The Best Horror Books of 2026 So Far

This is the crazy buddy comedy you never knew you needed! It’s an action-packed adventure, full of blood, gore, and lots of laughs, and it’s super weird. As soon as you hear Alix E. Harrow throw this out like this:Venom “In 18th century France, I knew I had to get my hands on it and it didn’t disappoint. Sébastien Glave is set to kill the terrifying Beast of Gevaudan, who was unconquered 20 years earlier than originally thought. In comes a demon ape model who lives inside Sebastian and feeds on the living essence of others. Believe me, historical fiction will never taste the same again. —Liberty Hardy

Cynthia Gomez’s debut horror novel packs a big punch in less than 200 pages. This sapphic gothic horror novel is set in 1968 and follows Natalia “Nati” Fuentes, a young woman who learns all about witchcraft from her grandmother. There, when Natti learns that the young and beautiful heiress Violeta Miramontes is paralyzed by a mysterious illness, she suspects black magic and thinks she may have a cure. From the first page, you can tell that Natti and Violeta fall in love with each other, but you will be surprised at how their romance develops.

Horror fans are already familiar with Paul Tremblay’s work, but his latest work is a surreal, genre-bending novel that feels like new ground. Thinking about dystopia, anti-AI, and nightmares Barneys on the weekends. Julia Frang, a former semi-professional gamer, is tasked with remotely controlling a “nearly dead” man (she calls “Barney”) who has an AI implant in his head. They travel from California to the East Coast, but she is unaware of what is going on in Barney’s mind. He has no memory of who he is or how he got here, trapped inside his own mind, surrounded by deeply disturbing images. And I’m looking for someone. He just doesn’t know who he is.