9 Gripping Bubblegum Horror Books for You to Chew On

When the arctic permafrost melts, it releases a pathogen that changes a portion of the population. These people changed, transitioning from eating normal food to human flesh.

If starved, they turned feral, turning on anyone closest to them. Scientists quickly created a SynFlesh, making life between ghouls and humans possible.

Zoey, Celeste, Val, and Jasmine are ghouls in Southern California. To celebrate graduation, they head to a music festival.

But the first night, Val goes feral and kills a boy. The girls quickly realize that someone is drugging ghouls so they attack humans.

And if they don’t figure out who it is or how to stop them, no one at the festival will be safe.

Remy and Alicia are in a toxic relationship. They’re not exactly into each other, but they do share an obsession.

Jen used to be Remy’s co-worker. Now, she’s a beautiful jewelry designer traveling around the world.

Every aspect of their relationship is interwoven with fantasies of Jen, so they are both shocked when they run into her and are invited on a surfing trip in the Hamptons. They try to fit in, but resentment and desire are a poisonous cocktail.

But what starts as minor disturbances erupts into outright horror. Suddenly, Remy and Alicia are thrust into an alternate reality made up of their most deviant fantasies.

And once they give in, there’s no going back.

No one on Long Island knows horror better than Noelle Layne. That’s why her exclusive Halloween party is guaranteed to grant her admission to the coveted inner circles of her school’s most popular kids.

The icing on the horror cake is supposed to be the low-budget IT clown. But he’s a little too creepy.

And when he murders one of her guests, the party officially goes off the rails.

Noelle has immersed herself in horror her entire life. Now it’s finally time to prove that she’s a real-deal Final Girl.

Life in Brentwood is not what Harriet expected. Her rental is haunted and her neighbor is an odd lady who just won’t go away.

But when she meets a beautiful woman named Kelsey at the farmers market, she might finally have the distraction she so desperately needs. All it takes is an MLM.

The women selling Serenitea are everything Harriet wants to be: flawless, enigmatic, successful. And what’s the harm in selling tea?

Especially because it does seem to work. Harriet can’t stop drinking it.

Her neighbor says the women are vampires and she keeps getting emails about new descendants, but at least she’s tranquil. When her neighbor disappears, however, Harriet’s world starts to fall apart.

Maybe these women really are vampires. Now, Harriet has to decide how far she’ll go to maintain her inner peace.

Montserrat may be a talented sound editor, but that doesn’t mean she’s welcome into the boy’s club that runs film in 90s Mexico City.

All that changes when she finds out her neighbor is a cult horror director who vanished into obscurity. He claims to have a film imbued with Nazi occult magic that will change her life.

If Montserrat and her best friend can help him shoot the missing scene, the curse that damned the director will finally be lifted. Or so he claims.

But Montserrat and her friend soon realize darkness is following them. And if they can’t unravel the mystery of the film, they may suffer the same tragic fate.

Vesper Wright grew up in a religious community. When she left at 18, she was told she could never come back. Not that she wanted to.

But when her cousin sends her an invitation to her wedding, Vesper finds herself back on the farm she swore she’d never step foot on again. It’s only to support her cousin, that’s what she tells herself.

Even though she’s marrying the only boy Vesper ever loved. Even though it means seeing her icy mother again. Even though it means finally facing the extreme upbringing she’s been running away from her entire adult life.

And when she discovers a terrifying secret—the terrible truth of what their family beliefs really mean—Vesper has to either step into the role chosen for her from birth or take control of her destiny by any violent means necessary.

Abby has known Gretchen since the fifth grade. Their love of roller-skates, E.T., and scratch-and-sniff stickers destined them to be best friends.

And sure, people change as they grow older. So, when Gretchen starts to act strangely after they start high school, it’s easy to brush it off.

Until it isn’t.

As the occurrence get more bizarre, Abby reaches the only logical conclusion: Gretchen is possessed by a demon. There’s no way she’s going to let something take away her best friend.

Determined to save Gretchen no matter what, Abby’s only hope is that their friendship is strong enough to survive evil.

Attending the prestigious Edgewater Academy will open countless doors for Adina Walker. And being on scholarship means she has to be absolutely perfect.

But when one mistake gets her blacklisted from her top Ivy League choice, she’s willing to do anything to regain the future she sacrificed for. She enters Finish, a high-stakes contest where 12 young women compete in three mysterious events.

The winner will receive access to wealth and power beyond measure. It’s a prize that could change everything for Adina.

And it might be too good to be true. Because these girls aren’t just playing to win—they’re playing to survive.

If Adina wants to come out on top, she’s going to have to change the rules or die trying.

Playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake is the summer job of Charity Curtis’ dreams. The crew recreates scenes from the classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake, giving guests a thrilling full-contact terror experience.

They want realistic, and that’s what the crew gives them. But the last weekend of the summer starts off all wrong.

Charity’s co-workers keep disappearing. It’s all fun and games until one of them turns up dead.

Now the role of final girl might be a little too real. If Charity wants to survive the night, she has to figure out what the killer wants.

Because the truth behind Mirror Lake is more dangerous than she ever imagined.