Audiobooks have revolutionized literature. They add more dimensions to each story, letting you immerse yourself deeper into the action and understand the characters on a more intimate level.
When it comes to horror especially, sometimes reading is no longer enough. You need to hear the dread and suspense as the writer tortures your favorite characters with whatever terror they’ve conjured.
And don’t forget the narrator! Good narrators bring life to the narrative, setting the tone and pace while giving voices to characters so you can get a better feel for what makes them tick.
Best Horror Audiobooks
We’ve assembled a list of the best horror audiobooks for you, both in narrative and narration. Get ready for voices filled with fear, desperate screams, creepy whispers, and sinister narration being delivered right into your ears.
1. The Whisper Man by Alex North
Narrator: Christopher Eccleston
Listening Length: 9 hours and 38 minutes
A man and his son move to a new town and struggle to start over again while dealing with a recent death. But a young boy soon disappears and fear of the Whisper Man’s return from 20 years ago holds the town hostage again.
2. The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher
Narrator: Hillary Huber
Listening Length: 11 hours and 4 minutes
Mouse agrees to clean out her grandmother’s house after her passing. While cleaning, Mouse stumbles into her step-grandfather’s journal, which contains all sorts of ramblings that she dismisses as fiction. But there’s something in the nearby woods, and it’s been watching her for a while now.
3. The Year of the Witching by Alex Henderson
Narrator: Brianna Colette
Listening Length: 11 hours and 37 minutes
Immanuelle tries so hard to conform to the values of Bethel, the place she lives in, as a way to atone for her mother’s unconformist ways. When she wanders into the forbidden Darkwood by accident, she discovers her mother’s diary. Soon she begins to doubt that the church she has trusted so much in might be different from what it claims to be.
4. The Elementals by Michael McDowell
Narrator: Michael Rowe
Listening Length: 8 hours and 6 minutes
Two families, joined by marriage, have just buried their Matriarch. They travel to Beldame, Alabama for a day of quiet relaxation. Two of their vacation houses are habitable, while a third is in slow decay. But the third house is not as empty as they thought and holds a horror that has plagued the families for generations— and it’s awake.
5. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Listening Length: 7 hours and 27 minutes
Four strangers—an occult scholar, his assistant, a homeless girl, and an adventurous heir—decide to brave the abandoned and allegedly haunted Hill House. All they expect are closing doors, spooky sounds, and creaky floors but Hill House has something much worse for one of them.
6. Psycho by Robert Bloch
Narrator: Richard Powers
Listening Length: 5 hours and 23 minutes
Out of the gloom shines the neon sign of the Bates Motel, an inviting sight for Mary Crane who’s on the run and desperately in need of rest. The manager and his mother seem odd, but that’s something she can tolerate for a night. What she doesn’t know is that someone’s already watching her closely.
7. My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due
Narrator: Peter Francis James
Listening Length: 18 hours and 17 minutes
Jessica’s living a life of bliss— a loving partner, adorable children, and a beautiful home in Miami. But her perfect life is thrown into chaos when her husband unveils his dark secret. He’s immortal, and his brethren want him back.
8. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
Narrator: Lauren Ezzo
Listening Length: 12 hours and 58 minutes
For generations, girls have been disappearing from Sawkill Rock but no one’s been brave enough to confront the evil responsible—until now. Awkward Marion, Loner Zoey, and Queen Bee Val are the unlikely trio who must band together to put an end to a decades-long tragedy.
9. There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
Narrator: Bahni Turpin
Listening Length: 9 hours and 26 minutes
Makani Young has lived with her grandmother for a year now, but she’s still in the process of settling in and forgetting her dark past. But students in her high school begin horrifically dying one by one and Makani begins to wonder if it’s all linked to her gruesome past.
10. My Mother’s House by Francesca Momplaisir
Narrators: Karen Chilton, Janina Edwards, Dion Graham
Listening Length: 10 hours and 23 minutes
Lucien, with his family, moves from Haiti to New York in search for a wealthy and comfortable life. He buys a rundown house in a quickly transforming neighborhood that soon becomes a haven for fellow immigrants.
But soon Lucien falls to the evils of a country he barely knows, indulging in all his worst depravities. What he doesn’t know is that the house is watching, and it’s decided to punish him for his sins.
11. My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier
Narrators: David Linski
Listening Length: 12 hours and 39 minutes
10-year-old Rosa is smart, talented, and pretty. Her older brother, Che, is pretty sure she’s also a psychopath. Recently she’s been into playing dangerous and disturbing games. Now their family’s just moved to New York and Rosa’s been handed far too many opportunities to indulge in her increasingly scary games.
12. Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
Narrators: Christine Lakin
Listening Length: 24 hours and 32 minutes
Kate Reese and her son Christopher are fleeing an abusive relationship. They settle down on Mill Grove, Pennsylvania, which seems like the perfect place. Then Christopher disappears for six whole days only to reappear from the woods. But now there’s a voice only he can hear and a tragedy only he can prevent.
Listening to Horror Audiobooks
Tension and atmosphere are huge elements of the Horror genre and they’re both enhanced when conveyed through sound. When you hear screams dripping with fear, spooky noises, and horrifying dialogue, it just makes you feel that the story’s happening right beside you.
Audiobooks are a good way of adding some extra spice to your literary adventures. If you’re looking to push the boundaries of your horror experiences, then audiobooks are a great format to check out.
Do you have your own favorite horror audiobook? Share it 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!
