Books
Vampires, Grave Robbers, and Crows: 10 Horror Books We Can’t Wait to Read in July
We’re in the thick of summer reading season, and that means loads of fresh genre books to take to the beach or cozy up with by the pool. July’s top horror books bring everything from a new spin on Dracula to young adult cosmic horror to books by genre mainstays like Chuck Tingle and Christopher Golden, to name just a few.
So, whether you’re into grave robbers, creepy neighbors, vampires, or good old-fashioned Gothic chills, here are the books we’re most excited about in July of 2026.
The Brides by Charlotte Cross – July 7
The Dracula legend has grown to such titanic proportions over the last century and more that we’re still finding new ways to twist it into fresh stories. The Brides sets out to do exactly that with a feminist retelling of the story that attempts to lay out the origins of Dracula’s famous trio of brides. It begins with a journey to Budapest, an invitation from a Transylvanian noble, and a castle in the woods. It ends…well, read it and find out.
The Red Sacrament by Sara Hinkley – July 7
Do you ever wish the theater of vampires from Interview with the Vampire was a novel unto itself? That’s the world Sara Hinkley will dive into with The Red Sacrament, a vampire novel set in 19th-century Paris about a mysterious midnight theater troupe that never seems to age. Set amid a time of bickering and potential revolution in the vampire world, it follows a theater company full of blood drinkers as they navigate strange new tribulations, including the arrival of a witch who could upend everything about their immortal existence. I’m an absolute sucker for books like this one, and I can’t wait to dive in.
Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle – July 7
Chuck Tingle’s rise to become one of the most important horror writers of the decade continues with his latest novel, a wild ride pitched as a blend of Drive and Beetlejuice. It follows Poppy, a single Mom and fashion influencer who makes ends meet by dealing in black market body parts. It’s a tough gig, but Poppy’s ticket out might have arrived when the opportunity arises to transport the corpse of a newly dead rock star. It seems like an easy way to a big payday…at least until the rock star wakes up. I’m in the thick of this book right now; I’m having a blast, and I’m betting you will too.
Brave New Weird Vol. 4 – July 14
Tenebrous Press is one of the finest indie genre publishers out there right now, and Brave New Weird is a big reason why. Curated by Tenebrous editor Alex Woodroe, this book aims to collect the best in “New Weird Horror” published throughout the last year, bringing together nearly two dozen writers on the cutting edge of genre short fiction right now. If you want to read key works from the genre writers of the future, or you just like your horror really, really strange, this is the place to go.
Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold – July 14
The latest from the author of How to Survive a Horror Story begins with a really juicy hook: Three women all discover they’re dating the same man, and they decide to get revenge. To make that happen, they decide to team up and lure him to an isolated mountain cabin, where they’ll put their whole plan in motion and get some relatively nonviolent payback. But when he turns up dead, the women are plunged into a nightmare. They can’t trust anyone, even each other, and they might not be alone. I’m so ready to see how this one plays out.
Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist – July 14
A very promising debut novel, Home Sick follows Tamsin, a woman hoping to start over with a new house and a new life in Scotland, after her old life starts to crumble. She’s optimistic, but then she meets her neighbor, a perplexing woman with whom Tamsin shares a wall. When strange things start to happen in the house, backed up by local stories about the place, Tamsin starts to wonder if her neighbor is behind it all, setting off a dark psychological spiral. I’ve heard great things about this one, and I’m thrilled that it’s almost here.
Scary Movie Night by Miranda Smith – July 14
A woman named Tippi (I’m already on board) is turning 35 and breaking free from a crappy relationship, and her friends decide to celebrate by renting out a mansion and basically throwing her a horror movie-themed costume party. It’s a great idea, and it feels like it’s gonna be a great night, at least until Tippi’s friends start disappearing and her ex starts sending threatening texts. A slasher whodunit steeped in movie references, Scary Movie Night feels like a perfect summer horror read, particularly for those of us who can imagine attending a party exactly like this one.
Carry Me to My Grave by Christopher Golden – July 21
Christopher Golden is one of modern horror’s heavy hitters, and Carry Me to My Grave is his latest page-turner. The book follows Malcolm, who sits by his dying mother’s bedside and makes her a very specific promise: In the coming two days, he will transport her body home to Maine, or there will be dire consequences. Does Malcolm understand those consequences? Not really, but the strange figures watching from outside, and the feeling that he’s being pursued, suggest he’d better hurry. I was lucky enough to get a very early look at this one, and I can tell you it’s Golden at his best, a freight train of a book you won’t want to put down.
Unnamed Bones by Lora Senf – July 21
Through books like The Clackity, Lora Senf made her name as one of the finest horror authors for young readers, and now she’s taking on the young adult world with a dose of cosmic horror. After the death of her father, teenage Harrow and her friends head to a seemingly impossible island to search for answers, only to find themselves in a world with rules they don’t understand. To make things more complicated, Harrow has coped with her own cursed life by making her feelings into personalities that live very full lives in her head, and now they’re all coming out to play. Throw in a mysterious creature, and you’ve got a book poised to be jam-packed with creepy fun from one of the best writers in the genre right now.
A Penance for Crows by Shannon Morgan – July 28
Billed as a Gothic novel with a synopsis that hints at folk and occult horror, A Penance for Crows is set on an island off the coast of Ireland that’s like a trip back in time. Modern technology doesn’t touch it; the church is the highest authority, and residents still hold to old folk beliefs, including a sense of ill omens brought by the island’s many crows. It’s here that we meet Grizela, a local painter plunged into a supernatural mystery when a local priest turns up murdered, and a quartet of young girls starts holding strange meetings after dark. This one feels like it’s got everything I love about the genre bundled up in one satisfyingly haunting package, so I’m eager to crack it open.
I am a sucker for tales of small communities beset by shadowy occult influence, particularly those that blend real esotericism with fictional worlds and people. There’s a trick to it, though, and it’s not just about the atmospheric power of the occult imagery and lore. The community, the people on whom the darkness is preying, has to feel lived-in, real, strange, and singular even before the magic and the terror set in.
Shannon Morgan‘s latest novel, A Penance for Crows, gets that right from the opening pages. Set on a secluded Irish island and told from the perspective of an outsider who’s learned to coexist with a theocratic community, it’s immediately immersive, which helps make it one of those books fans of folk and occult horror absolutely shouldn’t miss.
Grizela is a painter, living in relative seclusion in a cottage on the island of Beanna Dubh. She moved here from Scotland long ago, sells her paintings under pseudonyms, and in general kind of likes that the rest of the islanders see her as an oddball at best and a bad influence at worst. She spends her days painting, reading, and mentoring local girls Nessa, Una, Enya, and Maeve, hoping that they’ll one day find freedom beyond the island.
Beanna Dubh, you see, is tightly controlled by the Catholic Church, particularly the aging Father Murphy, who runs the local parish and keeps a tight grip on the reins of the community.
So when one of Father Murphy’s underlings turns up dead on Beanna Dubh’s shores, it sends ripples of terror through the community. Grizela, as the person who finds the body, is the subject of particular suspicion, and the local superstitions about the flocks of crows who live on the island and supposedly warn of impending doom flare up all over again. A mystery is afoot, one marked by ancient sigils and strange happenings, and if Grizela doesn’t solve it, it just might consume her.
What jumped out at me first about this book is how good Morgan is at balancing initial jolts of exposition with atmospheric worldbuilding and, of course, sound character work. Grizela is inherently fascinating, an outsider who nevertheless has spent enough time on the island to know it in and out. She’s up on all the gossip, knows where the chief tension lies, and sees paths to deeper connections through fellow misfits and expats. Or at least…she thinks she does.
Morgan does not waste a moment in diving straight into the plot, knocking Grizela back on her heels and leaving her scrambling for answers as the town moves closer and closer to something like a full-blown Satanic panic. This leaves her looking for footholds, whether they lay in the past or the present, and sets up very clear avenues of antagonism for characters like Father Murphy. It’s all beautifully arranged, and the ways of the island people – from their own peculiar way of greeting each other to the significance of local landmarks – stand out with a vividness that recalls folk horror classics like The Wicker Man.
This careful arrangement of story elements emerges so Morgan can spend the back half of the book not just upsetting the balance of life on Beanna Dubh, but blurring it, giving it depth and shade like a painter might blend colors. Grizela’s present starts to echo her past, sending her into corners of her mind she’d rather not go.
The line between what seems like accidental deaths and superstitions of diabolical influence practically disappears, as it no longer seems to matter whether the Devil is afoot or it just feels like he is. The church, the town’s protective and guiding influence, takes on more shades of malevolence, and even though they feel predictable, they fit right in to the larger tapestry.
The result is a book that delivers folk horror in the classic sense, calling to mind the novels of Dennis Wheatley and Thomas Tryon as well as films like Blood on Satan’s Claw and Witchfinder General, with an added sense of timelessness that really sings. If I have any major complaint, it’s that the pieces of evidence building to a solution start to get a little too convenient at times, losing some of the book’s well-earned ambiguity on its course toward explaining everything that’s happened.
That’s more personal preference than a question of good craft, however. If you love folk horror, occult horror, or just atmospheric, Gothic chills mixed with old, dark magic, you will love A Penance for Crows.
A Penance for Crows is out now wherever books are sold.
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