Horror novels are great to read year-round, but there’s nothing quite like curling up with a good horror when the air is crisp and colder months are upon us. There are plenty of books to choose from in this genre, with some great new releases this year. So if you’re looking for some new horror books to read, I’ve compiled a list of horror novels released in 2021 that will keep you guessing and your heart racing.

THE BOOK OF ACCIDENTS by Chuck Wendig

A family returns to their hometown–and to the dark past that haunts them still.

SUMMER SONS by Lee Mandelo

Lee Mandelo’s debut Summer Sons is a sweltering, queer Southern Gothic that crosses Appalachian street racing with academic intrigue, all haunted by a hungry ghost.

NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH by Cassandra Khaw

Cassandra Khaw’s Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a gorgeously creepy haunted house tale, steeped in Japanese folklore and full of devastating twists.

THE LAST HOUSE ON NEEDLESS STREET by Catriona Ward

In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what is buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.

MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW by Stephen Graham Jones

In her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her.

THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP by Grady Hendrix

In horror movies, the final girls are the ones left standing when the credits roll. They made it through the worst night of their lives…but what happens after?

SORROWLAND by Rivers Solomon

Rivers Solomon’s Sorrowland is a genre-bending work of Gothic fiction. Here, monsters aren’t just individuals, but entire nations.

HOLLOW by Brian Catling

From the acclaimed author of the Vorrh Trilogy comes an epic odyssey following a group of mercenaries hired to escort a divine oracle on a long journey amidst a war between the living and the dead.

THE WOODS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING by Stephanie Perkin

Best friends Neena and Josie spent high school as outsiders, but at least they had each other. Now, with college and a two-thousand-mile separation looming on the horizon, they have one last chance to be together–a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest.

THE MARY SHELLEY CLUB by Goldy Moldavsky

Rachel is recruited by the Mary Shelley Club, a mysterious society of students who orchestrate Fear Tests, elaborate pranks inspired by urban legends and movie tropes. At first, Rachel embraces the power that comes with reckless pranking. But as the Fear Tests escalate, the competition turns deadly, and it’s clear Rachel is playing a game she can’t afford to lose.

NEAR THE BONE by Christina Henry

A woman trapped on a mountain attempts to survive more than one kind of monster, in a dread-inducing horror novel from the national bestselling author Christina Henry.

What do you think of the books on this list?

Have you read any of these books on our list?  What are some of your favorite horror novels?  Let me know your thoughts, ideas, and book suggestions in the comments below!