Looking for a good spook this Halloween? Try one of these spooky Western books.
There’s nothing like a good campfire story to ring in the spooky season. The Western genre includes a variety of thrilling sub-genres full of hair-raising stories — from the Weird West sub-genre, encompassing elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and straight-up absurdism, to classic Western horror, comprising ghost stories, gory slashers, and psychological horror. Whether you’re looking for a campy fright reminiscent of classic monster movies of the 1960s and 70s or a suspenseful thriller that makes you question the nature of your reality, you’re going to find what you’re looking for in this list of eight spooky Western books.
The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
Originally published as short stories in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in the 1970s and 80s, The King of Horror’s Dark Tower series takes readers on a twisted journey through a futuristic and fantastical version of the American West. The eight-book series follows Roland Deschain, a member of a knightly order known as “gunslingers,” as he fights his way through a feudal society in search of the Dark Tower — an entity said to be the nexus of all universes. Basically, it’s like if you put The Lord of the Rings, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, and Dune in a blender.
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
A gruesome story of violence and depravity in the Western frontier of the 1850s, Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian has often been described as “anti-Western” due to its deadly depiction of life in the Old West. The epic novel follows a 14-year-old boy from Tennessee, referred to as the Kid, as navigates a Western frontier full of sadistic gangs, colorful characters, and unforgiving terrains. Known as one of McCarthy’s most profound works, this novel shifts rapidly from explosive action sequences to sweeping descriptions of the eerie serenity of the Western plains.
Dead in the West by Joe R. Lansdale
While just about any of Joe R. Lansdale’s books would make a great addition to this list, Dead in the West is the perfect combination of suspense, gore, and campiness for a Halloween read. After the unjust execution of a Native American medicine man, the Old West town of Mud Creek, Texas, is plunged into a grave evil. As the sun sets, the dead of Mud Creek rise from their graves in pursuit of human flesh to feast on. Reverend Jebediah Mercer, the town’s gun toting preacher and unlikely hero, must defend his own from this looming darkness. This Western horror novel has all the gory goodness you would expect from a classic zombie story.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
A master of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones weaves Indigenous heritage and present struggles into his harrowing tales. The Only Good Indians encompasses a variety of frights, from supernatural terrors to gruesome action sequences to existential dread and beyond. Following a group of four men from the Blackfeet Nation as they grapple with the consequences of an elk hunt gone terribly wrong. After pursuing a herd of elk into a tribally prohibited section of their reservation and killing a female elk and her unborn calf, Ricky, Lewis, Cass, and Gabe are terrorized by Po’noka, the elk spirit. The four men watch their worlds collapse as revenge is exacted.
Joe Pickett Series by C.J. Box
Part detective adventure and part thriller, C.J. Box’s 25-book Joe Pickett series is a bundle of Western spooks and mysteries. Readers follow Joe Pickett, a newly appointed game warden in Twelve Sheep, Wyoming, as he encounters the sinister and supernatural in the menacing Wyoming woods. Open Season, the series’ first novel, finds Pickett investigating the mysterious murder of a local hunting outfitter, only to realize that the outfitter’s death is connected to the reemergence of an endangered species and the shadowy plans of a billion-dollar oil company.
Cave of Bones by Anne Hillerman
The series that served as inspiration for the iconic Dark Winds series, Anne Hillerman’s Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito series is packed full of thrilling mysteries. Cave of Bones, the series’ fourth book, follows Tribal Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito as she investigates the disappearance of the beloved instructor of a character-building program for at-risk teens. The missing person investigation pulls Bernie into the rugged lava wilderness known as El Malpais, where lava is believed to be the solidified blood of a terrible monster killed by ancient warriors. One mystery leads to another as Bernie’s investigation exposes the evils of human nature.
Dead Man’s Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West, edited by John Joseph Adams
If you’re a fan of bite-sized horror, John Joseph Adams’ carefully curated Western horror anthology is the way to go. From showdowns with vampires to poker games with a sorcerous deck of cards, each short story infuses the Old West with fantastical elements that represent the best of the Weird West genre. Joe R. Lansdale, David Farland, Hugh Howey, Beth Revis, and Tad Williams are among the 23 prominent Western and sci-fi authors whose short stories will shock and intrigue readers.
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
It all started with a bad dream. Jessica Johns’ debut novel Bad Cree is a gritty and suspenseful exploration of one woman’s quest to confront the legacy of violence upon her family and community. The book plunges readers into a thrilling mystery as Mackenzie, a young Cree woman, wakes up with a severed crow’s head in her hands. As Mackenzie grapples with her recent slew of bad dreams, all of which return her to her sister’s untimely death, the dreams gradually make their way into her real life. Part Nightmare on Elm Street and part family drama, Bad Cree is a psychological thriller for the brave Halloween reader.
