Something That Scares You

You can't go wrong with these horror and thriller must-reads.

Working on Summer Reading Book BINGO? Find more booklists to help at go.lincc.org/hvBINGObooks.

Updated May 23, 2026
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Stitches
Kihara, Hirokatsu
Paper Book
Horror manga giant Junji Ito teams up with spooky story writer Hirokatsu Kihara for the ultimate collection of fright-filled ghost tales! A tumor shaped like a man's face slowly moves across a woman's body. The sea shoots glowing balls into the sky, much to the distress of...
The buffalo hunter hunter
Jones, Stephen Graham
Paper Book
Selected as One of The New York Times's 100 Notable Books of the Year A Barack Obama Summer Read Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel Nebula Award Winner for Best Novel Locus Award for Horror Libby Award for Best Horror Nebula, Bram...
The Black girl survives in this one : horror stories
Evans, Desiree S.
Paper Book
INSTANT INDIE BESTSELLER! Locus Award Winner Ignyte Award Finalist "This anthology makes a statement: Black women belong in horror...Projects like this -- brave, necessary -- celebrate Black women, and will hopefully inspire the future of the genre." --The New York...
Listen to Your Sister
Viel, Neena
Paper Book
Most Anticipated by Goodreads, People, BookRiot, Reactor, Screenrant, and more! For fans of Jordan Peele's films, Stranger Things, and The Other Black Girl, Listen To Your Sister is a laugh-out-loud, deeply terrifying,...
But not too bold
Pueyo, H.
Paper Book
The Shape of Water meets Mexican Gothic in this sapphic monster romance novella wrapped in gothic fantasy trappings The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House⁠--Anatema, an enormous humanoid...
Idle grounds : a novel
Bamford, Krystelle
Paper Book
Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for First Fiction Finalist for Scotland's National Book Award for Debut Fiction "This debut novel is superb. Idle Grounds is a remarkable, preternatural study of a family reckoning with its own history ......
The unworthy : a novel
Bazterrica, Agustina María
Paper Book
THE JAW-DROPPING NATIONAL BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2026 ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION The long-awaited new novel from the author of global sensation Tender Is the Flesh: a thrilling work of literary horror about a woman cloistered in...
The Other People
Everett, C. B.
Paper Book
A group of strangers gathered at a mysterious country house are in a race against time to stop a serial killer in this twisty, high-concept thriller that combines Agatha Christie with Shutter Island. Ten strangers. An old dark house. A killer...
Clever little thing
Echlin, Helena
Paper Book
"Clever Little Thing taps into the heart of maternal fear and will shock you in the best way. This one will give you goose bumps." --Ashley Elston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins "Sharp and unflinching--a perfectly unnerving story." -...
Japanese Gothic: A Gothic Dual-Timeline Novel of Ghosts, Hauntings and Redemption (Original)
Baker, Kylie Lee
Paper Book
USA TODAY Bestseller New York Times Most Anticipated Book for 2026 USA TODAY Most Anticipated Books of 2026 Goodreads Readers' Most Anticipated Books of 2026 Book Riot "Our Most Anticipated Books of 2026" In...
Wolf Worm
Kingfisher, T.
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times, USA Today, and Indie Bestseller Something darker than the devil stalks the North Carolina woods in Wolf Worm, a new gothic masterpiece from New York Times bestselling author T. Kingfisher This gorgeous...
Nowhere Burning
Ward, Catriona
Paper Book
A USA Today bestseller! "Anyone who has reached a hand toward the night sky will understand the beautifully incurable ache for belonging at the heart of Nowhere Burning, the latest unsettling fairytale from Catriona Ward."--Christopher Buehlman, New York Times...
I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend for $200
Brockway, Robert
Paper Book
To lonely eight-year-old Kay Washington the worst thing in the world is silence. That?s why Eddie Video makes the perfect imaginary friend. He?s smart, rambunctious, and loves pulling pranks. But most important, he?s never ever quiet.Forty-something, immigrant Ivanon is a contract killer with an...
The unveiling : a novel
Barry, Quan
Paper Book
"A novel that's equal parts 'White Lotus' and 'Get Out'"--New York Times From the award-winning author of We Ride Upon Sticks and When I'm Gone, Look for Me in the East, a genre-bending novel of literary horror set in Antarctica that explores abandonment,...
Spread me
Gailey, Sarah
Paper Book
Spread Me is a darkly seductive tale of survival from Sarah Gailey. A routine probe at a research station turns deadly when the team discovers a strange specimen in search of a warm place to stay... An instant USA Today bestseller * An NPR Books We Love Pick * One of...
Play nice
Harrison, Rachel
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A woman must confront the demons of her past when she attempts to fix up her childhood home in this devilishly clever take on the haunted house novel from the author of Black Sheep and So Thirsty. Clio Louise Barnes...
You weren't meant to be human
White, Andrew Joseph
Paper Book
A Washington Post and Publishers Weekly Best SF/Fantasy/Horror Novel of 2025 Alien meets Midsommar in this chilling debut adult novel from award-winning author Andrew Joseph White about identity, survival, and transformation amidst an alien invasion...
It's not her
Kubica, Mary
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! "A gripping thrill ride." --Jeneva Rose "Tantalizing, terrifying and all too real." --Shari Lapena "Cancel your plans, you won't be able to put this one down." --Chris Whitaker ...
How to Get Away with Murder
Philipson, Rebecca
Paper Book
"If you picked up this book because you truly want to get away with murder, you will not be disappointed. Simply turn the page and we'll get started." This fresh debut thriller finds a Scotland Yard detective trying to find the author of a self-help book that promises quite...
Such a perfect family
Singh, Nalini
Paper Book
A man with a deadly past marries into the perfect, most respectable family in this riveting thriller from New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh. . . . A woman buried. A woman broken. A woman crashed. A woman...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.