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Readers' Top 66 Horror Novels of the Past Three Years
For devotees of the horror genre, Halloween is the best holiday on the calendar. Once a year, like creepy clockwork, the culture at large acknowledges the best things in life and unlife: revenants, witches, haunted houses, derelict amusement parks, and nightmare fungal issues.
To celebrate the season, we’ve collected here the most popular horror novels of the past three years, according to your fellow Goodreads regulars. You’ll find some of the very best emerging writers in the field, including Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Mexican Gothic); Rachel Harrison (Such Sharp Teeth); Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians); and Catriona Ward (The Last House on Needless Street). Also check out the new one from Victor LaValle, whose 2017 novel, The Changeling, is now streaming on Apple TV+.
Look closely and you may even find old-school horror from moonlighting indie rock stars. Click on the book cover images for more details about each book, and add any good leads to your Want to Read shelf.
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Have a great horror novel to recommend? Tell us all about it in the comments below.
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Check out more horror coverage here:
Comments Showing 1-50 of 137 (137 new)
message 1:
by
Jennifer
(new)
Sep 29, 2023 04:27PM
Thinner by Stephen King
flag
As much as I adored The Bone Orchard and it has some amount of horror elements... it's firmly a Fantasy, not a Horror. (Even moreso for The Lighthouse Witches which is a historical fantasy.)Missing favs that deserve more love--
Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy
Revelator by Daryl Gregory
House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A Craig
Slewfoot by Brom
Jennifer wrote: "Thinner by Stephen King"Came out in 1984, so a bit more than 3 years old. Bachman books were good fun though.
Horrid by Katrina Leno kept me on the edge of my seat during my first read of it, and it has stayed with me ever since. I really need to do a reread of it!
I'd add Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca. Properly horrifying.
I really don't read horror type books but I added a few to my tbr list from this collection. I appreciate the art of writing the authors put together. Cheers.
This is a good list but I wish Goodreads would promote some backlist reads that haven't been swamping our feeds or that many people have read.
Or how about some actual horror books - like Mastodon or Playground. Ther are a bunch more, but these are a few that came right to mind.
A few of my faves, not mentioned: 
(2020) - I threw up in the back of my mouth, a little. It is very twisted. 
(2020) - Harkens back to the great teen slasher films. This was fun. 
(2022) - 5 Stars. Starts off tame and tales of old myths. Then things get bloody.Honorable mentions 3+ years or older:
Anything by Christopher Buehlman, especially
The entire graphic novel series based on the movie; 28 Days Laters, starting with
. We see the start of the zombie apocalypse. Just my opinion. I have a ton of others though. LOL
Tender is the FleshThe Rats/Lair/Dominion
The Ghosts of Sleath
the first two are more thriller than horror i guess but it's spooky season and they are spooky
Jennifer wrote: "Thinner by Stephen King"I'm still a wimp when it comes to reading Stephen King's stuff .
But . . . I might try reading a few chapters of FAIRY TALE to see
how upsetting it is for me . It has a cool book cover .
Molly wrote: "'The Night HouseThe Night HouseJo Nesbo"GHOST CAMP and LEGEND OF THE LOST LEGEND both by R.L. STINE . That's creepy as I want to get .🎃
Vanessa wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Thinner by Stephen King"I'm still a wimp when it comes to reading Stephen King's stuff .
But . . . I might try reading a few chapters of FAIRY TALE to see
how upsetting it is fo..."
Its more fantasy; not horror. You should enjoy it. Just note that the first 1/3 of the book is backstory and getting to know the characters. I really loved this part, about as much as the rest of it. Just a great character study.
Incredibly scary books to read, on Halloween to marathon a scary read.
Jennifer wrote: "Thinner by Stephen King"The scariest Stephen King novel I ever read was "The Tommyknockers". I read it a million years ago and can't quite put a finger on why it was so scary. I keep meaning to re-read but I am scared -- both because I remember being so scared AND I am afraid it won't be scary anymore ;-) Then that feeling will be lost -- ha ha.
Alondra wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Thinner by Stephen King"I'm still a wimp when it comes to reading Stephen King's stuff .
But . . . I might try reading a few chapters of FAIRY TALE to see
how up..."
Good point . Thanks
Thank you for all the recommendations! I love to read horror books in October. On my TBR (all published within the past 3 years): Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder; The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer; Crawlerz series by R.S. Merritt; Let Him In by William Friend; The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix; The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher; The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager. Now, I am never going to get through all of these in a month. Anyone have thoughts?? Any stand out as ones I shouldn't waste my time?? Currently reading: The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean. Almost halfway through and it is twisty/turny already -- not so much with the spooky.
Alondra wrote: "A few of my faves, not mentioned: (2020) - I threw up in the back of my mouth, a little. It is very twisted. [bookcover:Clown in a Cornfield|49046..."
I just looked up the 28 Days graphic series and it is not in at my library nor on Hoopla. I looked it up on Amazon and it is SUPER EXPENSIVE. $45.00 for Volume I. I may request my library buy it. I LOVE that movie and very interested to read these. Thank you for the recommendation. I will keep a look out for these.
Me, My Shelf, & I wrote: "As much as I adored The Bone Orchard and it has some amount of horror elements... it's firmly a Fantasy, not a Horror. (Even moreso for The Lighthouse Witches which is a historical fantasy.)Missi..."
Brom is on my list of authors. Have you read any more books by this author??? The Child Thief has been on my radar for a while.
Delicate condition By Danielle Valentine is amazing and should be on this list that's going to end up being one of my top reads of the year
Heather wrote: " just looked up the 28 Days graphic series and it is not in at my library nor on Hoopla. I looked it up on Amazon and it is SUPER EXPENSIVE. $45.00 for Volume I...."$45!!!??? That is ridiculous! If you are not in the US, then that is probably why.
Make sure you are searching under 28 Days Later: London Calling. For the US; there is a paperback of the 1st book for $8.73 used.
I bought them for my son (after reading them first... hehehehe)
Also; The Hollow Places is good. It didn't scare me much; but I read a LOT of horror.
These are terrible choices. A lot of them have less than a 3.5 rating. So they may be the most read horror books but they certainly aren't favourites.
Desperately seeking a good horror that isnt a thriller/who dunnit murder mystery. Real horror, ghosts/demons/goblins/vampires etc. Any suggestions?
The only book I read on this list was Devolution, which was okay, but I felt the characters didn't make a lot of sense in their responses to the events unfolding.
Some of the most terrifying horror stories I've read have been by Japanese authors, particularly Ryu Murakami. Have a look at 'In the Miso Soup'.Also look at 'Perfect Days' by Raphael Montes. Couldn't finish....
I just read "Holly" and it's not horror. Suspenseful but not horror.
Alondra wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Thinner by Stephen King"I'm still a wimp when it comes to reading Stephen King's stuff .
But . . . I might try reading a few chapters of FAIRY TALE to see
how up..."
Fairy Tale isn't horror, so you might like it.
Cycle of the Werewolf-Stephen KIngRing-Koji Suzuki
These books are worth reading
Horror novellas, horror anthologies, psychological horror aren't mentioned much.
So these are a bit older than 3 years, but i'd also recommend NOS4A2 by Joe Hill, The Suicide Motor Club by Christopher Buehlman... and definitely, absolutely: The Fisherman by John Langan, which sort of has two stories in it and is so amazing. this book was chilling! and it really stuck with me. i thought about it so much i've reread it.
Heather wrote: "Thank you for all the recommendations! I love to read horror books in October. On my TBR (all published within the past 3 years): Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder; The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer; Cr..."Hi Heather! I would personally move Nightbitch and The Final Girl Support Group to the top of that list. I enjoyed both of them and they'd both be good choices for October reads out of the ones you mentioned!
Vanessa wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Thinner by Stephen King"I'm still a wimp when it comes to reading Stephen King's stuff .
But . . . I might try reading a few chapters of FAIRY TALE to see
how upsetting it is fo..."
There is a fair bit of King's stuff that isn't scary or horror. Billy Summers was great. 11/22/63 is excellent and not scary at all
you guys should read the institute by stephen king, ones of my favs
Luke Smitherd's "The Black Room" series has an ending you'll never see coming. His book "How to be a Vigilante" kept me nervously nauseous the entire read.
Vanessa wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Thinner by Stephen King"I'm still a wimp when it comes to reading Stephen King's stuff .
But . . . I might try reading a few chapters of FAIRY TALE to see
how upsetting it is fo..."
IMHO Joe Hill is *way* scarier than his dad.
Shelley's Book Nook wrote: "These are terrible choices. A lot of them have less than a 3.5 rating. So they may be the most read horror books but they certainly aren't favourites."Give us your top10 Shelley
There are a lot of good ones on that list that I need to add - a handful I have read. However there are some that probably should be added to that list:1) The Exorcist's House - demonic/occult
2) Kill Creek - a haunted house
3) The Cursed Among Us - haunting/witchy
4) The House at Phantom Park - haunted house
5) Heart-Shaped Box - haunted object
ash ⋆˚✿˖° wrote: "colleen hoover is pretty damn scary"chuckle chuckle
The Squatter by Jonathan Dunne stayed in my head for days. Devastating and sooo creepy OMG! Anything by Dunne is memorable and so original :)
I love all Brom work, I wonder why he is not more popular! His writing is very visual and I can see some amazing movies coming out of his books in the hands of a skilled person, such as Flanagan.Me, My Shelf, & I wrote: "As much as I adored The Bone Orchard and it has some amount of horror elements... it's firmly a Fantasy, not a Horror. (Even moreso for The Lighthouse Witches which is a historical fantasy.)
Missi..."
Ruthy wrote: "The Squatter by Jonathan Dunne stayed in my head for days. Devastating and sooo creepy OMG! Anything by Dunne is memorable and so original :)"
Me, My Shelf, & I wrote: "As much as I adored The Bone Orchard and it has some amount of horror elements... it's firmly a Fantasy, not a Horror. (Even moreso for The Lighthouse Witches which is a historical fantasy.)
Missi..."
Me, My Shelf, & I wrote: "As much as I adored The Bone Orchard and it has some amount of horror elements... it's firmly a Fantasy, not a Horror. (Even moreso for The Lighthouse Witches which is a historical fantasy.)
Missi..."
Hotel Miramar by Jonathan Dunne is really good🧟 His horror novels are always a little different IMO
Vanessa wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Thinner by Stephen King"I'm still a wimp when it comes to reading Stephen King's stuff .
But . . . I might try reading a few chapters of FAIRY TALE to see
how upsetting it is fo..."
Fairy Tale is one of my very faves of SK! Its focus isn't on horror and I didn't find it scary, though I understand that's a personal thing. It really is a story about a boy and his dog. I'd say it's more fantasy than horror, though it does have some freaky elements.
