31 Dark Fantasy Books You Won't Be Able to Put Down

It's illegal for those outside of Lancaster College of Alchemic Science to study or practice the art of alchemy. When Ash Woods is rejected, he chooses to take a job as a groundskeeper and teach himself in secret. His study is discovered by an apprentice, Ramsay Thorne, and Ramsay chooses to use the illicit knowledge to her advantage. She will keep his secret, so long as he helps her find a sacred text of extraordinary power. 

The unlikely pair soon realize their mission is more dangerous than they originally thought, as the search sets them against other powerful alchemists, including Ash's estranged father. One-half dark fantasy, one-half charming YA, this story explores both the injustices of Callender's richly built world, as well as those worthy souls willing to fight back against the status quo.

An unforgettable and consistently surprising dark fantasy, Molly Tanzer’s Creatures of Want and Ruin is set in an alternate history version of Prohibition Era-Long Island. Ellie West is a fisher-woman by day and a bootlegger by night in her beloved home of Amityville. Ellie knows that her illegal side-hustle is not without its perils, from lawmen and mobsters alike, but she’s eager to help her younger brother pay for his education. 

When Ellie’s desperation leads her to sell some hooch she acquired second-hand to strangers planning a decadent party, she gets caught up in a dark side of rum-running that she never could have anticipated. The liquor she sold gives those who drink it terrible, apocalyptic visions ... and the potent spirits can be traced back to a cult of devil-worshippers whose power over the people of Long Island is spreading like wildfire. 

In the first book of a dark fantasy trilogy by No. 1 New York Times-bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, twin sisters are entrusted with a dangerous and essential task. As Keeper and Seeker, they must work together to quiet the enraged souls of the damned that wander through the Forest of the Dead. 

When things go sideways, sisters Moria and Ashyn must abandon their posts to warn the emperor. As you might expect from a dark fantasy, things only get more complicated and more dangerous from there …

This post-apocalyptic science fantasy novel is the first in an action-packed five-book series. Generations ago, environmental disaster made life above ground on Earth impossible. The survivors retreated underground, where the feudal society of Freehold rose up in darkness. 

Power in The Freehold rests in the hands of lords called Saardin, who maintain control over the underground kingdom with the help of their bladesmen. Ronin is one of these warriors whose role in the harsh world of Freehold is to maintain order. But when tensions underground threaten to escalate into war, Ronin defies tradition to prevent the last of humanity from destroying itself. In search of peace, Ronin does the unthinkable and journeys above ground, seeking answers on the alien surface of the Earth. 

Dark fantasy meets the young-adult space in this Cinderella reimagining. Rosamund Hodge's tale twists the story. Here, protagonist Maia's stepmother despises her biological daughters, and Maia's late mother haunts anyone who hurts her. 

When she meets Anax, heir to the Duke of Sardis, she doesn't know much pain love has brought him, too. Used by his childhood sweetheart as a means of climbing the social ladder, Anax has sworn off love. But then their paths cross, and soon Anax and Maia begin to wonder whether love might be the thing to save them.

This collection of three sinister, sensuous fantasy stories shows Tanith Lee’s skill for building immersive, unsettling worlds. 

In one, a writer follows the ominous path of a man who has promised her he’s destined to die that day. In another, a traumatized woman in the Middle Ages transforms into her unfathomably powerful male alter-ego in the evenings, and stalks the streets of Paradys searching for prey. 

And in “Stained With Crimson,” a poet falls under the thrall of an uncannily beautiful woman who seems to know his most private, shameful fantasies.

This World Fantasy Award-winning anthology features twisted takes on fairy tales by celebrated authors like Caitlin R. Kiernan, Nalo Hopkinson, Neil Gaiman, and more masters of eerie speculative fiction. 

From a dread-filled retelling of Thumbelina, to a gritty rendition of Snow White, to an adaptation of The Little Mermaid from the witch’s perspective, each of these delightful stories invites readers to remember the inherent horror in most tales that begin with ‘once upon a time…’

It’s easy to see why this absolutely absorbing dark fantasy-mystery was awarded a Shirley Jackson Award. The story follows the members of a British folk band, who converge on the rambling country estate of Wylding Hall to record an album. 

During their time at Wylding Hall, band member Julian vanishes without a trace, and is never seen again, leaving trauma and unanswered questions in his wake. Years after Julian’s disappearance, the remaining band members return to Wylding Hall to film a documentary about the baffling mystery surrounding Julian. But once they’ve returned to the scene of the tragedy, the past won’t stay buried for long...

Featuring morally ambiguous protagonists and a gripping atmosphere of dread, Wylding Hall is a must-read for those who like their fantasy stories filled with anti-heroes. 

This unique urban fantasy is set in Gem City—a place where inhabitants can borrow another person’s soul and commit sin without consequence. Callie Delgado is put in an impossible situation when the mob holds her responsible for her ne’er-do-well brother’s debts. What’s a sister to do? She can either pick up some shady jobs from the crime underworld, or she can pay for a closed casket funeral with money she doesn’t have.

Since Callie’s empty pockets won’t get her far in renting a soul, she strikes a deal with the local sleazeball Soul Charmer. However, this only plunges her deeper into danger as she’s now smack dab in the middle of the dark world of magic.

In the simple and charming town of Zephyr, Alabama, twelve-year-old Cory Mackenson believes that he can sense the spirits lingering in the churchyard. With an over-imaginative writer’s mind, Cory takes a thrill in the other odd happenings around town. However, when his father dives into the lake to discover a nude and brutally beaten corpse, Zephyr’s mysteries take a less fun turn.

Although the townspeople leave the strange murder to be forgotten, the Mackenson’s can’t let it go. As they search for the truth they’re taken down a dark and winding path full of magic, madness, and true evil. Robert McCammon's beloved novel won both the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award.

This classic gothic fantasy series by the late Mervyn Peake is soon to be a TV series adapted by Neil Gaiman, so now’s the perfect time to discover the books. 

Peake’s masterpiece follows the eccentric inhabitants of the crumbling kingdom Gormenghast. Most of the royals and their servants adhere to rituals and customs with a strict rigidity, using these traditions as a way to bring meaning to their otherwise meandering existence. But a conniving kitchen boy aims to unseat the status quo in the dysfunctional kingdom, threatening Gormenghast's heir Titus Groan. 

In his quest for power and upheaval, Steerpike manipulates the castle's most isolated inhabitants, including Titus' fanciful sister Fuschia.

Coffins cultivates thrilling supernatural horror in this pre-Civil War fantasy novel, which tells of a horrible string of tragedies that plagues the infamously abolitionist Coffin family. It started with the inexplicable death of an infant. Shortly after, the family lost twin boys in a mysterious shipyard accident. As patriarch Cash Coffin locks himself away in madness, his youngest son—dwarf Jebediah—turns to his friend Davis Bentwood.

Can Davis accept that there is more to the misfortunes of the Coffins than coincidence? Will the dark, otherworldly horrors waiting on the Underground Railroad stop claim more lives? Vividly descriptive and featuring a faux “true story” narrative, Philbrick’s novel is a bone-chilling walk through one of the darkest parts of American history.

This seven-plus-book saga by Stephen King is a perfect fit for fantasy fans who also enjoy high strangeness and horror. King’s magnum opus follows Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger of Gilead, as he travels to the mythical Dark Tower, a pillar that holds up the very fabric of reality. 

In order to fulfill his destiny, Roland must battle evil figures like The Man in Black and The Crimson King, and form a fellowship with travelers from our own world. Full of body horror, unrepentantly bloody battles, and true moments of terror, The Dark Tower series is a perfect fit for dark fantasy fans who want to sink their hooks into a long epic. 

This eerie fairy tale by Neil Gaiman has become a modern classic, winning Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker Awards. Young Coraline is unsettled after her family moves to a new apartment. Despite omens warning her not to follow her curiosity, Coraline opens a small door that leads from her family’s flat to an adjoining one that is believed to be empty. 

She steps through the door and into an alternate, and apparently utopian, version of her life, in which Other Mother and Other Father—adoring adults who closely resemble her own parents, although with buttons for eyes—dote on her. But Coraline soon realizes that her time in the Other World is not without a price. 

The first book in the Elric Saga pulls readers into a gritty sword and sorcery epic. Taking high fantasy by the horns, Moorcock’s novel is set in an alternative Earth at the dawn of human history. Albino prince Elric—properly titled Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné—is a cynical and reluctant ruler. Unfortunately, Elric is intelligent enough to know that he is the only worthy successor to the throne, and his now-withered nation is reliant upon his reign.

The brash and brutal Yrkoon has a deep disdain for his cousin Elric, which gives him an insatiable hunger for the power of the throne. Though he would rather be left to his own devices, Elric stands against his own bloodline for his nation’s sake.

Abandoned by his father and given to the Brothers of the Sixth Order, Vaelin is trained from the age of 10 to be the perfect Warrior of the Faith. He is taught to be austere and celibate, but he can't let go of the past, either. His father was Battle Lord to the king himself, and Vaelin should have inherited his own title. 

But the truth is more complex than Vaelin realizes in this dark fantasy series-starter by Anthony Ryan, and he is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. 

The First Law trilogy’s compelling opening novel, The Blade Itself, takes a gleefully anti-heroic approach to the fantasy genre. Logan Ninefingers is an unlucky, overzealous barbarian who’s one misstep away from death. Captain Jezal dan Luthar is a self-absorbed card shark whose mind is often too far away from the bloodshed of the battlefield. The disabled Inquisitor Glokta is a hateful torturer, determined to eradicate treason from the union. Together, they make up the three protagonists who face the treachery of the short-fused wizard Bayaz.

New York Times best-selling author Joe Abercrombie injects wit and a cutting edge into this dark story of murder conspiracies and gray morality. His richly-compelling characters act as cynical guides through courtly intrigue and large scale threats.

Teenager Ivy's vacation starts ominously, with the appearance of an apparition on a night road. From there, Ivy’s familiar world decays into chaos, forcing her to question just how much she really knows about her mother’s past. 

Set partially during Ivy’s childhood and partially during her mother’s, Our Crooked Hearts is an atmospheric novel from the author of the YA Hazel Wood series.

As the first book in the gripping series Permafrost, White Stag introduces readers to Janneke, a daughter raised to hunt and fight like a male heir. On the day her village is razed by goblins, Janneke is kidnapped and sent to work for a man named Soren. 

As Janneke begins to find what little good she can in the world she has become trapped in, she loses her ties to the human world. A monstrousness grows inside of her, and she must decide whether to embrace that and her deepening loyalty to her master, or hold on to the life she left behind.

Jennifer Giesbrecht weaves a nightmarish tale in this novel which crashes the horror genre full force into the foundation of fantasy. This Gothic tale centers around the seaside city of Eldenhaven— forgotten by the South, economically barren, and withering from the plague. Driven by the perverse lust for revenge, an evil master twists a monster with magic to carry out his vicious and violent plan. The monster—nameless, man-shaped, and immune to such trivial things as death—stalks the streets with a hunger to take lives.

The merciless and unrepentant magician has eyes set only on the destruction of all of those who left the city to die. The rest of the world is just collateral damage.

In this novel Henry takes the classic and beloved story of Peter Pan and flips it on its head. Readers follow the story of Jamie, the first Lost Boy that Peter brings to the island. Enchanted by the promise of never growing old and making his own rules, Jamie becomes Peter’s right hand man and favorite boy. 

However, as more children are brought into Peter’s world, Jamie finds that life on the island isn’t as carefree as he once thought. In a brutal retelling with a high and bloody body count, we see the choices that turned Jamie into the legendary nemesis of Peter Pan—Captain Hook.

The first in a gaslamp series, Darkwalker follows Inspector Nicholas Lenoir, a once-great detective left jaded after an encounter with the underworld 10 years ago. Now, he spends most of his time drinking his memories away. But when a child goes missing, Nicholas and his partner begin a hunt through the labyrinthine, occultist underbelly of their city. 

If you’re searching for a fantasy mystery with genuine chills, consider the case closed.

Leigh Bardugo’s first adult novel, Ninth House follows Galaxy (Alex) Stern, a girl with a rough background who’s given a miraculous shot to attend Yale. But her new life comes with a major catch. 

Alex has always been able to see ghosts, a secret power that terrifies and isolates her. And she’s been enlisted to serve the Ninth House, a secret society dedicated to monitoring Yale's other mysterious houses. That means keeping an eye on the city’s many ghosts, observing secret autopsies, and not looking away when a young woman turns up dead under mysterious circumstances…

The Hexslinger Series is a weird west epic filled with bloodthirsty deities, cowboy sorcerers, and plenty of chaos. 

This first novel centers around the conflict between Asher Rook, a practitioner of the dark arts, and Ed Morrow, an undercover agent who ensconces himself in Asher’s gang of outlaws. Bloodshed and bullet-storms ensue.

This standalone fantasy from Robin McKinley doesn’t have any horror elements, but it explores the sort of dark adult themes that readers don’t always expect to see in fantasy. 

After the death of her mother, 17-year-old Princess Lissla runs from home to avoid the unwanted advances of her own father. In the forest, Lissla heals herself from the trauma of her childhood with the help of her loyal sighthound.

In this twisted commentary on portal fantasies and the darkness of girlhood, Alice from Alice in Wonderland is all grown up and living in Edwardian London. 

When Alice suspects that the London serial killer known as ‘the Red King’ may be related to the journey she had in Wonderland as a child, she unites with a girl named Dorothy—who had her own strange adventures years ago—to try and take him down.

When you start R. F. Kuang's wildly popular debut novel, you might be tempted to think the story more in the vein of Harry Potter than real dark fantasy: Orphan Rin is raised by her aunt and uncle and then accepted into an elite school of forbidden knowledge. The similarities end there, however, because Rin's journey through Sinegard, the elite military school, is learning far more deadly techniques than how to make a feather float.

Gods thought long dead still live, and Rin has the power to communicate with them. If she can survive her classmates and the Federation of Mugen, which lurks across a narrow sea, she might find a means of channeling the gods' power and win what feels like a never-ending war. But will winning the war cost Rin her humanity?

You know you're in for a dark fantasy when the world-building starts with the Mad King of Emmer and the vicious King of Pohorir. Kehara Raehema is wedged between them, and she'll do whatever it takes to save her people. She seeks the aid of Wolf Duke of Pohorir, Innisth Eanate, who dreams of breaking free from his tyrant of a king.

As a perilous winter nears, Kehara and Innisth must work together to save their people before the Four Kings are swept into utter catastrophe.

In this bestselling reimagining of Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” veteran Alex visits their dying friend, Madeline Usher, and finds her trapped on an estate bursting with decay, overgrown fungi, and erratic animals. 

Accompanied by a scientist and doctor, Alex tries to uncover the truth behind the Usher affliction.

Luli Wei knows she's talented, but she also knows full well how limited the opportunities in Hollywood are for Chinese American girls.

The movie studios operate via bloody deals and ancient sorcery, and devour aspiring stars like Luli daily. But she's determined to write her own script, no matter how dark it will ultimately be. 

This classic from Anne Rice continues to shape vampire fiction and inspire new adaptations today. The 1976 epic follows the centuries-long exploits of Louis de Pointe du Lac and the vampire who turned him, Lestat de Lioncourt. 

A frame story, the novel begins with Louis recounting his life to a modern-day reporter. Throughout the conversation, Louis explains how he has tried—and failed—to maintain his humanity across the generations.