7 Best Horror Book Covers According to Publishers

Scarily good stories deserve the best horror book covers. But what takes a book from lurking in the shadows to devilishly following readers home? (Shock horror, it's not just any kind of illustration slapped across the front like a ‘for sale’ sign on a haunted house.)

While places like Literary Hub round up all-time horror classics, today’s covers (and readers) shriek for modern marvels. After all, it’s the fifth most popular fiction genre, so there’s a whole lotta competition for attention. Dreaming of skipping to the good part, where your author’s book’s shining on shelves, captivating eyeballs and smashing new sales records? Read on (if you dare) to discover the best horror book covers according to publishers and score ideas to inspire your own.

What makes the best horror book covers?

Here at Miss Nat Mack Studio you might’ve heard that I roll publishing house know-how, market analysis and audience research into drool-worthy designs that turn browsers into megafans to catapult sales. Because of it? Many award-winning thriller and horror books wear Nat Mack designs. So naturally, I’ve learnt a thing or two about creating captivating covers in the niche horror genre.

It’s exactly why I believe cover templates should be buried six feet under. The exact reason most churn-and-burn designs RIP. And precisely why just any ol’ book designer without experience in this specialised design realm could be costing you more time and money with ghost-like returns.

The best horror book covers include:

While there’s no ‘secret formula’ to designing the best horror book cover, the non-negotiable process includes:

• Market analysis: What’s currently working?

• Audience research: What do readers want and expect?

• Trend forecasting: What else will be on the shelves upon release?

• Plot intricacies: What unique features of the plot will intrigue readers?

Unlock this chamber of horrors to explore the best horror book covers as chosen by publishers following completion of our creative process.

1. The Hollow Places

By T. Kingfisher | Titan Books Publishing

Winner | 2021 Best Horror Dragon Award Nominated | 2021 BFA for Best Horror
Nominated | 2020 Goodreads Best Horror Nominated | 2020 Ladies of Horror Best Novel

T. Kingfisher is the chilling mastermind behind The Hollow Places, a horror book featuring a shop full of curiosities, weird oddities and taxidermy. Need I go on? Much like the storyline’s inclusion of hunting for the perfect item in the shop, Titan Book Publishing was set on making this horror book cover’s design a killer one.

Throughout our creative process, we explored designs that lent themselves to the market’s current fascination with life and death. To make this the best horror book cover for its release timing, it was also important to take special note of typography to communicate the historical themes explored in the book.

Through a collaborative process, the winning cover features:

• Capital letter typography for certainty

• Hand-drawn illustration to suit the market

• Handwritten elements to reflect the plot’s note-taking importance

2. Truth of the shadows

Slade Templeton | Genius Books Publishing

Searching for horror book cover ideas that venture into the darkest corners of the mind? Then look no further than Templeton’s Truth of the Shadows cover design.

Alongside Genius Books Publishing, we created an intricate Rorschach design that entwined story elements and clues into the illustration itself. How many hints about the story can you see?

“Natasha delivered a masterpiece. We were mind blown”

slade templeton
Author, Truth of The Shadows

This s-s-scary book cover is the perfect inspiration for how horror stories can creep beyond the pages and into lands of visual identity.

The winning cover features:

• Psychological theming

• Bold colour juxtaposition

• Murder meets mind motifs

• Shadow and lightness contrasts

3. The loop

Jeremy Robert Johnson | Titan Books Publishing

Winner | 2020 Wonderland Novel of the Year
Nominated | 2020 Goodreads Best Horror

Us designers are real people too. And personally, my love for Stranger Things is stronger than a freshly poured triple-shot espresso. Lucky for me, so is that of The Loop’s fan base. Since Stranger Things had grown a cult following around the same time, similar theming was the perfect way to use trends (such as seasons 3 and 4 of Stranger Things, released in 2019 and 2022) to the book’s advantage.

To strengthen the likelihood of this psychological thriller becoming a crowd favourite, it was imperative for Johnson’s cover to feature the perfect balance of 80s nostalgia, an ordinary house with more than meets the eye and the incredibly spooky mind-bending powers its main characters fell victim to, reflected in the alluring silhouettes and  humming cords of connection.

The best horror book cover design chosen by publishers combined:

• 80s time setting

• A stack of variant covers

• Visualising the small and eerie town

• Colours to contrast the everyday turned sinister

• Human characters overtaken by devilish powers

4. The twisted ones

By T. Kingfisher | Titan Books Publishing

Winner | 2020 Dragon Award for Best Horror
2nd Place | 2020 Locus Award For Best Horror
Nominated | 2019 Goodreads Best Horror
Nominated | 2019 Ladies of Horror Best Novel

If T. Kingfisher’s name sounds familiar, it's because according to award judgings, they write some of the best horror books out there. Unlike The Hollow Places, The Twisted Ones’ suspenseful plot left a lot of space for the reader to connect the dots amidst serious cliffhangers.

Incredibly talented at creating full-throttle atmosphere, this read’s laced with mystery, plays tricks on the mind and features spine-chilling moments mid-spook. Chosen and finessed from the series of concepts submitted, the published cover keeps visuals simple to let the reader’s imagination run wild. What could be lurking beyond the mist and trees?

To craft the best horror book cover for this novel, we focused on:

• Contrasting colours

• Soft shapes to create an air of mystery

• Lowercase wording to reflect the modern setting

5. The bones of the earth

by scott hale

Like with any of the best thriller or horror book cover designs, diving between the pages is essential. And the dimly lit forest of Hale’s The Bones of The Earth was no different.

Unearthing the spine-chilling horror themes throughout the novel, we contrasted soft rose petals with jagged skulls dangling from eerie vines.

“Natasha gave new life to my series. Phenomenal. Punctual. Amazing communication”

scott hale
Author, The bones of the earth

Choosing my personal favourite horror book cover design is like choosing a favourite child (or a pair of Vans from my ever-growing collection). AKA impossible. But if I’m honest, this one’s right up there.

Throughout the design process, it was important to the publishing house and author that the cover reflected the evil undertones in an otherwise beautiful setting. As well as capturing the creepily realistic setting of planet Earth.

This horror book cover includes:

• A repeatable series mascot: the skull

• Natural world meets underworld colliding

• Eerie theming: darkness and evil can lie in the most beautiful of things

SPOILER ALERT: Hale went on to release three more horror books with Nat Mack covers in this series. Across each, we brought stories to life using similar theming and illustration techniques to accurately reflect what lurked beneath the cover and between the pages.

6. don’t eat the pie

by monique asher | rising action Publishing

With an irresistible storyline brimming with neighbourly suspicion, my mind bubbled with a fountain of angles for Don’t Eat The Pie. A new town, a creepy house, an island full of older women and grim messages presenting themselves all too often. The final cover we landed on features a chilling juxtaposition of inescapable neighbourly closeness and looming doom.

We included:

• Illustrated font on a home-baked pie

• Classic and ornate plates

• Splattered accents

6. edenville

by sam rebelein | titan books Publishing

As someone who hates (and I mean hates) spiders, this cover was an interesting one to bring to life! These hairy eight leggers *shivers* play a huge role in this novel. Think: a Goosebumps-meets-Stephen King tale about an aspiring horror novelist who takes a teaching job in a blood-soaked town. It features a secret underground society, alternative dimensions and even spiders disguised as people. This winning illustration reflects the importance of the main theme, the ever-present closing in of horror and a race against the clock to access another world, before it reaches the town. 

Together we:

• Illustrated the main theming

• Created textures and movement

• Used colour to guide the eye

• Presented two worlds uncomfortably colliding 

It’s time to bring your creepy book cover to life

Like publishers, authors and stories. No scary book covers are *exactly* the same. So your author’s horror book cover shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Need some more spooky insights? Take a look at the cover coven, discover more book cover intel via the Miss Nat Mack blog, or simply follow me down this dark alley *cackles maniacally*

Miss Nat Mack 2.0

Hi! I’m Nat! Book Designer and Illustrator of Scottish descent, born and raised on the western prairies of Alberta, Canada, and now living in Manchester (hence the somewhat confusing accent).

When I’m not off duty gobbling up croissants, waiting for my letter from Hogwarts, or rivalling Vans employees on loyalty points (yes, really) I help publishing houses attract readers to their books like zombies to brains.

My awfully big adventure began well over 10 years ago, acquiring a triple-threat skill set of ninja like skills in design, illustration and typography, working with publishing houses across the globe, running my own little studio for two years, and now working with one of the top fantasy and sci-fi publishing houses in the UK.

With it being the start of a new chapter, and amidst all the balloons and cake and books (naturally), I thought I’d take this opportunity to (re)introduce myself and tell you just a little bit about your friendly neighbourhood book designer…

I've been art directing and designing eye-catching book covers across a range of genres, for nearly the past six years now! I absolutely love designing book covers, but I design other stuff too.

Before I became a book designer, I studied Marketing, Communications, Graphic Design, Illustration and and have a Masters in Publishing from the University of Arts in London, England. My love of books (and of reading!) is what pushes me to keep developing my skills as an artist. I care about the stories I design for – without them I would not be able to do what it is I do.

Every great design, begins with an even better story.

When I’m not obsessing over books you can usually find me at a few of my favourite spots in Manchester (Off the Press, Forbidden Planet, etc.), going on adventures across the globe with my husband, practicing my Longboarding skills, buying another pair of Vans, or constructing a new Cosplay. Any additional free time? Spent in a book store of course.

AN INTERVIEW WITH MISS NAT MACK:

Who is Nat?

A coffee-guzzling UK book designer and illustrator, with ADHD, whose identity (when not mistaken for Alison Hannigan) consists mostly of obsessing over books, growing a Vans collection that rivals Vans employees, a splash of Longboarding and Cosplay, and spends most of her time with her husband going on crazy adventures.

Why you so obsessed with me?

I absolutely loooooove coffee. It is definitely my life line. I work some looooong hours, so I need it to keep me motivated. The caffeine of course helps. I’ve also become a bit of a coffee snob over the years. Yup, I’ve become one of those people. Hard-Lines is my favourite roaster at the moment, so you’ll definitely find me downing cup after cup of their coffee, but Starbucks? Um - not so much. Ewww.

Not your typical brain.

I only found out about my ADHD and Neurodivergent brain a couple years ago. Since then, it has been a big learning curve and I am still only learning how to live with it day-to-day and how to talk about it (without embarrassment).

While the conversation around mental health has improved drastically over the last few years, it still has a long way to go. As such, I am a strong advocate for treating your head and heart, the way you would the rest of your body. Everybody deserves the same comfort and support with mental health as they do their physical health.

Books. Coffee. Rebellion.

Aside from Mental Health, I am a huge advocate for Women’s Rights and the importance of lifting up female voices!

By the age of 6, girls already think that men are more brilliant than women, in part because only 15% of Children’s books have female protagonists.

A narrative most women grow up with is that their adventures are not as important as those of the boys. I want to help change that narrative so more women believe in their voices, and help empower others to share their stories.

That’s why I have recently become a Patron for the Women’s Prize for Fiction - the greatest celebration of women’s creativity in the world for over two decades. A charity whose mission is to change the world through books by women, opening up pathways into reading and writing for the storytellers and book lovers of tomorrow.

Women’s Prize for Fiction is only the first stop, on hopefully a very long list of charities I will be able to support as time goes on.

Books, Books, and more Books

So, no surprise here, I have a slight obsession with books. It’s one of the reasons I do what I do, and one of the reasons I love what I do. I get paid… to read!! I will read anything and everything if the writing is good, and I will never shy away from recommendations, so send ‘em my way! My favourite book? Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. 100%.

Most memorable Book Design?

There are a number of projects that have been very meaningful to me over the years. I’ve had the opportunity to design books for my favourite childhood superheroes, had my work featured in Entertainment Weekly and Spine Magazine, and I have illustrated covers for some truly amazing stories. It is hard to narrow it down to just one, BUT! if I had to choose, it would have to be the covers for the Firefly series.

A proper Browncoat (obsessed Firefly fan) I was able to not only read these new adventures before they hit the shelves, but spend time creating the designs that would grace the covers. I designed 8 covers for the series, one special edition, and have even been lucky enough to meet Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Jewel Staite and Sean Maher – who have all signed my special edition. Only Gina Torres, Adam Baldwin, Morena Baccarin and Alan Tudyck to go!

Why Book Design?

As with most people the original plan did not go… according to plan. Lol. I originally intended on being a costume designer. While I loved it, the hours were awful. I was working from 8 in the morning till 6 at night in the costume shop putting pieces together, fixing things, doing laundry, etc and then would be at the theatre from 6pm till maybe midnight, 1am for the show run and to tidy up and bring things back to the shop. I was working 7 days a week, all hours and the only family I had was my theatre family. It’s true when you work on a show that the people you work with are your life line - your friends, your family, your therapists, lol. I loved everybody I worked with and learned so much from them, but while I had such a passion for the theatre I wanted more. I wanted more experiences, more travel, time with other family and friends, and…spare time!

My cousin, Mackenzie Proudlove of BroBrick, pushed me to explore other areas of design and if it weren’t for him I probably wouldn’t be doing what it is I do now. He suggested looking into a graphic design path - everything I loved about design but allowed me to still focus on the other things I cared about.

An incredibly long and windy story later I landed on Book Design and will never, could never, look back. Book Design is me. It combines all my passions, all my quirks, and all my creativity into one. I could not imagine doing anything else, and because of that, I genuinely put everything I can into my work. Each cover I work on leaves my studio with a little piece of me attached.

Still looking for that spare time though. LOL.

A few more random facts…

1. I used to Skateboard when I was younger, but one session I fell off and broke my ankle. Having to go through weeks off my feet, and then months on crutches, it took me ages to get back on a board. So swapping the Skateboard for a Longboard, I am getting back into it and, while slow moving, am loving it. I fully believe you are never too old to do the things you want to do.

2. I used to have over 50 pairs of Vans, but had to leave most of them behind when I moved across the pond. I’m working my way back up to 50 (and then beyond) and currently have more Vans loyalty points than the Vans employees in Manchester (yes, really, I was told this by a Manager of the shop).

3. Am currently checking off the boxes to become a mentor/lecturer for Book Design. I love talking about all things book design, and I also love teaching. Lots of exciting things coming this way so hopefully I can share more soon(ish)!
   

Obsessed with books? Like cover reveals and sneak peaks? Want to learn more about book design?

Sign-up to the miss nat mack newsletter to keep up with all the bookish shenanigans.

IMAGES: THE WOLF and the wild thing photography