Best New Horror Books in October 2022

Halloween season is upon us, so there’s no better time to read some cutting-edge horror. This month’s choices feature cult killings and bloody isolation. Take a look at our top picks for the best new horror books in October 2022.

Lute by Jennifer Thorne

Type: Novel
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Release date: October 4

Den of Geek says: A key element of horror is a spooky setting. The island in Lute seems to fit the bill perfectly, promising the kind of ritual that makes folk horror shine (with blood!).

Publisher’s summary: On the idyllic island of Lute, every seventh summer, seven people die. No more, no less.

Lute and its inhabitants are blessed, year after year, with good weather, good health, and good fortune. They live a happy, superior life, untouched by the war that rages all around them. So it’s only fair that every seven years, on the day of the tithe, the island’s gift is honored.

Nina Treadway is new to The Day. A Florida girl by birth, she became a Lady through her marriage to Lord Treadway, whose family has long protected the island. Nina’s heard about The Day, of course. Heard about the horrific tragedies, the lives lost, but she doesn’t believe in it. It’s all superstitious nonsense. Stories told to keep newcomers at bay and youngsters in line.

Then The Day begins. And it’s a day of nightmares, of grief, of reckoning. But it is also a day of community. Of survival and strength. Of love, at its most pure and untamed. When The Day ends, Nina―and Lute―will never be the same.

It Rides a Pale Horse by Andy Marino

Type: Novel
Publisher: Redhook
Release date: October 4

Den of Geek says: The author of The Girl with All the Gifts threw his lot in with a blurb on this one, which promises rich atmosphere and visceral horror. The city mouse and country mouse family dynamic also draws the eye — who will escape death?

Publisher’s summary: The Larkin siblings are known around the small town of Wofford Falls. Both are artists, but Peter Larkin, Lark to his friends, is the hometown hero. The one who went to the big city and got famous, then came back and settled down. He’s the kind of guy who becomes fast friends with almost anyone. His sister Betsy on the other hand is more… eccentric. She keeps to herself. 
 
When Lark goes to deliver one of his latest pieces to a fabulously rich buyer, it seems like a regular transaction. Even being met at the gate of the sprawling, secluded estate by an intimidating security guard seems normal. Until the guard plays him a live feed: Betsy being abducted in real time. 
 
Lark is informed that she’s safe for now, but her well‑being is entirely in his hands. He’s given a book. Do what the book says, and Betsy will go free.
 
It seems simple enough. But as Lark begins to read he realizes: the book might be demonic. Its writer may be unhinged. His sister’s captors are almost certainly not what they seem. And his town and those within it are… changing.
 
And the only way out is through.

Little Eve by Catriona Ward

Type: Novel
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Release date: October 11

Den of Geek says: Ward’s The Last House on Needless Street also made one of our horror lists, and her new release looks like it has all the right ingredients: a great sense of place, a Gothic mystery, and a cat-and-mouse game.

Publisher’s summary: On the wind-battered isle of Altnaharra, off the wildest coast of Scotland, a clan prepares to bring about the end of the world and its imminent rebirth.

The Adder is coming and one of their number will inherit its powers. They all want the honor, but young Eve is willing to do anything for the distinction.

A reckoning beyond Eve’s imagination begins when Chief Inspector Black arrives to investigate a brutal murder and their sacred ceremony goes terribly wrong.

And soon all the secrets of Altnaharra will be uncovered.