Horror comes in many forms—psychological dread, supernatural terrors, or sheer, unrelenting suspense. Whether you love haunted houses, eerie small towns, or monsters lurking in the dark, there’s something on this list for you.
These books will make your heart race, your skin crawl, and leave you double-checking that your doors are locked. From timeless classics to modern nightmares, here are 20 must-read horror books that will haunt you long after you’ve turned the last page.
1. The Shining – Stephen King
A struggling writer moves his family to the isolated Overlook Hotel, where his son, Danny, begins seeing terrifying visions of the past and future. As winter sets in, the hotel’s dark forces manipulate Jack Torrance into a dangerous descent into madness. A masterpiece of psychological and supernatural horror, The Shining is a chilling exploration of addiction, isolation, and the power of a haunted place.
2. Dracula – Bram Stoker
This gothic horror classic follows the terrifying Count Dracula as he attempts to spread his vampiric curse from Transylvania to England. Through diary entries and letters, a group of friends, led by Professor Van Helsing, must stop him before he consumes more victims. Full of suspense, eerie castles, and unforgettable horror, Dracula set the standard for vampire fiction.
3. House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski
A young family discovers that their new home is larger on the inside than the outside—an impossible, shifting labyrinth filled with darkness and an unknown presence. Told through a mix of footnotes, letters, and multiple narratives, House of Leaves is an experimental horror novel that plays with the reader’s mind as much as the story itself.
4. Pet Sematary – Stephen King
When the Creed family moves to a rural town, they discover an ancient burial ground with the power to bring the dead back to life—but at a horrifying cost. What begins as grief quickly turns into a nightmare as the resurrected return… changed. A deeply unsettling novel about loss, fate, and the dangers of tampering with forces beyond human understanding.
5. The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson
One of the greatest haunted house stories ever written, this novel follows four strangers investigating the supernatural at Hill House. As eerie events escalate, the house seems to have a particular grip on one guest, Eleanor. With psychological depth and chilling ambiguity, The Haunting of Hill House explores fear, trauma, and the thin line between reality and madness.
6. The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty
Based on a true story, this terrifying novel follows the possession of a young girl and the priests who attempt to save her soul. As demonic forces grow stronger, faith and sanity are pushed to their limits. The Exorcist is a visceral, nightmarish read that delves into good versus evil in its purest form.
7. The Silence of the Lambs – Thomas Harris
FBI trainee Clarice Starling seeks the help of the brilliant but psychotic Dr. Hannibal Lecter to catch a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill. As their twisted psychological battle unfolds, the line between hunter and hunted blurs. A blend of horror and thriller, The Silence of the Lambs is as terrifying as it is compelling.
8. Bird Box – Josh Malerman
An unseen entity drives anyone who looks at it to madness and suicide. A woman and her two children must navigate a treacherous river—blindfolded—to find safety. Bird Box is a nerve-wracking psychological horror novel that keeps readers in suspense from start to finish.
9. Hell House – Richard Matheson
A team of paranormal investigators spends a week inside the infamous Belasco House, said to be the most haunted house in the world. The house itself seems to feed on their fears and secrets, leading to horrifying psychological and supernatural attacks. Hell House is a brutal, intense take on the haunted house genre.
10. The Girl Next Door – Jack Ketchum
Based on true events, this novel tells the disturbing story of two young sisters held captive and tortured by their sadistic guardian. Unlike supernatural horror, The Girl Next Door is terrifying because of its realism, pushing readers into the darkest depths of human cruelty.
11. The Only Good Indians – Stephen Graham Jones
A group of Native American men are haunted by an event from their past—a hunt that went terribly wrong. Now, a supernatural force is out for revenge. Blending folklore, psychological horror, and social commentary, this novel delivers both scares and emotional depth.
12. Salem’s Lot – Stephen King
A writer returns to his small hometown, only to find that its residents are slowly turning into vampires. As darkness spreads, a small group of survivors fights to stop the growing evil. Salem’s Lot is one of the best modern vampire novels, full of tension, dread, and unforgettable horror.
13. Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A young woman travels to a remote mansion to check on her ill cousin and soon finds herself trapped in a nightmarish house filled with strange visions and creeping horrors. With gothic atmosphere, twisted family secrets, and psychological horror, Mexican Gothic is both eerie and mesmerizing.
14. The Ruins – Scott Smith
A group of friends vacationing in Mexico stumbles upon ancient ruins, only to discover that something sinister is lurking beneath the vines. Isolated and desperate, they fight against an unknown, unrelenting horror. The Ruins is an unsettling survival horror novel that will make you afraid of nature itself.
15. The Troop – Nick Cutter
A scoutmaster and his group of boys go on a camping trip to a remote island—only to be confronted with a horrific biological threat. What starts as an unsettling encounter turns into a nightmarish fight for survival. The Troop is a body horror nightmare that will leave you deeply disturbed.
16. The Shadow Over Innsmouth – H.P. Lovecraft
A traveler visits the eerie town of Innsmouth, where strange-looking locals hide a terrifying secret linked to ancient sea creatures. This novella is one of Lovecraft’s best, blending cosmic horror with an overwhelming sense of dread.
17. John Dies at the End – David Wong
A bizarre, darkly humorous horror novel about a drug called “Soy Sauce” that opens the mind to terrifying creatures beyond human perception. This genre-bending book is a mix of cosmic horror, comedy, and pure weirdness.
18. The Hunger – Alma Katsu
A supernatural take on the real-life tragedy of the Donner Party, where a group of pioneers gets stranded in the mountains and begins to suspect that something monstrous is among them. The Hunger is historical horror at its finest.
19. The Deep – Nick Cutter
A scientist is sent deep into the ocean to investigate a mysterious phenomenon—but the deeper he goes, the more his mind unravels. This claustrophobic horror novel is perfect for fans of The Abyss and Event Horizon.
20. We Have Always Lived in the Castle – Shirley Jackson
A dark, unsettling tale of two sisters living in isolation after a family tragedy, as paranoia and small-town cruelty close in on them. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is gothic horror at its most atmospheric.