“Goddesses don’t speak in whispers. They scream.”
If you’re a fan of American Horror Story, you know there’s nothing quite the blend of unnerving settings, unhinged characters and that deliciously dark sense of dread. From haunted houses, and witches covens to old-timey circus shows, American Horror Story delivers tales that are equal parts horror, intrigue and social commentary. But, what about when you’re craving something similar between seasons? Books can fill that void perfectly immersing you in worlds just as dark, unsettling and addictive. Which is why we here at What We Reading thought we would pull together some of our favourite horror stories that every self-respecting AHS fan will devour. Each of these books like American Horror Story captures the perfect mix of horror, suspense and storytelling, providing a literary thrill ride that will feel right at home alongside all of the show’s most iconic moments.
The Family Plot – Megan Collins
First up on our list of books like American Horror Story is Megan Collins’ 2021 mystery thriller, The Family Plot. At twenty-six, Dahlia Lighthouse has plenty to learn when it comes to the real world. Raised in a remote island mansion nestled in the woods, she is still reeling from the disappearance of her twin brother, Andy, when they were both sixteen. When her father suddenly dies, she is taken back to her childhood home but is soon greeted by a gruesome discovery: Andy’s body, skull cracked open by an axe.
Each member of the Lighthouse family handles the revelation in unusual ways. As Dahlia herself grapples with her own grief and horror, she realises that her eccentric family, and the mansion itself, may hold the answers to what has happened to her twin.
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires – Grady Hendrix
If the Southern flavours and witchcraft themes of American Horror Story: Coven were a combination you loved, Grady Hendrix’s The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is the book for you. After giving up her career as a nurse to marry a doctor and become a parent, Patricia’s life has never felt smaller. The one thing she looks forward to is her book club with a group of Charleston mothers, drawn together by their love for suspenseful fiction and true crime.
Yet, when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighbourhood, the book club’s meetings turn into gossip sessions about the newcomer. Soon, Patricia suspects that he may be responsible for a slew of missing children in the area. But, instead of having a resident serial killer in the midst, Patricia’s investigations into the truth soon uncover something far more terrifying.
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Hex (Robert Grim #1) – Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Black Spring is a small picturesque town in the Hudson Valley haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she stalks the streets of the town and enters the homes of its residents at will. Everybody knows that the consequences of opening her eyes would be too terrible to bear.
The residents of Black Spring have essentially cut off their town from the outside world through high-tech surveillance to keep their curses from spreading out. But, frustrated by being locked in and bored at their small-town life, the town’s teenagers decide to break the regulations and play a prank on the witch that soon sends the town spiralling into dark, medieval practices from the past. Brimming with local folklore and mythology, Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s Hex is the perfect horror book for anyone who loved American Horror Story: Roanoke.
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Final Girls – Riley Sager
A decade ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with her five friends and came back alone, the sole survivor of a horror-movie-scale massacre. In an instant, she found herself joining the club that no one wants to be a member of: a group of similar survivors who the press dub: ‘The Final Girls’. Nevertheless, Quincy moves on with her life, building her own baking blog, living in a lush apartment and finding a loving partner in Jeff.
That is until Lisa, the very first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub. The second Final Girl, Sam, then appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Sam whisks into Quincy’s life and is seemingly determined to make her relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences. But as the truth behind Sam’s appearance comes to light, Quincy finds herself in a race against time to unravel the truth from the lies in Riley Sager’s Final Girls, the perfect follow-up for any fans of the classic slashers and to American Horror Story: 1984.
The Other People – C.J. Tudor
Driving home one night, stuck behind a rusty old car, Gabe sees a little girl’s face appear in his rearview mirror. She silently mouths one word: ‘Daddy’. It’s his five-year-old daughter, Izzy. Three years on, Gabe spends all of his days and nights travelling up and down that same motorway on a hunt for the car that stole his daughter, hoping against all odds that Izzy isn’t dead.
Fran and her daughter, Alice, also rack up the miles on the motorway, doing their utmost to stay ahead of the people who want to do them harm. Fran knows the truth behind what happened to Izzy. When a car is discovered, the very same one that Gabe saw that night, in a lake with a body inside it, Gabe is led on a desperate investigation that will lead him to a mysterious group known only as The Other People. Like American Horror Story: Cult and Apocalypse, C.J. Tudor’s The Other People is a dark thriller centred around family tragedies and the supernatural.
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House Of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski
Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves follows a family who move into a seemingly ordinary house, only to discover that its interior dimensions are impossibly larger than the exterior, creating a labyrinth of endless, dark hallways and shifting spaces. Told through multiple layers of narratives, including found-footage notes and an unreliable narrator’s perspective, House of Leaves reads far more like a psychological puzzle than a traditional horror novel.
One of the best books like American Horror Story, House of Leaves is a deeply chilling exploration of fear, space and the limits of human perception. Its unconventional format, complete with footnotes, fragmented pages and visual elements immerses readers into a thoroughly claustrophobic-feeling experience that mirrors the characters as they descend into fear and madness.
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The Between – Tananarive Due
When Hilton was just a boy, his grandmother saved his life by hauling him out of a treacherous ocean current, sacrificing her life for the sake of his in the process. Thirty years later, Hilton begins to think his borrowed time on Earth has drawn to a close. His wife, the only elected African-American judge in Dade County, Florida, has started receiving racist hate mail from a man she prosecuted, and Hilton’s own sleep is plagued by nightmares more horrifying than anything he has ever experienced.
As he grapples with both the psychotic stalking of his family and the invisible enemy that haunts him during his sleep, Hilton’s sense of reality slowly ebbs away. Similar to American Horror Story, Tananarive Due’s The Between is a tale that mixes the supernatural with psychological elements that any fan of the show is sure to love.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
