5 Horror Books that Any Horror Fan Would Love in 2025

 

Credit to CS Lewis on the Value of Reading Old Books

2025 has been my year of reading so many new novels or reading old ones again that I really loved. The good news is that I now have a lot of room for new books. I recently was given two new bookshelves from a friend, and now I have two empty shelves that are waiting for new books to occupy that empty space!

I can’t wait to start all over again, and not have any more room for my books lol.

I am currently writing this, hoping it doesn’t rain anymore. 

My fridge is not going to fill itself up with food lol. 

In the meantime, why not talk about horror novels that any horror fan would love?

Picture of Corpse with books. 

5. The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

So far from the Riley Sager novels I have read, I think this one has the strangest plot twist reveal in the third act. 

Despite that plot twist that caught me off guard, I loved how great the build up was. We follow the story of Casey Fletcher, who is an actress that had her whole world turn upside down. Her husband died from an accident, and now she is no longer doing the best. 

Luckily she meets a friend from across the lake, a woman named Katherine…by saving her from drowning one day. This leads to a friendship between the two women, but then things start to get weird. Casey is starting to notice that Katherine’s marriage to a man named Tom may not be all rainbows and sunshine. 

Casey goes crazy when Katherine goes missing, and she takes it upon herself to figure out what happened to her friend. 

The third act twist is freaking insane, and that is the only way to describe what the hell happens later on in the novel. I know that some people were mixed on the twist, but I still enjoyed the book!

4. Thinner by Stephen King

I am so happy I finally got to read this novel. I had seen the movie many years ago, and I really loved it. The book was just as brutal, when it came to the horrific curse that plagues a man named Billy. 

Once Billy kills an older woman on the road while he was driving, a curse is placed upon him as revenge by the woman’s family. Billy starts to lose a drastic amount of weight, and he scares the crap out of his family at the same time. 

This leads to Billy losing his mind, and vowing to go after the family who ruined his life. He ends up finding more than he bargained for, when he realizes other people that he was acquainted with also received a curse, that had different and terrifying results like Billy’s sudden weight loss. 

He takes matters into his own hands later when confronting the family, and he allows his madness to take a turn for the worst. 

It’s a fantastic short novel that will fill you with dread, and I can’t believe how far Billy was willing to go to ensure he would get his life back. 

3. Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

We have another King novel to talk about, and damn, was it freaking awesome! I had no idea this was a short story collection, and I think this is the best collection of stories he has written. 

A majority of these stories were scary, gory, and were filled with supernatural creatures that were so damn freaky. I also loved so many of his characters in these stories, I kept rooting for them to survive from their horrific situations. I guarantee you will feel sorry for all the characters…I would lose my mind if I had to go against any of these monsters. 

There is a little of something for everyone, and I bet that any horror fan will love these stories!

2. In the Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

Yes, we got another Riley Sager novel to talk about here. 

And I think this is one of his best novels! 

The mystery and horror is blended perfectly in this novel, and this tale will make you sad and piss you off at the same time! We follow the story of Ethan Marsh, who has been living in the same neighborhood for 30 years. The reason why he never moved on, was because of the horrible trauma he experienced when he was a young kid. 

He had been camping with his best friend in his own backyard, but when he awoke, a whole had been ripped into the tent, and his friend was gone. This led to a huge mystery as to who could have taken his friend, and this mystery haunts Ethan for years. 

He becomes determined to figure out what happened to his friend, and he does whatever it takes to ensure his memory of that night will return. The way the mystery is tackled in this story is incredible. You will find yourself pointing fingers at multiple suspects, and you will become frustrated (in the best way) as the novel progresses!

It’s probably my second favorite novel by Riley Sager!

1. The Deep Nick Cutter

I consider this author to be the ‘King of Body Horror.’

Each of his books are sick, gory, and don’t hold back on body horror. He also never holds back any of his characters, in other words, kids are never safe in his stories. 

A group of experts are gathered to perform research underwater, to find a cure to a disease known as ‘The Gets.’ This sickness leads to people forgetting everything they know or love, and it eventually leads to death. The group is shocked when they discover a possible cure in the ocean, but this cure isn’t exactly going to be a walk in the park. 

Whoever latches onto this cure is engulfed in pain and misery, as their bodies take on extreme transformations…and you wonder if there will ever be hope for both the group and humanity in this story. 

The Deep was one of the best horror novels I’ve read in years. It is a horror masterpiece. 

Have any of you read these novels? What other books would you recommend for me to read?

Stay tuned for another horror book list! I got some spicy ones waiting for you!