If you have been here a while, you probably saw this coming from a mile away. I have been just dipping my toes into horror but I have found a sweet spot with horror blend books. Horror-Mystery book series of Seishi Yokomizo, for example, has captured my imagination completely even with its 1940’s misogyny.

C. G. Drews’ botanical horrors and cozy horrors of T. Kingfisher have been the best reads for me in the last couple of years. But I have been expanding, wading deeper into the horror genre slowly. I recently read Molka by Monika Kim and boy, that female rage blended horror? I am so in for that.

Now, this introduction essentially establishes me as a noob horror genre fan, so this list of books I am hoping to read in Q2 of 2026 would be “spine-chilling” from that aspect. If you are an already hardcore horror fan, it’s completely okay to laugh at this list (Hey, I’m trying!).

So without further ado, let’s jump in!

How to Fake a Haunting by Christa Carmen

A woman trying to get out of a marriage decides to frighten her husband away. But these are forces you do not mess with without getting the situation out of control.

Christa Carmen is a Bram Stoker Award-winning author and How to Fake a Haunting is adds a toxic marriage in the horror plot and induces the horror. So the house was not haunted before she carefully conspired with her friend to make it so.

So as this plan blows up the face of Lainey and her friend, Adelaide, Lainey has to join forces with the alcoholic husband she is trying to get away from.

This sounds like exactly the chaos needed to spruce up a classic haunted house plot. I am looking forward to getting my hands on this book.

Mother is Watching by Karma Brown

This is a horror debut I am absolutely thrilled for. A mysterious painting is at the center of this horror plot of Mother is Watching.

Mathilde is a 39 YO mother working as an art conservator. She has been tasked with restoring the painting titled “The Mother”. The painting has a controversial past and is part of a collection by a surgeon-turned-artist following a personal tragedy.

There is an obvious connection to Mathilde being a mother, getting eerie visits from her long-dead mother and being unexpectedly pregnant. This painting is haunted and it is now haunting our protagonist.

I am intrigued about this scary painting, this is giving me Conjuring vibes and I am so here for it.

The Fourth Wife by Linda Hamilton

Historic gothic horror that is described to be a cross between The Hacienda and “Sister Wives”? Sign me right up.

A young Mormon woman living with her husband and his other wives is being haunted by the spirit of the mansion. The plot of The Fourth Wife by Linda Hamilton is set in 1882 in Utah territory. The feminist angle of the story is derived from the church sanctioned polygamy and the men in control of the religion and power.

The FMC, Hazel, has dreams that do not line up with her traditional lifestyle. She is commanded to marry a man she has never met before as his fourth wife, you see where the title comes from.

This is also where the haunted house is introduced in the plot, this husband of hers, Jacob has all his family living in this manor. There are dark secrets and resentments brewing in the house.

I am interested in reading about the Mormon folktales worked into this story. I am super excited for this debut that promises darkly romanctic, spine-tingling tale that would be completely unforgettable.

Nothing Tastes As Good by Luke Dumas

This one is more of a thriller but considering Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang was one of my best reads ever, this one promises scare that is exactly up my alley.

Nothing Tastes As Good by Luke Dumas is about a weight loss treatment that has some terrifying side effects. Emmett Truesdale has a weight issue that he is desperate to escape. His way out is a clinical trial. But he is losing long stretches of time and overwhelming cravings. More concerning is the fact that the people who were cruel to him have started disappearing. The police suspect there is a cannibalistic killer on the loose on the streets. Emmett suspects himself under the influence of this new weight-loss drug.

This body horror promises a social commentary that is very relevant to the times and twists that the readers wouldn’t be able to guess till the final page.

I am ready to lose some sleep over these books for the next couple of months. Are any of these on your TBR? Recommend books I could read after these (Yes, I know about Stephen King. Yes, I will read his books someday) that aren’t too scary.

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