Stephen Graham Jones writes books that grab you. His stories often have a horror edge, but they are also about people, specifically Native American people, and their lives.
If you are looking for authors who explore similar territory with that same kind of raw energy, here are some writers you might want to check out.
If you enjoy Stephen Graham Jones’ stories filled with suspense, unexpected turns, and vivid horror elements, you might appreciate Paul Tremblay. Tremblay is known for blending psychological terror with realistic human drama.
His novel “A Head Full of Ghosts” revolves around the Barrett family, whose teenaged daughter Marjorie begins exhibiting strange and disturbing behavior.
As events escalate, a reality television show chronicles the family’s struggle and debates arise about possession versus mental illness. The story skillfully combines chilling scenes with the troubled dynamics of a family pushed to their limits.
It’s a powerful look at horror and reality, perception, and how we cope when fear creeps into everyday life.
Books by Josh Malerman dive deep into psychological suspense with a sharp sense of dread, similar to the style of Stephen Graham Jones. One of Malerman’s memorable novels is “Bird Box,” a chilling, post-apocalyptic thriller.
The story follows Malorie, a woman determined to survive and keep her children safe in a world overtaken by unseen creatures. Simply looking at them brings madness and death.
Blindfolded and cautious, Malorie and her children risk everything to find safety, but unknown threats surround them constantly. Malerman’s storytelling keeps readers tense and eager to discover what comes next, page after page.
Readers who appreciate Stephen Graham Jones might also enjoy Tananarive Due, an author known for blending horror, supernatural elements, and deep emotional storytelling.
Her novel “The Good House” follows Angela Toussaint as she returns to her family home, where her grandmother once practiced traditional Haitian rituals. Angela hopes to confront the dark events that shattered her life years earlier.
But she soon faces powerful forces that threaten to destroy everything she holds dear. Due’s skill at combining supernatural chills with rich family drama makes this a memorable reading experience.
If you enjoy Stephen Graham Jones’s fusion of horror, folklore, and emotional depth, you’ll probably appreciate Joe Hill’s storytelling too. Joe Hill has a talent for creating unsettling yet heartfelt horror stories.
In his novel “NOS4A2,” Hill introduces readers to Vic McQueen, a woman with an uncanny ability to locate lost things through a mysterious covered bridge.
Her path collides with Charles Manx, a sinister villain who abducts children and takes them to “Christmasland”—a chilling world of nightmares disguised as joy. Hill builds a vivid, eerie atmosphere filled with supernatural twists, emotional stakes, and sharp characters.
The dark imagination and strong emotional narrative will resonate with anyone who values Jones’s distinct combination of horror and human connection.
Laird Barron is an author known for dark, unsettling fiction that blends horror, crime, and elements of the supernatural. If you’re a fan of Stephen Graham Jones’s gritty style and dark storytelling, Barron’s novel “The Croning” might be worth exploring.
The story follows Don Miller, a geologist whose life with his intriguing and secretive wife turns strange. After unexpected discoveries, Don realizes sinister forces surround the people he trusts most.
Barron slowly builds dread, weaving together the past and present, and creates a sense of inescapable doom. If you enjoy character-driven horror that plays with perceptions of reality, “The Croning” could be your next find.
If you enjoy Stephen Graham Jones’s blend of horror, folklore, and psychological depth, Victor LaValle is an author to explore next. LaValle has a flair for spinning modern tales that pull supernatural threads into gritty urban environments.
His novel “The Changeling” follows a rare book dealer named Apollo Kagwa whose quiet family life in New York City unravels after his wife commits a shocking act and disappears without explanation.
Apollo’s journey to uncover what happened leads him into a shadowy world hidden within the city he thought he knew.
LaValle builds a world that makes myths and monster tales feel right at home alongside smartphone apps and parenting anxiety, crafting suspenseful stories full of surprising twists.
Adam Nevill is a British author known for chilling horror and dark supernatural tales. Readers who enjoy Stephen Graham Jones’ atmospheric and unsettling narratives will find echoes of that dread in Nevill’s works.
In his novel “The Ritual,” four friends set out on a hiking trip through the Scandinavian wilderness to reconnect after years apart. Soon, they’re haunted by symbols and rituals tied to an ancient, malevolent presence hiding within the dense forest.
Nevill combines believable characters, vivid landscapes, and the lurking threat of old pagan powers to craft a story that steadily tightens its grip on your nerves.
Fans of modern horror that feels grounded yet gets under your skin will appreciate Nevill’s writing style and haunting imagination.
Books by Carmen Maria Machado often explore dark corners of sexuality, identity, and psychological horror, blending reality with unsettling fantasy.
Her short story collection, “Her Body and Other Parties,” weaves together chilling tales that pull readers into strange worlds filled with haunting echoes of classic horror.
In one memorable story, a woman becomes obsessed with a mysterious green ribbon around her neck—a subtle but persistent dread builds throughout her relationship, until the unsettling truth emerges.
Machado’s sharp prose and eerie atmosphere might appeal to those drawn to Stephen Graham Jones’s blend of literary horror and psychological suspense.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia crafts atmospheric tales that weave together mystery, history, and unsettling suspense. Her novel “Mexican Gothic” pulls readers into 1950s Mexico, where Noemí Taboada ventures to a remote, decaying mansion to check on her cousin Catalina.
Once she arrives, the family secrets surface, and Noemí faces eerie visions, strange happenings, and the creeping suspicion that something evil lurks within the house itself.
Fans of Stephen Graham Jones’ style of horror grounded in cultural elements and slowly built dread will find Moreno-Garcia’s tale both haunting and memorable.
Brian Evenson is an author known for intense horror stories that blur the lines between psychological suspense and the supernatural. If you enjoy Stephen Graham Jones’ knack for dark narratives that unsettle and intrigue, Evenson’s work will resonate with you.
His book “Last Days” follows former detective Kline, recruited against his will by a mysterious cult obsessed with self-mutilation.
Kline is tasked to investigate strange events surrounding the cult leader’s death and uncover sinister secrets hidden deep beneath the group’s disturbing practices. Evenson creates an atmosphere filled with suspense and dread, keeping readers uneasy until the final page.
Readers who enjoy Stephen Graham Jones’s blend of psychological horror and character-driven storytelling might find Peter Straub equally intriguing. Straub’s novel, “Ghost Story,” revolves around four elderly friends in a small, eerie New York town.
When a dark secret from their collective past resurfaces, a chilling force threatens their safe reality. Straub creates an unsettling atmosphere and intricate characters, delivering a haunting tale.
Comparable to Jones, Straub excels in building dread slowly, making the horror deeply personal. If you appreciate suspenseful narratives that uncover shocking twists, “Ghost Story” is a memorable read.
Readers who enjoy Stephen Graham Jones might also appreciate Caitlín R. Kiernan’s dark narratives and unsettling atmosphere. Kiernan skillfully blends psychological tension with a touch of supernatural dread.
In “The Red Tree,” we meet Sarah Crowe, a writer mourning a personal loss who escapes to rural Rhode Island for solitude. She soon becomes fixated on an ancient oak near her secluded cottage. Local legends link the eerie tree to disappearances and strange phenomena.
Sarah documents her growing obsession and fragmented thoughts in a manuscript, leading readers into a disturbing exploration of fear, memory, and the unknown.
Fans of Jones’ nuanced horror and character-driven storytelling will find a lot to appreciate in Kiernan’s haunting novel.
Readers who enjoy Stephen Graham Jones might find Alma Katsu’s work intriguing as well. Katsu is a novelist known for historical fiction blended with chilling supernatural suspense.
Her book, “The Hunger,” takes the true events of the Donner Party’s tragic journey westward and weaves it with a dark twist of horror. As hunger, fear, and mistrust begin to build among the travelers, something sinister and unnatural seems to stalk the wagon train.
Katsu combines historical detail with tense psychological drama, creating an atmosphere filled with dread. If readers like Jones’ blend of horror and humanity, Alma Katsu’s “The Hunger” offers a haunting story worth exploring.
Gwendolyn Kiste is an author you’ll want to check out if you enjoy Stephen Graham Jones. Her novel “The Rust Maidens” blends supernatural elements with powerful storytelling to explore small-town secrets and devastating family dynamics.
Set in 1980s Cleveland, the story centers on Phoebe Shaw and a strange affliction affecting teen girls in her declining neighborhood. Their transformations bring both horror and heartbreaking insights into friendship, grief, and community loss.
Kiste draws readers in closely to witness surreal imagery of rust and decay within a deeply human tale.
Douglas Clegg writes horror fiction with a dark edge and a knack for suspenseful storytelling. If Stephen Graham Jones’ blend of psychological suspense and supernatural themes appeals to you, Clegg offers a similar atmosphere of mystery and dread.
In his novel “The Hour Before Dark,” readers follow Nemo Raglan, who returns to his isolated family home after his father’s mysterious murder.
As Nemo uncovers his father’s eerie past, a chilling childhood game called “The Dark Game” resurfaces—and the boundaries between reality and nightmare begin to blur. Haunting memories combine with suspenseful plotting in a story that keeps you guessing until the final pages.