Horror is one of the genres that excel in getting your pulse racing. The best horror stories always makes you jump at shadows as your imagination becomes too active for your own good.
And when it comes to horror, literature has plenty to offer. From deranged minds to incomprehensible terrors, it gives you a taste of danger while in the comfort of your home.
The Best Horror Book Series
Given its insidious nature, horror is a genre that lends itself well to a long-running format. As a story unfolds, there’s a sense of mounting danger that you (and the characters of what you’re reading) either surrender to or shake off despite your fear.
Here are some of the best horror book series you can read. Fair warning though, they can be quite addicting, leaving you unable to put them down no matter how horrific they become.
In building this list, I’ve stuck to stories that are at least part of a released duology and are recognized by the author and its readers as part of the horror genre.
1. The Bourbon Kid Trilogy by Anonymous
In the shadows of Santa Mondega lurks a mystery known only as the Bourbon Kid. Turned into a supernatural serial killer, he now roams the streets looking for evil things to kill. And if the good guy’s a murderer with an arcade game kill-ratio, what does that say about the bad guys?
2. The Passage Series by Justin Cronin
In the near future, what begins as a project to revolutionize humanity quickly turns into becomes the means for its destruction. A virus spreads throughout the world, quickly bringing humanity at the edge of extinction.
93 years into the apocalypse, smalls pockets of survivors struggle to survive. Humanity has become prey, fighting a losing battle against supernatural creatures who are always on the hunt for fresh blood.
3. African Immortals Series by Tananarive Due
When Jessica maries David, she thought it was the start of a beautiful marriage. And yet, there was something about him that was always closed off to her.
When the people she meets end up violently violently dead, her husband is forced into a confession. He was born 400 years ago, one of a few who traded their humanity for immortality. And he means to keep her and their daughter beside him forever.
4. The Taker Trilogy by Alma Katsu
Dr. Luke Findley expects another quiet night at work until an enigma walks into his ER and changes his life forever. He finds himself captivated with Lanore McIlvrae, a murder suspect with plenty of secrets to tell.
Her story starts at the turn of the 19th century where, consumed by her love, she enters into pact that later becomes her prison. Immortality has a steep price, and after years of suffering, she’s no longer willing to pay it.
5. The Three by Sarah Lotz
Four planes crash almost at the same time and in different continents. Amidst their wreckage, only three child survivors are found.
The three exhibit significant trauma and behavioral problems, presumably caused by the tragedy and subsequent attention. But a cult thinks otherwise, insisting them to be the harbingers of the apocalypse.
6. The Diviners Series by Libba Bray
Evangeline O’Neill is sent to live in bustling New York City with the caveat that she must live with her uncle Will. With his obsession with the occult, she worries that he’ll discover her darkest secret: a power that’s only brought her trouble so far.
When a dead girl is found branded with a mysterious symbol, Evangeline realizes that her power might be able to help find the killer. But a dangerous murderer isn’t the only thing she has to deal with. Somewhere out there, an evil has began to wake.
7. The Girl from the Well Series by Rin Chupeco
Okiku is a drifting soul. A victim of murder herself, she now roams the land, delivering vengeance that killers are due. It’s an unhappy existence, never bringing her the peace that she helps other spirits achieve.
Then she meets Tark, a boy containing evil barely restrained by the tattoos on his body. He’s no monster, and Okiku’s determined to save him. The only problem is, if the demon dies, so does its host.
8. Fear Street by R.L. Stine
Brought about by a family curse, the town of Shadyside is wrapped in enigmas. Much of its mysteries center on Fear Street, named after the family afflicted with the curse.
As things bump in the night around them, Shadyside’s residents are plagued by all manners of the malignant and the paranormal. Alone or in groups, they must find ways to overcome the things thrown at them by the curse.
9. The Demonata Series by Darren Shan
Grubbs Grady, Kernel Fleck, and Bec MacConn are about to learn three things. The world is dangerous, magic is real, and demons exist.
Faced with such truths, the trio find themselves stepping into a world much more vicious than the ones they know. Though separated by time, all three face a common enemy that seeks to consume their world.
10. The Janie Johnson Series by Caroline B. Cooney
Janie Janson has always lived an ordinary life until she looks at the side of a milk carton. Printed on it is the picture of a three-year-old girl who was kidnapped twelve years ago—who happened to look so much like her.
The idea of her loving parents kidnapping her is hard to believe. But as she digs deeper into her past, nothing makes sense. Who is she really?
Reading Horror
The real world has a lot of thrills to offer, but sometimes there are things that are better experienced through stories. And when it comes to horror, the thrills it provides are just better encountered within the pages of a book.
You can achieve catharsis without putting yourself in danger. Overcoming supernatural creatures, deranged humans, and mysterious phenomena can be done at the comfort of your home.
More than that though, horror acts as a space from which you can work through trauma and fear while in a safe environment. You’re always in control, able to stop reading, skip the parts you don’t like, and dictate how fast or slow you read.
What’s your favorite book series? Share them in the comments below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
