There’s just something about horror that makes it better in small doses. You can only ratchet up the tension so many times before people start getting wise to the game you’re playing. The scares get stale, and then your book is about as frightening as an elementary school haunted house. I don’t say that to rag on authors who write long-form horror pieces. Stephen King’s IT is one of my favorite books of all time — as well as one of the scariest books I’ve ever read — and it’s over 1,000 pages. Tananarive Due’s The Good House clocks in right at the 500-page mark, and Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves is 700 pages long and still feels bigger on the inside — which, I guess, is probably the point. Whether you haven’t given shorter horror novels a try, or you’re just too pressed for time to commit to reading a doorstopper of a novel, check out these 12 short horror novels under 300 pages — and sleep with the light on tonight. Need more reading material for your horror TBR? Check out these scary short stories and horror novels for beginners!
