Unlock Your Darkest Nightmares: The 52 Horror Books of 2025 That Will Haunt You Long After the Last Page

Horror mainstay Clay Chapman pens a new work about a son to conspiracy theory-obsessed parents, who one day finds his parents in a trancelike state, glued to the TV. When he tries to wake them from their hypnosis, his mother attacks him. And he’s not the only one. Across the country, people’s loved ones are acting strange and violent. To save his family, he teams up with his nephew to get to the bottom of the epidemic gripping the country.

Bram Stoker Award-nominated Eric LaRocca returns with At Dark, I Become Loathsome, which follows a man who takes his own personal tragedy and uses it to help those struggling with their own demons in a strange ritual. He meets another man he believes will be perfect for his next ritual, but their relationship threatens to unveil long hidden secrets and revelations from both men.

The guardian to her two younger brothers, Calla has to do what she can to keep them in line. At the same time, she also has to battle persistent nightmares about their deaths. And those strange dreams get closer to becoming reality when the trio goes on the run and takes refuge in a remote cabin that feels anything but safe.

Beets are already a much disliked vegetable, and this novel won’t do it any favors. When a woman and her boyfriend head to a sugar beet farm to scrape together enough cash for rent, she begins to notice strange, threatening phone calls… and an alarming voice coming from the beets themselves. As her boyfriend and others begin to vanish, she’ll have to face her personal problems and, most importantly, the creepy voice in the beets.

A curse impacts the lives of two women across centuries in this gripping horror mystery that spans the Civil War to the present day. Yvonne, an ex-prison guard turned chef, becomes an unlikely detective when a former inmate asks for help in the search for her missing brother. But when she turns up dead, Yvonne must dive deep into America’s past to uncover the dark machinations behind the mystery.

Fresh off the success of Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu, Hungerstone is a new spin on another classic vampiric tale. A woman in a failing marriage goes with her husband to the British countryside to host a hunting party. A carriage accident brings a strange woman named Carmilla into their lives, trapping the woman in her attraction to Carmilla and her desire to win back her husband. And in the meantime, Carmilla’s arrival also seems to have made many of the townswomen begin to fall ill.

From the author of Tender Is the Flesh comes a brand new horror novel about a woman trapped in a mysterious convent while the world outside is coming to an end. When the convent welcomes a new arrival, it makes her question her past, present, and uncertain future.

After the town of Mercy, Louisiana survives a harrowing hurricane, it’s invaded by strange red algae. For protagonist Noon and her mother, living becomes all about survival. When people begin to disappear, Noon is tasked with finding the creature responsible, while also secretly harboring a monster of her own.

A woman is stalked by a serial killer in this Bram Stoker Award-winning author’s newest novel. Haunted by her mother’s death and lingering ghosts in an old mansion, Briar Thorne has to solve a murder while fighting danger both among the living and the dead.

Told in transcribed interviews, this new horror release from a staple author of the genre follows a Lutheran priest as he follows a vampire hellbent on justice.

A journalist reeling from the death of his father decides to venture into California’s redwoods and investigate a strange cult run by a Vietnam War Veteran. But his intentions become marred by his increasingly close relationship with the cult’s leader, and a growing urge to join the group rather than just be an observer.

If you’re in the mood for a more Gothic horror, Diavola should be a good fit. When a family gathers for a vacation in a remote, tiny village, the haunted house, strange warnings from the village people, and the house’s dark backstory all converge to make this trip one they’ll never forget.

A Scottish town is ready for change, and a traveling carnival arrives to deliver something new. But the carnival is also there for revenge, and rising tensions between them and the town threaten to spill into violence.

A strange murder ties a detective, a Hollywood actress, and a man who calls himself the Human Fly (yes, really) in this new suspenseful horror. Perfect for readers who want a whodunit with their horror.

This Little Shop of Horrors-esque horror is all about deadly, sentient plants. When a woman begins working in a flower shop, she’s drawn to the alluring shop manager. But unbeknownst to our protagonist, a young sentient orchid pulls the strings in the back of the store. And there’s no telling what he’s got planned…

A struggling actress finds a five-year-old boy and must keep him safe from his terrifying father. But soon after, she realizes his father isn’t the only one she should be afraid of; he can turn his every fear into a reality.

Five high school friends take a camping trip and find a staircase that leads to nowhere. One friend goes up, and never comes back down. Years later, the group returns, and this time, they’re determined to bring back their friend.

Fans of body horror will love this one. In a failing dystopian city, the government pushes a unique prospect to improve the situation: convincing couples to become conjoined. The novel follows a student who struggles with the pressures from everyone around her to join the new program.

Abercrombie pens a thrilling new fantasy about a group of anti-heroes tasked with a hellish quest. When Brother Diaz is called to the Sacred City, he’s given a flock filled with monsters and other undesirables. To complete his assignment, he’ll have to rely on them to do the dark things they do best. If you’re a fan of big, epic journeys, this one is for you.