This year brought out some heavy hitters in the horror-sphere, along with some fresh voices. Perfectly performed narrations delivered all the thrills and chills, and took care of our insatiable appetite for diverse scares. Horror steeped in Native American, African, and Mexican folklore shook things up, along with dark comedic moments, witches, and even werewolves. Check out the performances that made our year!
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Stephen Graham Jones is in a class of his own—he’s so damn good, it’s scary! (He’s also so scary, it’s scary.) But even at his level, this novel is a towering achievement. Were you thirsting for a new vampire? Meet Good Stab, a code-switching, blood-sucking Blackfeet man seeking revenge for a historical horror, based on the 1870 Marias Massacre, which left 217 of his people dead. The nested narration is flawless—Marin Ireland plays Etsy Beaucarne, who discovers the diary of her Lutheran pastor grandfather, performed by Owen Teale, who in turn recounts the disturbing confessions of Shane Ghostkeeper’s Good Stab. Haunting, ingenious, dense, and merciless, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter brings an indelible Indigenous voice to classic vampire tropes as well as an iconic new character and high-water mark from a horror legend. —Kat J.
Making the switch from cinema and theater came without a hitch to actor and director Nyasha Hatendi. Rooted in African folklore, his smash-hit Audible Original Sacrilege: Curse of the Mbirwi follows an African American family on vacation in Zimbabwe, but a trip meant to help them reconnect instead turns into the stuff of nightmares. Masterfully performed by nine narrators, with Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things, The Deliverance) in the lead, Sacrilege wowed us. To hear more from Nyasha Hatendi, check out our interview. —Nicole R.
Alex Finke and Natasha Soudek’s dual narration of Rachel Harrison’s Play Nice is powerful and unforgettable. This story delivers the classic haunted house trope in a refreshing new way, with a possessed home serving up terrifying twists that kept us hanging on every word until the end. The story blends together in an emotional whirlwind of fear, anxiety, and family drama. With the mind-bending moments of a demon-haunted home renovation, Rachel Harrison’s Play Nice is a petrifying and highly entertaining listen. —NR
What fresh hell is this? I mean that in the best way—this is Grady Hendrix, so “fresh hell” is quite appropriate! But it’s also the question on the mind of our main character when she’s unceremoniously dumped at a Florida home for unwed teenage mothers in the 1970s. Fifteen, knocked up, and scared out of her wits, Fern soon meets more “wayward girls” waiting out their pregnancies with fake names, cigarettes, and little else in the world ... until Fern gets her hands on a mysterious book that dangles something they’ve never had: power. If the pitch-perfect cast (Leslie Howard, Hillary Huber, and Sara Morsey), witchy plot, and ’70s vibes don’t put you under their spell, then the darkly swirling sisterhood and very real horrors of pregnancy and fear of women’s autonomy will. —KJ
Bestselling author Nat Cassidy combines a whole nest of ensnaring elements in his new horror listen, When the Wolf Comes Home. Packed with gory details as a woman and the young child she finds hiding in her bushes are sent on the run from chilling horrors, this story had me on the edge of my seat. I was entranced by the descriptive details and laughed at the lines delivered with hilarious wit by veteran voice actor Helen Laser. There was also surprising depth to this story, exploring father-son relationships and the horrors we hold within ourselves. For me, it was one of the most unforgettable audiobooks of the year. —NR
At a moment when eco-anxieties are at an all-time high, it’s only natural to find climate fiction among the year’s scariest horror stories. In the latest from Argentinian author and global literary horror sensation Agustina Bazterrica, a sacred nunnery must cloister among the decaying corpses of saints, all while foraging for answers on a collapsing, contaminated Earth. For fans of Bazterrica's previous work, there is just as much body horror in The Unworthy as there was in Tender Is the Flesh, her English-translated debut about industrialized cannibalism. This audiobook may be short, but it will stick with you for as long as the doomsday clock keeps ticking. —Haley H.
The “married women blowing up their lives” trope has been blazing since Miranda July’s All Fours lit the fire, and, with apologies to my husband, I’ve devoured every book on the subject. My favorite to date is Kat Dunn’s sapphic horror novel. A feminist reimagining of the queer classic Carmilla—an 1870s vampire novella that predates Dracula—Hungerstone is a sensual and intellectual delight. Reimagining vampires from the female gaze, Dunn subverts our expectations of the monster as a male predator. Instead, when unhappy wife Lenore meets mysterious Carmilla, their connection stirs up a terrible hunger that’s about more than bloodlust or sex. Whoever cast Perdita Weeks for the audiobook deserves a medal—put her bewitching voice in my veins, and the whole blood-drinking thing starts to sound pretty good! —KJ
Isabel Cañas is no stranger to our Best of the Year roundups, having made the list back in 2023 with The Vampires of El Norte. Now, she’s back in 2025 with a chilling tale following a demonic entity released from a Mexican silver mine and the woman it possesses. Carolina Hoyos and Anthony Rey Perez give captivating performances that perfectly channel the dark, gothic tones of the story. With her gift for vividly steeping her plots in atmospheric settings, Cañas has become a staple in Mexican gothic horror. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next! —NR
You may have heard the protagonist of Virginia Feito’s macabre second novel described as Jane Eyre meets Patrick Bateman, which is fair so long as you take that, polish it to the highest shine, and turn it up to 11. Victorian Psycho tells you what you’re going to get right in the title, but it’s the impeccable execution and no-she-didn’t commitment to the premise that will keep you gleefully listening as the gruesome deeds pile up. Narrator Anna Burnett slays as Winifred Notty, the strange new governess arriving at Ensor House in 1858. As she adapts to her phrenology-obsessed employer and creepy young charges, Ms. Notty’s Bluebeard-dark past and violent inner monologue threaten to cast a shadow over the gothic manor and all its inhabitants. Sorry, did I say shadow? Alas, it’s far, far worse—and I loved every minute! —KJ
Stephen King’s newest Holly Gibney tale takes listeners uncomfortably and unforgettably inside the mind of the killer, giving listeners access to his sinister thoughts and plans for a murder spree. The story is chilling and packed with terrifying details, but King also provides more to love about his relatable protagonist, Investigator Holly Gibney. Holly is one of my favorite characters in the King-verse, and after this book I felt like I understood her better than ever. Performed by Tony Award-winning actress Jessie Mueller, all of the character perspectives are delivered with perfect conviction. —NR
