The Best Horror Books to Read

Everyone talks about movies to watch during the Halloween season, and we sometimes forget that there are a ton of books out there that can scare your socks off just as well as a movie can… maybe even better. Here we will talk about 5 books in particular you should definitely check out to get your fill of scary stories and nightmares. Make sure to read with the lights on…

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

If you have heard of Stephen Chbosky’s book The Perks of Being a Wallflower, you may want to check out his newest book, Imaginary Friend which was released 20 years after The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Considering this book is 20 years in the making, it is no surprise that it was an immediate favorite to readers everywhere. Look out Stephen King, you may have a competitor in the market now. 

Summary: Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It's as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.

At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six long days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again.

IT by Stephen King

Now, you can’t have a list of horror books without including at least one Stephen King novel. King has been dubbed “King of Horror” and has received Bram Stoker Awards for a number of his books as well as the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. IT is being included in this list mainly because of the fact that it is one of King’s longest books (having a staggering 1,142 pages) yet individuals find themselves reading it in only a matter of days. The suspense leads to an inability to stop reading this horrific tale of a clown named Pennywise. 

Summary: Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real ...

They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But none of them can withstand the force that has drawn them back to Derry to face the nightmare without an end, and the evil without a name.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

If you’ve seen the Netflix series based on this classic Shirley Jackson novel, it would only make sense to read the book as well. Shirley Jackson is one of the most popular and influential horror writers of the twentieth century, and it is shocking that so few people of this generation have actually read any of her work. Best known for her over 200 short stories, Jackson also had a number of very popular novels, the Haunting of Hill House being one of them. This novel is a short read, but well worth it.

Summary: It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

If you haven’t heard of Alex Michaelides yet, it won’t be long until you see his name everywhere. The Silent Patient is Michaelides debut novel and was an immediate hit after its release in 2019. In its first week on the shelves, The Silent Patient was the #1 New York Times Bestseller of Hardcover Fiction. It was also a Sunday Times top 10 bestseller for 10 weeks after its release. This psychological thriller with a major twist of an ending is a quick read that is incredibly difficult to put down. 

Summary: Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer; she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him...

You by Caroline Kepnes

Joe Goldberg is also in book form, ladies and gents. This popular Netflix series started out as a novel which was released in 2014. There are now two other books in the series, Hidden Bodies, released in 2016, and You Love Me which is anticipated to be released sometime this April. Emma Oulton from Bustle praises the novel stating that it “is one of the most unsettling books I’ve read this year, but despite being thoroughly creeped out, I couldn’t put it down even for a second.” This novel explores how vulnerable we are to stalking and manipulation…

Summary: When a beautiful aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.