There’s this irrational fear city-dwellers experience when they’re in the forest, especially as it starts to get dark. The woods at night are filled with sounds that make the hair on our arms stand up. And the darkness… is absolute.
But if you still feel that thrill despite the fear, here are 10 books featuring creepy forests to read this spooky season!
The Root Witch by Debra Castaneda
A park ranger in Utah deals with an ancient, parasitic entity creeping through the underground roots of an aspen forest.
Into the Dark, We Go by D.G. Woods
A young woman ventures deep into the Appalachian wilderness to investigate a string of missing persons cases that mirror her boyfriend's disappearance, only to become entangled in a dangerous cult, generations of buried small-town secrets, and a hungry, haunted forest
The Briars by Sarah Crouch
When a teenage girl's body is found murdered on a reclusive carpenter's land, a traumatized game warden must use her wilderness tracking skills to catch a killer hiding within an isolated mountain town.
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Plagued by terrifying dreams that manifest in reality, a young Cree woman returns to her rural Alberta homeland where she has to confront the malevolent spirit haunting her family's woods.
Winter’s Teeth by R.A. Betzer
To rescue her sister from a supernatural shifter wedding ritual, a college student teams up with a dead and violently brought back to life man, only to find herself falling for the monster she is supposed to fear.
The Watchers by A.M. Shine
Stranded in an uncharted Irish forest, a woman finds shelter in a glass bunker alongside strangers who are observed every night by mysterious creatures.
In the Woods They Wait by Carrie Lee South
A park ranger investigating a series of strange vanishings in the Ozark state park uncovers a dark entity claiming victims beneath the trees.
Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong
Trapped inside an isolated tavern surrounded by dense woods during a storm, they realize that a terrifying supernatural presence is hunting them from the woods.
As the Snow Gathers by Mere Joyce
At a remote Canadian logging camp cut off by winter, workers are hunted one by one by shadowed entities lurking in the frozen forest.
Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner
Erin Harper travels to a remote Oregon town to investigate her brother's disappearance, which leads into a nightmare of toxic fungal growths and body horror deep in the Pacific Northwest woods.