Join the weird, the Eldritch, existentialism, and cosmic forces with this carefully selected list of cosmic horror books.
Cosmic horror is one of my favorite genres. It questions our reality and our existence and creates a very different kind of fear. It is also known as Lovecraftian horror, invented by H.P. Lovecraft who wrote short horror stories about monstrous otherworldly creatures, called the Eldritch or deities who are so far above us, they feel indifferent of our existence. Humankind is irrelative. We cannot comprehend the vastness of the universe and what lives in it.
While this is the more traditional approach, cosmic horror also is about existentialism, the unexplainable, the weird, about cosmic forces we cannot fight. It often brushes the folk horror genre, where a cult worships such a deity or Eldritch being. It is also closely connected to liminal horror through the existential displacement, where people are trapped in impossible places that shouldn’t exist.
Cosmic horror plays deeply into psychological fear of being irrelevant, of being out of place, out of control and dealing with the impossible and unbeatable things that don’t necessarily want to destroy us on purpose but do because they exist. How can you fight a threat that is inexplicable? And how does that relate to our own existence?
I have put together a list of Cosmic Horror Books that I have read and personally recommend. It’s not a list with all the cosmic 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 23 books at the moment.
The Staircase in the Woods by Chick Wendig (2025)
(388 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, woods, psychological horror, liminal horror, haunted house
In 1989 when Lore, Owen, Nick, Hamish and Matty were teenagers, they found a staircase in the woods. Matty climbed it and disappeared, never to be seen again. Now another staircase has appeared in the woods and they decide to climb it and find Matty. But instead they find themselves inside a house with rooms, hallways and doors and they soon get lost in those rooms full of horrors and nightmares.
It’s a story about childhood trauma, about being lost, figuratively and literally inside nightmares. The rooms feel like a maze, inside a house that isn’t anywhere, not even can be seen from the outside. It’s a puzzle, a liminal horror that feels like a surreal video game. They have to rely on each other, although they have grown apart. It has a very cosmic ending and an original take on the haunted house trope. You can Read my Full Review.
The Sundowner’s Dance Todd Keisling (2025)
(360 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, folk horror, body horror
Jerry Campbell is a widow for a couple of years and is retired. He’s a loner, not very good with people, but wants to leave his old life behind. So he ends up buying a house in the fenced community of Fairview Acres. The first night there’s a big party and he finds out that this community that consist only of elderly people have big parties at night, but he also finds out that other strange things are happening in the night, with his neighbors acting very weird in daytime.
It’s a story that is told straightforward and slowly together with Jerry you find out what is happening there. It’s a thrilling folk horror about grief, getting older and dependent, and about a cult that worships cosmic horrors. It’s also about exploitation of dementia, grief and old people who feel lonely and have nowhere else to go. You can Read my Full Review. (coming soon).
I Found a Lost Hallway in a Dying Mall by Ben Farthing (2024)
(162 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, liminal horror, psychological horror
Lisa works at the Mall at Dillards but the Mall is closing wing by wing. When she and her husband take a stroll during lunch near one of the closed-off wings they see something strange. A head of a mannequin is lying on the floor with mannequin arms attached to it and it’s moving. First they think it’s a prank but when she finds herself later in that same wing she is surrounded by mannequins that keep moving in on her, while they are pushing the world away from her. When she hears an ex-colleague with dementia call for help, Lisa has to do something.
This liminal cosmic horror blends with themes like wanting to be needed, aging, finding a new identity and being redundant into a creepy uncanny story. You can Read my Full Review.
Edenville by Sam Rebelein (2023)
(336 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, folk horror, body horror, comedy, other dimensions
Campbell has written one bestseller in his life and now he is stuck, until he gets a job offer at the university in Edenville. Without even a job interview his girlfriend Quinn doesn’t trust it. Especially when she was born near the county and heard all kinds of strange things about it. Of course she is right and they soon are caught up in their own folk horror with cosmic proportions.
It’s a story with a lot going on and you have to dive into it and let it wash over you. The tone is a horror comedy that can switch from one to the other really quickly and keeps you surprised. It’s a very entertaining story with Campbell as the unlikable character and Quinn as the likable strong sensible hero. Be prepared for bug people, other dimensions, meta stories, folk horror, body horror, absurd situations and a lot of worms. You can Read my Full Review.
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Crawling Spider Eye is made with pen and alcohol markers. You can buy this design on a Unisex Baseball T-Shirt and other apparel in my shop at Threadless.
House of Rot by Danger Slater (2023)
(125 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, body horror, fungus, botanical horror, existentialism
Elenya and Myles moved into the only apartment they could afford. The next day they find mold in a kitchen cabinet which soon spreads through the whole apartment. It even grows on the windows and the door and seals them in. Soon it takes over their bodies.
It’s a strange story that unravels in an unlikely way. The ghostly appearances, the strange neighbor, the weird mold and fungus that keeps on growing and is unremovable and is taking over their bodies and minds, all create an uncanny and weird cosmic experience. It’s gross and sometimes annoying, but it’s also a metaphysical and existential story about existence itself, their own existence in the whole scheme of things and about creating themselves forming their identity and surrendering it leading to freedom. It’s a cosmic tale about metaphysical existentialism, with fungus and body horror that seems simple at the surface but offers a lot more with a surprising ending. You can Read my Full Review.
I Found Christmas Lights Slithering Up My Street by Ben Farthing (2023)
(148 pages)
Genres: Christmas, coming-of-age, cosmic horror
Christmas lights are consuming everything and everyone in the neighborhood. Douglas and his friends have to stop it, before it’s too late. A tale about friendship and grief with cosmic surreal images. This book is included in my Christmas Horror Book List. Or you can Read my Full Review.
I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My House by Ben Farthing (2023)
(108 pages)
Genre: cosmic horror, liminal horror
Dave and his four-year-old son Jacob play often in the woods behind their house. Suddenly they see a circus tent in the woods. A voice inside beckons them in and when Dave wants to leave the tent magically appears all around them. Trapped inside they have to face horrors that force them to perform against each other.
It’s a claustrophobic tale, with maze-like tents, creepy clowns and other sorts of creepy things lurking in the many tents. It’s also a fast paced story about a father who wants to protect his son, above anything else, with a creepy ending. You can Read my Full Review.
I Found Puppets Living in My Apartment Walls by Ben Farthing (2023)
(160 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, liminal horror
Johnny and his cousin Brittany are clearing the old apartment of their Grandpa, after he went missing a year ago and is now officially declared dead. At night Grandpa’s puppet from his old tv show, shows up, alone and alive. When they find a secret passageway in the wall revealing hallways inside the building and a stairs leading down. Johnny and Brittany decide to go in. Johnny because he desperately wants to find grandpa and Brittany because she hopes to find the puppet and maybe others to take home. Their search leads them on a strange and uncanny journey into the depths of the building and impossible danger.
It’s a weird and creepy story about grief and childhood and nostalgia with creepy puppets, a spiraling space and liminal horrors. You can Read my Full Review.
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Crawling Doll Head is made with pen and alcohol markers. You can buy this design on a Tank Top and other apparel and on other various products in my shop at Redbubble.
Joey Leonard’s Last Horror Movie Marathon by Kevin Lucia (2023)
(133 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror
Joey Leonard is the manager of the Showbizz Video rental store, that is now closing. Joey is about to not only loose his job but also his passion and his identity. He doesn’t know what to do with himself, but his movie marathon weekend gives him some comfort. He decides to watch some of the horror movies he inherited from the store and finds a strange VHS tape with a written title “Numero Vitae” on it. When he watches it he finds out that it’s not a normal movie but numbers are spoken aloud. It’s all very strange and it gets even stranger when the next day he hallucinates the scariest things, which only get worse.
It’s a very original story that is short and a very entertaining read. It mixes cosmic horrors with an identity crisis, number stations, gory scenes and a great twist at the end. You can Read my Full Review.
Malignant Summer by Tim Meyer (2023)
(625 pages)
Genres: coming-of-age, folklore, cosmic horror, botanical horror, body horror, nineties vibe
This coming-of-age that is set in the nineties, where a group of kids have to deal with an ancient cosmic Goddess who enters dreams that threatens the kids and the town. This book is included in my Coming-of-Age Horror Book List.
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala (2022)
(344 pages)
Genres: folk horror, cosmic horror, summer camp, coming-of-age, body horror
Mars, a queer 17-year-old goes back to summer camp in Aspen to find out more about the death of his twin Caroline, which leads him to an elusive group of girls The Honeys. Idyllic, dreamlike and wonderfully written. This book is included in my Folk Horror Book List. (coming soon). You can Read my Full Review. (coming soon).
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This painting “Floating” is made with soft pastels. You can buy this fine art print on museum-quality paper in my shop at Printify. Take a look at my other art prints as well.
Cabin Possessions by Judith Sonnet (2021)
(161 pages)
Genres: halloween, slasher, cosmic horror, possession, demons
At Halloween a group of friends is being chased and killed by a demonic entity that can possess people. Gory, bloody, violent and with a cosmic ending full of girl power. This book is included in my Halloween Horror Book List. You can Read my Full Review. (coming soon).
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher (2020)
(341 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, liminal horror
After Kara’s divorce she returns to her hometown to live with her uncle Earl who has a museum full of curiosities and taxidermy in which she practically grew up in. When she is left to run the museum by herself she discovers a hole in the wall. Together with Simon, her friend and next door barista she explores the strange hallway which seems impossible, and leads to a world full of fog and water and grass knolls with willows. This world, a between place, a dimension between dimensions is creepy and hides nightmarish things.
This is the start of a very weird adventure told in Kara’s voice which is witty and fun and blends perfectly with the creepy things that they encounter. With nightmarish imagery, a dreadful atmosphere, cosmic horrors, comic relief, a mystery adventure begins. While based on the short story The Willows by Algernon Blackwood, it has an original take that scares and is very entertaining. You can Read my Full Review.
The Forgotten Island by David Sodergren (2018)
(316 pages)
Genres: splatterpunk, creatures, cosmic horror
Ana goes on vacation with her sister and her boyfriend to Thailand. But when they end up washed up at an island that is full of monsters and horrors they have to survive this bloody, gruesome, violent splatterpunk nightmare. This book is included in my Monsters & Creatures in Horror Books List. (coming soon).
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantaro (2017)
(322 pages)
Genres: comedy, cosmic horror, coming-of-age
An original fun story with a cartoonish vibe, a lot of over the top absurd fun, mystery and a huge cosmic monster to battle. This book is included in my Comedy Horror Book List. (coming soon). Or you can Read my Full Review.
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This design of a Seanohorse is made with pen and alcohol markers. You can buy this design on a Unisex Mineral Wash T-Shirt and other apparel in my shop at Printify.
The Fisherman by John Langan (2016)
(263 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, psychological horror
After Abe has lost his wife he finds solace in fishing. When on a fishing trip he is told the story of Dutchman’s Creek. A story about Lottie, her family, her father and a mysterious fisherman who came into town and opened up a world full of monsters.
This book has a very original set up, style and technique. It’s a story inside a story with different perspectives, voices and characters that intertwines an epic story woven with their personal experiences. That makes it a very intriguing story that isn’t told straightforward but build by different characters with their own unique perspectives and tone. It’s about grief, always keeping Abe the heart of the story. It’s full of supernatural mystery, a cosmic dimension and cosmic monsters. You can Read my Full Review.
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff (2016)
(372 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, comedy, cults, social commentary, fifties vibe
When Atticus’ father goes missing he sets out on a journey to Arkham with his uncle Berry. They have to travel through Jim Crow country and have to withstand human and monstrous horrors. It is set during the fifties with racism but it’s written in a playful way without diminishing the gravity of that time. Every chapter has another main character of Atticus’ family who have to deal with cosmic horrors and humanly horrors and personal dilemmas. Each story has a different tone and style reflecting the character in that story. Those are all each little stories inside the main story but in the end all come together in the ultimate cosmic horror reveal and epic final battle.
It’s entertaining, fun, suspenseful, and thought provoking and a hell of a rollercoaster. You can Read my Full Review.
Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor (2015)
(401 pages)
Genres: comedy, cosmic horror
Night Vale is a small desert town where all kinds of strange and weird things happen all the time. We follow two women who live here and have to deal with a mystery. With whimsical, absurd humor, cosmic events and strange characters. This book is included in my Comedy Horror Book List. (coming soon). You can Read my Full Review.
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2014)
(195 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, botanical horror, existentialism, science fiction
A nameless Biologist goes on an expedition to Area X, a place that is secured and where strange things happen. Together with three women, Surveyor, Anthropologist and Psychologist she has to take samples. Told from Biologist’s perspective we explore this Area with her and find out which cosmic wonders and horrors it hides. It’s a story about science, nature, unearthly and earthly, but also Biologist’s nature, we get to learn her story as well that becomes intertwined with what’s happening in Area X.
With a beautiful writing style, this is an intriguing read about (alien) nature with both an idyllic as uncanny atmosphere. It’s a sec writing style, with a lot of contemplations, observations and logical argumentation, which is very original and fresh and results in an existential story.
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Did you know I also make Art & Designs.
This painting “Spring” is made with soft pastels. You can buy this fine art print on museum-quality paper in my shop at Printify. Take a look at my other art prints as well.
The Croning by Laird Barron (2013)
(245 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, cults
Don Miller is a geologist and academic and is married to Michelle who’s an anthropologist. Since they have met in the fifties strange things have happened to Don in Mexico in the fifties, in America in the eighties, but he has forgotten it all. Now when he is in his eighties he is confronted again with these abominations and sees the truth clearly and horribly.
The story starts with an alternate version of Rumpelstilsken and then switches back and forth in time, to Don’s memories of his encounters with the Dark Ones, cosmic horrors that dwell the periphery of our realm. It’s a complex story that feels disjointed at first but comes all together at the end, with a horrific conclusion. This is a pure genuine Lovecraftian cosmic horror about Old Leech, Dark Ones and unspeakable wormlike things, that consider humans as insignificant but useful.
This Book is Full of Spiders by David Wong (2012)
(419 pages)
Genres: comedy, cosmic horror, monsters & creatures
This sequel to John Dies at the End is full of new monsters and old ones, with the same characters and a fun cosmic adventure. With more structure and less creative writing and a very tragic death, it is still original and entertaining. This book is included in my Comedy Horror Book List. (coming soon)
The Sea of Ash by Scott Thomas (2009)
(95 pages)
Genres: cosmic horror, body horror, monsters & creatures
A nameless narrator investigates the story of Dr. Albert Pond who found a strange woman and her strange baby with a void for a face. We follow the narrator’s story and journey, while we also follow Albert’s journey to unravel the mystery of other dimensions. Albert himself tells us more about the journey of Brinklow who also was investigating otherworldly mysteries. Three stories, three men in three different times who are trying to solve the same mystery leading them to a cosmic adventure.
The set-up is very cleverly done and interesting and their stories together reveal the mystery, while wondering if the two men, Albert and Brinklow were crazy or on to something. It’s full of weird things, machines and creatures and with a creative writing style and an original story this is a very intriguing tale that has some humor in it. You can Read my Full Review.
John Dies at the End by David Wong (2007)
(466 pages)
Genres: comedy, cosmic horror, monsters & creatures
A very original and creatively written comical cosmic adventure about John and Dave who find out that by taking a weird drug called Soy Sauce it makes them susceptible to other dimensions and all kinds of cosmic monsters. It’s a rollercoaster of bizarre and crazy events. This book is included in my Comedy Horror Book List. (coming soon). You can Read the Full Review. (coming soon)
Explore more Lists of Horror Books:
- The List of Coming-Of-Age Horror Books
- The List of Christmas Horror Books
- The List of Halloween Horror Books
- The List of Summer Horror Books
- The List of Summer Camp 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.