Horror Books for Every Taste: From Ghosts to Gore

If you’re anything like me, you know horror comes in flavors. Sometimes you want an old-school ghost story. Other times, you want something so twisted you have to set the book down for a minute.

This list has a little bit of everything—haunted houses, medical nightmares, total gore-fests, and even a few slow-burn creeps that stick in your head for days.

So, dim the lights (or don’t, no judgment), grab your favorite blanket, and let’s get into it.

Haunted House & Ghost Story Vibes

Some scares are all about atmosphere. The slow build. The creak of the floorboards when you’re alone.

• The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson knew how to get under your skin without a single jump scare.
• The Woman in Black – A foggy village, a bitter ghost, and a man who really should’ve stayed home.
• The Little Stranger – Sarah Waters’ creepy country estate is practically a character.
• The Broken Girls – Simone St. James blends ghost story with murder mystery perfectly.
• Kill Creek – Four horror authors spend Halloween night in a haunted house. Bad idea, obviously.

Gore, Guts & Full-On Mayhem

Sometimes you just want horror to go there. These do.

• The Troop – Scouts on a remote island vs. a parasitic nightmare.
• The Deep – Like The Abyss, but way more disturbing. (Nick Cutter)
• The Girl Next Door – Jack Ketchum at his most upsetting—this one will stick with you.
• One Rainy Night – Richard Laymon lets loose with a mysterious black rain that turns people violent.

Gothic & Creepy Folklore

Old houses. Dark woods. Towns with too many secrets.

• Mexican Gothic – Family secrets + fungus = not your average haunted house.
• The Death of Jane Lawrence – Marriage, mystery, and locked doors that really should stay locked.
• The Loney – Bleak English coast, creepy locals, unsettling church.
• The Ritual – Four friends lost in a Scandinavian forest find something very old.

Mess-With-Your-Head Horror

The kind of stories where you’re not sure what’s real until it’s too late.

• I’m Thinking of Ending Things – Iain Reid’s road trip into psychological free fall.
• Foe – Another Iain Reid gem—quiet, eerie, and deeply strange.
• Come Closer – Is it a possession story or a mental breakdown? You decide.
• Bunny – Dark academia gets surreal, bloody, and weird.

Medical & Science Nightmares

For when you want your horror with a side of “yep, this could totally happen.”

• Coma – Robin Cook makes hospitals feel way more dangerous than they should.
• The Andromeda Strain – Michael Crichton’s deadly microbe thriller.
• Parasite – Genetically engineered tapeworms. That’s the pitch.
• Prey – Nanotech horror in the desert—Crichton again, because he’s good at this.

The Horror Heavyweights

The big names you already know, but maybe you haven’t read these yet.

• The Shining – Haunted hotel + creeping madness = pure Stephen King magic.
• Intensity – Dean Koontz at his most relentless.
• NOS4A2 – Joe Hill’s twisted villain kidnaps kids to “Christmasland.”
• Pet Sematary – Sometimes dead really is better.
• Phantoms – Koontz again—entire town vanishes, something ancient lurking.
• Heart-Shaped Box – Joe Hill’s haunted suit story. Rock star. Bad purchase.

If you read any of these at night, don’t blame me when you find yourself listening for every little sound in the house.