Preview
  • The Hunger

  • By: Alma Katsu
  • Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
  • Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (2,071 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Hunger

By: Alma Katsu
Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Publisher's summary

"Supernatural suspense at its finest...The best thing about The Hunger is that it will scare the pants off you."—The New York Times Book Review

"Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not recommended reading after dark."Stephen King

A tense and gripping reimagining of one of America's most fascinating historical moments: the Donner Party with a supernatural twist.

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere.

That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos. They cannot seem to escape tragedy...or the feelings that someone—or something—is stalking them. Whether it's a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner (who some think might be a witch), their ill-advised choice of route through uncharted terrain, or just plain bad luck, the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history.

As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains...and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.

Effortlessly combining the supernatural and the historical, The Hunger is an eerie, thrilling look at the volatility of human nature, pushed to its breaking point.

©2018 Alma Katsu (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

An NPR Best Horror Novel

A Suspense Magazine Best Book of the Year

Winner of the Western Heritage Award

Finalist for the Bram Stoker Award

Finalist for the Locus Award

And one of...

The New York Times's 50 States, 50 Scares Picks

O, The Oprah Magazine's Scariest Books of All Time

Women's Republic's Ten Horror Books by Women to Read This October

TODAY.com's 13 Scary Books, From Classics to Modern Fiction, to Read for Halloween

AARP Magazine's 20 Scary Books for Grownups

Forbes's The Five Best Horror Books of 2018-2019

Vulture’s 13 Great Horror Books Written by Women

Refinery29's 20 Terrifying Books for When You've Already Read All The Spooky Season Classics

BookRiot's 15 Favorite Historical Thrillers

BookRiot's 9 Great Camping Horror Books

BookRiot's Best Horror Books of the Decade

The Observer's Best Books of 2018

InsideHook's New Wester Canon Selections

Mental Floss’ 13 Essential Horror Novels From The Last Five Years

Goodreads’ The Most Popular Horror Novels of the Past Five Years

Shondaland’s 16 Spine-Tingling Reads for Halloween

Men’s Health’s Best Horror Books

“Supernatural suspense at its finest...It is strangely ethereal, yet gritty...But the best thing about The Hunger is that it will scare the pants off you....Enjoy the journey, one so entertaining that you almost don't mind feeling queasy at dinner.”—The New York Times Book Review

"Not only will Alma Katsu's acclaimed novel haunt you, it will give you empathy for the people forced to undergo such horrors."—O, The Oprah Magazine

“Katsu shows an acute understanding of human nature.…[She] is at her best when she forces her readers to stare at the almost unimaginable meeting of ordinary people and extraordinary desperation, using her sharp, haunting language.”USA Today

Featured Article: Looking for a Fright? Here Are the Best Contemporary Horror Authors to Listen to Right Now


When it comes to horror, there’s no shortage of unique tales. Horror authors have a talent for mining our deepest fears and insecurities, then using them to tell fascinating, engaging, and horrifying stories. While there are so many classic horror authors to explore, this list focuses on a selection of current, contemporary writers whose works are as enthralling as they are terrifying.