Must-Read Horror Novels of 2022

Horror is a subjective genre. What is horrifying or shocking to you can be laughable to others. But this genre is well-loved and well-read since 1800s. We started from with gothic horror, monsters, and vampires. And now, the genre includes ghosts, serial killers, psychopaths, and more. So, in this spooky month of October, we have made a list of must-read horror novels of 2022.

Sundial by Catriona Ward

This twisty psychological horror book is focused on Rob. Rob always wanted a normal life and she almost had it too. Rob had it all a nice house, a husband, and two kids. But she is afraid about her oldest daughter named Callie. Callie whispers to imaginary friends and collects tiny bones. She reminds Rob of the family she has left behind. Rob decides to take Callie back to that place, Sundial in the Mojave Desert. She will have to take a difficult decision and perhaps one of them will leave this place alive.

The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson

Chelsea Martin has a perfect life and she seems like the best housewife. She is married to her high school sweetheart, has two daughters, and is a great keeper of a flawless home. But, it’s not perfect whatsoever. Her husband has been abusing her for years now. She has no freedom, autonomy, or support. Chelsea has nowhere else to go. Her mother Patricia is narcissistic and more concerned with the portrayal of an ideal family. Chelsea doesn’t want her daughters to live in this prison. Then an enigmatic illness sweeps the nation. Whoever gets affected experience an explosion of animalistic rage and attacks whoever is in front of them. This sounds like a plan for Chelsea to get away from her abusive life.

Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. Marrow

Farrah Turner is 17-year-old, one of the two black girls in her country club community. She is the only one with black parents. Her best friend Cherish Whitman is adopted by an affluent white family which Farrah calls WGS (white girl spoiled). Farrah believes that she can exploit what all Cherish receives. As Farrah manipulates her way into the Whitman family, the longer she stays. Farrah’s family suggests something is not right about Whitman’s. But everything starts to change when weird things start happening in the Whitman household.

The Fervor by Alma Katsu

During 1944 World War II, in a remote corner of Idaho, Meiko and Aiko are desperate to return home. The mother and daughter were taken from their home in Seattle and sent to one of the internment camps following Meiko’s husband’s air force enlistment. They were Japanese, and although Aiko was American-born, that didn’t matter. Japanese are still considered a threat to the US government. The disease begins to spread among the interned. It starts as a cold and then turns into violence and death. Meiko and Aiko team up with a widowed missionary and news reporter to investigate the situation. It becomes clear that a demon from stories of Meiko’s childhood is determined to infiltrate their already strange world.

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

Lydia always wanted to try Japanese food like onigiri, sashimi, and ramen – the food her Japanese father liked. There is bubble tea, ice cream, foraged herbs, plants, and more grown by another young artist at the London studio, Lydia secretly squatting in. But, even though Lydia is hungry she can’t eat any of those. Her body does not function like other people’s. Lydia can only digest blood. And, since she is away from her vampire mother this is a huge problem. Some strange men follow her after dark. Lydia is developing feelings for a goofy boyish artist named Ben. She knows that these humans are her natural prey but she can’t bring herself to feed on them. Lydia has several things that a human wants but she is lonely, miserable, and HUNGRY.

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

16-year-old trans boy Benji is running away from the cult that raised him. The cult unleashed Armageddon and devastated the world’s population. Benji is desperately searching for a place where they can’t find him and the bioweapon they infected him with. When monsters born from destruction tried to corner him, he was rescued by ALC, a local Acheson LGBTQ+ center. Nick, the leader is charming and autistic and is aware of Benji’s darkest secret. On the other hand, the infected bioweapon is mutating him into a monster that can wipe out humanity.

Hide by Kiersten White

The challenge is to spend in a week in an abandoned amusement park without getting caught. There are fourteen competitors and a week. And, the prize is enough money that can change everything. Mack is certain that she will be able to beat her competitors. She is an expert at hiding. it is the reason why she is the only one alive in her family. When people start to disappear one after another, she realizes this is more sinister than she imagined. It became apparent that they can hide anywhere but run nowhere.

Dead Silence by S. A. Barnes

Claire Kovalik is about to lose her job when her crew picked up a strange distress signal. She has nothing left to lose and no longing to back to earth. They decide to investigate where this signal is coming from. The other end of the signal is the Aurora, a space-liner that disappeared on its tour of the solar system some twenty years ago. This search could set the life of Claire and her team. But a quick trip through Aurora unravels that something is wrong.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

After several years of seeing the suffering of her sisters by an abusive prince, Marra realized no one is coming to rescue them. Only she can help them out. She seeks help from a grave witch and receives the tools to kill the prince. But she will get those tools if she completes three tasks. This is the beginning of the impossible. On her journey, she is joined by the grave witch, a former knight, a chicken possessed by a a demon, and fairy godmother. Together they intend to hand the tool that will free Marra’s family and the kingdom from this ruler.

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

1978 – Dr. Helen Hildreth, a brilliant psychiatrist in Vermont is popular for her compassionate work. However, when she is home with her grandchildren Vi and Eric she is just their Gran. She is preparing food for them, teaches them how to take care of pets, and giving them love and care. One day Gran brings Iris into their house. She is silent, feral, and skittish and behaves nothing like a normal girl. Still, Vi is ecstatic to have a new playmate. The three of them do everything together. 2019 – Popular podcast host of Monsters Among Us, Lizzy Shelley is going to Vermont where a young girl got abducted and a monster is in town. Lizzy is certain that she can catch the monster because she knows more about the monster than anyone else.

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