19 Thriller Horror Books To Add To Your Library As Soon As Possible!

Horror Thriller Books

This post is all about 17+ Unputdownable Horror Books, you need to read  as soon as possible! 

horror books

 

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read  https://bookedandbewitched.com/disclaimer/” full disclosure for more information

Hey Y’all, thanks for stopping by booked and bewitched! This week we are talking about all things Horror Books related.

For those of you who don’t normally read this genre, a little information. Horror fiction is fiction in any writing meant to scare, unsettle, or horrify the audience.

Horror fiction often overlaps science fiction or fantasy, all three of which categories are sometimes placed under the umbrella classification speculative fiction

So without further ado, let’s get into these Horror Books! Oh, and if you’re looking for more fun reads, head on over to 9 Must Have Secret Society Books You Need To Read Today, for more good reads! 

Unputdownable Must-Read Horror Books

1. Path of Bones

horror books

by L.T. Ryan  (Author), K.M. Rought  (Author) 

Cassie didn’t ask to be a medium.
But she shouldered the daunting task of easing the suffering of the tormented souls who came to her.
For over a decade the FBI, police departments across the country, and dozens of private investigators sought her out for her special abilities.

Then one day, the spirit world disconnected.

A fresh start proves harder than she thought when the ghost of a murdered woman appears in Cassie’s home.
With her gift returned, Cassie sets out to discover the meaning of the dead woman’s message.
A killer who removes his victim’s hearts is still on the loose.
As Cassie races to stop him, she finds, hers may be the next one he takes.
Her gift and grit are the only things separating her from crossing over the thin line between life and death.

Booked & Bewitched Babbles: So reviews say this book is a mix of Ghost whisperer & Medium. I can’t wait to read this best horror mystery books.

2. Infested

best horror books

Author: C M Forest

Something sinister is happening inside the New Leaf Building.

Olivia wakes on her bedroom floor in a pool of vomit, head spinning. The power is off and her husband is missing. A vicious storm assaults the building, but it is nothing compared to the storm raging outside her apartment door. A parasite has begun invading–possessing–the residents. Transforming them into twisted, murderous versions of their former selves with one thing on their mind. To kill.

Screams echo from the darkened hallways as Olivia, desperate to find her husband, ventures unknowingly into a world of violence and mayhem. Trapped within the New Leaf’s endless corridors, she must face her fears and discover the dark, ancient secret behind the insanity. She must face the Infested.

Booked & Bewitched Babbles: So Resident Evil meets Walking Dead. Yup, if you need me I’ll be over here, buried in this top horror books.

3. The Thicket

horror books best

by Noelle West Ihli  (Author) 

Norah ignored her brother’s screams that night. Because nothing in the haunted attraction was supposed to be real—let alone deadly.

Later, security footage will reveal that the killer walked right through the crowded plaza, his clothes stained red.

Desperate for answers and tormented by survivor’s guilt, Norah returns to the scene of the crime. And to her horror, the chorus of screams is louder than ever. Thrill seekers, including some of her classmates, are still eagerly lining up to purchase tickets.

But the killer hasn’t chosen his hunting ground at random.

And, like everyone else, he’s planning another visit.

Booked & Bewitched Babbles: One of the best horror thriller books and nail bitter unputdownable books! 

4. The Deep

best horror books of all time

by Nick Cutter

A strange plague called the ‘Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget–small things at first, like where they left their keys, then the not-so-small things, like how to drive or the letters of the alphabet. Their bodies forget how to function involuntarily.

There is no cure. But far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, a universal healer hailed as “ambrosia” has been discovered. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab has been built eight miles under the sea’s surface.

But when the station goes incommunicado, a brave few descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths…and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine.

Booked & Bewitched Babbles: So I have an unhealthy ocean horror books obsession. This is yet another one that will go on my TBR list.

5. The Book Of Souls

good horror books

by Kevin Moore  (Author) 

Jack Kelly remembers everything about his wife and children. The wonderful smell of his wife’s hair, the way she whispers to him at night. His three children running through the house, the sound of their laughter.

That was his life before the accident. His near-death experience left him in the in-between space, somewhere between this world and whatever comes next. But he recovered and woke up as his thirteen-year-old self.

The doctors tell him it is a false memory, a result of his fall and the insult to his brain from his injuries.

“How can a thirteen-year-old boy have a wife and three children?” They ask.

But how can he see and hear dead people, demons, ghosts, and shadowy creatures? And if they exist, then is it so inconceivable to believe that Jack’s life as a 47-year-old man with a wife and children existed too?

Jack begins his journey to find out why and how. And, in the end, he resolves to find his way back to his true existence, back to his family.

Booked & Bewitched Babbles:So this one sounds like horror and mystery books mix that I can’t wait to sit down and devour!

6. Head Like A Hole

horror books to read

by Andrew Van Wey

It’s the mid-nineties. Grunge and flannel are fading as the Spice Girls and Hot Topic conquer the malls. Cherry gloss glistens on the lips of the youth. Modems hiss as America comes online.

And in a fog-drenched cove at the edge of New England, something terrible awakens when a fisherman reels in a gruesome catch: the remains of a young woman.

Remains still pulsing with furious life.

For Megan Monroe and her friends, this is how their nightmare begins: a wet whisper over their shoulder, a dark hand reaching out from the edge of their sight, and a name clawing at the back of their minds.

A young woman scratched from their memory.

To stop this devouring terror, Megan will need to mend broken friendships and reassemble her fractured past, for what stalks them hungers to remake itself in their image… piece by bloody piece.

Booked & Bewitched Babbles: We need more monster and 90s horror books in our lives. Right?

7. 666 Gable Way

horror books for adults

by Dani LamiaFrederick H. Crook

Phoebe Pyncheon hasn’t had an easy life. Alone and out of work, she does her best to make ends meet while she finishes her debut novel. But when even the monthly rent becomes too much for the struggling young writer to afford, she is forced to move into her Great Aunt Hester’s boarding house.

At first, Phoebe feels at home in the strange, quirky old house. But soon she senses a presence lurking in the shadows, just out of sight.

She hears it breathing in the darkness, feels its cold touch on her skin at night.

Then the police knock on her door with news of a dead body found nearby.Phoebe discovers the terrifying truth…

The House of Seven Gables is a temple to an ancient evil, a terrifying power unleashed by Hester and her coven of friends. This dark entity haunts the stones of the old mansion, plotting its revenge upon the living. But a secret power hides within Phoebe as well.

And releasing it may be her only chance to survive the terror that awaits her…

Booked & Bewitched Babbles: Witches, satanic rituals and dark family history.  It rings of gothic horror books that I love to read!

 

8. House of Leaves 

adult horror books

by Mark Z Danielewski

A blind old man, a young apprentice working in a tattoo shop, and a mad woman haunting an Ohio institute narrate this story of a family that encounters an endlessly shifting series of hallways in their new home, eventually coming face to face with the awful darkness lying at its heart.

Booked & Bewitched Babbles: So this is an oldie, but a goody. With lots of paranormal horror books tropes, I can’t wait to dive into this one!

9. Final Girl Support Group

psychological horror books

by Grady Hendrix

In horror movies, the final girls are the ones left standing when the credits roll. They made it through the worst night of their lives…but what happens after?

Booked & Bewitched Babbles:  So this focuses on what happens after the leading ladies survived the most popular horror films.

 

10. The Sun Down Motel

sci fi horror books

by Simone St. James

Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary.

Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt.

Booked and Bewitched Babbles: So I can’t wait to lose myself in this dark horror books. 

11. Hark The Herald Angels Scream

horror romance books

by Christopher Golden (Editor)

That there is darkness at the heart of the Yuletide season should not surprise. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. Marley untying the bandage that holds his jaws together.

The hideous children—Want and Ignorance—beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The heavy ledgers Marley drags by his chains. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts.

Bestselling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.

Booked and Bewitched Babbles: So shut the front door, a christmas horror books, with a Dickens vibe. Shut up and take my money.

12. Last Ritual

best horror books to read

by S A Sidor

Aspiring painter Alden Oakes is invited to join a mysterious art commune in Arkham: the New Colony. When celebrated Spanish surrealist Juan Hugo Balthazarr visits the colony, Alden and the other artists quickly fall under his charismatic spell.

Balthazarr throws a string of decadent parties for Arkham’s social elite, conjuring arcane illusions which blur the boundaries between nightmare and reality.

Only slowly does Alden come to suspect that Balthazarr’s mock rituals are intended to break through those walls and free what lies beyond. Alden must act, but it might already be too late to save himself, let alone Arkham.

Booked and Bewitched Babbles: So this disturbing horror books, is at the top of my list. Who doens’t love a good questionable ritual plot line?

13. Aura

young adult horror books

by Carlos Fuentes

Booked and Bewitched Babbles: So this old horror books is for all the Poe lovers out there looking for something new to read!

 

14. Dead Silence 

horror fiction books

by S.A. Barnes

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find is shocking: the Aurora, a famous luxury spaceliner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick search of the ship reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Messages scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold on to her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

Booked and Bewitched Babbles: Since I’m going to have to clone myself so I have time to read all these horror and thriller books. Titanic meets the Shining, C’mon! Not even fair, just take my money.

15. Suicide Forest

horror books stephen king

by Jeremy Bates  (Author) 

Just outside of Tokyo lies Aokigahara, a vast forest and one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in Japan…and also the most infamous spot to commit suicide in the world. Legend has it that the spirits of those many suicides are still roaming, haunting deep in the ancient woods.

When bad weather prevents a group of friends from climbing neighboring Mt. Fuji, they decide to spend the night camping in Aokigahara. But they get more than they bargained for when one of them is found hanged in the morning—and they realize there might be some truth to the legends after all.

Booked and Bewitched Babbles; So if you’ve ever stepped a toe in the folklore horror books world, you’ve heard of this forest. Another one to add to my TBR.

 

16. Into The Drowning Deep

horror movie books

by Mira Grant

The ocean is home to many myths,

But some are deadly. . .

Seven years ago the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a tragedy.

Now a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price

Booked and Bewitched Babbles: So, I can’t wait to read this. Another ocean horror books that will keep me from doing something I’m supposed to be doing. 

17. The Only Good Indians

top horror books

by Stephen Graham Jones

So this book follows the lives of four American Indian men and their families, all haunted by a disturbing, deadly event that took place in their youth.

Years later, they find themselves tracked by an entity bent on revenge, totally helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

Booked and Bewitched Babbles: So I can’t wait to read this horror books recommendations, that popped up in my feed!

 

18. The Creeper

new horror books

by A.M. Shine  (Author) 

Renowned academic Dr Sparling seeks help with his project on a remote Irish village. Historical researchers Ben and Chloe are thrilled to be chosen – until they arrive.

The village is isolated and forgotten. There is no record of its history, its stories. There is no friendliness from the locals, only wary looks and whispers. The villagers lock down their homes at sundown.

It seems a nameless fear stalks the streets, but nobody will talk – nobody except one little girl. Her words strike dread into the hearts of the newcomers. Three times you see him. Each night he comes closer…

That night, Ben and Chloe see a sinister figure watching them. He is the Creeper. He is the nameless fear in the night. Stories keep him alive. And nothing will keep him away…

Booked and Bewitched Babbles: So, creepy kids, creepy village, creepy dude in the weeds. Yes sir, I will be adding this to my horror mystery books list.

19. The Luminous Dead

best new horror books

by Caitlin Starling

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck–enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother–meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash–and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies–missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations–drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive–she must confront the ghosts in her own head.

But how come she can’t shake the feeling she’s being followed?

Booked and Bewitched Babbles: So y’all, this is must read horror books! I stayed up for almost 30 hours straight to finish this. If you love a good sci-fi cave monsters style horror book, this is the one for you!

 

This post was all about 19 killer horror books you need to read right now! Seriously, what are you doing, go? Read something!

best horror books

This website is a participant in, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to multiple .com sites. Visit our legal page for full details. 

Related Articles

90s Kid Turned Goblin, Wife, Writer, Blogger & Mom

If you’re new here, Hi! My name is NG Terrors and you’ve wandered into my strange little goblin mode space. Here I chat about horror, gothic, generally strange, and mystery stuff I love, like, or loathe. So if that sounds like you, look around and stay for a bit. Pop an anxiety pill, yell at the kids and or animals to settle down, and relax with the rest of us neurodivergent people for a while. Oh and if you’re here just to be a negative Nancy please go away, we don’t have time for that round here.

Nightingale Terrors

Personal Favorites
N.G. Terrors Currents
Explore
LEGO Brand Retail