The 16 Horror Books We Can’t Wait for in 2026

The author behind The Sun Down Motel is back with a new horror novel about siblings forced to return home decades after their brother’s death. His ghost is calling to them, and they’ll have to face their past and the haunted town they grew up in.

A gambling addict takes a job as a private chef in a last ditch effort to save himself and his family. But it turns out his wealthy client has a unique appetite. And while the salary is high, it may not be worth the screams he can hear in the distance, or the strange tasks his benefactor bestows upon him.

A woman fears her marriage, and her life, are under threat in this exciting new read. Years after leaving her family church, Mavis still feels she’s not good enough for her husband. But as she suffers from increasingly bizarre attacks, she finds herself questioning her relationship and herself.

2025’s The Buffalo Hunter Hunter was a hit. Now Stephen Graham Jones is back with a teen slasher. When a group of kids play a prank—bringing a mannequin to the movie theater—they think it’s all in good fun… until the doll comes to life and starts killing them all one by one.

Space is a classic locale for a horror tale, and Crawlspace is the newest book to feature the cold, dark, and isolating setting. Spacefarers on a mission to expand humanity’s access to the universe find themselves trapped in a ship filled with dangerous mysteries.

In the late 19th century, a scientific illustrator takes a job from a reclusive scientist and moves into his mansion. But once there, she discovers her employer is engaging in awful experiments, and if she can’t escape she’ll be his next test subject.

A experimental weight loss drug helps retail worker Emmett slim down fast, and he notices immediately that his social life improves. One hiccup, though, is the drug’s propensity to cause users to lose stretches of time and gain an immense appetite. When Emmett hears rumblings of a cannibalistic killer on the loose, he worries he might be involved.

What’s worse than being stranded in the woods? Being stranded and hunted by a supernatural threat. While on a camping trip, a group hears a scream, setting off a horrifying journey that puts their lives and their relationships at risk.

In this book, a desperate woman takes a three day job from Craigslist. While a solo trip a house in the Oregon wilderness seems appealing at first, she quickly realizes something evil is lurking, and she’ll have to fight to survive.

A woman’s life is forever changed when she’s the victim of a hidden camera scandal. Her family and boyfriend abandon her, and she begins to see visions of her dead sister. The only way to right what’s gone wrong is to figure out the truth behind the voyeuristic nightmare.

Described as “Severance meets Lovecraft,” this book follows a man named Joe who takes an admin job at a company called Ponos. And much like the famed Apple TV show, Ponos wants a lot more from him than he expects.

A woman who is willing to do anything to improve her life accepts a coveted invitation to a secluded community’s annual festival. But the strange ever-growing reef on the island, and their intense promise to fix anything wrong with attendants, may cause her to question her need to change herself.

Five elderly volunteers decide they’re willing to prolong their lives with the help of an ancient biological agent. The lure of immortality, however, may turn out to test their morality and sanity.

This Icelandic tale follows a woman named Unnur who stumbles upon a black cat, and ends up befriending the pet’s owner. But as the two women grow closer, Unnur learns her new friend has baggage. And that baggage comes back in a violent way.

Jaimie used to be a cellist, but her career is diverted when chronic illness prematurely ends her career. Then, her wellness influencer sister sends increasingly disturbing messages, along with a voucher to stay at a retreat. Jaimie follows her sister’s clues, arriving under the guise of a guest searching for treatment. She has to uncover the mystery behind her sister’s disappearance, while grappling with the fact that her stay is strangely helping her feel better…

A family moves into a Brooklyn brownstone and the mother, Sue, discovers the house’s disturbing histo