Scream-Worthy New Horror Books Coming Out in April 2026

Sixty-six-year-old Winston Kemper seems harmless enough. He works as a janitor and a groundskeeper at a local church, and for the most part, he keeps to himself. People barely notice him. But when Winston isn’t at work, he returns to his tiny apartment to focus on a sadistic art project. He kidnaps and murders “forgotten” women and steals their voices, creating a collage of images and words that he views as his “magnum opus.” But what happens when the spirits of those women refuse to be silenced?

Carter Keane’s debut follows Lucie “Lou” Moore, a woman working a soul-crushing office job in which she essentially sells multi-level marketing self-improvement products. But Lou is determined to make enough money to help out her family, so she accepts an assignment in rural Ohio. From there, everything goes terribly wrong. Lou’s truck gets sabotaged by locals, and suddenly, she finds herself stranded in the middle of the Appalachian woods. What’s worse, something inhuman is stalking her, and it’s hungry.

This psychological horror novel is an adult debut from a well-known author of young readers. Maggie Wang is a young Asian American writer struggling to make enough money to support her parents. Then she’s offered a financial lifeline. An aging white Hollywood producer named Ingrid will pay her three million dollars if she agrees to participate in an experimental health procedure: ten blood transfusions that are meant to turn back the signs of aging. But as Ingrid gets to know Maggie, she sees an opportunity to get back at the industry that has sidelined her and taken so much from her.

Set in Japan in two disparate times, Japanese Gothic follows two protagonists. In the present day, Lee has fled New York to hide away in his father’s home in Japan. He knows there’s something wrong with him and that he has committed a crime, but he can’t remember the details. In 1877, Sen, a female samurai, hides from imperial soldiers and attempts to protect her family. As the two find themselves communicating with each other through time, they realize they are living in the same home, a house that is built on dark secrets.

If you’re looking for a fresh reimagining of Wuthering Heights that leans into the supernatural, check out this YA horror novel. Catie East is a 17-year-old girl who lives on her family’s historic estate, the Heights, and prefers spending time alone in the woods. Then Hunter moves into the estate’s cottage with his scientist father. Catie immediately feels a strange obsession with Hunter and his ability to resurrect the dead.

Marcus Kliewer’s latest is getting so much buzz, and there’s already an adaptation in the works. Desperate for money to support herself and her younger sister, Macy Mullins accepts a job as a caretaker at a remote house on the Oregon Coast. She only has to stay there for three days, but it quickly becomes clear to Macy that what is expected of her is far beyond the normal role of a caretaker. Something evil is lurking outside of the house, and now it has become her job to keep it at bay.

In Korea, illegally installed spy cameras are a national epidemic — they call them “Molka.” When accountant Dahye begins a romance with the handsome heir Hyukjoon, she doesn’t imagine their love story will end with salacious spy-cam footage. Hyukjoon leaves the country to escape the shame, while Dahye’s family rejects her. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, Dahye has caught the attention of Junyoung, an introverted tech guy who has been secretly filming the women he works with. Dahye is his new obsession.