Scary Science Fiction Books For Lovers Of Horror And Sci-Fi

During a treacherous storm that wipes out all power and communication, the New Leaf apartment building is plunged into chaos.

Olivia wakes alone in a pool of her own vomit on the floor of her dark apartment. She is disoriented with no idea where her husband is or what is happening. The building is falling apart as the storm soundtracks her search for help.

The faint sounds of screaming heard through the walls guide her as she wanders the hallways dodging dead bodies and debris in search of anyone who may still be alive. Every door she opens, leads to more death, a dead end or the reanimated corpses of her neighbors.

Is it an exploration of deep-water caves or a slow descent into madness? Gyre Price lied her way into a cave expedition because she was desperate for money. She puts herself in immense danger to map mineral deposits alone with only the voice of her watcher, Em, to guide her.

Em is full of secrets, lies, and a lot of money as she forces Gyre into multiple dangerous situations. Em can also control Gyre’s suit, airflow, and food intake and administer medication to knock her out at any time. Gyre’s life is literally in Em’s hands.

A couple of days into the expedition, supplies start to go missing, despite being the only one down there. And then the dead bodies start piling up. The bodies of all of Em’s past unsuccessful expeditions.

Originally published in 1972 but still relevant and worth a read. It’s considered a satirical feminist horror as it delves into womanhood, motherhood, and bodily autonomy and the horrors that can stem from unchallenged misogyny.

We follow Joanna and her family as newcomers to the town of Stepford. While trying to find her place in her new home, she starts to notice something off about some of the other women in town.

Her new friends' personalities suddenly change. Each goes away for a romantic weekend with their husbands just to come back acting docile and robotic. It’s unsettling and sends Joanna down a path of secrets and lies that doesn't end in a happily ever after. Maybe it’s easier just to give in so she can stay alive. 

Imagine an abandoned cruise ship floating in space. No power, no signs of life—it’s been lost for almost twenty years. Now imagine a small ship with a group of misfit repairmen receiving a distress beacon from a ship that was considered lost.

Claire and her crew answer the call of the Aurora out of curiosity and the hope of making a quick buck for salvage. This ship could be the out she needs, as she has nothing to lose.

Soon after making contact, the crew finds ominous messages painted in blood on the walls, and the shadows seem to be following them. Unseen whispers in the dark have Claire fighting to hold on to her sanity. She is sucked into the mystery of the lost ship Aurora, and finding out its secrets has become more important than her survival.

After the death of her grandmother, Lena drops out of school to work full-time to help her family get out of debt. When she receives a mysterious invitation to participate in a medical program that sounds too good to be true, she jumps at the chance.

In the remote Michigan town of Lakewood, she’ll finally be making good money and have a free place to live. She may have to lie to her friends and family about it, but it should all be worth it in the end.

The tests start simple enough: answer a few questions here, interact with other patients there, and play some computer games every now and then. But soon the tests start to get weird. She’s forced to test pills that they say cure dementia or change her negative thoughts to good ones.

This is a short read set in the near future. On the transport ship Yellowjacket, in deep space, we awake with Alto after a night of passion to an empty ship. While trying to figure out where the rest of the crew went and dealing with the anxiety that comes with abandonment, they quickly come across the menace causing all the problems.

Mind-controlling brain aliens have taken over the ship and are on a mission to control Alto’s mind as well. They are plunged into a battle of the mind while trying to make it to the ship’s bridge to call for help. With visual and auditory tricks sending Alto into disorientation and emotional torture, they must defeat this monster on their own if they hope to save themselves and their crew. 

We're going back in time a little farther to 1955 with another classic. The Body Snatchers takes place in the small town of Mill Valley. One night, while the whole town is asleep, a seed-like alien floats silently and deadly down from space to latch onto the townspeople while they sleep.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the alien seeds slowly take over the human form, erasing who that person once was with a perfect replica. The replica has the same memories and mannerisms, but they can’t imitate human emotion. They are just shells of the human they once were. These replicas only live for 5 years and have no way to naturally reproduce, so the end of humankind is inevitable if these aliens can’t be stopped.

A murder mystery in space!

Hester Marley is a security guard for the mining company Parthenope Enterprises. After a horrific accident that has left her with life-altering injuries and a body that is not her own, she is depressed, lonely, and trapped by medical bills.

But after one of her good friends is found violently murdered inside an asteroid mine, the whole crew is on edge. Everyone is pointing fingers, and no one has any answers.

Hester is tasked with solving the mystery, as she was the closest person to the victim. Everyone is a suspect though, including Hester. As she dives deeper into the ship’s depths and Parthenope Entreprises's secrets, catching the killer is not her only problem.