22 Scary Books That Will Keep You Up At Night

Have you ever read a book or watch a movie that gave you that creepy, someone is watching me feeling? When you get that eerie feeling it is usually pretty hard to sleep and can even give you nightmares! Do you like a scary books that keep you up at night? You aren’t alone!

A scary book can be a lot of fun to read! Yes, its a bit creepy or spooky an maybe will make you look around to make sure there’s no one in your home BUT a lot of the time, they have great plot and are very quick reads.

You can read a thrilling book at any time of the year but there is something extra special about reading one during spooky season. The dark nights, rainy days, misty and spooky atmosphere… its just the prefect time to read a book that will make you stay up all night! Looking for just the book? Here are 22 scary books that you should read.

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Types of scary books

There are so many types of books that will scare you or make you feel creeped out. It’s not just Stephen King books. There is something for everyone, and you can try out different scary levels! 

Horror

This is a pretty broad category of books that is characterized as any story that elicits an emotional response like terror, dread, fear, etc. 

There are a few subgenres of horror with one of the most popular being gothic horror. Frankenstein is probably the most famous book in this category!

Thrillers

Thrillers have many categories and some might be more thrilling to you than others. I like supernatural books. Typically I dislike domestic thrillers because they feel too real. Everyone is different though! 

A few subgenres include:

• Psychological thriller
• Crime thriller 
• Historical thriller 
• Supernatural thriller 
• Domestic thriller

True Crime 

If the made-up stories don’t scare you, the real ones might! There are sooo many good true crime books out there about serial killers, mysteries, crimes, etc.

22 books that will keep you up at night 

Verity by Colleen Hoover – a fast-paced psychological thriller about an author 

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin – heart-pumping crime/ serial killer thriller 

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager – a haunted house mystery/ thriller 

The Hacienda by Isabel Canas – a gothic ghost story 

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James – a crime and paranormal thriller

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides – a creepy crime psychological thriller where psychologists try to uncover a mystery 

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware – a thriller where you start at the ending and piece everything together. Girl takes a nanny job and the family/ house is more than she bargained for. 

The Whisper Man by Alex North – a suspenseful thriller about an old serial killer coming back years later 

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney – a domestic psychological thriller set in Scotland 

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry – small town horror about people going missing and one teen having terrifying visions

They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe – An atmospheric paranormal thriller set by the ocean 

The Children On The Hill by Jennifer McMahon – a historical thriller inspired by Frankenstein 

Not Good For Maidens by Tori Bovalino – a YA thriller/ horror about young witches being lured to the goblin market 

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson – a gothic horror where one woman is sucked into a society where blood is power 

A Black and Endless Sky by Matthew Lyons – a horror, thriller, road trip mash-up set across the American Southwest 

Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates – a haunted winery that once was a prison where hundreds of convicts are hung 

The Resting Place by Camilla Sten – a thriller set in an inherited house that no one knew about 

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig – a book full of mystery about what happened long ago with a lot of tension and violence 

The Woods are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins – a YA slasher about 2 girls who go camping 

Horrid by Katrina Leno – a YA haunted house story about a mom and daughter forced to move into a mysterious residence 

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher – a fantastical horror about a girl who cleans out her deceased grandmothers house and uncovers dark secrets 

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky – a thriller about a boy with a sinister imaginary friend

So, have you picked your next spooky read yet? Let me know if you’ve read any of these and what you thought. Have any good ones I need to add to this list? Tell me in the comments!

Until next time,