12 Must-Read Horror Books of 2025

By Emily Hoang

If you’re like me, you might have an itch to read horror throughout year. With this list, you’ll be able to read about bloody murders, strange cults, and more all year long. These titles will take you through different settings with fresh plotlines and interesting characters that’ll make you reimagine and broaden your idea of horror.

My Ex, the Antichrist

by Craig DiLouie

A Battle of the Bands ends in a shocking death and riot in 1999. Lily, a bandmember, confesses to murder in 2009. Now, after a decade, Lily is ready for an interview and the band is following her lead. This is a story about love, prophesy, death, and apocalypse.

$19.99

$25.99 CAD

Format

Also available from:

Red Rabbit Ghost

by Jen Julian

All of Jesse’s mothers remains can fit inside an old jerky tin, but nothing can explain her death, eighteen years ago, next to her infant, wailing son. Jessie starts getting anonymous messages, promising him answers. This investigation leads him back home to Blackrot, North Carolina where the answers he seek may be better left buried.

$18.99

$24.99 CAD

Format

Also available from:

Moonflow

by Bitter Karella

The legend of the King’s Breakfast is that one bite and you can understand the whole universe. It only grows deep in the Pamogo forest, filled with rumors of strange cults and disappearing hikers. Sarah, a trans woman, grows mushrooms to make a living. A bad harvest leaves her in a desperate fix and leads her into the uncharted woods with an annoying guide who’s convinced there’s no danger. They soon realize they’re not the only ones in the dark forest.

$18.99

$24.99 CAD

Format

Also available from:

The Night Is Not for You

by Eman Quotah

A vicious murder sends shockwaves in a tight-knit community in a small town. Everyone is trying to make sense of the crime and only want to move on. Seven-year-old Layla dreams of freedom. When the next murder hits close to home, she realizes freedom is not easy to achieve. The men start becoming suspicious of the women. But Layla learns that sometimes violence is not the fault of the women in her neighborhood, but a response to a world around them.

$18.99

$24.99 CAD

Format

Also available from:

Zero Saints

by Gabino Iglesias

Enforcer and drug dealer, Fernando gets taken by some heavily-tattooed gangsters who take him to an abandoned house, where they take apart his friend. The gangsters try to claim their territory, but Fernando isn’t going down easily. With help from the most unexpected people, he’ll build the courage and firepower he needs to fight this gang with seemingly supernatural abilities.

$17.99

$23.99 CAD

Format

Also available from:

Bochica

Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro

Despite the constant nightmares and La Casona’s malevolent spirit, Antonia and her family settled into the opulent mansion perched above the legendary Salto del Tequendama waterfall. After Antonia’s mother takes a fatal fall into El Salto, her father, consumed by grief, attempts to burn the house with Antonia still inside. Three years later, Antonia is drawn back to her childhood home, which was converted into a luxurious hotel. Disturbed by dreams and cryptic entries from her late mother, Antonia wrestles with questions about her mother’s death and must navigate the shadows of La Casona to find the truth.

Format

Trade Cloth; Trade Cloth

Also available from:

When the Wolf Comes Home

Nat Cassidy

Jess, a struggling actress, finds a five-year-old runaway hiding outside her apartment one night. Jess and the boy run for their lives after a violent, bloody encounter with the boy’s father. As they try to evade his father, Jess realizes that the boy can turn his every fear into reality, making this nightmare even scarier.

Format

Trade Paperback

Also available from:

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

Grady Hendrix

At Wellwood House in St. Augustine, Florida, unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, to give them up for adoption, and forget any of it every happened. In 1970, fifteen-year-old Fern arrives pregnant, terrified, and alone. She meets a dozen other girls in the same situation. Everything is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best. But the power dynamics get flipped when Fern gets an occult book about witchcraft from the librarian. The girls soon learn that there’s always a price to be paid.

Format

Hardcover

Also available from:

Hazelthorn

C. G. Drews

Reclusive billionaire, Byron Lennox-Hall, took in Evander when he was a child. At the Hazelthorn estate, he must follow three rules: never leve the estate, never go into the gardens, and never be along again with Byron’s grandson, Laurie. Seven years ago, Laurie tried killing Evander, but since then Evander is somehow still obsessed. When Byron suddenly dies, Evander inherits Hazelthorn’s immense gothic mansion. Evander is highly convinced Byron was murdered, and Laurie may be the only one to help find the killer.

Format

Hardcover

Also available from:

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Stephen Graham Jones

A diary written by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall that reveals a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. This American Indian revenge story traces the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.

Format

Hardcover

Also available from:

The Possession of Alba Díaz

Isabel Cañas

In 1765, a plague sweeps through Zacatecas, forcing Alba to flee with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé Carlos. Despite fleeing, Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. Elías came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. He can’t help but notice the increasing tension with his cousin’s betrothed, Alba. In the fight to save her life, both become entangled with the occult, the Church, and long-kept secrets.

Format

Hardcover

Also available from:

Coffin Moon

Keith Rosson

In 1975, Duane Minor returns to Portland, Oregon after a tour in Vietnam. His young marriage to Heidi is already shaky, but things get more complicated with his young niece, Julia, who starts living with them after a tragedy. Minor crosses John Varley, a criminal and vampire with a bloody history. Varley kills Heidi as retaliation, uniting Minor and Julia in their desire for vengeance.

Format

Hardcover

Also available from:

By clicking 'Sign Up,' I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Price

Price

Format

Also available from:

Price

Price

Format

Also available from:

Price

Price

Format

Also available from:

Price

Price

Format

Also available from:

Price

Price

Format

Also available from:

Format

Also available from:

Format

Also available from:

Format

Also available from:

Format

Also available from:

Format

Also available from:

Format

Also available from:

Format

Also available from:

What to Read Next

Our Most Anticipated Mysteries & Thrillers Coming in Early 2025

The Fear of Disappearing

6 Thrillers with a Strong Sense of Place