With strange shadows cast by trees, creaky old floorboards, unreliable cell service, and shrouded in haunted myth, no place is more perfectly suited for horror than a cabin in the woods.
Far away from civilization, characters are forced to survive with only one barren building to protect them, or put them in harm’s way.
These 11 cabin horror books will have chills climbing up your spine as you reconsider any future remote getaways… and maybe double-check your lock.
The Cabin at the End of the World
Cabin at the End of the World is what Stephen King calls “a tremendous book―thought-provoking and terrifying, with tension that winds up like a chain.”
A loving family takes a vacation to a peaceful cabin in New Hampshire. Quiet and remote, the setting is idyllic. That is, until the future of the family and humankind is put at risk.
Suspense will have you glued to this book until the very last page, but you might not get much sleep at night.
Kin
This novel opens in the aftermath of a nightmare. Claire Lambert is the sole survivor of a massacre that took the lives of her friends.
The small Alabama town of Elkwood is forced to confront its secrets as Claire dreams of revenge and a respite for her haunted mind.
Kin examines the thin line between good and evil in the face of vengeance and corruption. A modern marvel of the Southern gothic genre, Burke forms a twisting tale that will make you think and leave you in horror.
The Shuddering
Twins Ryan and Jane Adler gather their friends for a wintry getaway at their parent’s cabin nestled in the Colorado mountains. Each sibling has their own desires and objectives for the trip, which are quickly dashed when disaster strikes.
A huge blizzard leaves the party stranded within the cabin, away from the rest of the world. Loyalties are tested as tensions rise within the cabin, but outside the cabin, something even more terrible lurks.
A final farewell to the location of fond childhood memories turns into a nightmare as the guests must fight for survival, amidst secrets and monsters.
The Wild Dark
Moved by the loss of her job and her partner, Brody, ex-cop Liz Raleigh sought solace alone in a cabin in the woods. Liz is gaining control and acceptance of her life when Brody arrives at her doorstep, as a ghost.
As Liz is filled with guilt and secrets, the woods outside the cabin are transformed into an apocalyptic landscape. Liz must fight for survival against soul-eating wolves and the world-consuming woods.
A story of friendship and mystery, The Wild Dark is a unique and compelling, and indeed, terrifying, novel about the living and the dead.
Maynard's House
Vietnam War Veteran, Austin Fletcher, inherits a quaint cabin in rural Maine from one of his fellow soldiers.
When he becomes stranded by a blizzard with only his mind for company, the line between imagination and reality begins to blur as Austin is tortured by the horrors of his memories and new horrors that arrive with the snow.
This book is an exploration of post-traumatic stress disorder in the form of a deeply psychological and thrilling horror story.
Maynard’s House is a classic novel of the genre that evaluates the demons both inside and outside the mind.
Off Season
A New York City editor and her friends venture to a small cabin in Maine—in the off-season.
When a group of savage cannibals set their eyes on the party, the primal nature of humans shines through.
As night falls, the group will do anything to survive.
Violent, gory, and disturbing, this book will cause even the most experienced of horror readers to want to close their eyes, but you won’t be able to turn away.
The Cabin in the Woods
Protagonist Rose is hiding in a cabin in the woods. What she is hiding from and how she got to the present is unknown, and readers must read on to uncover what has happened.
Rose’s past is revealed as she fights for survival. This domestic thriller from bestselling author Sarah Alderson will have you on the edge of your seat, guessing at answers as the suspense builds.
Camp Slaughter
A group of college friends decide to rent a cabin in the Pennsylvania wilderness, where the mythical “Camp Slaughter” is believed to be. As a creepy cannibal begins to stalk the friends, they realize the danger they’ve put themselves into.
With interesting and dynamic characters, readers will be invested in the fates of each person in Camp Slaughter, including the killer.
Mexican-American author Sergio Gomez brings a fresh take to the classic slasher novel.
The Ritual
Tensions build between four old friends hiking in the arctic Scandinavian woods, as their commonalities from University have faded. After trying to take a shortcut, the foursome becomes lost in the unforgiving wilderness.
Finally, they stumble upon an old house but are only shocked by the horrors within, remnants of Pagan rites and human bones.
Sacrifices have been made before to something lurking in these woods—and now they are its prey.
Gerald's Game
This lesser-known novel by the king of horror himself, Stephen King, takes place largely in the mind of Jessie Burlingame.
While taking a romantic getaway to their summer house, Jessie is forced into another one of her husband Gerard’s kinky sex games. When things go too far, Jessie finds herself alone in the house, handcuffed to the bed.
Isolated from the rest of the world, Jessie’s only companions are her past memories and the voices in her head.
But there just might be another threat, real or imagined, hiding in the shadows of the bedroom.
In the House of the Dark Woods
This psychological horror novel set in colonial New England follows a girl, alone in the woods. The girl comes across another woman, Eliza, who invites her into her home.
But things aren’t quite right in Eliza’s house. The girl is thrown into a series of bizarre and terrifying events as she tries to escape the evil coming from the wilderness outside, the interior of the house around her, and even her own mind and soul.
Based on both history and fantasy, this book will take you on a scary, weird, and scary weird journey.