11 New Horror Books Coming Out in January and February

As we leave the holiday season behind us, it's the perfect time to dig into books that are a little less cheerful and a little more scary to begin the new year. From supposed haunted cemeteries to possibly possessed teenagers to horrifying recurring nightmares, start your year off right with some new horror reads sure to chill you. For younger readers looking for something to terrify, don't you worry! There are new wonderfully scary reads waiting for you, too. Dive into the latest scares with these eleven horror books out in January and February to kickstart your year of literary scares.

Adult

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (January 14)

Grady Hendrix, author of How to Sell a Haunted House and My Best Friend's Exorcism, is out with another can't-miss horror novel. It's 1970 at the Wellwood House where unwed pregnant girls are sent to endure their pregnancies until they give birth in secret. Then their babies will be adopted out and they can re-enter society as if it never happened. Fifteen-year-old Fern finds herself at Wellwood House with the other wayward girls under the watchful eye of the staff there. But when a chance encounter at a traveling library brings a book of spells into the girls' lives, their hyper-ordered days spiral out of control. For body horror and a bleak look at the realities of pregnancy both in the past and in the modern day, get your hands on this one ASAP.

Strange Pictures by Uketsu, Translated by Jim Rion (January 14)

Popular Japanese YouTuber and author Uketsu is known for "sketch mysteries," stories built around drawings. In Strange Pictures, three separate stories collide in an interwoven mystery. When a college student encounters strange drawings on a seemingly inactive blog, he becomes convinced something sinister happened to a young woman named Yuki mentioned in the blog's posts. Through illustrations, the reader and the main character must decode the mystery of what happened. Can you solve the mystery faster than the protagonist? Pick this up to find out.

Strange Stones by Edward Lee and Mary SanGiovanni (January 21)

At just over 100 pages, Strange Stones is a great choice if you're looking for a quick scare! Professor Everard is a critic of H.P. Lovecraft and wrote a book to prove it. Now, he's setting up shop at horror conventions to sell his book. But when a woman with the powers of a witch grows angry at his criticism of her favorite author, she puts a spell on Professor Everard. A spell that puts him into the universe of one H.P. Lovecraft.

At Dark, I Become Loathsome by Eric LaRocca (January 28)

Author of award-winning Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes, Eric LaRocca is back with another horror-filled, disturbing book to keep you up at night. In this one, Ashley is reeling from the loss of both his wife and his son. Struggling with suicidal ideation, Ashley sets up an online forum advertising a ritual he developed to help others experiencing the same thoughts he is. Heavy with grief and graphic depictions of violence, this one will leave your skin crawling.

Listen to Your Sister by Neena Viel (February 4)

After their mother abandons them, 25-year-old Calla takes on the role of guardian for her two younger brothers. Soon after, she's plagued by dreams in which her brothers die, unable to do anything to stop it. After odd encounters with a strange woman put her on edge, Calla relocates with her brothers to an isolated cabin to regroup and reconnect. But as her dreams grow more and more vivid and the odd encounters only get stranger, Calla wonders if this was the right choice after all. Trauma, family, and fear collide in this riveting debut horror novel.

The Pink Agave Motel: & Other Stories by V. Castro (February 11)

V. Castro, a two-time Bram Stoker Award nominee, opens the new year with a new short story collection full of her signature prose in which violence meets sexuality. The collection's stories are full of vampires, zombies, and other monsters all hungry for something and desperate to be satisfied. If you're looking for something both brutal and spicy, look no further.

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn (February 18)

Lady Lenore Crowther is trapped in a loveless, childless marriage when her husband, Henry, relocates them to Nethershaw Manor in the isolated countryside. When a carriage accident near the manor brings Camilla into their home to recover, Lenore is strangely drawn to their temporary visitor. A sapphic tale of strange desire, female rage, and gnawing hunger? Yes, please!

Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce (February 25)

Newly-graduated child psychologist Mina spends her days anticipating her upcoming wedding and desperately seeking experience in her field. When she encounters a journalist named Sam, who tells her about a thirteen-year-old named Alice who is, by all accounts, suspected of being possessed, Mina can't help but want to help. Determined to get to the bottom of the girl's trouble, Mina sets out to the remote town where she lives, soon witnessing the strange behavior of the otherwise normal-looking teenager. As Mina and Sam dig more into what happened to Alice, her family, and the village residents, Mina's conviction that the possession is just a mental breakdown starts to waver. If you like the suffocation of small-town horror, you won't want to miss this one.

Young Adult

These Vengeful Wishes by Vanessa Montalban (February 4)

Fantasy meets horror in this terrifying tale perfect for young adults. When Ceci moves with her mother to her mother's hometown of Santa Aguas, she soon encounters rumors that their new home is cursed by La Cegua, a spirit that lures men to their deaths. The whole town, it seems, is preoccupied with stories of La Cegua. After finding a door in the woods, Ceci decides to go through it with a new friend, and the pair find the well of La Cegua where wishes can be granted. But at what cost?

Birthday Party Demon by Wendy Dalrymple (February 18)

If you're in the mood for a campy horror novel set in the 1990s, Wendy Dalrymple has just the book for you. In Birthday Party Demon, a sweet sixteenth birthday party takes a terrible turn. To celebrate her birthday, Tina invites her best friends, Eve and Lacey, to sleep over. But when messing around with an Ouija board goes wrong, Tina and Eve somehow end up trapped inside a fashion catalog while something sinister takes over Lacey's body. Demons, teenagers, and female friendships collide in this nostalgic, delightful read.

Middle Grade

It's Watching by Lindsay Currie (February 4)

What better night to sneak into a rumored-to-be-haunted cemetery than Halloween? Josie and her best friends Alison and Jackson, all writers for their junior high paper, have that very thought, sneaking into the Bachelor's Grove Cemetery to catch sight of a figure called the Lady in White for an article. After they are chased out of the cemetery by police, the trio receives strange memes from an unknown number alleging they're being watched. Now, with a mystery on their hands, they put their journalistic investigative skills to the test to find out what the mysterious figure wants. For those who love young investigators, this is a must-read!

We hope you found one of these new horror novels to be a great, scary way to start off the new year. Let us know what other January and February horror book releases are on your radar.

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