Get into the summer vibe and come along to summer camp where you can meet some nice friends, killers, ghosts and cults in the sweltering heat.
A carefully selected list of horror books that turn summer camp into a nightmare camp from hell.
Updated April 28, 2026.
Summer Camp Horror is not only reserved for horror films. Lovers of the genre and of reading also have a lot of books to choose from that take you to a summer camp full of fun activities. Canoeing on the lake, making new friends, singing songs by the camp fire, or telling scary stories. Summer camp is supposed to be all about making memories. But those memories can easily turn into nightmares. Real life nightmares like bullying, nearly drownings, snake bites, poison ivy, the boy or girl you had a crush on doesn’t like you.
But we’re talking horror here. And while most summer camp horror films are slashers, the horror books show a very wide variety of sub-genres. So not only expect maniacal killers who stalk the camping ground, but also ghosts, cults, scientific experiments, aliens, secrets from the past, you name it. There is a summer camp horror book out there for everyone.
I have put together a list of Summer Camp Horror Books that I have read and personally recommend. It’s not a list with all the summer camp horror books out there or the best ones, but this is a selection of books that I enjoyed reading.
The list is set up by decade and by year. Starting with the most recently published books. Each time I have found a new book within this genre that I highly recommend it will be added to the list.
So save this post for more recommendations.
The list consists of 11 books at the moment.
Camp 1985 by Matthew R. Corr (2024)
(236 pages)
Genres: summer camp, slasher, supernatural, YA
Ander is going to the brand new summer camp “Camp 1985” for social influencers but what he doesn’t know is that it’s a camp for social media addicts and he has to give up his phone, just like the four other campers. The detox isn’t going well and when they accidentally summon a serial killer from the past, things get even worse and deadly.
Although it’s written for young adults, the kills are rather graphic and violent and the chase is thrilling. It also uncovers the gruesome past of the camp that is dedicated to the eighties, which has some sexual and triggering content. While it’s a supernatural slasher, it also addresses trauma, being queer, bullying and a personal mystery that continues in the next book. While it does have a proper ending Ander still has some unfinished business that you can read about in Blood in the Water.
Camp Lanier by Sylvester Barzey (2024)
(204 pages)
Genres: summer camp, social commentary, ghost story, YA, novella
When Taylor gets busted for shoplifting she is sentenced to a summer camp to work there the whole summer. She is made an extra counselor because she arrived late. She should have been one of the workers outside the camp site who, surprise, are all black boys and girls who were also sentenced there, just like her. She finds out that workers went missing through the years and that the lake hides a terrible secret. On top of that she is harassed by ghosts. She wants to go to the bottom of what is really going on at Camp Lanier.
The social themes of racism and identity and horror are intertwined in a great way, all told by Taylor herself. Her voice is powerful but also that of a playful girl.
Summer Camp for Slasher Victims by Matthew Mercer (2024)
(313 pages)
Genres: summer camp, slasher
Annie is going to be a camp counselor at her grandfather Mitch’s “Camp Safe Woods”, a summer camp for kids that have gone through trauma. Hailey is one of the campers who just like the others has a traumatic story to tell and it’s her first year to go to this particular camp. Everything seems fine, and everyone is focused on healing. That is until someone turns the camp into a hunting ground and everyone has to relive their traumatic experience again. Who is killing them, and why? And will Annie be able to survive this massacre and save her campers?
It has bloody kills and the fun part of this slasher is that it’s also a mystery, a whodunnit. Because the characters of Annie and Hailey are likable and strong it will be even more thrilling to find out if they have it in them to become the final girls.
Continue reading below this announcement.
Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Spider Doll is made with pen and al pointillism technique. You can buy this design on a Women’s Tank Top and other apparel and on other various products in my shop at Redbubble.
The Honeys by Ryan la Sala (2022)
(344 pages)
Genres: folk horror, body horror, coming-of-age, summer camp, YA
Max goes to his deceased sister’s summer camp to investigate her death but finds his identity as a queer and gets mixed up in cult behavior with surreal events. This book is included in myFolk & Folklore Horror Book List (coming soon).
Summerside Lake Massacre by L.R.J. Allen (2022)
(262 pages)
Genres: summer camp, slasher, eighties vibes
Gillian is going to be a new counselor at camp “Summerside”. While seven other counselors are returning to camp, so does one uninvited guest who plans on killing everyone there. An escaped killer who massacred eight people in 1959 at that same camp and now in 1984 he’s back for more.
This is a mixture of Halloween and Friday the 13th. An escaped psychopath killer set loose in a camp full of young adult counselors. The writing is straightforward and the chapters are alternated by the perspective of the counselors and the sheriff who is dealing with the psychopath’s escape. With a lot of graphic kills this is a straight-up slasher and a tribute to the eighties slashers. The contrast with the carefree attitude and summer vibes makes the graphic violence in the final acts all the more disturbing.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix (2021)
(352 pages)
Genres; slasher, summer camp
A meta slasher that isn’t set at summer camp, but it does end at summer camp, where for one girl the horror all began. This book is included in my Slasher Horror Book List (coming soon).
Continue reading below this announcement.
Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Pink and Green Skull is made with pen and alcohol markers. You can buy this design on a Unisex Fleece Sweater and other apparel in my shop at Threadless.
Camp Scare by Delilah S. Dawson (2018)
(288 pages)
Genres: summer camp, ghost story, YA, middle grade
Twelve-year-old Parker goes to a summer camp for the first time but discovers to her horror that her bully from school goes to this camp for many years. So the bullying continues, maybe even worse. Luckily she finds a friend in Jenny, but something is odd about this girl and when her bullies are getting hurt in freak accidents, Parker is determined to find out what is happening. It all goes back many years when secrets were buried, but Parker is about to dig them up.
It’s a ghost story and a revenge story that contains mild horror, but still can be scary enough for middle graders. Although it’s written for a younger audience, that doesn’t mean adults can’t enjoy it. It’s a great book for those who like mild horror, instead of graphic brutal violence.
Camp Slasher by Dan Padavona (2018)
(256 pages)
Genres: summer camp, slasher
A straight-up old school slasher in the vain of Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn. Sarah and four other young people work at “Camp Black Bear” which is to re-open next summer. In the meantime sheriff Bracken is looking for a missing woman. A giant murderous man and two young kids roam the woods. And Sarah has to deal with her ex-boyfriend, an eerie psychopathic co-worker and three hillbillies.
It’s a recipe or disaster and many kills. With a lot of nasty characters, violent kills, gory scenes, cannibals and thrilling chases, this book is a thrilling ride. Luckily there are also four likable characters whom you will root for. But be prepared, not everyone makes it out alive.
Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager (2018)
(402 pages)
Genres: summer camp, mystery
Fifteen years ago Emma watched three girls from her cabin walk out at night and never come back. Now Emma is asked back to teach art at that same camp “Camp Nightingale”, she gets the chance to figure out what happened to them.
It’s told by Emma and she’s often an unreliable narrator, making you question if she herself had something to do with it. It keeps you guessing right till the end. There are many suspects and many different scenarios of what could have happened, but there is only one truth. The chapters are alternated between the present time and the time when the girls went missing. It’s a great mystery that slowly reveals more and more while sometimes you get a red herring. It has a great strong, determined but maybe unreliable female character, a good ending and twist and is filled with secrets and questionable people.
Continue reading below this announcement.
Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Deer Skull with vintage colored antlers is made with pen and alcohol markers. You can buy this design on a Unisex Baseball Shirt and other apparel in my shop at Printify.
Kill River by Cameron Roubique (2015)
(348 pages)
Genres: slasher, summer camp, waterpark, woods, eighties vibe
A slasher that combines an eighties vibe with waterpark fun and a maniacal killer with bloody brutal kills. This is the first part of a thrilling trilogy. This book is included in my Slasher Horror Book List (coming soon).
The Troop by Nick Cutter (2014)
(358 pages)
Genres: summer camp, survival, body horror, science fiction, coming-of-age
To get straight to the point, this isn’t a book for the gentle souls. It’s gory and brutal, both physically and mentally and there’s animal cruelty. So those who don’t like graphic violence used against young boys or animals, leave this one on the shelf. But those who can stomach a horrifying tale about a group of five boys who go with their Scoutmaster to an island to learn survival skills, can count on a gruesome tale of survival. All goes well, until a stranger arrives, and there is something very wrong with him.
The characterizations of the boys are well crafted and each boy has a fleshed-out personality that contributes to the story. Although from the start it is clear how it ends, it is still a terrifying journey into the wildness of boys who’d do anything to survive nature, each other and an infected stranger.
Explore more Lists of Horror Books:
- The List of Christmas Horror Books
- The List of Coming of Age Horror Books
- The List of Halloween Horror Books
- The List of Summer Horror Books
Did You Know I Also Make Art and Designs?
you can buy my designs on apparel or stationary, mugs and more. You can learn more about it on my art & design shop page or go directly to one of my shops.