18 BookTok-Approved Horror Reads to Haunt Your Halloween TBR

If you loved Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, this one will eat you alive. Maggie inherits her childhood home—the same one her dad made famous with a bestselling memoir about their ghostly experiences. She returns to renovate, only to realize those “fictional” horrors might not be so fake.

BookTok is obsessed with Sager’s pacing—fast, twisty, bingeable. If you want a haunted house novel that doubles as a thriller, Home Before Dark deserves a top spot in your stack.

A secluded house. A missing child. A man, his cat, and a neighbor with too many questions. Ward spins a tale so twisty it’ll leave you dizzy—in the best way.

Readers describe it as “disturbing,” “ingenious,” and “mind-bending.” If you love horror that doubles as a puzzle, add this one to your list ASAP.

When Constanta is rescued from death by a mysterious stranger, she’s pulled into a glittering, intoxicating world of art, passion, and immortality. But life with her husband—the infamous Dracula—comes with chains she can’t quite see until it’s too late. Written as a confession, this book is a fever dream of doomed love, toxic power dynamics, and the reclamation of self through destruction. Gibson’s prose is lyrical and devastating, perfect for fans of Carmilla or Crimson Peak.

We're categorizing A Dowry of Blood under Gothic & Feminist Horror (dark, seductive, and sharp).

The Bite, inspired by A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson, is part of our upcoming Creepy vs. Cozy Collection. This hauntingly decadent scent drops on August 19th, but you don’t have to wait to experience it.

Snag our Scent Sampler Pack today, explore all six competing fragrances, and get an $8 credit to put toward your favorite full-size candle when the collection officially launches.

Grab the scent sampler and find out if your Team Creepy or Team Cozy:

Vibe check: 

• slasher meta
• horror nerdcore
• bloody brilliant.

Jade Daniels is the goth teen we all wanted to be in high school—obsessed with slasher films and convinced her small town is hiding one. When bodies start piling up, she might be the only one who saw it coming.

This is SGJ’s love letter to slashers, loaded with tropes, gore, and razor-sharp wit. If you’re the kind of reader who yells “don’t go in there!” during horror movies, this book was written for you.

Vibe check: 

• Domestic noir
• recipes for grief
• secrets baked in

When newly widowed Lily discovers her husband’s old cookbook, she thinks it’s just a bittersweet memento. But every recipe comes with memories — and revelations — that unravel the picture-perfect marriage she thought she had. With each dish, the truth grows darker, turning comfort food into a chilling descent into betrayal and obsession.

Vibe check:

• feminist witchy
• sisterhood
• dark secrets

This one’s blowing up with younger readers (and let’s be real, us forever-emo millennials). It’s the story of girls learning to claim power through witchcraft, rebellion, and a little bit of chaos. Think dark academia meets The Craft energy.

Vibe check: 

• witchy folk horror
• New England Puritan drama
• something wicked in the woods

When a young widow named Abitha is accused of witchcraft in 1666, her only ally is something ancient, horned, and hungry lurking in the forest. Brom’s mix of lush illustration (yes, the author is also an artist) and dark storytelling makes this read equal parts historical and horrifying. It’s got pagan energy, small-town paranoia, and the kind of creeping dread that makes you wonder if the real monster is man—or something far older.

Vibe check: 

• feminist gothic
• crumbling estates
• family revenge

Set against the backdrop of a decaying Italian villa, Diavola is rich, atmospheric, and dripping with menace. It’s got generational curses, haunted architecture, and female rage—basically, all the good stuff.

This one’s newer but already gaining traction on Bookstagram for its lush, Gothic vibes. Perfect if you want something moody and cinematic.

Vibe check: 

• Gothic mystery
• creeping dread
• history that won’t stay buried

When a translator takes up residence in a crumbling Czech castle, she thinks she’s just there for the job. Instead, she finds herself pulled into a suffocating world of secrets, shadows, and the “hunger stones” — ominous historical markers tied to famine and death. The more she uncovers, the more the walls seem to close in, whispering reminders of what happens when the past refuses to stay in the grave.

For readers who crave slow-burn chills, haunted atmospheres, and a story where place itself becomes the monster, Hungerstone delivers that cold breath on the back of your neck.

Vibe check: 

• dark academia
• surreal femgore
• cultish chaos.

You didn’t think I’d skip this one, right? Bunny is unhinged, unsettling, and completely unforgettable. MFA students, creepy cult vibes, and prose that feels like falling into a fever dream—it’s not traditional horror, but it’s a BookTok darling that deserves a spot in every spooky season stack.

Vibe check: 

• gothic vampires
• Victorian melodrama
• eternal night

Before Edward Cullen was brooding in the corner, there was Count Dracula—arguably the original BookTok boyfriend (okay, not really, but the cape? the castle? the vibes are immaculate). This is the blueprint for every vampire tale since. Reading it in 2025 hits different—it’s spooky, atmospheric, and surprisingly funny in spots.

Vibe check: 

• mad science
• existential dread
• misunderstood monster

Shelley basically invented science fiction when she dreamed up Victor Frankenstein and his stitched-together creature. It’s got horror, tragedy, and a lot of “who’s the real monster here?” energy. BookTok readers love annotating this one with tabs and emo playlists, so it totally still resonates.

This book spent a whopping 37 weeks on the NYT Best Seller list, proving it definitely struck a nerve with readers everywhere. And — hold the freakin' phone — there’s a real-deal movie adaptation in the works: Augustine Frizzell (Euphoria director energy) is set to direct, with Schwab as producer and co-writer, and the script is already locked and loaded. It's currently moving forward at Lionsgate, and fans are buzzing with major casting theories and hype.

Vibe check: 

• psychological chills
• unreliable narrator
• haunted house royalty

Arguably the greatest haunted house novel ever written. Shirley Jackson doesn’t just serve ghosts—she serves isolation, repression, and creeping madness. If you loved the Netflix adaptation, the book will eat your soul in a quieter, more devastating way.

The Haunting, inspired by The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, is part of our upcoming Creepy vs. Cozy Collection. This ghostly, fire- and juniper-laced scent drops on August 19th, but you don’t have to wait to experience it.

Snag our Scent Sampler Pack today, explore all six competing fragrances, and get an $8 credit to put toward your favorite full-size candle when the collection officially launches.

Try before you buy, find out if you're Team Creepy or Team Cozy, and let the story linger long after you’ve closed the book:

Vibe check: 

• childhood trauma
• small-town secrets
• killer clown nightmare

In Derry, Maine, a group of kids (and later, as adults) band together to fight a shape-shifting entity that preys on fear—most often appearing as Pennywise the Clown. Equal parts coming-of-age story and cosmic horror, It blends nostalgia, terror, and psychological dread into one of King’s most iconic works.

Vibe check: 

• gothic family drama
• twisted secrets
• locked-away trauma

Four siblings are hidden away in their wealthy grandparents’ attic after tragedy strikes, and what begins as a temporary stay turns into years of neglect, cruelty, and dark revelations. Infamous for its taboo themes, Flowers in the Attic is a gothic horror classic of family dysfunction and claustrophobic suspense.

Vibe check: 

• dystopian horror
• cannibalism
• ethical nightmare fuel

In a near-future world where animal meat is toxic, humans are processed as food under a legalized system. Marcos, a slaughterhouse worker, is forced to confront the dehumanization and moral collapse of society. Disturbing, visceral, and thought-provoking, this novel is modern horror at its most chilling.

So there you have it— 18 BookTok-approved horror reads that are guaranteed to make your Halloween TBR terrifyingly good. From haunted houses and vampire brides to parasites, puppets, and surreal bunny cults, there’s a flavor of fear here for every reader.

Pro tip: Pair one of these with a candle from our Plot Twist Collection for the full haunted-house aesthetic. Trust me, nothing hits like reading about cursed houses while your room smells like “Old Library.”

Now it’s your turn: which one of these horror hits are you brave enough to start with? Drop your pick in the comments—or share your own horror recs in the Thrifted Shelf™ Book Club. Let’s scream together this spooky season.