Best horror books I read in 2024
Starting up my end of year lists with some exemplary horror novels. I actually can't order them, because there was too much brilliance.
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
T. Kingfisher is a brilliant writer, and this is apparently a retelling of another horror story which I haven’t read. This one was deeply disturbing and spooky. Briefly, a hole is discovered in an antiques shop that leads to another world. I had a nightmare or two and for a while I had to keep an eye on any willow trees I happened to pass. Highly recommend. Content warning for body horror
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
I absolutely love Hendrix’s work, and this one was no exception. Recently bereaved siblings come back to their childhood home and discover some things that should have stayed buried. I don’t want to go into spoilers but this book goes dark, and the twists are sublime. Loved it. Still thinking about it. Content warning for children in peril, loss of autonomy and generational trauma.
Black Sheep by Rachel Harris
A woman goes back to the small town she grew up in for a wedding. The town is very, deeply, devout. The reunion doesn’t go well. So satisfying in every way. Can’t say too much without giving more away but damn I loved this flawed heroine and the setting is deeply disturbing. Content warning for religious trauma and violence.
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher
The sequel to the brilliant What Moves the Dead and just as excellent. This series is fantastic and stars a non-binary hero that I adore. Fun lore, alternate history and spooky monsters. Adore, adore, adore. Content warning for animals and children in peril.
A Guest in the House by Emily Carroll
Emily Carroll is one of the greatest current cartoonists working. Her work is spooky and bloody and weird and this story of a woman haunted by the memory of her husband’s first wife is no exception. Utterly stunning work. Content warning for gore and domestic violence.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
I listened to this via the Weird Tales Podcast on Spotify and the performer was brilliant. I’ve seen adaptations of this story but there’s nothing like the original material. I didn’t expect it to be so damn funny, the characters are brilliant and the spooks ramp up beautifully. Highly recommend! Content warning for emotional abuse.
Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu
Before Dracula there was a spooky af lesbian vampire who stalked fine houses in Austria and utterly confuses young ladies of noble birth. I can’t believe it took me this long to read it, honestly. It’s a classic that’s weird and twisty and highly entertaining. Content warning for children in peril.
Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman
Ugh. Malerman knows just where my nopes are. Told from the point of view of an eight year old girl who has a strange imaginary friend, and begins to realise she’s maybe not so much imaginary. True horror, and very well written. Child voices can be hard to nail but I think this one works. Content warning for children in peril.
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
A classic. In parts it hasn’t aged well, but I really didn’t expect this story to feel so topical. It’s a slow burn of a story, spending plenty of time getting to know the main character and the source of his strange power. The actual action/ climax of the book is really only the very last part, but I didn’t mind that at all. It’s a great book that I was very absorbed by, especially good plane reading. Content warnings for dated language, abuse of animals and children, and awful right wing politicians.
The Family Experiment by John Marrs
Reads like a Black Mirror reality show. Five minutes in the future, an AI baby product launches via reality show where several couples and one single dad adopts an AI baby and have their virtual lives broadcast live to anyone who wants to watch. It’s very compulsive reading, maybe could have had a bit more depth to the characters, but I enjoyed it a lot. Content warnings for lots of varied ways to put children in peril.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
I hesitated to put this under horror but it fits in the Black Mirror sense. A book from the point of view of a sentient AI android companion to an ordinary guy. The slow evolution of Annie over the course of the book and her learning about the world is really fascinating to read. I couldn’t stop reading it, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Content warning for domestic abuse and lack of autonomy.