The 5 Scariest Books of All Time, According to Stephen King

Stephen King has named his five scariest books in an interview with USA Today, offering a personal view of the stories that frighten even a writer closely associated with horror. The selection includes a recent novel, showing his choices reach beyond the genre’s established classics.

One pick is *Trad Wife*, a 2026 novel about a journalist documenting a woman who presents herself as a traditional wife; events on the family’s property gradually become more disturbing. King has called it the best horror novel of 2026. He also praises *The Silence of the Lambs*, Thomas Harris’s novel featuring Hannibal Lecter; the supplied article text ends while discussing that book and does not give the full five-book list.