Cailin Riley Books

I have a love/hate relationship with horror books.

Most of the time, I feel like I’m constantly in search of a book that is *actually* scary. Not gory, not campy, not just plain weird…actually spooky and un-nerving. I feel like a lot of horror books I’ve read lately follow the same old tropes and I’ve lost interest in the first third of the book.

That’s why I’m sharing this list of horror books that actually gave me the ~vibes~. Horror fans, enjoy!

The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley

If you like dark feminism and men looking bad, this is your book. I won’t lie, it’s a weird one, but the mythology is very unsettling and the message is very strong. I wouldn’t call it my favorite horror book but it’s definitely the one that probably sticks out in my mind the most.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I’ve been a fan of Moreno-Garcia since she wrote Gods of Jade and Shadow but Mexican Gothic is truly her best. The story takes your classic haunted house and makes it absolutely bonkers. This book won the Goodreads 2020 Choice Award for Best Horror for a reason.

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Movies like Annabelle that feature possessed dolls or puppets never used to scare me but that changed after reading this book. Now I never want to touch another puppet ever again. This book is the perfect mix of horror and humor, taking seemingly harmless children’s toys and making them sinister.