Our list of some of the best Psychological Horror books & series in recent years. Get inspired by one or more of the following books.
- Bad Inheritance (2019)
- The Pillow Friend: A Novel (2005)
- After Midnight (2006)
- Wicked Lies (2011)
- Berkley Street Series Books 1 – 9 (2018)
- Born Evil: A dark psychological thriller with a killer twist (2018)
- The Missing: A Thriller (2008)
- Gilchrist: A Novel (2017)
- Verity (2018)
- Haunted Collection Series: Books 1 to 3: Supernatural Horror with Scary Ghosts & Haunted Houses (Volume 1) (2018)
- The Girl Who Lived: A Thrilling Suspense Novel (2017)
- Madhouse: A Suspenseful Horror (2018)
Bad Inheritance (2019)
A thriller that will grip you with suspense and mystery!There are secrets better left aloneAfter the sudden death of his father, country doctor Nathan Fendall receives a strange inheritance: a remote property. But someone already lives there and simply refuses to move away.The tenant is estranged Uncle Eric.
The Pillow Friend: A Novel (2005)
As a child, Agnes Grey dreamed of the perfect friend to ease her loneliness: a doll that would talk to her, tell her stories, share her secrets. Only her aunt Marjorie seemed to really understand. Something of an outcast herself, she told Agnes she’ d had just such a doll when she was a child. She called it her pillow friend.
After Midnight (2006)
From Publishers Weekly Although Laymon died in 2001, his U.K. novels have only recently gotten an American release; this 1997 title is a sordid, flawed gem, both stomach churning and erotic, and not infrequently at the same time.
Wicked Lies (2011)
For two years, Justice Turnbull has paced his room at Halo Valley Security Hospital, planning to escape. Justice has a mission-one that began with a vicious murder two decades ago. And there are so many others who must be sent back to the hell that spawned them. . . Laura Adderley didn’t plan to get pregnant by her soon-to-be ex-husband, though she’ll do anything to protect her baby.
Berkley Street Series Books 1 – 9 (2018)
Shane Ryan is returning to his hometown of Nashua, and the childhood memories that have haunted him throughout his adult life. The sinister demon lurking behind his family home threats to spill over and destroy all that he holds near and dear…spurring Shane on a journey that will challenge everything he knows about himself and the world.
Born Evil: A dark psychological thriller with a killer twist (2018)
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU FOUND OUT YOUR CHILD IS A PSYCHOPATH? One night when Jennifer Hanson returns home, she catches her 12-year-old son Shane stabbing their cat to death. Thankfully, he doesn’t see her. Having long known Shane has a brain with psychopathic tendencies, her worst fears may be confirmed.
The Missing: A Thriller (2008)
A RAZOR-SHARP THRILLER FROM THE EDGAR AWARD-NOMINATED AUTHOR WHO “BLURS THE LINES BETWEEN DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES” (Abilene Reporter-News, TX) Darby McCormack was in high school when she first encountered the killer: someone murdered a woman in the woods where Darby and her two best friends were partying. His race to silence the witnesses was sure-footed and violent – but somehow Darby survived.
Gilchrist: A Novel (2017)
Two years after losing their infant son to a tragic accident, Peter Martell, a novelist with a peculiar knack for finding lost things, and his wife, Sylvia, are devastated to learn they may no longer be able to have children. In need of a fresh start, and compelled by strange dreams, the couple decide to rent a lake house in the idyllic town of Gilchrist, Massachusetts, a place where bad things might just happen for a reason.
Verity (2018)
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin. When Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, asks Lowen to complete the remaining books in a contract his permanently injured wife is unable to fulfill, Lowen has no choice but to accept.
Haunted Collection Series: Books 1 to 3: Supernatural Horror with Scary Ghosts & Haunted Houses (Volume 1) (2018)
After his wife is brutally murdered, Victor Daniels is thrust into a supernatural world he struggles to comprehend. Seeking answers, he teams up with paranormal expert Jeremy Rhinehart. They race against time to stop a man who's spreading chaos and violence by way of deadly, haunted objects
The Girl Who Lived: A Thrilling Suspense Novel (2017)
No one believes her story. The police think she’s crazy. Her therapist thinks she’s suicidal. Everyone else thinks she’s a dangerous drunk. They’re all right—but did she see the killer?
Madhouse: A Suspenseful Horror (2018)
Faced with his parents’ divorce, eleven-year-old Lucas runs away from home in the hope that his family will get back together to find him. While walking through the empty streets, he is picked up by a mysterious woman, who offers to take care of him and provide him with a loving family.The boy then wakes up in shackles, confined to a bed in a decrepit house in the middle of nowhere and will have to face his deepest fears in order to survive in his new home.
Best Psychological Horror Books: The Ultimate List
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some psychological horror books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Dark Dreams 2.0: A Psychological History of the Modern Horror Film from the 1950s to the 21st Century
Author(s): Charles Derry
ID: 401916, Publisher: McFarland, Year: 2009, Size: 15 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not definite. Some books are truly hot items according to Chicago Tribune, others are drafted by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant resources you could recommend? Drop a comment if you have any feedback on the list.