We may not enjoy being scared in real life, but a good creepy story is something many of us love to watch or, in the case of the best horror comics of all time, read.
the best horror comics of all time are much more than supernatural action stories. While we all enjoy vampires, ghosts, and other creepy crawlies and bugs that jump in the night, due to the immense creativity and wall-breaking of comics, sometimes those creatures are more superhero than super scary.
You are reading: Best horror comic books
When it comes to real horror, it’s all about creating a little (or a lot) of unease, fear, and terror that lingers long after the final page is turned. the best horror comics also often provide that awkward twist to something classic, mundane, and safe in your life.
Do you like gossip and small talk? do you ever feel nostalgic? Do you like to doodle seemingly innocent spirals and patterns? Not for long, if these horror comics grab you.
One could easily make a list of the best horror comics of the last decade, the best horror manga, or many other subcategories, but we’ve given comics the same weight regardless of their format, era, or country of origin. . – a sort of “big picture” of the best examples of horror comics from around the world.
so dim the lights, check the locks, and steel your nerves as we count down the best and scariest horror comics of all time.
20. the man who came down the attic stairs (2017)
The Comic: Celine Loup, The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs (Opens in a new tab) follows Emma, a new mom dealing with severe postpartum depression. her baby won’t stop crying like she’s terrified and she can’t sleep, which causes terrible tension between her and her husband. he, on the other hand, is strangely out of touch with everything, which makes her feel even more isolated, especially when she starts seeing strange things around the house and can’t tell what’s real and what’s fantasy.
Why it’s scary: Horror that blurs the line between fantasy and reality can be very unpredictable, depending on how the creator handles it. With this graphic novel, Loup presents an atmospheric horror masterclass that examines the darker side of new parenthood and how such a dramatic change can affect people at the deepest level.
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19. through the forest (2014)
the comic: emily carroll’s through the woods (opens in new tab) compiles five dark fairy tales that may seem familiar at first, but quickly take surprising turns. As readers travel through the woods (i.e. read the book), they will find “our neighbor’s house”, though they may not be able to return, and meet a young bride in an old secret house in “the A lady’s hands are cold.” “The collection also asks what is haunting “My Friend Janna” and reveals dark secrets about the narrator’s future sister-in-law in “The Nesting Place.” Through the Woods also prints the “His Face of Hers All Red” webcomic.
Why it’s scary: The Brothers Grimm may have done it first, but they certainly didn’t do it better. Carroll’s award-winning writing and illustrations are clearly on display in this graphic anthology, which plays with all the senses to create a truly immersive and visceral reading experience. there is just enough left for the reader’s imagination to incorporate his deepest fears, and each story draws a different core memory for anyone who remembers being told or read fairy tales when he was a child.
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18. another life with archie (2013 – 2016)
the comic: they say “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, and the afterlife with archie (opens in a new tab) brings that saying to life, or not life, as it begins with a simple and kind request: save Jughead’s furry baby, the hot dog, using magic. But when Sabrina the Teenage Witch tries and succeeds in resurrecting the dog, the spell sets off a chain of events that quickly leaves Riverdale overrun with zombies…and the monsters don’t stop there.
Why It’s Scary: While The Walking Dead (opens in a new tab) is more of a survival adventure/drama than a true horror, The Afterlife with Archie works by tapping into nostalgia. from the archie and riverdale comics. gang against the twist of them going through the supernatural wringer. And while such a story could be done simply for shock value, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla make the horror as real and heart-pounding as the folksy vibe of these iconic teenagers, taking the story to the next level.
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17. warlocks (2014 – 2015)
the comic: when a young family moves to a small new england town to try to give their sailor daughter a second chance after a bad hand in her hometown, they discover they have changed one evil for another. they’ve moved to a town where the locals trade living people with mysterious entities living on the outskirts of town (and out of the corner of their eye) in exchange for better health and better fortunes. These ‘witches,’ as they’re called, feed off of humanity’s greed to pit people against each other, and as jock’s terrifying art aptly shows, they’re not afraid to get their hands (and teeth) dirty once in a while. in a while.
why it’s scary:scott snyder and jock’s wytches (opens in new tab) picture comic series is a quintessential horror comic that centers the story around its monstrous twist on the witches while using those monsters to show the true evil of humans who would trade human decency for a better deed in life. Snyder cuts the comparison to the bone at the end of Warlocks, showing that no one is completely immune from giving in to temptation, even a parent of a troubled child.
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16. the sandman (1989 – present)
the comic: the sandman (opens in a new tab) primarily follows the titular dream, aka morpheus of the dreaming, beginning when he is kidnapped by a human on earth who he accidentally summons him instead of his brother, death. the dream remains imprisoned for more than a century, then he has to restore not only his kingdom, but the earth itself, because everything has gone unhinged in his absence.
Why it’s scary: Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg explore multiple genres in The Sandman, but anyone who’s seen the Netflix adaptation of the series or read the comics ” 24 hours” and/or “collectors” know that the series delves into horror often, and does so in such a terrifying way that it leaves you white-knuckled and wide-eyed despite desperately wanting to look away. side. the concept of an infinite, divine being who creates dreams and nightmares is terrifying enough, but add in humans who claim power that doesn’t belong to them and serial killers who love walking nightmares and you’re sure to feel real fear that will put your skin on edge. chicken. .
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15. the cute house on the lake (2021 – present)
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the comic: the pretty house on the lake (opens in new tab) tells the story of 12 people who accept an invitation from walter, a seemingly harmless weirdo, to spend a week at a beautiful lake house in wisconsin. there is little to no cell phone service but the place is beautiful and everything has been provided for them. Putting up with Walter’s bizarre intrigues and ridiculous nicknames seems like a small price to pay for such a perfect vacation…until the truth comes out.
Why it’s scary: The Pretty House on the Lake won the 2022 Eisner Award for Best New Series, for good reason. James Tynion IV, Álvaro Martínez Bueno, Jordie Bellaire and andworld Design prepare readers to take them down, and we experience the horror in real time with the characters themselves as each narrates a different problem and reveals new secrets. this book is dark and plays on the fear of the unknown while painting everything with a charming facade. this house is haunted, not by ghosts, but by the lingering terror of its permanent guests.
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14. sixths (2016 – 2017)
the comic: insexts (opens in a new tab) follows two women in victorian london who create a family of their own choosing while trying to maintain their romantic relationship while battling social expectations . But their romance isn’t their only secret: the main characters can literally turn into insect-like creatures, allowing them to protect not only themselves, but those they love as well.
Why It’s Scary: Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis poses the thought experiment, ‘what would you do if you woke up as a giant bug?’ Marguerite Bennett and Ariela Kristantina’s responses: Protect yourself and your loved ones from harm, then go after those who perpetrated that violence. There’s something especially creepy about humans transforming into bugs, but this comic hits hardest in its social commentary, forcing readers to examine their own behaviors and realize just how awkward it is.
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13. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Land (1989)
the comic: There is a riot underway at the prison/mental facility that houses many of the rogues from batman’s gallery, and batman is called in to quell the situation. Upon arrival, however, he is thrust into a dizzying series of one-on-one confrontations with his most iconic adversaries in a twisted, through-the-looking-glass setting enhanced by Dave McKean’s relatively abstract artwork. p>
Why It’s Scary: Arkham Asylum: A Serious House In A Serious Land (opens in new tab) excels at psychological horror, contorting classic gotham villains into their base symbolism through confrontations with the hero (batman) who put them behind bars. Echoing elements of both HP Lovecraft and Francis Bacon at the same time, Arkham Asylum expertly tackles the idea of sanity in a modern world.
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12. these wild shores (2018 – 2019)
The Comic: These Wild Shores (Opens in a new tab) takes place in 1766 on a ship owned by the East India Trading Company. looking for a place on the lucrative silk road, but an elderly and insatiable vampire also lurks on the ship, and is also looking for a landing place to make his home. The problem is that the land along the indus already harbors things that lurk in the dark, and he may not be welcome among them.
Why It’s Scary: Written by Ram V, Illustrated by Sumit Kumar, Colored by Vittorio Astone, and Lettered by Aditya Bidikar, These Wild Shores is, in many ways, the classic creepy tale of vampires we expect. – but it also focuses on native experiences and prying into the negative impacts of colonialism with a crowbar. this book is fast-paced and relentless as it takes readers from india to london and back again, with atmospheric horror that gets under the skin and stays there.
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11. harrow county (2015 – 2018)
the comic: county harrow (opens in a new tab) centers on emmy crawford, a young woman who knows her home is surrounded by ghosts and monsters, but has no idea that it is connected to the earth. she magics until she approaches adulthood. Using her newfound powers, she has to defend Harrow from the darkness that surrounds him, without losing her empathy in the process.
Why it’s scary: This may be the magnum opus of horror from writer Cullen Bunn and artist Tyler Crook. harrow county plays on feelings of isolation and fear of the unknown, while at the same time instilling a sense of urgency that requires emmy, and by extension the reader, to look darkness in the face and ask what it is doing and why. horror fantasy can sometimes wade too far into magical waters to be truly terrifying, but that’s not the case here. what happens at night? And would you be willing to stop it, if you could?
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10. something is killing the children (2019 – present)
the comic: the victims believe. It may seem like an easy thing to do, but it’s rarely simple, even when the victims are talking about real monsters. In the hit series Something’s Killing the Kids (opens in new tab), a small hamlet of a town called Archer’s Peak is the hunting ground for a pack of otherworldly monsters who have a thing for kids, and whom only the children can see. When a hunter of these hunters, Erica Carnage, comes to town boasting of a no-nonsense way to defeat these beasts, she becomes an easy target for the town’s adults looking for answers.
why it’s scary: something is killing children, james tynion iv and werther dell’edera let us have our cake and eat it too. While the classic trope of monsters preying on children is present, the concept is inverted through the palate-cleansing postmodern revenge story of the ‘Final Girl’ massacre of adult Erica. This sinister hunters and hunted moebius strip is a perfect setup for tension, terror and release like a thrilling rollercoaster ride where you know the ending but jump in your seat anyway for the thrill it provides.
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9. bitter root (2018 – 2021)
The Comic Book: Step into New York City in the 1920s, when the Harlem Renaissance is in full swing. then meet the monster-hunting sangerye family, all of whom have strict roles, but a rift is forming due to conflicting moralities and a series of tragedies, and it could be to the detriment of humanity as a whole. You see, it’s not just monsters that the sangryes have to face, it’s also an oppressive racist system and unspeakable evil that will push them over the edge.
why it’s scary: writers david f. walker and chuck brown create incredible tension from the very first issue of bitter root (opens in new tab), which dives into the story in half res and doesn’t let up on the throttle. Artist Sanford Greene then steps in with strong, stylized work that highlights not only how horrible monsters are, but also how horrible people can be, especially in such a self-assured supernatural period piece. The horror is at its best when it pulls the strings of real evil, and the bitter root never shies away from what’s going on below the surface or why the sangerye family is fighting so hard.
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8. the plot (2019 – 2021)
the comic: “to receive, you must first give”. the plot (opens in a new tab) follows chase blaine, who is forced to assume guardianship of his niece and nephew mackenzie and zach after his brother and sister-in-law, from whom he was estranged They are brutally murdered. Chase and the kids return to the family home in Cape Augusta, which sits in a swamp teeming with an evil force that has plagued the Blaines for generations. What can Chase do besides keep the kids close and try to burn Blaine’s legacy, and the things that haunt him, to the ground?
Why it’s scary: Mental illness is widely stigmatized, which doesn’t make it easy to manage. In the plot, from writers Tim Daniel and Michael Moreci, artist Josh Hixson, colorist Jordan Boyd, and lyricist Jim Campbell, the monsters aren’t just a metaphor for mental illness: they’re real, and they’re hunting the Blaine family for one. There’s a creeping feeling that you’re always being followed in this comic, with darkness lurking around every corner, and because the creative team handles the plot’s real-life horrors so well, it’s an especially relatable and terrifying story. p>
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7. boy with cat’s eyes (1967 – 1976)
See Also: Negative Effects of Reading [Protect Yourself From These!] – TheBookBuff.com
the comic: Writer/artist kazuo umeza is the godfather of horror manga, and cat-eyed boy (opens in a new tab) gives him wide latitude to play many aspects of horror, all directed at, and in some cases starring, the titular cute but dangerous cat-eyed boy. Banned from monster society for being too human, the monster boy lives in the shadows and attics of the human world – finding a place to stay, then acting as the victim (and sometimes instigator) of supernatural threats to families. and the neighborhood. find refuge in.
Why he’s scary: Like some sort of demonic Cheshire cat, the cat-eyed boy is as magnetic to readers’ attention as the horror that seems to follow him. Umezu deftly uses each short story to delve into a new and different gruesome supernatural avenue against the cat-eyed boy’s unsuspecting human hosts, made all the more memorable by the monster boy’s devilish allure.
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6. the drifting classroom (1972 – 1974)
the comic: its like lord of the flies (opens in a new tab) meets dante alighieri’s hell in kazuo umezu’s drifting classroom (opens in a new tab). Abandoning the dark humor of the aforementioned horror mangaka’s cat-eyed boy, Classroom Adrift follows the students and teachers of a Japanese high school that is torn apart and transported to a charred wasteland that is revealed to be the future of their own. world. adults and children fight each other and make alliances, while developing their own special abilities that help them try to come to terms with the desolate environment in which they must now survive.
Why it’s scary:Proving once again that the world’s most dangerous animal is humans, the adrift classroom lives in the space created by the uncomfortable idea that people who outweigh your limits will do anything to survive, no matter if you’re the responsible teacher or the ‘innocent’ young student.
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5. the destroyer by victor lavalle (2017)
the comic: the destroyer by victor lavalle (opens in new tab) is a gripping sci-fi personification of the fractured world we now live in. Lavalle and artist Dietrich Smith present their story as a modern day sequel to Mary Shelley’s iconic novel Frankenstein (opens in a new tab), following a scientist who is descended from the Frankenstein family as she uses the arcane practices of her ancestors. to try to resuscitate his son, a young black man who was killed by the police. When the original Frankenstein’s monster enters the scene, the contrast between how some people value their life versus that of a dead child becomes the heart of Victor Lavalle’s Destroyer, wrapped in layers of sci-fi, body horror, and even robot. giant.
why it’s scary: victor lavalle’s destroyer is scary because for all his fantastic science and imagination, deep down there is a warped value system for humanity that places a higher value on tall to an amalgamated mass of body parts turned into a man (Frankenstein’s monster) than a real 12-year-old boy killed because of the color of his skin.
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4. black hole (1995 – 2005)
the comic: black hole (opens in a new tab) is the best, and the worst, of teen angst, especially when you get to the part about the std making its victims are physically disfigured. . Set in Seattle in the mid-1970s, Black Hole finds a way to combine real-life ideas of teenage alienation with the science fiction and horror of a mutating virus that affects your body and, in turn, your brains. relationships with other teens going through the same problems.
Why it’s scary:To be clear, black hole mutants aren’t x-men, no powers, just afflictions. And in Charles Burns’ austere, stoic illustration style, these dramatic disfigurements are on display, not in the four-color fantasy of superhero comics, but in the grotesque black & white. Add to that the all-too-real metaphor of monsters and puberty, and the black hole adds up to a thoroughly unsettling read.
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3. the autumn (2020 – 2021)
The Comic: Fall (Opens in a new tab) Follows single mom Kat Somerville and her daughter, Sybil, as they move from Chicago to Kat’s hometown of Comfort Notch. , New Hampshire. kast’s estranged mother just passed away, and she barely remembers her life in this quaint little place, but that may be for the better… america’s most beautiful fall might be hiding its most unbelievable horrors under all those autumn leaves .
Why It’s Scary: Daniel Kraus, Chris Shehan, Jason Wordie, and Jim Campbell make homesickness seem like something we should all want to cure ourselves of ASAP. Autumn is absolutely petrifying as she delves into the horrors that lurk behind the beautiful city of Comfort Notch, playing the kind of ancient evil that only seems to lurk in the oldest parts of our world.
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2. gideon falls (2018 – 2020)
the comic: gideon falls (opens in new tab) centers on a titular town that has lost its resident catholic priest (who may still haunt the area) and a failed replacement that needs just as much faith as he is trusted to provide. The town’s crisis of faith falls on its head when a dilapidated black barn appears out of nowhere, its presence bringing to light an urban legend about similar black barns materializing as a harbinger of bad times to come. and surprise: those rumors are true.
Why it’s scary: Like the ultimate creepypasta, Gideon Falls excels at that sweet spot of a haunting yet memorable idea: in this case, a black barn that appears and disappears over time. and all over the world, acting as a harbinger of evil deeds. brings out that particular kind of curiosity of witnessing a horror that draws us inside the proverbial doors of the dilapidated old barn that forms the mysterious heart of the story.
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1. uzumaki (1998 – 1999)
the comic: years before j-horror like the ring (opens in new tab) swept us across the screen or you drew that funky ‘s’ symbol on your notebook cover , junji ito’s uzumaki (opens in a new tab) turned the classic spiral into a twisted sign of fear. When the inhabitants of a small town become enraptured by the idea of spirals, two unflappable teenagers can only watch in horror as that fascination turns to obsession as their affected friends, neighbors, and family members take the spiral’s inexplicable pull to horrific extremes: twisting they transform objects, animals, and even their own bodies into increasingly gruesome shapes.
Why It’s Scary:Spirals are simple constructs, to the point of being harmless, so when they literally become cronenberg-style body horror and symbolic ritual terror, it has a way of getting under the skin, especially when spirals are something anyone can draw or create, something you could scribble idly on a piece of paper. but after reading uzumaki, you won’t be spiraling without experiencing a sense of dread, and perhaps the fear of your own loss of sanity, thanks to junji ito.
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