Best Horror Books of the Century So Far

This year, Book Riot has been looking back at the best books of the century so far, broken out by genre and format. Publishing has changed a lot in the past 26 years, but one of the genres that has transformed the most is horror. In the 80s and 90s, horror was dominated by straight white cis men readers and authors. Fast forward to 2026, and horror has become much more diverse, with Black horror, queer and trans horror, and Japanese horror in particular making a big impact on the genre in recent years. No single list can contain a genre as vast as horror, of course, but this one aims to highlight the standout titles across subgenres, age categories, and formats. They represent the biggest and buzziest horror books of the century, the most influential titles of the genre, and our personal favorites. They include horror comics, dark fiction anthologies, sci-fi horror, gothic novels, ghost stories, YA horror, and even a scary story picture book. Some of the biggest authors in horror, like Stephen King, don’t make an appearance, because their most well-known titles were published prior to the 2000s. You will, however, find a retelling of a Stephen King classic: retellings and reimagini...