Horror Master Stephen King Says These 9 Books ‘Scared the Living Hell’ Out of Him

Stephen King has spent more than 50 years terrifying readers, so when a horror novel manages to scare him, it’s probably worth paying attention (if you know what’s good for you!). The author of The Shining, IT, Pet Sematary and ’Salem’s Lot is also a famously enthusiastic reader, regularly using interviews, social media and even book blurbs to champion writers and stories that have captured his imagination.

And there’s no question that King doesn’t limit his recommendations to one kind of scary story. Over the past decade or so, he’s praised everything from gruesome body horror and demonic possession to haunted houses, witches, vampires and historical supernatural tales. Some come from established horror favorites such as Paul Tremblay and Josh Malerman, while others helped introduce King’s enormous readership to writers they might not otherwise have discovered.

We’ve gathered nine modern horror novels that earned King’s seal of approval, beginning with Nick Cutter’s stomach-churning The Troop and continuing through Keith Rosson’s vampire novel Coffin Moon. There’s even a book that’s about to make the leap to the big screen: Malerman’s Incidents Around the House, the inspiration for the upcoming movie Other Mommy.

‘The Troop’ (2014)

Author: Nick Cutter
Horror type: Body horror/survival horror

What it’s about: Scoutmaster Tim Riggs takes five boys into the Canadian wilderness for their annual camping trip, but their isolation turns terrifying when an emaciated stranger arrives at their campsite. He’s carrying something far more dangerous than the boys initially realize, transforming their weekend into a gruesome fight for survival. The publisher describes the premise as Lord of the Flies meets 28 Days Later.
Stephen King says: “The Troop scared the hell out of me, and I couldn’t put it down. This is old-school horror at its best.”

‘A Head Full of Ghosts’ (2015)

Author: Paul Tremblay
Horror type: Possession horror/psychological horror

What it’s about: Fourteen-year-old Marjorie Barrett begins exhibiting symptoms of severe mental illness, but when conventional treatment fails, her family turns to a Catholic priest who believes she may be possessed. Financial problems then lead the Barretts to allow a television crew into their home to film a reality series about Marjorie, blurring the lines between illness, possession, exploitation and performance.
Stephen King says: “A Head Full of Ghosts scared the living hell out of me, and I’m pretty hard to scare.”

‘Hex’ (2016)

Author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Horror type: Witch horror/supernatural horror

What it’s about: The residents of Black Spring, New York, live with a bizarre secret: the Black Rock Witch, a 17th-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut, wanders freely through their homes and streets. The townspeople use technology and surveillance to keep both her and their curse hidden from outsiders, but when teenagers decide to expose the haunting online, their actions threaten to unleash something far worse.
Stephen King says: “This is totally, brilliantly original.”

‘The Hunger’ (2018)

Author: Alma Katsu
Horror type: Historical horror / supernatural horror/survival horror

What it’s about: Katsu takes one of the darkest episodes in American history—the doomed Donner Party expedition—and reimagines it as supernatural horror. As the pioneers make their increasingly desperate journey west, starvation, disease, suspicion and death mount, while the possibility emerges that something unnatural may be following them.
Stephen King says: “Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not recommended reading after dark.”

‘The Chill’ (2020)

Author: Scott Carson
Horror type: Supernatural horror/disaster horror

What it’s about: Beneath the Chilewaukee reservoir in upstate New York lies a town that was deliberately flooded a century earlier to provide water for millions of people downstate. Now the aging dam is threatening to fail—and the people whose community was sacrificed haven’t necessarily gone quietly. A potentially catastrophic natural disaster becomes intertwined with a supernatural reckoning that could ultimately threaten New York City.

Stephen King says: “Wow! This is one terrific horror/suspense novel. Characters you root for and a story that grips from the first page.” 

‘Fever House’ (2023)

Author: Keith Rosson
Horror type: Supernatural horror/apocalyptic horror

What it’s about: Portland leg-breaker Hutch Holtz goes to collect an overdue drug debt and discovers a severed hand in his client’s refrigerator. The hand possesses a horrifying power: people exposed to it become overwhelmed by an uncontrollable compulsion toward violence. Soon, Hutch, a rock musician and a secretive government agency become entangled in a supernatural crisis threatening the entire city.
Stephen King says: “Exciting, suspenseful, horrifying and written at a flurry-of-punches pace. Read Fever House now!”

‘The Reformatory’ (2023)

Author: Tananarive Due
Horror type: Historical horror/supernatural horror/Southern Gothic

What it’s about: In Jim Crow-era Florida in 1950, 12-year-old Robbie Stephens Jr. is sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys after defending his older sister. The segregated reformatory is brutal enough without the supernatural—but Robbie can see ghosts, or “haints,” who begin revealing what has happened to boys who disappeared there. Due drew inspiration from her own family history and the notorious Dozier School for Boys.
Stephen King says: “You’re in for a treat. The Reformatory is one of those books you can’t put down. Tananarive Due hit it out of the park.”

‘Incidents Around the House’ (2024)

Author: Josh Malerman
Horror type: Supernatural horror/haunted-house horror

What it’s about: Eight-year-old Bela lives with Mommy, Daddo and Grandma Ruth—but there’s also “Other Mommy,” a malevolent presence that repeatedly asks Bela the same disturbing question: “Can I go inside your heart?” As Bela continues refusing, Other Mommy becomes stronger and more threatening, while fractures within Bela’s family make her increasingly vulnerable. The adaptation of this novel, Other Mommy, reaches theaters on October 9. 

Stephen King says: “This is the rare novel that’s authentically scary.”

‘Coffin Moon’ (2025)

Author: Keith Rosson
Horror type: Vampire horror/revenge horror

What it’s about: Vietnam veteran Duane Minor has returned home carrying the psychological scars of war and trying to build a life with his wife, Heidi, and their adopted niece, Julia. Then a vampire slaughters members of their family, setting Duane and Julia on a violent pursuit of the creature—and forcing them to confront what their hunger for revenge may turn them into. Penguin Random House describes it as a story about what remains of our humanity when grief becomes violence and monsters can wear human faces.
Stephen King says: “Best modern vampire story ever . . . a mind-blowingly good horror novel that will keep you awake long after you turn the last page.”