YA Horror: The 17 Scariest Books for Young Adults and Teens

What are the scariest books for young adults and teens? That’s what I set out to determine last week. As it turns out, a lot of people feel that Anna Dressed in Blood, The Girl from the Well, and Asylum are among the scariest horror novels for young adults.

Methodology: I used a “general consensus” approach for this project. For starters, I reviewed more than a dozen articles and lists featuring the scariest YA horror novels. These included lists by Barnes & Noble, Book Bub, Brightly, Epic Reads, Goodreads, Penguin Books, and several library and bookseller websites. Next, I placed a checkmark beside each title any time it appeared on a list. Thus, the books with the most checkmarks appeared on the most lists.

So you might consider this a “master ranking” of the scariest novels for young adults. And without further ado, here they are…

Scariest Books for Young Adults / Teens

The following list is based on the number of individual lists each book appeared in. For instance, the two books shown at the top (Anna and The Girl) both appeared in five lists, rankings or articles about the scariest YA novels. Asylum, by Madeleine Roux, appeared in four rankings … and so on.

Here are the 17 scariest horror books for young adults:

Anna Dressed in Blood
  • Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake — 5 lists
  • The Girl from the Well, by Rin Chupeco — 5 lists
  • Asylum, by Madeleine Roux — 4 lists
  • There’s Someone Inside Your House, by Stephanie Perkins — 4 lists
  • The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan — 3 lists
  • House of Furies, by Madeleine Roux — 3 lists
  • The Merciless, by Danielle Vega — 3 lists
  • Rot and Ruin, by Jonathan Maberry — 3 lists
  • Sawkill Girls, by Claire Legrand — 3 lists
  • Shutter, by Courtney Alameda — 3 lists
  • Blood and Salt, by Kim Liggett — 2 lists
  • Carrie, by Stephen King — 2 lists
  • Clown in a Cornfield, by Adam Cesare — 2 lists
  • Five Midnights, by Ann Davila Cardinal — 2 lists
  • My Best Friend’s Exorcism, by Grady Hendrix — 2 lists
  • Ten, by Gretchen McNeil — 2 lists

Again, this isn’t my personal list. It’s based on popular opinion. Stephen King’s Carrie would’ve been #1 on my ranking, even though it wasn’t marketed as “young adult” fiction when first published. Still, this is a good roundup of creepy YA books for anyone who wants to beef up their reading list. So I’m happy to share it with you.

Related: The 34 Scariest Novels for Adults

What Makes a YA Novel Scary?

When it comes to fiction, fear is subjective. Certain books might spook me but have no effect on you, and vice-versa. That makes it hard to create a list of THE scariest YA horror novels. As readers, we are all very different.

The Girl from the Well

I tried to overcome this challenge by using the “methodology” outlined above, and by seeking a general consensus on the scariest books for young adults.

Which begs the question: What makes a YA horror novel “scary,” exactly? And for that matter, what makes any book scary?

Here are some of the common traits of the scariest young adult books:

  • Believable characters — When reading a horror novel, we can experience two kinds of fear at once. We might fear the monster or killer or threat that appears in the story. We can also fear for the characters in the story. We can worry over their fates. But this only works when the characters are well developed, authentic and believable, as in some of the novels above.
  • Creeping dread — Many of the books listed above (and others like them) give readers a sense of “creeping dread.” They do this by hinting at the horror early in the book, sometimes within the first chapter. But they don’t reveal too much too soon. They create a sense of mystery and expectation, which heightens the horror. During the climax, the dread is fully realized … and confronted.
  • Common fears — Many of the scariest YA horror novels tap into universal fears that most people share. It might be the fear of being lost in the woods at night, the fear of the unknown, or the fear of monsters. When handled well, these elements can make a novel much scarier.
  • Originality — Zombies have been done to death (LOL). As a result, many readers just don’t find them scary anymore. The same goes for other commonly used horror tropes. But every once in a while, a horror novel will deliver something new and unexpected, something we didn’t see coming. Originality is a common ingredient among the scariest YA horror novels.
  • Vivid scenes — A talented writer can paint a scene for the reader, using words as a paintbrush. And when it comes to horror novels, this kind of descriptive, sensory writing can heighten our sense of fear. It allows us to suspend our disbelief and become more immersed in the fictional world. It’s the difference between saying a basement is “dark” and saying that it’s “black as a cave’s mouth after sunset.”

Have a Book Recommendation for Horror Fans?

This list of scariest YA horror novels is based on popular opinion. Now, I’d like to turn it over to you.

What do you think are the scariest books for young adults or teens? Have you read a truly frightening novel that made you want to sleep with the lights on? Do you have a recommendation for other readers?

I’d love to hear from you, and I’m sure others would as well. I’ve discovered some of my favorite books by reading blog comments, Reddit posts, etc. So feel free to leave a comment below!

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