Horror has been having quite a year in terms of popularity, reviving classic tropes like haunted houses, vampires, slashers, and more, and presenting them in new, spine-tingling ways. Selecting the top horror listens of 2024 was no easy feat, as there was an overwhelming amount of top-notch releases from notable names. However, it was not impossible! These listens celebrate the mind-bending, terror-evoking, unsettling essence of the genre that we love so much.
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I’m not sure what was scariest about Diavola, the actual haunted house or being vicariously stuck on this international family vacation from hell. Dread lurks around every corner of this taut thriller. Andi Arndt is brilliant—whether portraying our unreliable narrator, Anna; her high-strung older sister; or her brother’s unbearably pompous new boyfriend. The result is the kind of scary story that makes you want to hide under a blanket alongside a schadenfreude-tastic family drama you just can’t tear your eyes from. I devoured every minute. —Sam D.
Josh Malerman has been scaring the pants off us since Bird Box, but nothing could have prepared us for Incidents Around the House. A frightfully simple tale of a family haunted by a mysterious creature known as “Other Mommy,” the story is told from the perspective of young Bela, whose limited access to adult information allows the novel’s traumatic core to be revealed drip by terrifying drip. It’s bad enough that we don’t know quite what Other Mommy looks like, besides being hairy in strange places (yikes) and with eyes that shift positions (nope), or why she keeps asking Bela if she can go inside her heart (run!). What seals the deal is the performance of narrator Delanie Nicole Gill, who’s young in real life but magically transforms into a child for this book, then right back into an adult for each parent and even a convincing elderly grandma. It’s a total creepfest from a new audio scream queen—all hail! —Kat J.
The best horror stories surprise and subvert as they scare—and there’s only so much we can say about Chuck Tingle’s Bury Your Gays without giving the thrill of that experience away. We adored Tingle’s 2023 horror debut, Camp Damascus, but Bury Your Gays, with its nods to pop culture and meta moments, was an immediate favorite. André Santana’s lively, earnest performance is reason enough to listen to this one, but there’s another special treat: cameos from Mara Wilson (Camp Damascus), Georgia Bird (many, many Tinglers), as well as a slew of SFF writers (Charlie Jane Anders, TJ Klune, Stephen Graham Jones, to name a few). Hear more about this great listen in our in-depth interview with Tingle. —SD
The bloodlust is real for Stephen Graham Jones’s latest novel, an extra-personal work based on the horror legend’s West Texas upbringing and a love letter to outcasts and slasher films. Our antihero is 17-year-old Tolly Driver, who lives with a plot-pertinent peanut allergy in the podunk town of Lamesa, Texas, and is about to go on a murder spree that will see six of his classmates dead in the summer of 1989. (That’s no spoiler: Driver, typing out his memoir years in the future, says so at the outset.) The trick is how Graham Jones unspools the story, drawing you into Tolly’s voice and his world of hair metal, Dr. Pepper, bullies, gory incidents involving farm equipment, and a surprisingly sweet friendship you’ll root for. Texan native Michael Crouch is the perfect narrator for this heartbreaking coming-of-age horror story—and don’t miss the blood-red cherry on top when the author reads his acknowledgments at the end. —KJ
Featuring 12 short stories, some new and others fan-favorites, You Like It Darker adds more depth to the multiverse Stephen King has created. Will Patton, who’s narrated quite a few of King’s books, gives listeners a dynamic performance, bringing to life new, chilling stories while also giving a breath of fresh air to classics. Between the narration and fresh horrifying tales, it’s a no-brainer that You Like It Darker makes the Best of the Year 2024 list. —Nicole R.
Rachel Harrison’s women-led horror story is a fun and chilling listen that’s sure to quench any horror fan’s thirst for their next undead story. Award-winning narrator Brittany Pressley's talent combined with Harrison's descriptive and seductive writing style makes this listen an unforgettable addition to the world of vampires. Learn more about how Harrison crafted the story in our interview with the author. —NR
From billionaire madmen, to human experiments, to the most disturbing scenes involving insects we've come across in a good while, Nick Cutter’s The Queen is a listen we will not soon forget. Showcasing his vast and terrifying knowledge of bugs, Cutter’s descriptive writing induces goosebumps (fair warning to those not too fond of the creepy-crawlies), and the multi-cast performance led by Ariel Blake and Cutter's longtime narrator Corey Brill nailed the intense pacing of this chilling story. Listen in to our interview with Cutter for all the skin-crawling details. —NR
Bestselling author Daniel Kraus teamed up with the estate of the late horror legend George A. Romero to complete a long-lost Romero novel. Set in a cursed area of the Louisiana bayou, Pay the Piper follows a young woman who must figure out how to stop a dangerous presence from adding more children to its ever-expanding kill list. Performed by award-winning narrator Sophie Amoss, Pay the Piper ensnared me immediately with the descriptions of the odd occurrences and grim scenes. —NR
Set in the fictional town of Twisted Tree, Kentucky, Sleep Tight will keep you on the edge of your seat while taking you through a whirlwind of emotions ranging from curiosity to terror. The combined talents of author J.H. Markert and award-winning narrator Andi Arndt bring to life the terrifying effect of a copycat serial killer on a small town, and the lasting trauma that comes with uncovering old wounds. I was enthralled by the characters and the setting and the unsettling feeling this captivating listen conjured up. —NR
The haunted-house theme has been very trendy this year. For me, it’s a must that a take on a classic trope really throws a curveball, and Rivers Solomon’s Model Home was that listen. Tony Award-nominated actress Gabby Beans’s performance is distinctive and eerie, conjuring up the vivid details of Solomon’s story about three siblings faced with returning to their haunted family home. Unpacking both real and cosmic horrors, Model Home is a stimulating, chilling book that has continued to haunt me long after listening to the final chapter. —NR
