Horror Reads for Teens
Whether you like your horror to be atmospheric and creepy or adrenaline-filled and gruesome, these reads range from stories of psychological thrillers, gothic monsters, and body horror to tales of the paranormal, supernatural and classic-style slasher.
* Indicates the title is appropriate for middle school readers. See grade recommendation in parenthesis. Graphic novels are included.
PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR
Alone by Cyn Balog (Gr. 9)
Don't Let the Forest In by C. G. Drews (Gr. 9+)
Ruin Road by Lamar Giles (Gr. 9+)
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala (Gr. 9+)
The Low, Low Woods (Graphic Novel) by Carmen Maria Machado (Gr. 10+)
Lock the Doors* by Ralph Vincent (Gr. 8+)
SLASHER STORIES
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare (Gr. 9+)
I Know What You Did Last Summer* by Lois Duncan (Gr. 7+)
Tokyo Ghoul (Manga) by Sui Ishida (Gr. 10+)
#MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil (Gr. 9+)
The Midnight Game by Cynthia Murphy (Gr. 9+)
The Island* by Natasha Preston (Gr. 8+)
Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards (Gr. 9+)
The Promised Neverland, Vol. 1, Grace Field (Manga) House by Kaiu Shirai (Gr. 10+)
How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine (Gr. 9+)
MONSTER HORROR
The Coldest Girl in Cold Town* by Holly Black (Gr. 9+)
The Last Halloween: Vol. 1, Children (Graphic Novel) by Abby Howard (Gr. 9+)
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky (Gr. 9+)
Swamp Thing, Vol. 1, Raise Them Bones (Graphic Novel) by Scott Snyder (Gr. 9+)
Something is Killing the Children (Graphic Novel) by James Tynion IV (Gr. 10+)
The Terrifying Tales of Vivian Vance* (Graphic Novel) by Joshua Ulrich (Gr. 7+)
SCI-FI & APOCALYPTIC HORROR
Contagion* by (The Contagion Duology, Book 1) Erin Bowman (Gr. 7+)
Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda (Gr. 10+)
The Getaway by Lamar Giles (Gr. 9+)
172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad (Gr. 9+)
Attack on Titan (Manga) by Hajime Isayama (Gr. 10+)
The Walking Dead Compendium (Graphic Novel) by Robert Kirkman (Gr. 10+)
This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, Book 1) by Victoria Schwab (Gr. 9+)
This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers (Gr. 9+)
Clementine* (Graphic Novel) by Tillie Walden (Gr. 8+)
Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White (Gr. 9+)
The 5th Wave (Thje 5th Wave, Book 1) by Rick Yancey (Gr. 9+)
GOTHIC HORROR
Unspoken* (Lynburn Legacy, Book 1) by Sarah Rees Brennan (Gr. 7+)
House of Salt and Sorrows* by Erin A. Craig (Gr. 8+)
D. Gray-Man (Manga) by Katsura Hoshino (Gr. 10+)
Frankenstein* by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Gr. 8+)
The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde* by Robert Louis Stevenson (Gr. 7+)
Dracula by Bram Stoker (Gr. 10+)
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White (Gr. 9+)
DARK FANTASY
JuJutsu Kaisen (Manga) by Gege Akutami (Gr. 10+)
Anya's Ghost* by Vera Brosgol (Gr. 7+)
Revenge of the Witch* (The Last Apprentice, Book 1) by Joseph Delaney (Gr. 6+)
Coraline* (also try the graphic novel version) by Neil Gaiman (Gr. 6+)
The Bone Houses* by Emily Lloyd-Jones (Gr. 8+)
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children* (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Book 1) by Ransom Riggs (Gr. 8+)
Gallant by Victoria Schwab (Gr. 7+)
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (Gr. 9+)
GHOST STORIES & HAUNTED HOUSES
Bad Girls Don't Die* (Bad Girls Don't Die, Book 1) by Katie Alender (Gr. 6+)
White Smoke* by Tiffany Jackson (Gr. 8+)
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (Gr. 9+)
Rules for Vanishing* by Kate Alice Marshall (Gr. 8+)
Breathe: A Ghost Story* by Cliff McNish (Gr. 6+)
The Agony House* (Graphic Novel) by Cherie Priest (Gr. 7+)
The Streaming Staircase* (Lockwood & Co., Book 1) by Jonathan Stroud (Gr. 6+)
PARANORMAL HORROR
Shutter* by Courtney Alameda (Gr. 8+)
The Silver Eyes* (Five Nights at Freddy's, Book 1) by Scott Cawthon (Gr. 7+)
Raven's Gate* (Gatekeepers, Book 1) by Anthony Horowitz (Gr. 6+)
The Weight of Blood*by Tiffany Jackson (Gr. 8+)
Carrie* by Stephen King (Gr. 8+)
SHORT STORIES
The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror* edited by Tori Bovalino (Gr. 7+)
Through the Woods: Stories* (Graphic Novel) by Emily Carroll (Gr. 8+)
On the Day I Died: Stories From the Grave* by Candace Fleming (Gr. 6)
The Crossroads at Midnight* (Graphhic Novel) by Abby Howard (Gr. 8+)
Shiver: Selected Stories (Manga) by Junji Ito (Gr. 10)
The Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (also try the graphic novel adaptation) by Edgar Allan Poe (Gr. 9+)
Man Made Monsters by Andrea Rogers (Gr. 9+)