Whether theyâre craving a good scare to be immersed in spooky season or theyâre seeking spine-tingling reads year-round, teens are sure to find thrills and chills aplenty with the horror books featured here.
1. Ten by Gretchen McNeil

McNeilâs thrillerâinspired by Agatha Christieâs And Then There Were Noneâputs 10 teens on an island with a killer whoâs seeking vengeance.
Buy it: Ten at Amazon
2. The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

Fans of Midsommar will devour La Salaâs sharp and observant horror novel set at a summer camp thatâs idyllic on the surface but is hiding dark secrets.
Buy it: The Honeys at Amazon
3. The Island by Natasha Preston

Preston is considered one of the top authors of young adult thrillers. This novel sends six highly sought-after influencers to an amusement park for the extremely wealthy, but they soon learn their lives are in danger.
Buy it: The Island at Amazon
4. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

This reissue of Duncanâs excellent novel has been updated for todayâs teens (â70s era references have been tweaked for the social media set), but the story of students seeking to teach their mean teacher a lesson remains as gripping as ever.
Buy it: Killing Mr. Griffin at Amazon
5. Youâre Not Supposed To Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

Slasher-flick fans will adore Bayronâs novel, set at a horror movieâthemed summer camp where counselor Charity is having a blast playing âfinal girlââuntil the role-play becomes all too real.
Buy it: Youâre Not Supposed To Die Tonight at Amazon
6. Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Tokuda-Hallâs feminist graphic novel invites readers to step inside the most popular clique at a San Francisco high school. The twist? The girls are werewolves.
Buy it: Squad at Amazon
7. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Looking for classic horror books for teens? Anyone into horror has to read Mary Shelleyâs classic monster story, written when she was just a teen herself.
Buy it: Frankenstein at Amazon
8. Thereâs Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Perkinsâ novelâalready adapted for Netflixâcenters on a new girl in town whose classmates are being murdered one by one.
Buy it: Thereâs Someone Inside Your House at Amazon
9. Carrie by Stephen King

King is the king of horror for a reasonâthis early novel of his moves at a fast clip and centers on a high school misfit who can move things with her mind. The rare King book with a slim page count that makes it perfect for busy teens.
Buy it: Carrie at Amazon
10. Frightmares by Eva V. Gibson

This 2023 Edgar Award nominee for Best YA Horror Novel centers on the teen employees of a Florida haunted house attraction who have to seek answers when one of their co-workers turns up dead.
Buy it: Frightmares at Amazon
11. Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

The winner of multiple awards, Cesareâs novel is set in a small town whose teen population canât wait to leave. And they might not be able to when the clown mascot of its corn syrup factory starts murdering them one by one.
Buy it: Clown in a Cornfield at Amazon
12. My Best Friendâs Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Taking place in 1988, Hendrixâs supernatural horror novel focuses on a pair of best friends whose enduring bond faces a test when the devil possesses one of them.
Buy it: My Best Friendâs Exorcism at Amazon
13. Hide by Kiersten White

A fast-paced plot and an appealing cast of characters fill out Whiteâs cinematic novel, where 14 competitors must spend a week surviving in an abandoned amusement park, where the winner gets rich but the losers might not make it out alive.
Buy it: Hide at Amazon
14. #MurderTrending by Gretchen McNeil

Another great read from McNeil, about a near future where entertainment comes via watching live prisoner executions streaming on an app that broadcasts from Alcatraz 2.0. When teen Dee wakes up in a daze and realizes that sheâs not at home but next on the chopping block for a crime she didnât commit, she needs to do whatever she can to save herself.
Buy it: #MurderTrending at Amazon
15. Amity by Micol Ostow

Ostow, who also pens graphic novels based on the Riverdale television series, weaves a genuinely chilling tale about a house that gains an evil grip on all of its inhabitantsâand forces them to do its bidding. Based on a true crime story, this one will have teens jumping at every creak and groan of their own homes.
Buy it: Amity at Amazon
16. I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

Duncanâs novel inspired the popular movie of the same name, about four teens who commit a deadly hit-and-run that prompts a killer who knows their secret to haunt them at every turn.
Buy it: I Know What You Did Last Summer at Amazon
17. Fear Street: The New Girl by R.L. Stine

Every â90s kid remembers the phenomenon that was Fear Street, but R.L. Stineâs seriesâwhich kicks off with this book about a mysterious new studentâwill win over Gen Z, too.
Buy it: Fear Street: The New Girl at Amazon
18. Remember Me by Christopher Pike

A contemporary of R.L. Stine, Christopher Pikeâs Remember Me is one of his best. Shari Cooper wakes and canât remember getting homeâonly to find that sheâs dead and must confront a nightmarish being called The Shadow to learn the truth about her death. Â
Buy it: Remember Me at Amazon
19. The Merciless by Danielle Vega

First in a trilogy, MTV.com described Vegaâs novel as The Exorcist meets Mean Girls. This page-turning fright fest features a clique that believes one of its members is possessed.
Buy it: The Merciless at Amazon
20. Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

When a group of YouTubers who go by the Ghost Gang visit a haunted hotel, theyâre expecting a spooky atmosphere with no real threats. But in the room once rented to a serial killer, they get more than they bargained for.
Buy it: Horror Hotel at Amazon
21. All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

In the Midwest in 1958, Michael Jensonâs journalistic dreams lead him to investigate the mystery of violent murders in which the bodies turn up drained of all their blood. But when the killer strikes close to homeâmurdering a family he knowsâMichael gets pulled in deeper when the girl at the scene of the crime says sheâll only speak to him about what really happened.
Buy it: All These Bodies at Amazon
22. I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea

Perfectionist Laure Mesny will do anything to prove that a Black dancer can be the star of the Parisian ballet, even descend into the Catacombs to strike a deal with a river of blood. As she becomes a star and a vengeful monster, Laure must contend not only with the demons haunting her but with the bloodthirsty monstersâboth human and demonâwho are out to get her.
Buy it: I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me at Amazon
23. Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky

Moldavsky, also author of The Mary Shelley Club, delivers excellent social commentary in this satirical thriller about influencers stranded at an exclusive music festival on a tropical island.
Buy it: Lord of the Fly Fest at Amazon
What are your favorite horror books for teens? Share them in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.
If you liked these horror books for teens, check out this list of Picture Books To Use in Your High School English Lessons.
