Horror

New and recommended scary books

Updated October 6, 2025
Rochester Public Library RPL Staff
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Horror

New and recommended scary books

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Jackal : a novel
Adams, Erin E.
Paper Book
RECOMMENDED BY GILLIAN FLYNN ON THE TODAY SHOW * A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town. But she's not the first--and she may not be the last. . . . "I read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half<...
Coup de gr?e
Ajram, Sofia
Paper Book
Vicken has a plan: throw himself into the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal and end it all for good, believing it to be the only way out for him after a lifetime of depression and pain. But, stepping off the subway, he finds himself in an endless, looping station. Determined to find a...
Rouge : a novel
Awad, Mona
Paper Book
A National Bestseller A USA TODAY Bestseller A New York Times Editors' Choice A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Electric...
Cutting teeth
Baker, Chandler
Paper Book
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Jaw-dropping ... A darkly comic send-up of motherhood." --People "With devourable writing and pitch-perfect humor, Cutting Teeth is a sharp, original, wickedly astute look at the sting of modern motherhood." --Ashley Audrain, New...
Dead silence
Barnes, S. A.
Paper Book
A Best Book of 2022 by the New York Public Library * One of the Best SFF Books of 2022 (Gizmodo) * One of the Best SF Mysteries of 2022 (CrimeReads) * A GoodReads Choice Award finalist for Best Science Fiction! Titanic meets Event Horizon...
Nineteen claws and a black bird
Bazterrica, Agustina María
Ebook
The witch in the well
Bruce, Camilla
Paper Book
The Witch in the Well is a dark Norwegian thriller from Camilla Bruce, author of You Let Me In. When two former friends reunite after decades apart, their grudges, flawed ambitions, and shared obsession swirl into an all-too-real echo of a terrible town legend....
Lost man's lane : a novel
Carson, Scott
Paper Book
A mysterious private investigator embodies the darkness hidden within a small town in this spellbinding thriller that will "make you a Scott Carson fan for life" (Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author). Marshall Miller would've remembered her face even if he hadn...
The haunting of Alejandra : a novel
Castro, V.
Paper Book
A woman is haunted by the Mexican folk demon La Llorona in this "utterly terrifying and wholly immersive . . . story about generational trauma, colonization, systemic oppression, and the horror at the heart of motherhood" (Library Journal, starred review). "Castro is...
Vampires of El Norte
Cañas, Isabel
Paper Book
As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters - her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead....
What kind of mother : a novel
Chapman, Clay McLeod
Paper Book
A New York Times Book Review Best Horror of 2023 selection. "Packed with profoundly unsettling scenes that'll slither under your skin and stay there long after you turn the last page."--Gabino Iglesias, author of The Devil Takes You Home ...
Memorials : a novel /
Chizmar, Richard,
Paper Book
The New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller about a group of college students encountering supernatural terror while on a road trip through Appalachia--an unforgettable, chilling novel that is "scary and hard to put down. You might be advised not to read it at night" (Stephen King)....
The bog wife : a novel
Chronister, Kay
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE WORLD FANTASY AWARDS "A lush, beautifully written novel about trying to be a person in our strange world . . . Pick this one up for its exquisite characterization, decaying settings and a dash of Southern gothic horror." --Kiersten White, The New York Times Book...
Midnight rooms : a novel
Coles, Donyae
Paper Book
"An immersive horror fairy tale marrying Crimson Peak to Pan's Labyrinth upon strange foundations. You're never really safe here, with Midnight Rooms wondrously defying expectation and refusing obedience. Donyae Coles leads us into a house of sinister magic, full of corners for...
A good house for children
Collins, Kate
Paper Book
A scintillatingly sinister folk horror debut.
The spite house
Compton, Johnny
Paper Book
A Best Horror Book of the Year (Esquire)! * A Bram Stoker Award Nominee! * A 2024 Legacy Awards Nominee! * A Finalist for the Reading the West Book Awards! A terrifying Gothic thriller about grief and...
The hollow kind
Davidson, Andy
Paper Book
"The Hollow Kind seeps into your subconscious and waits for you in your nightmares." --S. A. Cosby, bestselling author of Razorblade Tears Andy Davidson's epic horror novel about the spectacular decline of the Redfern family, haunted by an...
The reformatory : a novel
Due, Tananarive
Paper Book
*Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner * New York Times Notable Book * Locus Award Finalist * Winner of the Bram Stoker Award and the Shirley Jackson Award * "You're in for a treat...one of those books you can't put down...Due hit it out of the park." --Stephen King ...
The paleontologist : a novel
Dumas, Luke
Paper Book
USA TODAY BESTSELLER 2024 ITW Thriller Award Winner Esquire "Best Horror Books of 2023" Pick A haunted paleontologist returns to the museum where his sister was abducted years earlier and is faced with a terrifying and murderous spirit in this...
And then she fell : a novel
Elliott, Alicia
Paper Book
A Globe and Mail "Best Book of 2023"; a Most Anticipated Book Pick by Good Morning America, Bustle, CrimeReads, Electric Literature, Debutiful, Ms. Magazine, The Nerd Daily, and Paste A mind-bending, razor-sharp look at...
A sunny place for shady people : stories
Enriquez, Mariana
Paper Book
BRAM STOKER AWARD FINALIST * A diabolical collection of stories featuring achingly human characters whose lives intertwine with ghosts, goblins, and the macabre, by "Buenos Aires's sorceress of horror" (Samanta Schweblin, The New York Times) "Entertaining, political and...
Luckenbooth
Fagan, Jenni
Paper Book
A bold, haunting, and startlingly unique novel about the secrets we leave behind and the places that hold them long after we are gone, a "quintessential novel of Edinburgh at its darkest." (Irvine Welsh) There are stories tucked away on every floor of 10 Luckenbooth Close. ...
Cuckoo
Felker-Martin, Gretchen
Paper Book
A Best Book of 2024 (NPR) * A Locus Award Finalist The USA Today bestselling novel from Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Manhunt, where a group of teens must stay true to themselves while in a conversion camp from hell. ...
Just like home
Gailey, Sarah
Paper Book
A Best Horror Novel of All Time (Cosmopolitan) * WINNER of the 2023 British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel * One of the Best Horror Novels of 2022 (Vulture, Paste, NPR, and Teen Vogue) * A Belletrist Book Club pick! Just Like Home<...
The house of last resort : a novel
Golden, Christopher
Paper Book
The next high concept horror novel from New York Times bestselling author Christopher Golden. Across Italy there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them,...
A haunting on the hill
Hand, Elizabeth
Paper Book
From award-winning author Elizabeth Hand comes the first-ever novel authorized to return to the world of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House--an "eerily beautiful, strangely seductive, and genuinely upsetting" (Alix E. Harrow) new ...
So thirsty
Harrison, Rachel
Paper Book
A woman must learn to take life by the throat after a night out leads to irrevocable changes in this juicy, thrilling novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Such Sharp Teeth and Black Sheep. Sloane Parker is dreading her birthday. She doesn't need a...
Starling house
Harrow, Alix E.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "This book has everything you could possibly want this fall...a cursed town, a haunted house, a vivid & eerie setting--plus, characters willing to risk everything." --Reese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club October '23 Pick)...
How to sell a haunted house
Hendrix, Grady
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Wildly entertaining."-The New York Times "Ingenious."-The Washington Post New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that...
Natural beauty : a novel
Huang, Ling Ling
Paper Book
Our narrator is the youngest student at the Conservatory. She produces a sound from the piano no one else does, employing a special technique she learned from her parents - also stunningly talented musicians - who fled China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. But when an accident leaves her...
House of Bone and Rain
Iglesias, Gabino
Paper Book
In this "stunningly visceral" (New York Times Book Review) novel, a group of young men seek vengeance after one of their mothers is murdered in a Puerto Rican slum; STAND BY ME with a haunted, obsidian-dark heart.    A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book...
The book of witching
Jess-Cooke, Carolyn
Paper Book
A mother must fight for her daughter's life in this fierce and haunting tale of witchcraft and revenge from the author of A Haunting in the Arctic. Clem gets a call that is every mother's worst nightmare. Her nineteen-year-old daughter Erin is unconscious in the hospital...
Bad Cree = Âcimowin : a novel
Johns, Jessica
Paper Book
In this gripping, horror-laced debut, a young Cree woman's dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home. "A mystery and a horror story about...
I was a teenage slasher
Jones, Stephen Graham
Paper Book
*USA TODAY Bestseller * Alex Award Winner * From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a "viciously clever" (The New York Times Book Review) classic slasher story with a twist--perfect for fans of Adam Cesare and Grady...
The fervor : a novel
Katsu, Alma
Paper Book
In an internment camp in Idaho in 1944, American-born Meiko Briggs and her daughter Aiko dream of their home in Seattle and the safe return of Meiko's husband who is away with the Air Force. A sickness starts to spread amongst those in the camp and though it starts as a minor cold it triggers...
Night's edge
Kerin, Liz
Paper Book
"Complex and fully realized, Kerin's vampire apocalypse has a palpable beating heart."--Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six Night's Edge by Liz Kerin takes a bite out of vampire lore in this blood-soaked novel about the darkest...
The Djinn waits a hundred years
Khan, Shubnum
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE "Rich and swoony...an ambitious delight, with rich characters and some exceptionally lovely writing...This is the start of a major career." -- The New York Times Book Review AN INDIE NEXT PICK A LIBRARY...
The salt grows heavy
Khaw, Cassandra
Paper Book
"Khaw's poetic prose and stylish approach to gore make it a blood-soaked, unforgettable gem." --The New York Times From Cassandra Khaw, USA Today bestselling author of Nothing But Blackened Teeth, comes The Salt Grows Heavy, a razor-sharp and...
The eyes are the best part
Kim, Monika
Paper Book
"Violent, smart, gruesome and wildly original, this novel pulls readers into a horrific world of murder and cannibalism while also critiquing misogyny, exploring Asian fetishization and stereotypes, sharing what it's like to navigate two cultures and telling a touching story of a family in...
You like it darker : stories
King, Stephen
Paper Book
NAMED A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP 10 HORROR BOOK OF 2024 WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR HORROR "" background-color:="">FINALIST FOR THE 2025 LOCUS AWARDS "Stephen King knows You Like It Darker<...
A house with good bones
Kingfisher, T.
Paper Book
A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book of 2023 A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family. "Mom seems off."<...
The haunting of Velkwood
Kiste, Gwendolyn
Paper Book
Winner of the 2025 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel Finalist for the 2025 Shirley Jackson Award From Bram Stoker Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste comes an "emotionally devastating, character driven ghost story" (CrimeReads) about...
We used to live here
Kliewer, Marcus
Paper Book
From an author "destined to become a titan of the macabre and unsettling" (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), a haunting debut--soon to be a Netflix original movie--about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house's previous residents...
This skin was once mine and other disturbances
LaRocca, Eric
Paper Book
Winner of the Spatterpunk Award for Best Collection, four intense, claustrophobic and terrifying horror tales from the Bram Stoker Award® finalist and author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE When her father dies under mysterious...
Lone women : a novel
LaValle, Victor
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Blue skies, empty land--and enough wide-open space to hide a horrifying secret. A woman with a past, a mysterious trunk, a town on the edge of nowhere, and an "absorbing, powerful" (BuzzFeed) new vision of the American West, from the award-winning author of...
Maeve fly
Leede, CJ
Paper Book
A USA Today bestseller! Winner of the Golden Poppy Octavia E. Butler Award * Winner of the Splatterpunk Award for Best Novel * A Bram Stoker Award Nominee * One of Esquire's Best Horror Books of the Year * An Indie Next Pick!...
The book of love : a novel
Link, Kelly
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE * FINALIST FOR THE NEBULA AWARD * LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE In the acclaimed first novel from short story virtuoso and Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link, three teenagers become...
Incidents around the house : a novel
Malerman, Josh
Paper Book
"Simply put--and I do not say this lightly--Incidents Around the House is the most purely effective horror novel I have ever read."--Neil McRobert, Esquire A chilling horror novel about a haunting, told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled...
The woods all black
Mandelo, Lee
Paper Book
The Woods All Black is equal parts historical horror, trans romance, and blood-soaked revenge, all set in 1920s Appalachia Leslie Bruin is assigned to the backwoods township of Spar Creek by the Frontier Nursing Service, under its usual mandate: vaccinate the flock,...
Our hideous progeny : a novel
McGill, C. E.
Paper Book
"A gripping Gothic tale of grief and ambition, passion and intrigue." -- Jess Kidd, author of The Night Ship "An immersive blend of historical and science fiction brims with surprises and dark delights. . . . An incisive exploration of women's rights within the field of science....
The militia house : a novel
Milas, John
Paper Book
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize Nominated for the 2023 Shirley Jackson Award "An extraordinary novel about the quiet and not so quiet horrors of war." --Roxane Gay Stephen King meets Tim O'Brien in John Milas's...
Silver nitrate
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film--and awakens one woman's hidden powers. ...
All the fiends of hell
Nevill, Adam L.G.
Paper Book
The red night of bells heralds global catastrophe. Annihilation on a biblical scale. Seeing the morning is no blessing. The handful of scattered survivors are confronted by blood-red skies and an infestation of predatory horrors that never originated on earth. An occupying force intent on...
Blood like mine
Neville, Stuart
Paper Book
A New York Times Best Horror Fiction of the Year Selection * Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Horror * A Parade Best Horror Books of the Year Selection "A gruesome, action-packed monster novel about a mother and daughter with a terrible secret, on the run from...
The September house
Orlando, Carissa
Ebook
"Why run from a haunted house when you can stay and ignore the ghosts? Just when you thought you'd seen everything a haunted house novel could do, The September House comes along and delivers an eerie, darkly funny, and emotionally grounded book about the ghosts that haunt houses and...
Sacrificial animals : a novel
Pedersen, Kailee
Paper Book
Inspired by Kailee Pedersen's own journey being adopted from Nanning, China in 1996 and growing up alongside her family's farm in Nebraska, this rich and atmospheric supernatural horror debut explores an ancient Chinese mythology. The last thing Nick Morrow expected to receive...
Haunt sweet home
Pinsker, Sarah
Paper Book
On the set of a kitschy reality TV show, staged scares transform into unnerving reality in this spooky ghost story from multiple Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Sarah Pinsker. A Most Anticipated Pick for Library Journal | Polygon | CrimeReads | Screen Rant...
A light most hateful
Piper, Hailey
Paper Book
Three years after running away from home, Olivia is stuck with a dead-end job in nowhere town Chapel Hill, Pennsylvania. At least she has her best friend, Sunflower. Olivia figures she'll die in Chapel Hill, if not from boredom, then the summer night storm which crashes into town with a...
Middle of the night : a novel
Sager, Riley
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend--and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines...
This cursed house
Sandeen, Del
Paper Book
One of Esquire's Best Horror Books of 2024 One of Crime Reads' Best Gothic Novels of 2024 In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth:...
Monstrilio
Córdova, Gerardo Sámano
Ebook
"Heartfelt, bizarre, and unexpected. . . . At once a novel about family and love, a creepy tale that questions what it means to be human, and a celebration of queer stories, Monstrilio is as shocking as it is profound, and as humorous as it is thoughtful." ―Gabino Iglesias, The...
Murder road
St. James, Simone
Paper Book
April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They're on a long dark road, late at night, and they see a woman up ahead, clearly in trouble. They stop and pick her up. It's only once she's in the car that they see the blood. And then they see the headlights - far in...
Last to leave the room : a novel
Starling, Caitlin
Paper Book
Last to Leave the Room is a new novel of genre-busting speculative horror from Caitlin Starling, the acclaimed author of The Death of Jane Lawrence. The city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement of Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the arrogant, selfish head of the research...
The cliffs
Sullivan, J. Courtney
Paper Book
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * A novel of family, secrets, ghosts, and homecoming set on the seaside cliffs of Maine, by the New York Times best-selling author of Friends and Strangers "A stunning achievement, and J. Courtney Sullivan's best book yet. Sullivan weaves a...
Diavola
Thorne, Jennifer
Paper Book
Jennifer Thorne skewers all-too-familiar family dynamics in this sly, wickedly funny vacation-Gothic. Beautifully unhinged and deeply satisfying, Diavola is a sharp twist on the classic haunted house story, exploring loneliness, belonging, and the seemingly inescapable bonds of family...
Bury your gays
Tingle, Chuck
Paper Book
The instant USA Today bestseller by Chuck Tingle about what it takes to succeed in a world that wants you dead. Named one of the Best Horror Books of 2024 (Esquire, Parade, and Library Journal) * Winner of the Locus Award for Best Horror...
The empusium : a health resort horror story
Tokarczuk, Olga
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER! A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR "A folk horror story with a deceptively light and knowing tone ... elegant and genuinely unsettling." -The New York Times Book Review The Nobel Prize winner's latest...
Horror movie : a novel
Tremblay, Paul
Paper Book
Instant New York Times Bestseller! PLEASE NOTE: the limited edition with red stained edges is sold out, but we invite you to purchase an unstained one -- same haunting story, same chilling twists! A chilling twist on the "cursed film" genre from the bestselling author of The...
Black river orchard : a novel
Wendig, Chuck
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A small town is transformed when seven strange trees begin bearing magical apples in this masterpiece of horror from the author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents. "This masterful outing should continue to earn Wendig comparisons to...
Lucy undying : a Dracula novel
White, Kiersten
Paper Book
A vampire escapes the thrall of Dracula and embarks on her own search for self-discovery and true love in this epic and seductive gothic fantasy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide. "Fiercely empowering and gloriously vengeful."--Heather Walter,...
Mister Magic : a novel
White, Kiersten
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Who is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show--and discover the secret of its enigmatic host--in this "skin-crawling story of pop culture fandom and '90s nostalgia" (Melissa Albert, author of The Hazel Woods) from...
Midnight is the darkest hour : a novel
Winstead, Ashley
Paper Book
From the critically acclaimed author of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife and The Last Housewife comes Midnight is the Darkest Hour, gothic Southern thriller about a killer haunting a small Louisiana town, where two outcasts-the preacher's daughter and the boy from the wrong side...
Find this list online: https://librarian.syndetics.com/syndeticsunbound/lp/1043.1411/list/1868

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