10 Horror Novels Written by Black Authors You Must Read

Horror literature written by Black authors is notable for blending traditional horror with the everyday terror of structural racism and oppression. The genre is often used as a powerful tool to explore historical traumas, inequality, and the struggle for survival throughout history.

Here are 10 horror novels written by Black authors that you should read to explore a unique perspective.

1. The Between by Tananarive Due

This 1995 novel follows Hilton, a man who was saved from drowning as a child by his grandmother. Years later, he begins to suspect that dark forces are working to correct that mistake, blurring the line between reality and nightmare as he fights to protect his family. Due is a pioneering figure in Black horror.

2. Jackal by Erin E. Adams

In this debut novel, Liz Rocher returns to her predominantly white hometown for a friend's wedding, only for the couple's daughter to disappear. Liz uncovers a horrifying pattern of Black girls going missing in the woods, linking the present to a violent history. The book was named one of the best horror books of 2022 by Publishers Weekly.

3. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

This surreal and elegant novel centers on the Silver family's strange house in Dover, England, which has a hostile, sentient presence. After the death of her mother, Miranda Silver begins to suffer from an eating disorder and hears voices, as the house's malevolence turns against outsiders. Oyeyemi is known for her unique blend of horror and literary fiction.

4. The Good House by Tananarive Due

Angela Toussaint returns to her late grandmother's beloved home in Washington state, known as "the Good House," to uncover the truth behind her son's tragic death two years prior. She must confront a terrifying entity her grandmother battled decades ago and a potential curse on the entire town.

5. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

A darkly comic and thrilling novel set in Nigeria, it follows Korede, a nurse who is repeatedly called upon by her beautiful, younger sister, Ayoola, to clean up after Ayoola has killed her boyfriends. The story takes a tense turn when Ayoola begins dating the doctor Korede is secretly in love with.

6. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

A novella that reimagines H.P. Lovecraft's "The Horror at Red Hook" from the perspective of a Black man in 1920s New York. Charles Thomas Tester, a street hustler, gets entangled in a world of eldritch magic and cosmic horror, turning the original story's racist undertones on their head.

7. The Changelin by Victor LaValle

This award-winning novel follows Apollo Kagwa, a rare-book dealer and new father, whose wife, Emma, commits a horrific act and vanishes. His quest to find her and his son takes him on a dark odyssey through New York City, a forgotten island, and a forest where immigrant legends live. It won an American Book Award and a World Fantasy Award.

8. The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle

Set in a budget-strapped mental institution in Queens, the story follows Pepper, a man who is wrongfully committed. On his first night, he is attacked by a terrifying, bison-headed creature that roams the halls. He rallies three other patients to fight back against the monster and the system that holds them captive.

9. All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby

This novel features Titus Crown, the first Black sheriff in the small Southern town of Charon County. After a year in office, a school shooting leads him to uncover a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, forcing him to navigate racism, secrets, and violence in his own community.

10. The Spite House by Johnny Compton

Eric Ross is on the run with his two daughters and takes a job as a caretaker for the Masson House, one of the most notoriously haunted properties in Texas. The job offers a huge payout if they can survive and document the paranormal activity, but the house's horrors threaten to drive them mad. This is Compton's acclaimed debut novel.