Few people have ever been born into a better position to succeed as a writer than Joseph Hillstrom King, the son of authors Tabitha and Stephen King, the latter of whom needs no introduction as one of the best-selling writers of all time. However, Joe Hill wanted to make it on his own merits, rather than riding the coattails of his father’s fame, which is why he chose to write under an abbreviated version of his name.
His real identity was revealed in 2007, the same year that his first novel, Heart-Shaped Box hit stands. By then, however, Hill had already made considerable literary inroads with his short stories, winning the A. E. Coppard Long Fiction Prize, the World Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and others.
Since then, he has written award-winning short stories, novels, and comic book series, many of which have been adapted to film and television. NOS4A2 and Locke & Key both found their way onto small screens on AMC and Netflix, respectively, while cinematic adaptations of Hill’s stories include Horns, In the Tall Grass, The Black Phone, and this year’s Abraham’s Boys.
Three of his stories have also been adapted for the Shudder series Creepshow—a homecoming of sorts for Hill, since he actually played the young boy reading horror comics in the framing segments of George Romero’s 1982 film of the same name, which was written by Hill’s father.
Whether you’re a new fan of Joe Hill’s writing, perhaps coming to him from one of his many film and television adaptations, or an old devotee of this latter day master of horror, we’ve got a few suggestions for books that make ideal introductions or illuminate new corners—and are sure to keep you up at night.
By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain
Located between New York and Vermont, Lake Champlain is known for many things, including being home to its very own cryptid, a lake monster known as Champ or Champy. This serves as the partial inspiration for Joe Hill’s novella By the Silver Waters of Lake Champlain, which was originally written for an anthology of stories in celebration of Ray Bradbury. This tale of two young friends who find a dead plesiosaur on the shores of the eponymous lake and must subsequently wrestle with the consequences was later adapted into an episode of Creepshow, directed by Tom Savini.
Thumbprint
Nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award and a British Fantasy Award, Thumbprint tells the shocking, unforgettable story of Private Mallory Grennan. When she's discharged from service, she hopes to leave behind the memory of the terrible things that she had done and seen at Abu Ghraib prison. However, the past rarely stays buried in horror stories, and the bestselling work of Joe Hill is no exception. The atrocities that Mal witnessed and perpetrated during her service are about to come back to haunt her in a much more literal way in this gritty, grisly tale of terror.
Heart-Shaped Box
Hill’s debut novel established him as “one of the most confident and assured new voices in horror and dark fantasy” (Publishers Weekly). Aging rock legend Judas Coyne collects macabre oddities, but his latest purchase is the strangest of all: an actual ghost, which arrives in a black, heart-shaped box and turns out to have a connection to Coyne’s past, and a less-than-pleasant plan for the rocker’s future…
20th Century Ghosts
Even before Heart-Shaped Box hit stands, Hill had already established himself as “a major player in 21st-century fantastic fiction” (Washington Post) with his Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild Award-winning short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts. Packed with stories that have become beloved classics in the two decades since its release, 20th Century Ghosts not only introduced readers to Joe Hill, it also introduced some of his best-loved tales, including “The Black Phone,” in which a disconnected phone in a serial killer’s basement connects his latest victim to a legacy of fear and pain. “The Black Phone” was adapted to the 2021 film of the same name, which is getting a sequel this year.
The Fireman
Before a real-world pandemic changed life for everyone, Joe Hill conjured up a pandemic of his own in The Fireman, “a heartrending epic of bravery and love set in a fully realized and terrifying apocalyptic world, where hope lies in the simplest of gestures and the fullest of hearts” (Publishers Weekly). In this case, it’s a pandemic of spontaneous combustion, caused by a highly contagious spore called Dragonscale that first marks its victims with intricate patterns on their skin before causing them to burst into flames. This Locus Award-winning apocalyptic novel became Hill’s last for nearly a decade, before the October 2025 release of King Sorrow.
Strange Weather
A camera that can erase the memories of those it photographs. A deranged mall security guard and a loaded gun. A cloud shaped like a flying saucer. A rain of deadly “nails” that falls from the sky. These are the subjects of the four novellas with “powerful emotional and political resonance” (Publishers Weekly) that make up Strange Weather and showcase Joe Hill as “a distinct voice for our complicated times” (Booklist).
NOS4A2
One of Stephen King’s best-loved books is Salem’s Lot, his sprawling take on the vampire epic. So, it only makes sense that his son would try his own iteration, with NOS4A2 offering a “fascinating and utterly engaging” (Library Journal) tale that was named one of the best books of the year by the A.V. Club, Library Journal, and Time magazine. Charles Manx III is a supernatural predator who abducts children and takes them to “Christmasland,” and a troubled mother may be the only one who can stop him. The novel was adapted into a two-season television series on AMC starring Zachary Quinto, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and others.
