Psychopaths are quite fascinating—though most of us wouldn’t want to spend too much time in the company of such people, IRL. That’s where fiction comes in, allowing readers to delve into the darkest aspects of the human psyche—the very instincts that drive certain individuals to kidnap, maim, and kill.
Unlike other murderers, serial killers are often meticulous and methodical when it comes to hunting innocent victims and hiding the bodies.
Filled with spine-tingling suspense, a generous body count, and plenty of thrills and scares to keep you on the edge of the seat while reading, serial killer horror is a genre that scratches a weirdly specific itch that you probably didn’t know you had—unless you’re the type to recite odd facts about Jeffrey Dahmer or you stay up till four in the mornning, wondering why the Zodiac Killer was never caught.
Either way, if you’re a little unhealthily obsessed with murderous monsters (after all, we all have our vices), these blood-stained books should satisfy your curiosity and cravings…for now.
All the Beautiful Sinners
A book by Stephen Graham Jones, veritable master of horror, always promises to be a good time, and All the Beautiful Sinners is no different. This unnerving horror thriller follows Deputy Sheriff Jim Doe on the hunt for an elusive serial killer responsible for gunning down the town’s sheriff—even as he struggles to not get mistaken for the murderer himself.
Intricately plotted with richly layered prose, All the Beautiful Sinners is a brilliant read, inviting you to pause everything you’re doing and soak in its genius.
The Mean Ones
Murderers are interesting but murderers who are secretly part of a crazy cult? That’s one of the storylines that Tatiana Schlote-Bonne explores in her adult debut, The Mean Ones.
The narrative unfolds from the past and present points of view of twenty-nine-year-old Sadie who presently works as a physical therapy assistant. She’s got severe PTSD and a boyfriend with anger issues, and she's still haunted by the murders of her classmates that she witnessed on a camping trip many years ago.
So when she accompanies her boyfriend for a weekend trip to a cabin in the woods and the voices in her head go feral, things naturally start to boil. Bristling with female rage and trauma, The Mean Ones makes for a fast-paced but searing read.
The Dead Zone
If you like your horror platters best served with a tinge of sci-fi, you must check out this early Stephen King novel, The Dead Zone.
It follows schoolteacher Johnny Smith who wakes up from a five-year coma with the ability to see the past and future of the people he comes into contact with.
His psychic power makes him the perfect candidate to hunt down serial killers and nefarious politicians—except that’s not what he signed up for. Humorous, heartbreaking and strangely relevant given our current political climate, The Dead Zone is a captivating and underrated read.
Zombie
Unlike some of the other titles, Joyce Carol Oates’s Zombie actually dives headfirst into the mind of a serial killer and takes inspiration from the infamous life of Jeffrey Dahmer.
The story explores the disturbed perspective of Quentin P, who is determined to make a zombie out of an innocent man—a bloody quest that leads him to murder multiple people.
A terrifying character study, Zombie is quite the heavy read, and was even adapted to a critically acclaimed solo play by Tom Caruso.
Exquisite Corpse
A queer splatterpunk thriller, Poppy Z. Brite’s Exquisite Corpse is a cult classic that features among other things, a serial killer romancing another serial killer. Yeah, you read that right.
Published at the height of the AIDS epidemic, the novel follows two men—one of whom is a recently escaped serial killer—as they team up and search for new prey among the streets of New Orleans.
Woven into the book is also the dark and melancholy undercurrent of the persecution that gay men faced when the HIV/AIDS stigma was at its peak. Filled with sex, violence, cannibalism and gore-y horror, Exquisite Corpse is a gritty and memorable read.
Birdman
The first novel in British crime writer Mo Hayder’s Jack Caffery’s series, Birdman follows the young detective inspector as he investigates the case of five women who were all ritualistically murdered on the outskirts of London.
With carefully developed characters and a tight plot, Mo Hayder’s Birdman may at first seem like a typical genre read but it manages to surpass all expectations. Enjoyable and delicious—this is a book you’re likely to devour with terrific glee.
Featured image: Logan Voss / Unsplash
