It’s almost October, which is prime horror reading season. If you’re preparing to pack your seasonal TBR, now is the time to start exploring the best the genre has to offer. Like many genres, there are a few authors and titles that are classics that show up on every list, like Stephen King’s older works or The Haunting of Hill House. But horror is so much more than the classics: many authors have pushed the genre forward in recent years, publishing experimental, surprising, and just plain fun horror novels that also deserve a spot on your reading list.
This week, Goodreads has shared a list of 60 of the most popular horror books, according to its users. They used a combination of how many times the title has been shelved (either as Read or Want To Read) as well as the average rating. They note that horror as a genre saw a bump in popularity in the summer of 2020, and that haunted house stories have been especially popular during the pandemic.
Here are their top ten horror books of the past five years: