ten horror books 2026

Though I don’t read as much horror as some other genres, like fantasy and romance, I do think it is my favourite and I tend to have a lot of success with it. There are ton of interesting horror titles coming out this year so it was hard to narrow it down to a top ten!

A relentless, horror-inducing psychological suspense for fans of The Push and Baby Teeth by New York Times bestselling author CG Drews.

Single mother Elodie’s life has become a fairy tale. She’s met Bren, equal parts golden-retriever devoted and sinfully handsome. He’s whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house he’s renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Then Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are “hurting” the house. Even Elodie can’t ignore it–something strange is going on. The question is, is it with the house, or with her son?

Then the one secret Elodie has been hiding is revealed, and no one is safe anymore.

A pulse-pounding, clever take on the haunted house novel, You Did Nothing Wrong examines the complexities of motherhood and the twisted bonds of family as it races to its shocking ending.

Expected publication March 17, 2026

I have heard incredible things about CG Drews in general and I need to finally read something from them in 2026 because I think they write the kind of horror that I love. I think they typically write YA, and that You Did Nothing Wrong is their adult debut. I love a good haunted house story and it sounds like this is going to do something unique.

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.

The year is 1899 and Sonia Wilson is a scientific illustrator without work, prospects, or hope. When the reclusive Dr. Halder offers her a position illustrating his vast collection of insects, Sonia jumps at the chance to move to his North Carolina manor house and put her talents to use. But soon enough she finds that there are darker things at work than the Carolina woods. What happened to her predecessor, Halder’s wife? Why are animals acting so strangely, and what is behind the peculiar local whispers about “blood thiefs?”

With the aid of the housekeeper and a local healer, Sonia discovers that Halder’s entomological studies have taken him down a dark road full of parasitic maggots that burrow into human flesh, and that his monstrous experiments may grow to encompass his newest illustrator as well.

Expected publication March 24, 2026

T. Kingfisher is my favourite author for many reasons, one of which is that she excels in all genres. I love what she does with Gothic horror and I am so intrigued by the premise of Wolf Worm. She is great at body horror and descriptions of gore, so just knowing that there are parasitic maggots in this one makes my skin crawl, but I am ready!

A mysterious outsider torments two Haitian American sisters, forcing them to confront dark secrets from their family’s past in this powerful psychological suspense novel from the acclaimed author of Jackal.

What would you sacrifice to become American?

Everything about the Beauclaire family seems normal—almost perfect, even. They immigrated to New York City from Haiti years ago, looking for their own piece of America’s promised riches. They go to church; they’re good neighbors; and their two daughters, Judith and Beatrice, have typical sibling rivalries that keep things interesting. But beneath this polished exterior, something is just slightly off. There’s malice waiting . . . wanting to reveal itself.

When their mother unexpectedly dies, Judith and Bea are overwhelmed by a mob of relatives, friends, and church ladies. Amidst taking care of the funeral, they meet Libète, who claims to be a close friend of their mother’s. Bea welcomes her, but Judith is immediately suspicious—their mother never mentioned Libète, and yet she seems to know everything about them.

After a series of unsettling events—a disfigured doll appearing in their attic, childhood photos of Bea vanishing, and a mysterious illness suddenly afflicting their father—Judith and Bea are forced to dive into a hidden world of mythos and question Libète’s role in it all. What they learn could threaten the bedrock of the entire Beauclaire family . . . and reveal a rot that goes deeper than the roots they first made in this place.

Expected publication April 6, 2027

I heard great things about Jackal and I keep meaning to pick it up , but One of You sounds incredible. Love anything that follow sisters, but horror especially. Sounds like a perfect mix of family drama and horror and I am ready for it!

In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds.

October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge—his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn’t always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.

October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible a young foreign man who appears outside her window.

One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie.

Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it.

Expected publication April 21, 2026

Bat Eater was one of my best books of 2025, so I am thrilled that Kylie Lee Baker seems to be committing to the horror genre with Japanese Gothic. This seems very different and I cannot wait for it. I have realized that I do love horror that is also historical. I am also here for stories told in two timelines and I love that she is bringing a touch of fantasy into this one as she did start in that genre.

molka (n): the Korean term for spy cameras secretly and illegally installed, often to capture voyeuristic images and videos

Dahye can’t believe her luck when she finds herself in a whirlwind romance with handsome, charismatic Hyukjoon, the heir to a multi-million dollar fortune.

But then a shocking revelation threatens: the couple has been caught on a spycam amid Korea’s growing molka epidemic, and the video is all over the internet. When Hyukjoon flees the country to avoid the intense public scrutiny, Dahye is left to grapple with the ramifications on her own; and the demons from her childhood, long dormant, begin to surface.

Amid the chaos, she catches the attention of Junyoung, a nerdy, introverted IT tech at work. Junyoung harbours a dark secret: he has been spying on the women at work with his own hidden cameras. As Dahye’s life begins to unravel, she unknowingly becomes the sole target of Junyoung’s perverse obsession.

When the facts surrounding the invasion of her privacy come to light, Dahye is faced with the humiliating truth. Her pain and hurt turn to rage as she faces her past. Her desire for vengeance is insatiable, and she will not rest until the men who have wronged her have paid in blood…

Expected publication April 28, 2026

The Eyes are the Best Part was everywhere when it came out but for some reason I just never got to it. I would still like to one day but the premise of Molka calls to me more. The idea of being stalked through secret cameras is absolutely terrifying!

There are locations in this world where the light doesn’t seem to reach. Where, no matter how illuminated the place might be, shadows creep in too strongly to fight back.

A suspiciously empty gas station rest stop in the middle of the night, littered with googley eyes… A doctor’s office, where a bottle of booze and a tear-stained folder wait on the desk… A tech millionaire’s haunted kitchen… A Bible-quoting ventriloquist’s dingy apartment… A yoga retreat in the middle of the desert, silent except for the screaming…

These supernatural and sinister locations are your destination, and bestselling author Nat Cassidy will be your guide. Featuring the Bram Stoker Award–nominated, critically acclaimed novella Rest Stop (one of Esquire’s Best Horror Books of 2024), along with a number of other original short stories, some which have never been published before, I Know A Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours is a travelogue down twisting side streets and through alleyways where the darkness has eyes…and teeth.

Let’s hope you make it home in one piece—if the ghosts, gory visions, and splatterpunk nightmares don’t get you first.

Expected publication May 5, 2026

I have already read Rest Stop, which makes up the bulk of this collection, but I really liked it and will reread it when I pick up I Know a Place. Nat Cassidy is a top five horror author for me so I will read anything he writes including short stories. It sounds like we are getting an interesting range of things in this one!

A native Hawaiian teen travels to a luxury island resort in search of her missing twin and uncovers the dark side of paradise, in this YA supernatural thriller that’s Mexican Gothic meets She is a Haunting.

For the world’s wealthiest, Kōpaʻa Island Resort is more than a destination. It’s the ultimate escape. With no cell service or Wi-Fi, the Hawaiian island is a coveted wellness retreat renowned for its persimmon orchard and promises of rejuvenation.

But their dream vacation is Lehua’s nightmare. When her twin sister, Ohia, goes missing, Lehua follows her trail to Kōpaʻa to find her. Instead, Lehua is cut off from civilization—and help—after the island’s boat leaves without her, stranding her with the resort’s lavish guests and enigmatic staff.

As Lehua investigates Ohia’s disappearance, she discovers her missing sister isn’t the island’s only mystery. Kōpaʻa’s rich exterior and sweet persimmons hide its dark plantation past. And Lehua can’t ignore the dreams haunting her each night—nor the warning telling her to leave the island at once. To uncover what happened to Ohia, Lehua will have to unearth the island’s bloody history and face the horrors that lurk within its sugarcane fields—or risk being consumed by them.

Sharply observed and gorgeously written, That Which Feeds Us explores the true cost of paradise as Lehua must fight to reclaim the land, the stories, and the very souls of her people.

Expected publication May 26, 2026

I do not read a ton of YA these days but when I do it tends to be horror/thriller. The cover for is gorgeous but the story itself also caught my eye. It is once again a story about sisterhood but it has the added intrigue of wealthy guests and a resort with a dark past that comes to light. I have a good feeling about this one!

The year is 1635.

Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a sharp-witted peasant, escape a band of marauding soldiers and disappear into the Bavarian forest. War scorches the land, and no one survives it alone. Amid the devastation, they find something in the arms of a dying the gilded skull of a saint.

It is said that if you reunite the saint’s skull with her body, a wish will be granted. Desperate for salvation, and each with secret desires of their own, Ursula and Elsebeth follow a ragged map across the blighted countryside. But darkness follows them. A necromancer, drawn to the relic’s power. The saint herself, whispering at night. And as the lines between blessing and curse blur, the women must face a harrowing the magic they seek comes at a cost.

At the journey’s end, they’ll face an impossible choice—one that could tear apart everything they know… or bind them to each other forever.

Expected publication May 26, 2026

I love the tagline for Bone of My Bone- “one saint, one sinner, one skull”. There seems to me a lot going on in this one and I cannot wait to experience it all.

The Descent meets The Ritual in a cult aquatic horror about a group of academics trapped in a sea cave who must reckon with eldritch horrors as they are forced to atone for their greatest sins.

ATONE OR DIE.

Grad student Caro has no idea what she wants to do with her life, but when an opportunity arises to act as a research assistant on an anthropological expedition for her professor and lover, Edward Beck, she doesn’t hesitate.

Beck assembles a team of academics and professionals to study the ancient sea-based Cult of the Leviathan, and the expedition descends into the sea caves where the cult are said to have dwelt.

But when the cave entrance collapses, trapping them inside, the expedition will find they are not alone in the darkness. Surrounded by strange artefacts and scattered bones, an ancient trial has been set in motion. One by one, the members of the expedition will be tested and forced to atone for their greatest sin. . . or die.

Expected publication July 14, 2026

It can be hard to find, but aquatic horror is my favourite genre, so I was thrilled when The Sea Hides Its Dead came onto my radar. The thought of being trapped in a sea cave is actually my worst nightmare but then you add an ancient trial into it? No, thank you! But I will read about!

Sometimes, you just want to belong.
When Claire’s fiancé mysteriously dies of an unknown neurological illness, seemingly destroying her chances at the belonging she’s sought, she’s prepared to sink back into the lonely life she lived before. Orphaned by a freak boating accident in her childhood, she never expected to find connection like she did with Elias, anyway. Even if sometimes, that connection seemed more like something he felt obligated to than something he wanted.

Their relationship wasn’t perfect—his coldness, his secrets, his strange aversion to the ocean—but what relationship is?

When Elias’s family reaches out—his incredibly wealthy family, from whom he was estranged—and invites Claire to a wake at their family home on a private island, Claire is given the chance to have connection again. To belong to something, just like she’s always wanted. Just like Elias knew she was desperate to have.

Even if that family is a little strange. Even if their home built partially into the sea stirs up memories of the accident that killed her parents and sister. Even if Ash, Elias’s older brother, seems insistent on Claire leaving as soon as possible.

Claire can’t bring herself to be lonely again. And as the strange circumstances of Elias’s familial connection with the sea becomes more and more apparent, her window for escape is rapidly closing.

Does she even want to?

Expected publication August 11, 2026

Reliquary is another one that seems to have aquatic-adjacent themes and I am curious to see how that comes into play. I have read this author’s fantasy, so I am curious to see what she does with horror.

Honourable mentions: a box full of darkness, wife shaped bodies, fabulous bodies

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