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The best horror books to read this spooky season

The best horror books to read this spooky season

4 September 2026

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Best horror books to read in 2026, including must-read classics and new releases

Halloween traditions like trick-or-treating may come and go, but losing yourself in a creepy horror novel is timeless. Whether you're drawn to chilling Gothic literature, psychological thrillers or full-blown supernatural terror, horror books remain one of the best ways to get into the spooky spirit.

If you’re looking for some inspiration for your next scary read, you’re in the right place. We’ve put together the following guide to bone-chilling stories, cult classics and new releases, to help you find the best horror books to read in the run-up to Halloween.

The horror books everyone is talking about

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix: an instant Sunday Times bestseller and winner of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Horror.
There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm: a piece of cult internet fiction that became a national bestseller when re-issued in print in 2025.
Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker: an instant Sunday Times bestseller that also appeared on most-anticipated lists from Goodreads, USA Today and The New York Times.
Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer: an instant USA Today bestseller, Independent Press bestseller, Aardvark Book Club pick, and No. 1 in Amazon UK's Horror Satire & Parodies category.
When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy: nominated for the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Horror and has almost 40,000 ratings on the platform.
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman: a BookTok hit; its 2026 re-edition became an overnight Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller.

Famous horror books you have to read once

You can’t beat a classic. If you haven’t read these famous horror books, you need to add them to your reading list.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (1983)

Best for: fans of The Haunting of Hill House and classic ghost stories that fill you with dread.

You might have watched the jumpy Daniel Radcliffe film, but have you ever braved the original novel? The famously terrifying ghost story The Woman in Black is guaranteed to keep you up at night. A junior solicitor is summoned to a funeral, where he sees a mysterious woman, dressed all in black. A creeping feeling of unease begins to take hold of him, especially when he learns of the woman’s terrible purpose…

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty (1971)

Best for: readers who loved the iconic film The Exorcist and want to brave its more disturbing source material.

Widely regarded as one of the most disturbing horror novels ever written, The Exorcist has lost none of its power to shock more than 50 years after its publication. When unexplainable noises and smells start to haunt a family home, a mother sees a troubling change in her 11-year-old daughter. Desperate, she calls in a priest – who fears she has been possessed by a demon. This calls for an exorcism, with terrifying consequences. Suffice to say, heads will (literally) turn if you read this one on your morning commute…

Pet Sematary by Stephen King (1983)

Best for: Stephen King fans who like dark, disturbing and emotionally devastating supernatural horror.

Pet Sematary is widely regarded as one of King’s creepiest horror books, not just for its supernatural chills, but for the unbearable choices at its core. When Louis Creed moves his family to a quiet town in Maine, he discovers a makeshift pet cemetery behind their house – and something far more sinister hidden beyond it. This is a deeply unsettling novel about grief, guilt and what happens when we try to undo the natural order.

Our team says: “I think this is King at his best. This truly sinister tale of a family's gruesome unravelling after they try to cheat death itself will send shivers down your spine (and make you look at your pets a little differently)." – Katharine Abbott, Consumer Loyalty Executive at Penguin.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959)

Best for: fans of slow-burn psychological horror, haunted-house stories and unreliable narrators.

Shirley Jackson achieved fame with a short story in The New Yorker that involved a woman being stoned to death by the inhabitants of her own village, so it’s no surprise that she succeeded in building dread and horror in her subsequent work. You may already know of The Haunting of Hill House from its Netflix or film adaptations, but the book is even more chilling – Jackson manages to make even a picnic on the lawn fill the reader with fear.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

Best for: readers looking for a classic introduction to Gothic horror, who prefer psychological dread over jump-scares or gore.

Regarded as one of the most famous horror books, Frankenstein is also the novel where science-fiction began. It follows Dr. Victor Frankenstein, an ambitious scientist with a God complex who pillages graveyards to fashion a mismatched creature which he brings to life with a jolt of electricity. While there is an element of body horror here, the terrifying parts of the novel lie in the mounting psychological dread, with Frankenstein being pursued by his creation.

Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)

Best for: readers who loved Frankenstein and want another classic Gothic novel packed with supernatural terror.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the quintessential supernatural horror novel, with its charming but deadly antagonist, unexplainable and unnerving chain of events (the sections in the asylum live rent-free in our brains), and an atmosphere of dread that reaches a panicked climax. The novel is over 100 years old but it’s as unsettling today as when it was first published.

Our team says: “I'll always remember the description of Dracula in the coffin as viewed by the main character, Jonathon Harker: the blood around his mouth, the glow of having been recently fed, so creepily vivid and nauseating that it felt like I was looking at it in real life rather than simply reading the words. I thought I knew Dracula's story inside out but there's more to it every time I reread this book, which is why I have read it so many times!” – Jessica Tacon, Lit in Colour Manager at Penguin.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead (2011)

Best for: fans of The Last of Us, Station Eleven and The Walking Dead.

This is no ordinary post-apocalyptic novel; with its style and emotional depth, Zone One is a literary horror masterpiece. A pandemic has devastated the world, dividing the population into the living and the living dead. The army has removed most of the infected people, but now it falls to a team of civilians to hunt down the “malfunctioning” infected who exist in a catatonic state, unable to let go of their former lives. Zone One is told from the perspective of a volunteer as he adjusts to a world that has changed beyond recognition.

Beloved by Toni Morrison (1999)

Best for: fans of literary horror with psychological depth, where the ghosts of history are more frightening than any monster.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Beloved explores the haunting grip of slavery on memory and motherhood. Set in post-Civil War Ohio, the story follows Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman, and the ghostly presence of her child, Beloved, that manifests in her home. With lyrical prose and psychological intensity, Morrison weaves a tale that’s less about monsters and more about the horrors real people created.

Reading lists

Beautiful horror books from our Clothbound Classics collection

Don’t miss these classic horror books from our Clothbound Classics collection for more timeless novels.

Learn more

These are the books that are currently top of the book charts and sparking debate on BookTok, Goodreads and Reddit.

The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer (2026)

Best for: readers craving a surreal, reality-shifting psychological horror that’s as good as We Used to Live Here.

In this supernatural horror, strange events inside a seemingly ordinary home turn out to be far more sinister than they first appear. Macy Mullins takes an ominous-sounding but well-paid caretaker job she sees on Craigslist; it’s only three days' work, after all. However, once cooped up in a stranger’s house, she finds herself in a terrifying, mind-bending nightmare where evil threatens human survival. Set to be a blockbuster thriller starring Sydney Sweeney, this is one to read before it hits the screen.

There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm (2025)

Best for: fans of sci-fi with mind-bending storylines like Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer, the TV series Severance, or the video game Control.

What if you could forget something the moment you learned it and never realise it was gone? That’s the chilling concept behind this breakout work of internet horror, which reached a wider audience with its 2025 print release and has sparked plenty of discussion across Reddit and Goodreads. There Is No Antimemetics Division follows a shadowy organisation battling entities that can erase themselves from human memory. It's a mind-bending psychological horror novel about information, paranoia, and the limits of human understanding.

Our team says: "I really enjoyed There Is No Antimemetics Division. It's fast-paced and combines mind-bending ideas with genuine emotional stakes, turning the act of forgetting into one of the most original and unsettling concepts I’ve ever read. As a fan of SCP fiction, I especially enjoyed seeing one of the setting’s most fascinating concepts expanded into a full-length novel. Ironically for a book that deals with obliterating memories, you won’t forget it.” – Michael Rowan, Senior Digital Platform Product Owner at Penguin.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (2025)

Best for: fans of feminist horror, witchcraft, female rage and revenge.

Grady Hendrix returns with a blistering blend of feminist rage and wicked humour in this supernatural tale of rebellion. A secret coven of girls finds power through witchcraft but as their magic begins to grow, so too does the danger. Hendrix turns a coming-of-age story into a chilling look at trauma, sisterhood and vengeance, with eerie twists and occult rituals throughout. A book club favourite and Sunday Times bestseller, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls went on to win the 2025 Goodreads Choice Award for Horror – cementing its place as one of the year’s standout horror reads.

Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman (2012)

Best for: readers looking for apocalyptic horror with a gruesome streak.

More than a decade after it was first published, Between Two Fires has gained a cult following on Reddit and TikTok in recent years, following a renewed interest in plague stories during the pandemic and a new edition being released in 2026 which became a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller.

Set in plague-ravaged France in 1348, it follows Thomas, a disgraced knight, and Delphine, a girl who claims to see visions from angels, as they travel across the country and encounter famine, death and increasingly nightmarish creatures. Part historical fiction, part religious horror, it’s easy to see why this cult novel has found a new generation of fans.

Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer (2026)

Best for: readers who enjoyed Rosemary’s Baby, The Handmaid’s Tale and Yesteryear.

An instant USA Today bestseller and popular book club pick, Trad Wife has quickly found an audience among horror readers. Camille is the ultimate stay-at-home wife – or at least, that’s what she portrays online. But without a baby, her image and follower count are flailing. Drawn to an ominous-looking well, she makes a wish, and is soon visited by a supernatural being. Her bump swells quickly, her cravings get bloody, and yet, as the horror inside her grows, so too does her following. Unsettling and darkly addictive, this modern terror is a gory commentary on how far some will go for fame.

When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy (2025)

Best for: readers looking for an adrenaline-fuelled pop horror that feels like watching Terminator 2 or An American Werewolf in London.

If classic 1980s movies are your go-to, you’ll love this action-packed novel from the author nicknamed ‘The Stephen King of TikTok’. Struggling actress Jess saves a five-year-old boy from his violent father and the pair go on the run. But as gruesome events stalk their every move, she has the horrifying realisation that the boy can turn his deepest fears into reality – and that monsters are very, very real. When the Wolf Comes Home has been hugely popular since its release: it became a USA Today and ABA Indie Bookseller bestseller before earning a Goodreads Choice Award nomination for Horror.

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker (2026)

Best for: fans of Samurai horror and haunted house ghost stories

This instant Sunday Times bestseller blends Japanese mythology with a disturbing ghost story. Lee Turner is seeking refuge at his isolated family home after a violent incident in post-pandemic New York. Living simultaneously in 1877 is Sen, a young female samurai trying to protect her family from slaughter after the abolition of the samurai class. Seeking answers, Lee and Sen find each other through a closet door that connects their worlds. But as they begin to share their traumas, ghostly figures emerge, gruesome deaths mount and long-buried secrets come to light.

The best new horror books for Halloween

Looking for a more modern read? Here are some of the best horror novels to be published in recent years…

We Call Them Witches by India-Rose Bower (2026)

Best for: readers of dystopian horror and queer, witchy romance novels.

In the post-apocalyptic nightmare of We Call Them Witches, most Brits have been devoured by eldritch creatures called the Witches. Sara and her family have found a way to survive for two years, thanks to their knowledge of folklore and pagan rituals. But then Sara’s youngest brother is kidnapped, meaning Sara and mysterious newcomer Parsley must venture out and hunt the Witches to get him back. Sara and Parsley’s love story unfolds across a chilling backdrop in this tense, atmospheric novel that terrifies and thrills in equal measure.

Plant Lady by Minyoung Kang (2026)

Best for: fans of psychological horror with a feminist twist, similar to Layne Fargo’s They Never Learn.

Men are going missing in the small South Korean town of Dosan, and unsuspecting Yoohee is behind it. The owner of the neighbourhood plant shop might not seem like an obvious killer, but after tending to her plants and customers, Yoohee offers a special out-of-hours service for desperate women who need a man to disappear. This cult Korean horror is a sly story of rage, revenge and haunting obsession that will keep you rooted until the very last page.

Gingerbread Bones by Lindsay Lovise (2026)

Best for: fans of The Hunger Games, dystopian YA, and survivor-style reality TV.

Sixteen-year-old Georgie and her brother have been sent to a summer camp in the wilderness to star in their stepmother’s new reality show. But after a first night spent chanting around the fire, they wake to silence. The counsellors are gone, but Georgie senses she and her campmates are not alone. And, as people start disappearing, she has the creeping realisation that someone is hunting them… Lindsay Lovise’s newest YA novel is dark, simmering in tension, and packed with enough sensual love scenes to distract you from the stalkers in the shadows.

Old Soul by Susan Barker (2025)

Best for: fans of literary horror and The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (but with a more sinister edge).

Old Soul is a haunting read that blends historical fiction with psychological suspense. Set across multiple lifetimes, it follows a protagonist who experiences terrifying flashbacks of past lives – and a pattern of violence that seems to follow them through time. It’s the kind of horror that gets under your skin, playing with memory, identity and the unnerving possibility that death might not offer an escape. As the boundaries between the past and present dissolve, Barker delivers a literary horror novel that lingers long after the final page.

This Cursed House by Del Sandeen (2024)

Best for: fans of Southern Gothic literature, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and thought-provoking ghost stories about man-made horrors.

In this Southern Gothic horror debut, the year is 1962 and Jemma has left her life in Chicago for a well-paid tutor position in New Orleans. But as soon as she arrives, she realises the Duchon family have brought her there under false pretences: their home is cursed, and they believe that Jemma, with her unique gift of seeing spirits, will be able to lift it. But as Jemma learns some horrifying truths about the ancestral home’s past, including its ties to slavery, she fears she will never escape.

The scariest horror books you’ll ever read

If you’re after something truly terrifying, this list of the scariest horror books is guaranteed to get you shaking in your boots – or, at least, sleeping with the lights on.

The Shining by Stephen King (1977)

Best for: readers looking for a claustrophobic, spine-thrilling read – whether they’ve seen The Shining’s iconic film adaptation or not.

Set in an isolated hotel cut off from the world, The Shining follows Jack Torrance, a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic who takes a job as winter caretaker. With his wife and son in tow, he hopes for a fresh start – but Overlook Hotel has other plans. Haunted by ghosts both literal and psychological, Jack begins to unravel, while his son Danny’s psychic “shining” reveals horrors the adults can’t see. Claustrophobic and completely terrifying, this is one of the scariest horror novels of all time – and a masterclass in how madness takes hold.

The Hunger by Alma Katsu (2018)

Best for: fans of survival horror, where monsters – and monstrous humans – are waiting in the wings.

If Stephen King dubs a novel as “deeply disturbing”, you know it’s going to leave a mark. Alma Katsu’s The Hunger retells the infamous story of the Donner Party with a supernatural twist, turning a historical tragedy into a slow-burning horror of isolation, starvation and something even darker lurking in the wilderness. As tensions mount and supplies dwindle, the group begins to suspect that the real danger may not just be the harsh terrain, but something evil among them.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl (2013)

Best for: fans of Longlegs, The Blair Witch Project and true crime-style mysteries.

When the daughter of cult horror filmmaker Stanislas Cordova is found dead, disgraced journalist Scott McGrath becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind her death – and what happened on Cordova's film sets. Told through interviews, web pages and case files, Night Film is a clever, compulsive thriller that blurs the line between horror and reality, leaving you unsure which disturbing rumours are fiction – and which might actually be true.

House Of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski (2000)

Best for: readers looking for an original, meta take on horror fiction that leaves you with a creeping sense of dread.

This horror novel starts with a house that’s bigger on the inside than on the outside – and from there, everything begins to unravel. House of Leaves is a clever example of modern horror fiction: a novel within a novel, layered with footnotes, transcripts and typographical twists, that forces the reader to navigate the story in every sense. At its heart is a family documentary that never quite adds up, and a growing sense of dread that something is watching from the dark. Unsettling, brilliant and unlike anything else you’ve read, this is horror for the brave and the curious.

The Terror by Dan Simmons (2010)

Best for: fans of creature horror classics like The Thing and Alien, as well as historical fiction.

Being left stranded in an icy, lifeless expanse is arguably scary enough, but The Terror takes the events of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of the mid-19th Century and adds dismembered Inuits, monstrous polar bears and a rapidly depleting crew. The result is a brutal mix of creature horror and psychological dread, where the characters experience freezing conditions, starvation and paranoia that’s just as frightening as whatever is hunting them.

Frequently asked questions

What is the scariest horror book ever written?

If you’re particularly spooked by slow-burn psychological dread, The Haunting of Hill House or The Shining might be the scariest horror books for you. If supernatural scares are more your thing, try The Exorcist or House of Leaves. More recent horror books like Trad Wife and There Is No Antimemetics Division find new ways to frighten readers, tapping into cursed media, memory loss and threats you can’t even remember. Ultimately, the scariest horror book depends on what keeps you awake at night, but these are all strong contenders.

What is considered the best horror novel of all time?

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula by Bram Stoker are often considered the most influential horror novels of all time, having shaped the entire genre from the 1800s. For modern readers, The Shining by Stephen King and Beloved by Toni Morrison stand out for being powerful, literary explorations of fear, trauma and the unknown. But the best horror novel is often the one that speaks to your deepest fears – whether that’s monsters, ghosts, or complete isolation.

Which Stephen King book is the scariest?

Stephen King has written dozens of terrifying books, but The Shining is often named as his scariest thanks to its claustrophobic setting, supernatural twists and its protagonist’s descent into madness. Pet Sematary is another top contender, dealing with grief and resurrection in a way that unsettles you long after you’ve finished it. For fans of short stories, Night Shift offers dozens of bite-sized frights, while It delivers epic-scale horror that spans generations.

Looking for more creepy reads? Discover books you’ll love based on your favourite horror movies as well as the greatest villains in literature.

The best horror books to read this spooky season

The horror books everyone is talking about