The Best Horror Books

Body horror is often bloody and gory, argues the novelist Heather Parry, but it is also a vessel for social commentary. Here she recommends five books that explore notions of bodily autonomy, capitalism and technology through the form of a horror novel – cult hits that will make you wince, but also make you think.

Horror, the literary genre, is booming and there are plenty of frightening fresh offerings from specialist and mainstream publishers alike. But where to start? We've put together an overview of the five horror novels shortlisted at the 2026 Bram Stoker Awards, including new books by fan favourites Stephen Graham Jones and Silvia Morena-Garcia.

It's that time of year again. If you love to read horror books but find it hard to keep up with what's new, then the annual shortlists for the Bram Stoker Awards are an excellent place to find your next favourite read. Here's their latest shortlist of the best new horror novels, released in early 2025.

Cosmic horror explores the sublime, and so has the power to terrify and exhilarate us, says horror writer John Langan. He takes us through forests, cities, sewers and even beach holidays, introducing five books that will confront you with the unknown – and the unknowable.

Horror is entertaining, but also a great way of shining a light on painful subjects people don't want to talk about, says Mexican American horror writer V. Castro. As American horror has opened up to a much greater diversity of writers, she talks us through some of the classics—books that continue to inspire and form the bedrock of the genre.  

Gothic horror allows us to talk about psychological horror and repression while having a huge amount of fun, explains author Nathan Ballingrud. He talks us through his top five choices, from haunted houses to smoggy London to the swamps of Alabama, and considers the chilling parts of ourselves and our societies that they bring to light.

Do you love scary stories? We put together a list of horror novels that have been recommended on Five Books over the years—books we think every horror fan should read before they die. How many have you read?

Weird fiction uses the supernatural to throw all our experience into doubt, says author and academic Michael Cisco. He introduces us to five favourites, featuring everything from ghosts to fairies to cults – all subtly constructed, infused with real human feeling, and calculated to perturb.

There are two essential features of a vampire, says award-winning author Grady Hendrix: they look just like us, and they need us. Beyond this, they are highly adaptable, and have stood in for pandemics, economic exploitation, addiction, abuse, true crime and lust. Here, Hendrix introduces five novels that have shaped this complicated monster.

Whether you're scared most by graphic body horror, the uncategorisable, or the blurring of boundaries between supernatural menace and psychological unraveling, this list will have something for you. Reflecting on the complex nature of fear, Xavier Aldana Reyes surveys the best modern horror and explores whether the genre might offer consolation as well as terror.