10 Sci-Fi Horror Books That Will Keep You Up at Night
By: Gabby Aspiotis
As the days get darker and colder, there’s no better time to curl up with a hot drink, a blanket, and a story creepy enough to keep you up at night. With frightening novels set in space, disturbing alternate realities, or monsters that will make you shudder, there’s something for everyone. Here are ten books that combine sci-fi and horror to create truly terrifying stories:
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling
A claustrophobic novel that follows a caver who takes a high-paying job on a foreign planet. She soon realizes the expedition and her handler are not what she was expecting, and can’t shake the feeling of being followed.
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
This novel explores race, sexuality, and human nature in a tale about a young girl who wakes up with no memories and discovers that she is a genetically modified vampire.
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
Vern, a pregnant teen, is fleeing from the cult that she grew up in. After giving birth, she develops increased strength and healing abilities, along with a strange tumor on her back. She is forced to uncover the truth about the cult and America’s violent history that constructed it.
The Outside by Ada Hoffman
Autistic scientist Yasira has developed a new energy drive that could change the future, but when she goes to use it, it accidentally destroys her space station. Declared a heretic by her AI Gods, they capture her. Instead of being executed, Yasira is offered a chance at mercy if she can find her former mentor, who vanished.
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Seven years ago, a ship was lost at sea while filming a mockumentary about ancient sea creatures. Now, a crew has been assembled. Each with their own motivations for embarking on this potentially dangerous trip, they soon realize the ancient sea creatures are real and more vicious than expected.
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
This novel is set in an alternate version of American history, one where the American Civil War was interrupted by zombies. In response to this danger, Black and Indigenous children are forced to attend combat schools to learn to kill the undead.
Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
In an alternate America, the Ku Klux Klan are demons planning on bringing Hell to Earth. Three women are on a quest to hunt, destroy, and send them back to Hell. But can they stop the demons before the world ends?
Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu
A steampunk graphic novel series set in an alternate matriarchal 1900s Asia that follows a teenage girl who is struggling to survive and has a mysterious psychic link with an extremely powerful monster.
The Immortality Thief by Taran Hunt
Both a linguist and a criminal, Sean is in trouble (again) and is offered a choice of life in prison, military service, or salvaging data from an abandoned spaceship. When he arrives on the spaceship, he quickly finds it isn’t actually abandoned, but that there are monsters and traps everywhere.
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
In a futuristic world devastated by global warming, almost everyone has descended into madness because they have lost the ability to dream. North America's Indigenous people are the only ones who can dream, and they can cure the dreamless world with their marrow. But it comes at a price: death for unwilling donors.
This list is only a glimpse into what the world of sci-fi horror has to offer. The combination of these two massive genres has some of the most mindblowing stories I’ve ever read (affectionate). I hope you were able to find something that interests you (and maybe it’ll even become a new favourite)!