2026 has been a great year for horror so far, but this fall is going to be unmatched. Why? We’re getting new books from three authors who have written some of our favorite horror novels of the past few years. Before their new books come out this fall, make sure you read these authors’ highly rated recent horror releases. Then you’ll be just as excited about these books as we are!
Here’s what you’ll want on your TBR right now.
Mazywood by Tananarive Due (S&S/Saga Press, September 22)
Tananarive Due’s 2023 horror novel The Reformatory has an average rating of 4.43 on Goodreads and is one of the best-written horror novels of the past several years. Due’s latest horror novel follows three generations. Filmmaker Johnny Washington inherits Mazywood, a remote mountain retreat, from his grandmother Mazelle, who was a famous actress in the 1940s and 50s. Now, 50 years after Mazelle’s death, Johnny takes a trip to her cabin only to encounter an evil creature in the woods.
Newbourne Park by Jennifer Thorne (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, September 29)
In 2024, Jennifer Thorne released Diavola, a bone-chilling gothic ghost story set in Italy, and I haven’t been able to stop talking about it since. 2026’s Newbourne Park sees Thorne return to a family vacation story, but the locales and the scares are quite different this time. Twenty-six-year-old Martha Shaw has spent the past several years caring for her dying mother. An exhausted shell of who she once was, Martha agrees to join her brother on a vacation to an opulent, 200-acre estate called Newbourne Park. But when the rightful master of the estate returns, they bring with them something dark, horrifying, and hungry.
Rottenheart by Kat Dunn (Zando, October 13)
Hungerstone, Kat Dunn’s 2025 retelling of Carmilla, was the sapphic vampire story of my dreams. In October, Dunn will release a new horror story inspired by another beloved classic. Rottenheart is a reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Set in the 1890s, the novel follows a young woman, Odette, whose mother dies under mysterious circumstances. When her father remarries quickly, Odette is suspicious. Then Odette is visited by the ghost of her mother, who thirsts for revenge.
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Want to know what other 2026 horror books we’re really excited about? Check out our most anticipated horror novels of the year.
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