If you like reading about terror, psychological suspense, the paranormal, or the occult, these X authors like Stephen King will put you on the edge of your seat! One author penned a book so horrifying that the King of Horror admitted that it scared the living hell out of him!
Related:
- 12 Famous Mystery Authors and Their Must-Read Novels
- 15 Famous Horror Authors and Their Terrifying Books
Paul Tremblay
Paul Tremblay’s A Headful of Ghosts is so chilling that it even scared Stephen King. Like King’s The Shining, Tremblay’s award-winning 2015 novel is told through a lens of mental illness, the supernatural, and horror. As an author, Tremblay is known for his ambiguity and the inevitable anxiety that comes with that uncertainty.
Aside from A Headful of Ghosts, you will also enjoy The Cabin at the End of the World, now an M. Night Shyamalan film called Knock at the Cabin.
Caitlin R. Kiernan
Like King, Caitlin R. Kiernan is a master at science fiction and world-building. The paleontologist-turned-author expertly paints a picture of the existence of each of her characters. Her books The Drowning Girl: A Memoir and The Very Best of Caitlín R. Kiernan explore themes of madness and truth-seeking. Kiernan’s work is not horror for horror’s sake. Her books are complex, dark, and a little quirky. Despite her weirdness, Kiernan wants readers to empathize with her characters and makes it easy to do so.
Lauren Beukes
Stephen King’s love of crime mixed with the demonic and inexplicable can be found in the writing of Lauren Beukes.
Beukes’ The Shining Girls (2013)—now a show on Apple TV+—is a serial killer tale with an otherworldly twist. Her latest book, Bridge, takes readers on a surreal journey through alternate universes as the protagonist searches for her mother.
Science fiction is a key element of Beukes’ novels. However, it’s the depth of her characters that make her one of the best authors like Stephen King.
Alma Katsu
Alma Katsu expertly blends the genres of historical and science fiction.
Katsu’s The Hunger is a supernatural take on the Donner party reminiscent of King’s 11/22/63 centered around JFK’s assassination. Per Stephen King, don’t read the award-winning novel after dark.
Another great is Katsu’s 2022 thriller The Fervor, in which adversity, violence, and disease test the protagonists.
Kanae Minato
Stephen King’s first book, Carrie, was all about revenge, as is Kanae Minato’s Confessions. What sets King and Minator’s work apart from others in the horror genre is their focus on psychological retaliation and power. Carrie used her telekinetic abilities to kill her bullying classmates at prom. Confessions’ Yuko Moriguchi masterminds a savage plot to avenge her daughter’s death. Those with a knack for female leads who retaliate with a reign of sociopathic terror will enjoy Kanae Minato.
Stephen Graham Jones
Known as the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones is a must-read for Stephen King fans. Revenge, a tenet of many of King’s books like IT and The Shawshank Redemption, is central to Jones’ 2020 novel The Only Good Indians.
Like King, Jones shapes characters the reader can identify with emotionally despite their demons and suffering. Plus, Jones expertly sprinkles metaphors throughout his work, something he shares with Stephen King.
Edgar Cantero
Like many of Stephen King’s novels, Edgar Cantero’s books lay haunted pasts on top of themes of friendship and devotion. His stories also don’t hit on just one element of the horror genre. He masterfully blends tragedy, suspense, amusement, and vengeance, especially in his Meddling Kids and The Supernatural Enhancements.
Mira Grant
If post-apocalyptic nightmares are your thing, then reading Mira Grant’s Parasite is light work. The 2014 novel, which is the first book in her Parasitology series, includes multiple sub-genres, from psychological horror to dystopian thriller.
Scott Thomas
Illusions are central to the supernatural thriller genre. In Scott Thomas’ debut novel Kill Creek, bestselling horror authors spend a night in a famous abandoned house. And Thomas’s use of a paranormal entity gives this debut novel its mind-bending edge.
Already read Kill Creek? His second book, Violet, has roots in the hauntings of childhood disturbances and unsettling memories, like many Stephen King novels.
Dean Koontz
Dean Koontz is a master of suspense, but for a creepy fix, look no further than 77 Shadow Street. It tells the tale of a haunted converted condominium and the secrets that remained before its renovation. Readers are left to wonder—where does reality begin and the nightmarish dream end?
Related: Best Dean Kootz Books
Richard Bachman
If you like Stephen King, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy Richard Bachman. Why? Because they’re the same person. Stephen King used Richard Bachman as a pseudonym at the beginning of his career. The Long Walk (1977) is a deadly dystopian tale of survival. It’s also part of “The Bachman Books,” or the first four novels penned by King as Bachman. Fans of Netflix’s Squid Game will relish in The Long Walk’s fatalism and competitive nature.
Laird Barron
Disturbing secrets and the occult make Laird Barron’s The Croning, a must-read for horror enthusiasts. Like Stephen King, Barron molds a relatable main character tortured by otherworldly entities. Plus, Barron does an excellent job incorporating emotional torment and mental angst with horror and fantasy.
Barron has written over five horror collections, all with deeply flawed humans at the center. Fans of gore won’t bat an eyelash at his gruesome style in The Wind Began to Howl, part of Barron’s crime saga.
Like King, Barron is great at producing an interconnected collection of books. Those who have trouble letting a story or character go will appreciate Barron’s Isaiah Coleridge Novel Series.
Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman and Stephen King are masters at creating new realities and universes. With Gaiman’s Neverwhere, it draws on themes of darkness, power, and uncertainty. When you read Neverwhere, you’ll appreciate the author’s ability to express the human desire to eradicate evil.
Victor LaValle
Victor LaValle’s The Devil in Silver cannot be defined by one literary genre; it is both a horror thriller and a social commentary. And, like Stephen King, LaValle uses unearthly creatures and the paranormal to tell a mystery ripe with madness. Plus, It’s easy to have empathy for LaValle’s characters—like King, he wants readers to develop compassion for both heroes and villains.
Peter Straub
If you’re into magic, then Peter Straub’s Shadowland should be on your TBR list. Straub’s genre-bending novel is akin to a haunted Harry Potter. It tells the story of friendship and the secrets we keep from the ones we love.
For decades, Peter Straub has written horror novels with a supernatural bent. Straub and King’s styles are so aligned that they even co-authored the books The Talisman and Black House. Like Stephen King, Peter Straub amplifies suspense through fatalistic missions and imminent danger.
Prices last updated on 2026-04-27
