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100 New Horror Recommendations for (Nearly) Every Kind of Reader
It’s Horror Month here at Goodreads World Headquarters, and we’ve cooked up several curated collections to honor the genre. We even used a cauldron.
Our latest moonlit gathering celebrates the wide variety of stories you can find in the New Books section of the Horror Fiction aisle. To mix things up a bit, we organized this collection by reader type. What are you looking for, anyway? Vampires, traditional and otherwise? We’ve got that covered. Haunted houses? We’ve got that, too. There’s even a section here for horror-curious scaredy-cats.
We’ve also been tracking some specific recent trends, like the surge in scary stories about wellness and beauty culture. The horrors of parenting continue to inspire writers and readers, both. Then there are the perennial concerns about spooky little towns. Also: cults, meta-horror, trouble in space and under the waves. For aspiring genre fans, we’ve even included a YA section.
Heads up to the horror classicists: You won’t find any of the Old Masters below, so don’t bother appealing to Yog-Sothoth, or whomever. The books collected here are relatively new, most of them from the past few years, with an emphasis on what's brand-new in 2023. Click on the book cover images for more details about each individual title, and don’t forget to feed your Want to Read shelf.
Parenting is the most terrifying thing I can think of
These books confirm that it is in fact extremely scary.
"Jelly donut skin" sure sounds like body horror to me
Extreme beauty regimens that are literally to die for.
I'm a sucker for bloodthirsty vamps
You can inject these books straight into your veins.
Tell me about what's new in haunted houses
Let's show you some killer real estate!
But I'm a scaredy-cat...
Here are some books that are more on the "dark and creepy vibes" than the "you'll never sleep again" side of scary. You're welcome!
I like smart, self-aware, meta-horror novels
Here are some genre-savvy protagonists and metafictional horror plots for you.
Gimme some non-Hannibal cannibals
These flesh-eating fiends will make your skin crawl.
Ooooh, a cult? Sign me right up!
Look, some of us are just joiners, OK?
Can I get some big- (and small-) screen horror?
Hollywood's full of monsters.
I just want to read something with a totally unhinged premise
An island where everyone's obsessed with the year 1994? A woman who sells her hand and then feels it committing murder? Are these strange enough for ya?
Weird towns, weird towns! Love me a weird town!
Isolated places, satanic suburbs...these destinations might just prove final.
Space horror
No one can hear you scream, right?
What's scarier than the depths of the ocean?
Aquatic horror for those of you (rightfully) terrified of the sea.
I don't have much time. Can you scare me quickly?
Try these horror anthologies and short story collections.
Showe me ye olde tyme scaryes
Here's what's new in historical horror.
Can you recommend some YA horror to me?
Oh, can we EVER!
What kind of horror reader are you? Let us know in the comments below!
Check out more horror coverage here:
Check out more horror coverage here:
Comments Showing 1-50 of 141 (141 new)
This horror month I'll be taking on two Gothic novels: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a eternal classic that I've owned for years but never got to read, and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which I started last October but didn't get to finish.
But sincerely, my wish was to read each one of all of these books.
Ok whoever wrote this is FUNNY funny 😂 ye Olde scarys... lol
I personally appreciate the unhinged suggestions! I am not easily scared so anything weird intrigues me.
I wish their was a
good old fashioned spooky
(not gory) category. Something along the lines of The Uninvited Dorothy Macardle https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... or The Woman in Black Susan Hill https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... Something that is eerie but won't gross you out!
I'm just so happy for all the horror content! I got burned out on thrillers earlier this year and have started reading a lot more horror. Now I'm always on the lookout for more truly scary books to consume!
How do I read so much horror and still have so much more horror to read? Not that I'm complaining.
LOL. It's good that the title shows (nearly) every reader. No luck for me on this list.
I love how this is organised! wonderful suggestions!
Isabella wrote: "This horror month I'll be taking on two Gothic novels: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a eternal classic that I've owned for years but never got to read, and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, w..."I had Frankenstein in my collection for many years too. When I finally did read it, it was a love hate relationship. The basic story is beautiful, the Doctor, not so much. Enjoy!
I have read several of Grady Hendrix's books. They are always fun and creepy. Not keep you up at night creepy but really glad they're fiction creepy fun. THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE, I just finished reading and it was so good. Sarcastic, Alfred Hitchcock, Twilight Zone fun.
Jillian wrote: "Because my TBR wasn’t long enough…"I was thinking the same thing
✼Summer✼ wrote: "I wish their was a good old fashioned spooky
(not gory) category. Something along the lines of The Uninvited Dorothy Macardle https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3......"
I agree. Sometimes you want an old-fashioned uncanny story that makes you think and which leaves plenty to the imagination for you to wonder at.
M.R.James, R.H.Malden, Andrew Caldecott, A.N.L.Munby all wrote those sort of stories. And then there's the ghostly and completely spooky classic 'The Lost Stradivarius' by J Meade Falkner.
i love it when goodreads does this horror recs news. in other news, my tbr is out of control.
Silver Nitrate? The Only One Left? They sound interesting. I've heard of an Australian YA horror book called What We All Saw but it's not on the YA horror list. Still sounds good nonetheless.
Very interested in Beholder by Ryan La Sala, if it's as good as The Honeys was, I'm hooked!
Thank you for the horror recommendations! I would have personally loved a witches category 😆 Also I recommend Junji Ito books for those wanting to try some graphic novel creepy clever horror!
Mika wrote: "Thank you for the horror recommendations! I would have personally loved a witches category 😆 Also I recommend Junji Ito books for those wanting to try some graphic novel creepy clever horror!"The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer is a very good read.
Isabella wrote: "This horror month I'll be taking on two Gothic novels: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a eternal classic that I've owned for years but never got to read, and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, w..." 💗
My TBR list is now going to grow even longer🤣🤗😳 but thank you for all the great books here.
Just finished "How to Sell A Haunted House". 👍👍 Cw: ghosts, puppets, dolls
Eeep! I don't like to be scared, so I'm glad for the list of books for scaredy-cats. I put the books on my i'm-too-scared-to-read-this shelf.
Shelby wrote: "There goes the tenuous grasp on my tbr lol."Same. These are some amazing recs. My wallet is gonna be so pissed.
Erin wrote: "As if my October TBR wasn't already 20+ books."I'm at 26 and counting in my TBR pile next to my bed. Over 250 in my "want to read" list on Goodreads.
What an amazing list! I'm definitely a space, shortstory/anthology and bodyhorror girl ^^
Mariam wrote: "Jillian wrote: "Because my TBR wasn’t long enough…"I was thinking the same thing"
Same :)
Jenny wrote: "How do I read so much horror and still have so much more horror to read? Not that I'm complaining."
Wish I could up vote this.
Vanessa wrote: "I will continue my tradition of reading R.L. Stine for horror month instead of the choosing one of the alarming suggestions above .Happy Halloween bookworms 🎃"
thanks for the recommendation :D
I want to read all of them omg, I love spooky season sm
Isabella wrote: "This horror month I'll be taking on two Gothic novels: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a eternal classic that I've owned for years but never got to read, and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, w..."I like the idea of going with a classic read like Franenstein. I might have to revisit that book. I haven't read it as an adult.
Mexican Gothic was also a book I never got around to read... I'm not sure why it has taken some time for me to get around to it.
Mar wrote: "I want to read all of them omg, I love spooky season sm"Do you have a favorite read you would like to recommend for spooky season? I feel I have read enough romance novels.
I love these lists. I always find something good to read :)
Misha wrote: "Shelby wrote: "There goes the tenuous grasp on my tbr lol."Same. These are some amazing recs. My wallet is gonna be so pissed."
Which is why I have switched over to loaning books from Library - and the space I save!
Isabella wrote: "This horror month I'll be taking on two Gothic novels: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a eternal classic that I've owned for years but never got to read, and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, w..."Mexican Gothic is amazing. If you get along with audio books, the audio book is really amazingly narrated as well.
I have put some of the recommended readings on my to-be-read list; unsure if I will reach any of them this Halloween season because I have so many books to read and I am a slow reader; okay, I am lazy at best and make excuses. Thank you for the suggested readings; Happy Halloween!
Vanessa wrote: "I will continue my tradition of reading R.L. Stine for horror month instead of the choosing one of the alarming suggestions above .Happy Halloween bookworms 🎃"
I LOVE GOOSEBUMPS SO MUCH LMAOO
Erin wrote: "As if my October TBR wasn't already 20+ books."same here!!
In "Parenting is the most terrifying thing I can think of", you might want to read "We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver. Truly horrifying.
I got to Space Horror and read 3 of the 4 listed and loved them, so.... Guess I should probably read the last one lol
Seriously? No creature feature section? Yet the YA section has more books than any other..just ugh I lose hope for this site all the time.
"And Then She Fell" by Alicia Elliott is NOT horror. Not even close - unless it devolves into horror after the 1/2 way mark. I couldn't finish it - it's more about an unreliable narrator struggling with mental health issues.
I'm not sure if I would recommend The Devil Takes You Home to a scaredy-cat, just because it's pretty dark and violent at times, but it's a great read!
Happy Halloween bookworms 🎃