One of the hallmarks of horror is its adaptability. Because horror is a mood and not a genre, it can apply to any genre, and it plays so well across different formats. That’s why there are numerous horror comics, as well as a bountiful selection of horror short stories. It’s also why you can find excellent horror selections in numerous formats and styles across age ranges, too. While horror is always popular and always in style for readers, we’re living in a particularly great time for YA horror short story collections.
If you’re reading this when it publishes, then you know the days are getting shorter and the nights, longer. You’re also well aware that the countdown to Halloween is closer and closer. That being said, there’s no better time than now to dive into a YA horror short story collection. These books cover a wide range of horror types from an array of voices, including YA authors known for their horror writing chops, as well as those new to writing it (whether they are new authors or established authors who haven’t flexed their scare-inducing skills yet).
Whether you’re looking for bite-sized screams or are eager to expand your understanding of what makes something horror, you’ll want these YA horror short story collections on your TBR. This is not a comprehensive list, but it’s meant to offer a sampling of collections to whet your YA horror appetite.
The Gathering Dark edited by Tori BovalinoMonsters and curses? Yes, please! This YA anthology features authors such as Chloe Gong, Erica Waters, Courtney Gould, and Aden Polydoros exploring haunted lakes, wicked and burning towns, isolated bridges, and more. |
 Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. RogersWhile there are single-author collections of YA horror stories, there aren’t many. Most tend toward anthologies that include stories from several authors. But if you’re itching for a single-author collection to get your arm hairs rising, get this on your TBR. Following a family from their ancestral lands in Georgia through World War I, the present, and the future, Rogers delivers a series of horror stories rife with classic horror creatures like vampires and zombies, as well as real-life horrors like colonization and intimate partner violence. Interspersed are, of course, legends of Cherokee horror, and each story includes a beautiful illustration by Cherokee artist Jeff Edwards. |
 Our Shadows Have Claws edited by Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo OrtizThe lineup for this anthology is out of this world good, which doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the theme: Latin American monster stories! The collection is cross-genre and features something for every kind of reader, exploring the different shapes and stories behind monsters we know — and ones that may be new to us. Zombies! Cannibals! Ghost-Witches! Shapeshifters! Our Shadows Have Claws will appeal to readers who love monsters of all kinds. |
 These Bodies Ain’t Broken edited by Madeline DyerHow many horror collections center disabled characters? The answer is few, but this is not only one of those few, it’s a great one to boot. Thirteen YA authors each share a horror story here, including stories about vampires, monsters, dangerous woods, sinister video games, and more, and each stars a character with a disability. Representation is both of the visible and invisible kind, ranging from PTSD to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, and more. Authors in this collection include Dana Mele, Lillie Lainoff, K. Ancrum, Lily Meade, and more. |
 We Mostly Come Out at Night edited by Rob CostelloMonster means something slightly (or vastly!) different to everyone. This anthology, which features only trans and queer authors, explores the truth of being confronted by monsters—and of being seen as a monster, too. It includes familiar monsters of legends and lore, as well as new ones. The contributor lineup is excellent, too, and includes Kalynn Bayron, David Bowles, H.E. Edgmon, Michael Thomas Ford, Naomi Kanakia, Claire Kann, Sam J. Miller, Alexandra Villasante, and more. Want more queer YA horror short stories? Pick up Night of the Living Queers edited by Shelly Page and Alex Brown. |
 The White Guy Dies First edited by Terry J. Benton-WalkerThis collection has such a killer—excuse that there—roster of authors, including Kalynn Bayron, Lamar Giles, Tiffany D. Jackson, Kendare Blake, and others, and it flips the all-too-common horror trope of the character of color dying first in horror on its head. In this collection, it’s the white character who goes down first. Stories include those of haunted houses, killer clowns, cannibals, and more. |
 Can’t You See It’s Coming?: Black Horror Stories edited by Georgia K. Boone (July 17, 2027)While you’ll be waiting many, many months for this new horror collection, you’ll want to make sure you’ve preordered it or put it on hold with your library. This collection of Black horror stories features such a stellar lineup of authors, including some who haven’t necessarily published horror before. The stories, while fictional, play into the real historical and contemporary horror that Black Americans face, including medical experimentation, cults, and more. Among the 10 contributors are Brandy Colbert, Rebecca Barrow, Kalynn Bayron, and more. Want more Black YA horror short story collections? Get your hands on All These Sunken Souls edited by Circe Moskowitz and The Black Girl Survives In This One edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell. A few additional YA horror short story collections to check out include His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adhler, Defy The Dark edited by Saundra Mitchell, The House Where Death Lives edited by Alex Brown, Slasher Girls and Monster Boys edited by April Genevieve Tucholke, and Through the Woods by E.M. Carroll (featuring a retelling of the childhood classic scare, “The Girl with the Green Ribbon). |
Seeking out even more scares? You’ll love this look at YA books and stories set on Halloween, as well as these great queer witchy YA stories.