7 Horror Books Recommended By Stephen King

Published Oct 1, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT

Once head of Screen Rant's Star Wars coverage and co-lead of Superheroes, Tom Bacon now works with the movies and books teams. He's a lifelong fan of the fantasy and sci-fi genres, and loves franchises such as Doctor Who and Marvel. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon, on LinkedIn @tabacon, or on Muckrack under tombacon.

Tom has a wide range of interests, and he continues to serve his university as a volunteer chaplain. He's heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he's into British politics too.

The legendary Stephen King has never minded giving book recommendations when it comes to the horror genre. Rightly crowned the "King of Horror," Stephen King has penned a phenomenal number of books. But his influence extends far beyond his extensive bibliography, because he's a noted philanthropist who donates millions a year to libraries, schools, and a stunning number of charities. King is well-known for giving writing advice, which means authors love to learn from the master.

It also naturally means that a Stephen King recommendation is a massive seal of approval. King isn't shy of speaking out when he's loved a book, and he isn't limited to back-cover blurbs; he'll openly praise other authors on social media and in interviews. If you want to read horror, thriller, and suspense books, you can't go wrong by picking up some of King's favorites. Here are some of the best.

7 The Darkest Secret By Alex Marwood

Serena Mackesy is a prolific author who writes under the pen name of Alex Marwood, and King seems to be a fan; he's recommended three of her books so far, The Wicked Girls, The Killer Next Door, and The Darkest Secret. His endorsement for The Darkest Secret is one of the strongest he's given; "If there has been a better mystery-suspense story written in this decade, I can't think of it," he said on its publication in 2016.

A dark psychological thriller, The Darkest Secret spins out of a family tragedy when a three-year-old child goes missing at an opulent house party. The story picks up twelve years later, when the girl's father, Sean, dies and the truth is gradually uncovered after his funeral. It's the third book in a loose series by Marwood, and King loved all three of them.

You can buy The Darkest Secret from retailers like Amazon.

6 You By Caroline Kepnes

Award-winning horror author/director Caroline Kepnes has long described King as an influence, and he loves her work in return. You was the first book in a trilogy (You was even adapted into a successful Netflix series), and King praised it as "totally original." Writing on Twitter, he described it as "hypnotic and scary. A little Ira Levin, a little Patricia Highsmith and plenty of serious snark. Cool stuff." Kepnes, for her part, was absolutely thrilled at the recommendation.

Kepnes takes on what has, by now, become quite a common trope; the star is a writer, but she's more the victim of the horror story than the hero. You shines a light on the dangers of social media when an obsessive stalker uses the author's public profile to discover all her secrets and gradually take control of her life. You is a dark story of escalating obsession, with a villain who won't even stop at murder.

You can buy You from retailers like Amazon.

5 Frankenstorm By Ray Garton

"Remember when paperback originals were cool?" King wrote on Twitter, recommending Ray Garton's Frankenstorm. "Sex, action, suspense? Try Frankenstorm, by Ray Garton. It's old school." It's actually the second Garton book that King's praised in public, because he endorsed his earlier book Dark Channel as one of his best — a comment suggesting he's familiar with the rest of Garton's works as well.

Designed as a six-week release then collected into one volume, Frankenstein is a King-style sci-fi horror. An experimental bioweapon escapes into the wild, leaving people consumed with rage, turning them into rabid killing machines. As the virus spreads, a handful of ordinary people must somehow survive even as they uncover the conspiracy.

You can buy Frankenstorm from retailers like Amazon.

4 The Girl On The Train By Paula Hawkins

Every day, Rachel takes the same commuter train. Every day, she looks out the window when the train stops at a signal, and stares out at a couple living their perfect lives. Then, one day, she catches a horrifying glimpse of their true lives. That event kicks off The Girl on the Train, a stunning debut novel by Paula Hawkins that was soon adapted for the big screen.

Stephen King loved it. "Kept me up most of the night," he observed on Twitter. "The alcoholic narrator is dead perfect." This is the beauty of The Girl on the Train; the book deliberately uses an unreliable narrator, which makes the suspense pop even more. Emily Blunt starred in a 2016 adaptation, but it doesn't even begin to live up this tremendous novel.

You can buy The Girl on the Train from retailers like Amazon.

3 Day Four By Sarah Lotz

King seems to be a fan of Sarah Lotz, and he's recommended several of her books. "You know, I can feel sorry sometimes when a book ends," he said of Lotz's Missing Persons. King also singled out Day Four, considering it "really good." As far as King was concerned, there was only one thing his followers needed to know; "It's the cruise ship from hell."

Day Four is essentially a locked-door mystery, because the characters are all stranded on a cruise ship when a supernatural disaster strikes. Four days into a five day cruise, everything stops working; it's dead in the water, and there's no signal to call for help. Worse still, the body of a woman is found in her cabin, kicking up the suspense as Lotz's story heads straight into horror territory.

You can buy Day Four from retailers like Amazon.

2 The Quick by Lauren Owen

Essentially a Victorian vampire novel, The Quick is set in 1890s London. When Charlotte Norbury heads to London to seek out her missing brother, she stumbles into a terrifying supernatural world. King is far from the only one to praise The Quick, which was also singled out A Discovery of Witches author Deborah Harkness.

Stephen King praised The Quick on Twitter, calling it a "terrific (and terrifying) novel of the undead in London. Completely involving, impossible to put down." Owens has only published one other novel, Small Angels; if you enjoy The Quick, you can easily pick that up as well. King may not have commented on Small Angels, but it won a Goodreads award for horror, proving Owen didn't lose any skill or talent between the two books.

You can buy The Quick from retailers like Amazon.

1 HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Thomas Heuvelt's horror novel HEX has a classic premise: the town of Black Spring is haunted by a 17th century witch, who essentially holds an entire upstate New York town prisoner. "This is totally, brilliantly original," King observed, delighted by the book. It's an impressive blend of horror trope and real-world technology, because the elders of Black Spring use modern surveillance technology to prevent their curse spreading.

Heuvelt has become a prolific writer in his own right, and King's son Owen endorsed his upcoming novel Darker Days (George R.R. Martin recommended the book too). If you enjoy HEX, then, there are plenty more books to read — including one likely to be picked up in horror book clubs in just a month's time.

You can buy HEX from retailers like Amazon.