the story. The best horror books are those that put me on edge while I’m reading, and then stick with me for many months afterward.
The following 10 books are some of the scariest horror stories being published today. Though these novels vary in terms of story, age, and premise, all of them will send a chill up your spine. They have images and ideas that will almost certainly be burned into your mind, just like they were in mine. Not only that, but these books also have amazing stories. It is one thing to be frightened by a book, but another to be frightened and also gripped by the plot. Hopefully, one of these books can become a new favorite.
10
The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires: Grady Hendrix
A Woman Meets Her Suspicious New Neighbor
The first pick to grace this list is Grady Hendrix’s The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. This 2020 book tells the story of Patricia, a 1980s Southern housewife who struggles to find joy in her life apart from her weekly book club. However, her beloved group meetings take a turn when they begin speculating about the new man that has just moved into the neighborhood. Patricia is even more perturbed when she discovers that the man may not be as charming as he seems.
In general, I think Grady Hendrix has a great writing style, especially when it comes to horror. The author is very good at building an intense atmosphere with thorough details and sensations. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is no different. Readers will feel steeped in the 1980s suburb setting. At the same time, they will also be thrown headfirst into some gory and terrifying situations. Overall, this book is engaging and doesn’t pull many punches.
9
The Hunger: Alma Katsu
A Supernatural Reimagining Of The Donner Party
For those who enjoy a bit of history in their fiction books, The Hunger is the ideal book for you. This 2018 novel by Alma Katsu is a retelling of the real-life story of the Donner Party. In history, the Donner Party were a group of settlers who traveled along the Oregon Trail and ended up eating each other to try and survive. However, in Katsu’s version, there is much more at play than just bad conditions. Something evil lurks in the mountains, and it is just as hungry as the Donners are.
By combining real and fictionalized characters, Katsu builds a world that is as interesting as it is treacherous.
The Hunger is a successful dive into both fiction and history. By combining real and fictionalized characters, Katsu builds a world that is as interesting as it is treacherous. Those who read this book will become engrossed in the setting, but will find even more joy in the characters, who are not just historical figures, but real people with inner worlds and emotions. Readers may have a sense of how The Hunger will end, yet the story will almost certainly leave you feeling surprised.
8
The Only Good Indians: Stephen Graham Jones
Childhood Friends Are Chased By Evil (& Their Pasts)
Like Grady Hendrix, Stephen Graham Jones is yet another accomplished horror writer, and one of his best is The Only Good Indians. This book, published in 2020, follows a group of four American Indian men who were best friends in childhood and faced a traumatic event together. Though they thought they had left their pasts (and their culture) behind them, the men soon discover that they are being followed by something sinister.
What makes The Only Good Indians really stand out is the way it blends true experiences with horror. While monsters and demons are scary enough, I think it is even worse to read a story wherein the characters’ worst enemy is a real-life problem such as injustice. Stephen Graham Jones succeeds at blending horrifying monsters with the centuries-long prejudice against native people. Thus, this book is scary, but also cuts deep to the core of real American horror stories.
7
The Troop: Nick Cutter
A Boy Scout Camping Trip Goes Horribly Wrong
The Troop is probably one of the goriest books I have ever read – and I loved it. Published in 2014, The Troop follows a troop of boy scouts as they go on a camping trip in the Canadian wilderness. Once there, the boys are faced with a disturbing stranger who carries an illness that is unexplainable and absolutely ruthless. From there, readers must watch as this horrific disease ravages the boy scouts, physically and emotionally, one by one.
Nick Cutter is an alias for the Canadian author Craig Davidson.
Though The Troop may not be the best-known horror book, it is one that I think deserves way more attention. A camping trip gone wrong is spooky enough, but The Troop goes even further by introducing a monster that is elusive and strangely human. What I loved most about this book was the way Nick Cutter dove into the dynamics between the boy scouts. Though I was definitely fearful the whole time, I was also invested in the lives and relationships of these young men.
6
Beloved: Toni Morrison
A Former Slave Is Haunted By Her Deceased Child
Some may be surprised to see a Toni Morrison book on this list, yet this Southern epic is as nerve-wracking as many horror novels. Beloved is a 1987 novel that tells the story of Sethe, a woman who escaped slavery and moved to Ohio 18 years ago. Despite this, Sethe is still troubled by the events that occurred at her former plantation, Sweet Home. In particular, she is haunted by the ghost of her unnamed baby, whose gravestone only reads, “Beloved.”
Though Toni Morrison is more of a literary fiction writer than a horror writer, her books are just as difficult to read. The themes and topics she explores are painful, yet they also dig into a larger truth about American history. Sethe’s story is tragic because of what happened to her, but also because of its ties to real history. Sethe is a stand-in for real enslaved women during the turn of the century. In this way, Beloved is both interesting and important.
5
Something Wicked This Way Comes: Ray Bradbury
Two Friends Experience A Magical (& Dangerous Circus)
A classic horror novel that many may not know about is Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. This 1962 book centers on Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show, a traveling circus that comes to town every year and ushers in some dazzling and spooky attractions. In the book, two young boys experience the chilling delights of the carnival, and find horrors that they never would have expected.
Though Ray Bradbury is best known for his classic book Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes deserves just as much praise. Those who prefer their horror to be more atmospheric than obvious, this book is definitely for you. I was most struck by the way that Bradbury uses language to set up the tone of the novel. At the start, he perfectly encapsulates the new beginnings of autumn, but by the end, readers are enveloped in the cold and brutal ambiance of winter. Overall, this book is moody, poetic, and evocative.
4
The Exorcist: William Peter Blatty
A Young Girl Becomes Possessed By A Demon
Most audiences probably recognize The Exorcist as a famous 1973 horror movie, yet this popular story actually began as a book. Written by William Peter Blatty in 1971, The Exorcist tells the story of Chris MacNeil, an actress and divorcee who is raising her sweet 11-year-old Regan. However, their idealistic lives turn upside down when Regan begins acting strangely. With no possible medical diagnosis, Chris turns to the Catholic Church to try and rid Regan of the demon inside her.
Many believe that the set of The Exorcist movie was haunted, as many accidents and strange occurrences befell the cast and crew.
The Exorcist is a true classic of horror literature. I’m sure every reader is familiar with the concept of a possessed child, but Blatty’s The Exorcist is where the trope began. In many ways, that is what makes The Exorcist so great. This novel came out at a time when its themes, such as religion and badly behaved little girls, were entirely uncommon. Therefore, The Exorcist paved the way for even more insidious and dark content in the horror genre, which I can’t help but be grateful for.
3
The Amityville Horror: Jay Anson
The Lutz Family Moves Into A Haunted House
Yet another horror classic is Jay Anson’s The Amityville Horror. Supposedly based on real events, The Amityville Horror follows the Lutz family who move into a new home on Long Island and quickly find that this house isn’t what it seems. Though beautiful on the outside, the structure hides a dark past that is now ingrained in every part of the house. In just 28 days, the Lutz’ are forced from their home with a horror story that they will never forget.
Whether The Amityville Horror is true or not, that question alone makes the tale even more creepy.
The Amityville Horror is one of the first based-on-real-life ghost stories that grabbed the attention of readers and viewers alike. Like The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror movies are better known than the novel, but the book is just as good, if not better. I like The Amityville Horror because of its campfire story ambiance. It isn’t just a story, but a real-life rumor. Jay Anson is not just an author, but a biographer. Whether The Amityville Horror is true or not, that question alone makes the tale even more creepy.
2
Tender Is The Flesh: Agustina Bazterrica
A World In Which Humans Are Raised As Food
One of the most surprising books on this list is probably Tender is the Flesh. This 2017 novel has the most shocking and vile concept of them all. In Tender is the Flesh, the world has run out of viable animal meat, thus humans are now being raised as cattle and eaten by the general public. Within this disturbing situation, a man named Marcos who has lost everything must come to terms with how the world has changed, and whether he can stand it all.
Tender is the Flesh is special because its concept alone is ruthlessly evil. Without even reading the first page, readers are forced to consider a world that is not only cannibalistic, but inhumanely murderous. Yet, reading the book is even worse. Agustina Bazterrica includes graphic and gory descriptions that let readers in on every detail of the human meat process. In this way, I believe Tender is the Flesh is not for the faint of heart, but it is certainly an eye-opening read.
1
Pet Sematary: Stephen King
A Dead Cat Comes Back To Life
It should be no surprise that a Stephen King book has made it onto this list, yet the question of which of his books is the scariest remains. Personally, I chose Pet Sematary. Although King has countless bloodcurdling books, I believe Pet Sematary is one of the most difficult. The book centers on Louis, a man who moves into a new house with his wife, children, and cat. Led by his neighbor, Louis becomes aware of a burial ground that will bring corpses back from the dead. From there, Louis learns that sometimes dead is better.
I think what makes Pet Sematary so haunting is the fact that it plays with an idea that almost everyone has had. Most people resent death and hate to see their loved ones taken from them. Thus, most people would jump at the chance to bring their loved ones back. Yet Pet Sematary reveals that putting life into something that should be dead is extremely dangerous. In many ways, this book is a great allegory, and also a haunting truth. Louis’ story is heartbreaking and chilling, and one of Stephen King’s best horror novels.