7 Predictions for 2025 Horror Trends
I recently posted a silly video on Instagram and ended up asking those who don’t typically like horror why they don’t consume horror media.
Well, here we are at the beginning of a new year!
I’m excited for what this year holds, namely my publication on Unleash Lit and querying my work in progress, Maryann, in hopes of securing a literary agent.
However, I’m also excited for all the horror books that will be published/released this year! It’s been interesting to take stock of trends that seem to be affecting horror, and as such, I’ve taken the liberty of presenting my 7 predictions for horror literature in 2025!
Let me know if you agree by emailing me or contacting through the form on my site. And as always, subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Instagram for updates, exciting sneak peeks, and other exciting projects!
Vampires, Werewolves and Witches
These three characters have been archetypes of horror stories for centuries, now, so it may be a bit of a cop-out to choose them as my first prediction.
However, I think we went through a period of time where all three were being romanticized (sparkly vamps, anyone?) and despite the fact that the fantasy and romance genres still make use of a sexy monster here or there, I think the horror genre is starting to reclaim these beasts as representations of evil. In that vein, I predict to see a lot more stories focusing on humans/mortals fighting monstrous vampires, werewolves and witches (even if they’re not 100% recognizable as their historic representations).
2. Folk Horror
Raise your hand if you love a good folk horror! Since the internet, global exchange has meant access to scary stories from around the world, and as such, people are being introduced to folklore and urban legends from different cultures on a regular basis. I, for one, am loving it. Whether it’s a classic tale that’s reimagined, or a brand new one crafted with elements of land-based horror or creatures native to folktales, I feel as though folk horror is starting to claim its spot in the limelight. I’m excited to see what folk horror/folk-inspired horror hits the shelves in 2025!
3. Wild West Horror
Oh. My. Goodness.
I don’t know what happened, but it seems across the board, all literary genres are starting to place narratives in the USA’s storied Wild West, and I’m here for it!
What will our cow-ranglin’ heroes face? A zombie outbreak? Mutant monsters? An evil force that lives beneath the gold mine?
In a way, this ties into folk-horror, because there’s such a folkloric nature to the Wild West due to narratives from Hollywood to video games. But even so, go ahead and spin the tall tale of the jackalope and give me a blood-thirsty beast that the sheriff of a small town has to face, and I’m there.
I think a lot of other people will be there, too.
Horror doesn’t always have to take itself too seriously, and a well written story with a goofy premise can deliver more scares than you might think. That’s why I predict an uptick in Wild West horror throughout 2025.
4. Genre-Bending Stories
I wouldn’t say horror is new to stories that blur the lines between multiple genres. After all, some of the greatest fantasy books have elements of horror, whether it be a dark evil or a wild monster, and plenty of horror contains fantasy or sci-fi elements.
I think as horror continues to grow as a literary genre and publish more books with an actual “horror” tag, we’re going to be seeing a lot more narratives that sit on the fence between horror and fantasy, or horror and historical fiction, or horror and literary fiction, etc. With a wider pool for both consumers and producers, horror is going to start spreading out, and I think 2025 is going to be the year that produces a handful of gems that attract die-hard horror fans and a-typical horror readers alike!
5. Feminine Rage Horror
2024 was chock full of horror books that focused on feminine rage, obsession, and revenge. Why? There’s a huge market for it.
By one study, people who enjoy horror report liking stories where a female character has to fight the “big bad.” Those who identify as women tend to like how those same stories give them a suspension of inhibition while those who identify as men like to experience the second-hand fear or adrenaline the narrative evokes.
Basically, a horror book featuring a female character popping off (good or bad) has a good chance at doing well with readers. So gird your loins because I’m convinced we’ll continue to see a lot of them in 2025!
6. Atypically Aged Characters
As opposed to other genres, I personally feel like horror has some of the greatest leeway for character ages. As readers, I think we’re worried less about relating to the character and their life circumstances than readers of other genres who want to identify closely with the main character (I mean, we don’t actually want to be in the horrific situations we read and write, haha, so the character doesn’t have to feel exactly like us to capture our attention).
That said, there are still stereotypical age groups for certain genres of horror. What I predict is that in 2025 we’ll begin to see those ages subverted more often, giving us slashers that focus on forty-year old characters, and thrillers that focus on senior citizens — or even teens/kids! I think there’s a lot of yet-to-be-explored narratives that readers are hungry for and that the horror genre will begin providing.
7. Ambiguous Horror
I know this one will be met with mixed feelings. It seems that among horror readers, there are those that enjoy cut-and-dry narratives the most, and those who prefer horror that trends toward the ambiguous.
While some may feel frustrated by an ending that suggests a couple, if not more, realities that could be at play, it seems to me that there’s a growing niche of readers who enjoy the narratives that sort of devolve over the course of a book. Looking at 2024 publications like Tremblay’s Horror Movie and Malfi’s Small Town Horror, we have well-established authors playing with different approaches to stories that bring the supernatural or unexplained into the recognizable, real world to play with a reader’s sense of reality. Then you have Kliewer’s We Used to Live Here doing the same thing as a debut novel.
Now I know there’s mixed reviews out there, and plenty of readers don’t like a book that ends by giving them more questions than answers. That said, I think this particular niche in the market is growing, and we’ll see authors playing a lot more with stories that may or may not have “an” ending at all, but more of a suggestion as to what happened.
If you read this far, definitely reach out to me and tell me what your own predictions are! I bet there’s trends I haven’t picked up on and would love your perspective!