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There's something about summer camp that was always a little bit scary, wasn't there? The unfamiliar bunks, the too-dark woods, the counselors who seemed way too comfortable telling ghost stories at midnight.
(And I say that as a former camp counselor myself…)
Summer camp was basically Halloween's rustic cousin, and horror writers have known this for decades.
Whether you're heading somewhere with a campfire this summer or just want to feel like you are, this list has something for every kind of horror reader.
From the R.L. Stine books that introduced us all to the concept of camps gone wrong, to modern slashers that are reinventing the genre — grab a s'more and keep reading. (And maybe keep the lights on...)
Summer Horror Camp Books
The Classics — Start Here!
Welcome to Camp Nightmare — R.L. Stine
The one that traumatized a generation. Billy arrives at Camp Night Moon excited for a normal summer — until he notices that the rules are very, very strange, and that counselors keep disappearing without explanation. If you haven't revisited this one since elementary school, it holds up better than you'd think. A perfect cozy reread for a Summerween night. GET IT HERE
The Horror at Camp Jellyjam — R.L. Stine
Wendy and her brother end up at a sports camp called Camp Jellyjam, where winning is everything — and the campers who win the most keep vanishing. There's something living underground at Camp Jellyjam, and it's very, very hungry. Stine's campiest (pun fully intended) entry in the series, and one of the darkest. GET IT HERE
Required Campfire Reading
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark — Alvin Schwartz
No summer camp horror list would be complete without the book that started it all. Alvin Schwartz's anthology of folk horror, urban legends, and nightmare-inducing illustrations has been scaring kids — and adults — since 1981. If you don't own a copy, fix that before the summer starts. Read it out loud. In the dark. You're welcome. GET IT HERE
For the Serious Horror Reader
The Troop — Nick Cutter
A scoutmaster takes five boys to a remote island off the coast of Prince Edward Island for a camping trip. Then a stranger shows up at their cabin door — an emaciated, hollow-eyed man who is not quite right in ways that become horrifyingly clear. Brutal, visceral, and deeply uncomfortable, The Troop is widely considered one of the scariest novels of the last decade. Not for the faint of heart, but unforgettable. GET IT HERE
My Heart Is a Chainsaw — Stephen Graham Jones
Jade Daniels is a slasher-obsessed outcast living in a small Idaho town — a town that sits near Camp Blood, where a series of murders took place years ago. When bodies start turning up again, Jade is convinced history is repeating itself, and she might be the only one who can stop it. Part love letter to the slasher genre, part genuinely terrifying horror novel. A must-read. GET IT HERE
The Final Girl Support Group — Grady Hendrix
Six women who each survived separate summer camp massacres meet regularly for therapy — until someone begins killing them off one by one. Meta, razor-sharp, and propulsive, this one is for anyone who grew up watching Friday the 13th and wondering what happened to the survivors after the credits rolled. Hendrix is one of the best in the business, and this might be his most fun book. GET IT HERE
The Last Time I Lied — Riley Sager
Fifteen years ago, Emma Davis watched her three cabinmates disappear from Camp Nightingale without a trace. Now she's been invited back as a painting instructor — and the same things are starting to happen again. A propulsive, twisty adult thriller that moves like a freight train. If you like your camp horror with a side of mystery and serious psychological dread, this one is for you. GET IT HERE
Queer Camp Horror
Camp Damascus — Chuck Tingle
Rose is a devout young woman living in a deeply religious small town — a town that's home to the nation's most "successful" conversion camp. When she begins to uncover the demonic truth buried beneath its sunny exterior, everything she's been taught to believe starts to crack apart.
Tingle's debut novel earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination and landed on best-of lists at both Vulture and Esquire — and once you read it, you'll understand why. Searing, terrifying, and wrapped in righteous fury. GET IT HERE
YA Slashers
You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight — Kalynn Bayron
Charity has what sounds like the coolest summer job imaginable: playing the "final girl" at Camp Mirror Lake, where guests pay to participate in a full-contact horror experience recreating scenes from a classic slasher film. The more realistic the fear, the better for business. But when her co-workers start actually disappearing — and one turns up dead — the role stops being fun. Fast-paced, sharply written, and featuring a queer lead character who is very good at surviving. Extremely fun. GET IT HERE
The Counselors — Jessica Goodman
Three best friends return to their beloved summer camp as counselors for what should be the perfect last summer before college. But one of them is hiding something from the summer before — and when a body is found, all of their secrets start coming undone. A murder mystery with real emotional weight. If you loved the friendships-and-secrets energy of a YA thriller but want actual stakes, this one delivers. GET IT HERE
Camp Lanier — Sylvester Barzay
Taylor is sent to work as a camp counselor at Camp Lanier after a run-in with the law — but the camp sits on land with a very dark history. Urban legend says an entire all-Black town was forced out to create the lake, and that its homes, school, and church are still there, deep underwater. That's just a story to scare kids, right? Except Taylor keeps hearing crying at night, and there's a camper no one seems to know sitting by the lake. Atmospheric, deeply unsettling, and one of the more underrated picks on this list. GET IT HERE
Heads Will Roll — Josh Winning
After a disastrous tweet ends her career, former sitcom star Willow finds herself sent to a camp for the cancelled — a former resort where disgraced celebrities are meant to rehabilitate their public images. But someone at the camp is picking off the guests, and there are quite literally heads rolling. Wildly entertaining, sharp, and gorier than you'd expect. The perfect palate cleanser between heavier reads. GET IT HERE
Have a summer camp horror pick I missed?
Drop it in the comments! And if you're still looking for more spooky summer reads, check out my list of ocean horror books perfect for summer scares.
