Apparently, we just love horror over here at the BSG Blog! Here’s a non-comprehensive list of some YA Horror novels to get you in the mood this creepy season.
A Darker Mischief by Derek Milman
Cal Ware is poor and queer and from Mississippi, so he sticks out like a sore thumb at his elite private school. After learning about a secret society on campus, Cal sets out to reinvent himself, but is a new identity worth the sacrifice?
Milman, D. (2024). A darker mischief (First edition). Scholastic Press. https://search.worldcat.org/title/1411219474
The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories edited by Desiree S. Evans
This collection of fifteen stories puts places Black girls at the forefront of the horror genre, and this time, they survive all the horrors thrown at them. This book gives hope for a diverse future of the genre and highlights some fan favorite authors.
McKinney, L. L., Nash, K., Adams, E. E., Harris, Z. D., Ireland, J., Hermon, D., Morris, B., Aaron, C., Moulite, M., Moulite, M., Brashears, M., Tirado, V., Royce, E., & Davis, C. N. (2024). The Black girl survives in this one : horror stories (D. S. Evans & S. J. Fennell, Eds.; First edition). Flatiron Books. https://search.worldcat.org/title/1375550675
The Dark We Know by Wen-Yi Lee
Isadora Chang feels out of place in her small town, partially because she’s bisexual. Her two childhood best friends suddenly die, so Isadora runs away in hopes she won’t be next. But the past is never too far behind, and soon Isadora must return to her hometown and face her past.
Lee, W.-Y. (2024). The dark we know (First edition). Gillian Flynn Books, a Zando imprint. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/1443677137
The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala
The latest novel from YA horror icon Ryan La Sala (The Honeys) follows Ollie Veltman as he comes home after being with his mom during an arduous cancer battle. Ollie’s mom wants Ollie to have “the best summer ever,” but Ollie’s friends have more questions than answers. A dark secret threatens to change everything Ollie knows about his mom’s sickness – and the mysterious illness that seems to be plaguing so many locals.
La Sala, R. (2025). The dead of summer (First edition). PUSH. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/1500036288
Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews
Queer YA horror at its best! Andrew Perrault writes fairy tales for his artist friend Thomas Rye, but something odd is going on with him. For once, Thomas won’t say a word about what’s going on, and he seems haunted to boot. Andrew journeys to the forest outside their boarding school to find out what’s wrong with Thomas, and soon, it seems Thomas’ illustrations are coming to horrendous life.
Drews, C. G. (2024). Don’t let the forest in (First edition). Feiwel and Friends. https://search.worldcat.org/title/1407026052
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
T. Kingfisher is a favorite fantasy and horror novelist, and many of her books marketed to adults could also be classified as young adult. In The Hollow Places, Kara finds a mysterious portal in her uncle’s house. The portal leads to alternate realities, but these other dimensions are haunted by mysterious creatures that can read minds and feed off fear.
Kingfisher, T. (2020). The hollow places : a novel (First Saga Press trade paperback edition). Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. https://search.worldcat.org/title/1139766989
How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans
In the tradition of Scream, Winans’ novel is both humorous and scary in the slasher tradition. CJ Smith thinks she can go toe to toe with the Satterville Wolf Man, a notorious murderer. She’s obsessed with true crime and the Wolf Man massacre, and now she thinks she has to do something about it. What will happen once CJ enters into the main story and stops being a background character in her own life?
Winans, J. P. (2025). How to survive a slasher. Bloomsbury Children’s Books. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/1455533254
I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea
Laure Mesny wants to prove her worth in the world of ballet, in Paris no less. She makes a deal with a river of blood in the Catacombs, but soon she must choose between her humanity and the success she’s always wanted. This dark ballerina horror novel has a lot to offer readers looking for something different.
Shea, J. (2023). I feed her to the beast and the beast is me (First edition). Henry Holt and Company. https://search.worldcat.org/title/1356891495
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
My Best Friend’s Exorcism can’t get enough praise. It tells the story of two teen girls, one of which seems to be undergoing horrifying changes to her body and mind. But how can one be saved from the ravages of puberty? Girlhood, friendship, and trauma all get explored in this haunting, humorous tale by Grady Hendrix.
Hendrix, G. (2016). My best friend’s exorcism : a novel (First paperback edition). Quirk Books. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/959032200
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
In Vietnam to visit her estranged father, Jade just wants to make it through her trip in one piece. However, creepy things start happening in the old house her father is restoring each night. Can Jade clear the house of its curse while keeping her family together and finding out more about her family’s history?
Tran, T. T. (2023). She is a haunting. Bloomsbury. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/1319346060
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
This alternate-history gothic horror tale has a little bit of everything: a trans protagonist, a mysterious sickness, shady organizations. Silas does not want to settle into a life as the wife of a Speaker of the Royal Speaker Society, so when he’s diagnosed with Veil sickness it’s a bit of a relief to escape his arranged marriage. However, the ghosts of missing students begin asking Silas for help, sending him on an urgent mission.
White, A. J. (2023). The spirit bares its teeth (First edition). Peachtree Teen. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/1378431068
There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
Makani Young has lived with her grandmother for just a year, but she’s still getting used to things. She can barely get her feet under her when kids at school begin dying in a series of unexplained murders. Makani must not only survive the rampage, but figure out the mystery before it’s too late.
Perkins, S. (2017). There’s someone inside your house : a novel. Dutton Books. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/968312154
Such Lovely Skin by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
This debut YA horror novel from Tatiana Schlote-Bonne follows Viv, a grieving teen mourning her sister’s death – which she feels responsible for. Viv keeps the secret of her sister’s death close, but when she after she shares it with an NPC in a video game an evil doppelganger enters her life. Friends and family assume Viv is lying about this dark her, so how can she escape her fate?
Schlote-Bonne, T. (2024). Such lovely skin. Page Street Publishing. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/1456321156
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
Tiffany D. Jackson’s riff on the Stephen King classic Carrie hits all the right notes. Maddy is a victim of bullies and always has been, but things get even worse when her classmates discover she’s biracial. Maddy must face the racist harassment of her white father while also enduring bullying from her classmates after her secret is revealed, but perhaps, just maybe, there’s a chance she can be normal.
Jackson, T. D. (2022). The weight of blood (First edition). Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/1342594757
What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell
Two friends discover that not only have they visited a local abandoned corn maze before, but they’ve died there over and over again. Logan and Sadie must find a way to free themselves of the strange maze before there’s no hope left for them!
Hollowell, S. (2023). What stalks among us (First edition). Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. https://search.worldcat.org/title/1396717764
Do you have a favorite YA horror novel? Let us know in the comments!
