My Top Recs & New Releases

For as long as I’ve been alive I’ve been a reader but in my teen years my love for reading took a backseat. The only thing that kept me reading when I did? Teen horror novels a la Christopher Pike and RL Stine! I mean, the FEAR STREET SAGA — hello!

I’ve always rather enjoyed horror novels since then and have delved deeper into many sub-genres and types of horror. Young adult horror novels will always have a soft spot in my heart and, while I typically lean towards horror books written for adults, I thought October would be a perfect time to share some of my favorite teen horror novels!

So if you are looking for some good YA horror or some scary books to read this Fall — this is the right reading list to check out.

P.S. Also check out this list of the best Halloween books for teens!

These books are the ones I go back to time and time again when giving recommendations for this genre. They are my favorites and the ones I feel like I get the most positive feedback for after they are read.

Some of them are a bit older that I think have remained at the top of my mind and some are more recent picks that I feel like have stood out in this new flurry of young adult horror releases that have seemed to pick up in recent years (thank goodness because I feel like we went through a drought there for a while!!).

Anna Dressed In Blood By Kendare Blake

For fans of: darker ghost stories (homicidal ghost incoming!), a bit of gore

An oldie but one of my favorites I’ve read to date and is always my go-to recommendation!

It’s about a boy who, like his father before him, is a ghost hunter and has been on the trail for a famed hostile ghost named Anna who kills anyone who steps into the door of her former home.

But when he finds Anna, still dressed in the bloody dress she was murdered in, he is spared — something Anna has never done.

Why was he spared? And why is Anna filled with rage and killing anyone who comes in her path?

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

For fans of: haunted house stories, horror with a psychological thriller edge, horror with social issues (a la Jordan Peele)

This one legitimately had me spooked which doesn’t always happen for me because I have a high tolerance for scary books so bonus points for that!

It’s about a teen whose blended family moves to a new house, paid for by her mom’s new job, in the Midwest for a fresh start away from California and the ghosts of her past. Between wary neighbors and strange happenings in the new home, Mari starts thinking this new town (and their home) just feels VERY, VERY off.

The Girl From The Well by Rin Chupeco

For fans of: The Ring/The Grudge, ghost stories

This book is based on a Japanese ghost story about the lore of Okiku -a dead girl who avenges the deaths of murdered children, as she herself was, to free the spirit’s of these children. If you like morally grey characters, check this one out!

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

For fans of: slasher horror fiction (especially 90’s slasher horror IMO)

Teens of a small town, divided by tradition and progress, fight for their life when their creepy clown mascot goes homicidal in an attempt to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now to save the town.

This definitely reminded me of all the horror I liked when I was an actual teen!

Mary: The Summoning by Hillary Monahan

For fans of: books that will scare you, gothic horror, gory books

A perfect teen Halloween read! The tale of Bloody Mary has already creeped me out since I was a kid (why does it still pop in my head at random time??) and this one is about a group of friends who try to summon Blood Mary with terrifying consequences.

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

For fans of: Jordan Peele’s social commentary-filled horror movies meets Stephen King’s Carrie

A new Tiffany D. Jackson (one of my favorite YA authors in the game!) and it’s a retelling of Carrie? You won’t be able to put down this thrilling story of Maddy Washington and the disturbing events that happened — told through various survivors recounting of the event– at the small town’s first integrated prom.

My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham

For fans of: feminist horror a la The Grace Year or Wilder Girls, The Craft, dark academia vibes, body horror

After losing her parents to a car crash that should have also left her dead, without the aid of something monstrous and ancient not letting her drown, Finch transfers to the ultra competitive Ulalume Academy.

Ever since the accident, among other strange changes, she’s been drawn to the town of Rainwater where the school resides. Finch meets Selena St. Clair and the two girls are drawn to her despite the fact Selena can instantly feel there is something wrong with Finch.

When the two girls and their friends accidentally summon a mysterious creature of immense power, they are promised wishes at a cost to themselves. As the cost becomes more deadly, the girls realize they must save the island from the monster they’ve unleashed.

The Getaway by Lamar Giles

For fans of: horror mismashed with dystopian/apocalypse lit, Black Mirror, social horror

If you are looking for something wholly unique in the YA horror space, check this one out. Lamar Giles is an esteemed YA writer and this book showcases that. It’s set in a crumbling world but the teens in the story live and work in a Disneyland-esque sort of resort that they soon find out is not everything they understood it to be. Going vague, I know, but I promise it’s best for you.

The Honeys by Ryan LaSala

For fans of: Midsommar, folk horror, House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland, summer camp novels but with weirdly dark academia/gothic vibes

I saw a blurb for this book call it Midsommar meets Heathers and that is a pretty great comparison to be honest!

It’s about a teen named Mars whose twin sister who suffers a violent death. Leading up to her death, she had been become very distant and Mars suspects the elite summer camp she spent time at had something to do with it. Wanting to uncover the truth behind their sister’s death, Mars heads to the camp and gets to know the girls she was closest to — a group that calls themselves The Honeys — and Mars gets pulled into their orbit and the secrets they keep.

Trespass Against Us by Leon Kemp

For fans of: haunted house/building centered books, creepy reads with some jump scares,, ghost hunting

If teen readers (or anyone) were looking to dip their toes into the horror genre, this would be one of the newer books I’d hand to them.

It’s a well-paced, creepy read that centers around a haunted abandoned school & an evil force that brought tragedy to a friend group – with lasting effects — who must now face it again as part of a ghost hunting show and to get closure.

Out July 2024.

The Ones Who Come Back Hungry by Amelinda Berube

For fans of: body horror, YA vampire books that are more blood-thirsty & gory, complicated sister stories

If you want more creepy horror-fueled vampire stories, check this one out.

It’s about a teen girl whose super popular sister, who just passed away recently, has appeared to her back from the dead and with a thirst only for human blood. She becomes determined to keep her a secret and see if she can save her sister for good and fix her broken family.

As she does this, she also recons her way into her sister’s old life only to find it suits her well — a feeling that could become dangerous for both of them.

Out July 2024.

A Family of Killers by Bryce Moore

For fans of: serial killer horror, YA historical fiction meets horror, horror based on a true story

This one is based on an actual story of a serial killer family in 1870’s Kansas.

This takes the perspective of a boy –fighting a violent voice in his own head — who is out searching for his father after he didn’t return home after searching for a friend of his. All this is set amidst rumors swirling about several disappearances that happened in the area lately.

The boy’s search leads him to a family-owned inn run by people who seem a little bit off and who seem to come up in his investigation to the disappearances.

Out August 2024.

Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli

For fans of: supernatural horror, trans horror, small town horror, horror meets social commentary, Stranger Things

What drew me to adding this one to my reading list is comparisons to early Stephen King but make it YA, queer and more modern. A little bit of Stranger Things vibes.

A group of outcasts from a small town — not friendly to outcasts or queer teens in their community — come together to kill a monster under their town who has recently killed again — a killing that is being blamed on main character Paz who is a bit of the town scapegoat.

Out June 2024.

A Place For Vanishing by Ann Fraistat

For fans of: gothic horror, psychological thrills

Lovers of eerie Gothic settings and psychological-fueled horror, don’t scroll past this one.

A young teen finds herself at the crumbling childhood home of her mother, a house her mother has been avoiding, in order for the family to have a fresh start after a tragedy (and a bipolar diagnoses for her).

The home itself is strange but it’s the rumors and stories she’s hearing about the house and its past that has her investigating the secrets the house is holding to find out the truth.

Out January 2024.

The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert

For fans of: supernatural creepiness mixed with a compelling mystery element & exploration of a complicated teen friendship

A small town wakes up to the news that four people have vanished without a trace. One teen realizes that her estranged best friend is one of those people and she sets out to find out what happened to her.

Her search leads to uncovering a darkness in her town’s past and coded messages from her former bff which lead her to a goddess of local folklore and a piece of the childhood games they used to play.

Out January 2024.

Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis

For fans of: slasher horror more like Friday the 13th, summer camp set horror

A teen girl, daughter of an infamous serial killer, has always wondered what the truth is when it comes to if her dad killed her mom. There’s a lot of rumors swirling around him, what happened to her mother and about the woods they lived in.

Her search for the truth starts with the old property — now turned summer camp site for queer horror fans — where she enlists as a counselor to be able to dig around and see if she can find her mother’s body once and for all.

But her investigation takes a turn when a girl ends up in the woods and she finds more out more about her family history and what else might be lurking in these woods.

Out March 2024.

So Witches We Became by Jill Baguchinsky

For fans of: feminist female rage-filled horror, witch centered YA books

Love horror and also love books centered around revenge and girls fighting back? Check out this new young adult horror offering!

Spring break on a private island should have been perfect for this group of friends until things go awry when a toxic fog starts spreading and it seems something monstrous is lurking.

They will have to unearth the secrets of the island — along with the ones they have shouldered and kept hidden themselves — together to leave the snares of this island.

** trigger warning for sexual assault

Out March 2024.

Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew

For fans of: horrormance featuring two star crossed lovers, supernatural horror

This one is about a teen who inherits her father’s rural estate and the only plans she has for it is to burn it all to the ground — that is until she finds one of the boys she spent childhood summers with (and loved) chained and left for dead in the basement.

As she finds out just why he is there and the greater plan of what her father was doing, she finds out that the wards her family put in place are failing and evil forces are gathering in the woods.

The two — both with conflicting needs/plans for survival in this — will have to work together to keep them at bay as well as their feelings for one another.

Out April 2024.

The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington

For fans of: self-aware teen slashers like Scream but make it supernatural

I really loved Their Vicious Games by this author and the premise for this one sounds fantastic as someone who loves camp and all things 90’s slashers (especially the meta ones like Scream).

The plan for “the best summer ever” goes awry for two sisters when a Ouija Board gets brought out at a party and the group becomes a target of the demon unleashed from it.

The ~fun~ part is that the demon seems to be adhering to 90’s slasher tropes and is hunting them down accordingly in the stereotypical slasher order which the group tries to use to their advantage to flip the script.

Out July 2024.

They Watch From Below by Katya De Becerra

For fans of: dark academia but make it on the creepier side

Dark academia is one of my favorite Fall reading genres but combine it with horror? That’s some top tier Fall reading for me!

This one is about a rising college freshman, heading to the prestigious beachside university her mom & grandma went to, who ends up in a spine-tingling race to uncover dark campus secrets and solve the disappearance of a professor.

Her investigation has her digging into an old campus mystery about shadowy figures thought to be omens of death and an occult society while also uncovering threads that her family could be connected to some of this darkness.

Out October 2024.

The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs

For fans of: small town horror, folklore-fueled horror

This new release infuses Indigenous folklore/mythology into a spooky horror read as it tells the story of a teen girl & talented runner who accidentally awakens an ancient & sinister horror when she finds herself drawn to a black water-filled lake while on a run.

Awakening this long-forgotten horror endangers her town (and people she loves) and to stop it she must dig into the history/folklore of a town and culture she hasn’t felt connected to.

Out October 2024.

Don’t Let The Forest In by CG Drews

For fans of: folk horror meets dark monster-filled fairytales, boarding school settings

For two teen boys and best friends, their refuge has always been in what they create together — one creates dark & twisted fairy-tales and the other brings them to life with his drawings of the monsters within the stories.

When they arrive at boarding school for their senior year, something strange is definitely going on with one of the boys and the other decides to follow him to a forbidden forest to get some insight only to find the truth — that the monsters of their imaginations have come to life embroiling them in a life or death battle to stop them from the monstrous things they have been doing.

Out October 2024.