With Mike Flanagan’s series adaptation arriving on streaming this week, Stephen King’s Carrie is once again at the top of every horror fan’s mind. The debut novel of the King of Horror, Carrie is a highly influential teen horror book that follows a friendless girl from an abusive home who discovers latent psychic abilities. In the aftermath of a cruel prank, she unleashes these powers on all the people who have made her life hell. Though it wasn’t an instant success when it first hit the shelves in 1974, the book went on to become a critical and fan favorite, launching King’s spectacularly successful career as a master of the horror genre.
Between its literary success and the multiple adaptations it has inspired, Carrie is easily one of the most iconic horror novels of the 20th century. And as an iconic novel, it has inspired several subsequent works that have expanded on its premise and themes in fascinating ways. Beyond those it inspired, the legendary coming-of-age horror story has also been compared over the years to a number of books with similar themes, including some by King himself. So, without further ado, here’s our handpicked list of horror books that we think you should have on your reading list if you’re a fan of Carrie.
1
‘The Long Walk’ (1979)
Written by Stephen King and published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Long Walk is a dystopian novel set in a totalitarian USA, centered on the titular annual walking contest, in which 100 boys are forced to continuously walk at a pace of four miles per hour until all but one is dead. The survivor is promised their heart’s desire, but the chances of survival are less than slim. The novel centers on Ray Garraty, one of the contestants, and explores his experiences and those of his fellow contestants.
An exceptionally bleak teen dystopia, The Long Walk is technically the first book King wrote, though Carrie was his first novel to be published. It’s a powerful story that predates the early 21st-century rise in YA dystopias and delivers a grueling yet touching experience, exploring themes of mortality, humanity, and the psychological toll of totalitarianism. The novel got its first film adaptation in 2025, over 40 years after it was first published, with Francis Lawrence directing and Cooper Hoffman starring as Ray.
2
‘The Weight of Blood’ (2022)
A 21st-century retelling of Carrie, The Weight of Blood is a young adult horror novel written by Tiffany D. Jackson. The narrative alternates between a present-day podcast exploring the case of a massive fire at a prom in the small Georgia town of Springville, and 2014, when the events actually took place. At the center of the story is biracial high school senior Maddy Washington. Forced to pass as white by her racist father and bullied by her classmates, Maddy discovers her innate telekinetic abilities and unleashes them on the unsuspecting town after being humiliated during prom night.
The Weight of Blood is essentially a loose remake of Carrie, using the same basic storyline and epistolary structure to explore more contemporary themes and perspectives. A story of racism, identity, and empowerment, the novel is faithful to the core of King’s original work while delivering a distinct message and reading experience. The novel earned critical acclaim at the time of its publication in 2022 and was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award; it’s an easy recommendation for any fan of Carrie, particularly if you’re interested in seeing the story expanded upon in a more contemporary context, like in Flanagan’s series adaptation.
3
‘Mary: An Awakening of Terror’ (2022)
Nat Cassidy’s Mary: An Awakening of Terror is a horror novel that follows a woman’s supernatural awakening, but unlike Carrie, Mary is a quiet, middle-aged woman grappling with the physical and psychological toll of perimenopause. Unfortunately, along with the hot flashes and body aches, she’s also been hearing voices and experiencing terrifying visions. And to make things worse, she discovers that her strange experiences may be connected to an infamous serial killer.
Often compared to Carrie by horror fans, Mary: An Awakening of Terror is a gripping work of psychological and supernatural horror. Its similarities to Carrie, however, are only surface-level, as the story progresses into a dark conspiracy involving a shadowy cult and a secret history of violence. At the time of its release in 2022, the novel was hailed as one of the best books of the year by Esquire, CrimeReads, and more, and though it’s relatively underrated, the book has proven quite popular in genre circles. It’s a great read, especially for the Halloween season, with visceral horrors and a dark sense of humor.
4
‘The Power’ (2016)
Written by Naomi Alderman, The Power is a sci-fi novel that explores an alternate timeline in which women around the world develop the ability to release electric jolts from their fingers. The story is presented as a nested narrative, following a manuscript about 21st-century history that’s submitted to the author for an early read, set 5,000 years in our relative future. A key event within this imagined history is a Cataclysm, in which one of the newly empowered women destroys all modern technology, with the novel exploring the events that led up to this disastrous incident.
Published in 2016, The Power was fairly well-received by critics and contemporary authors, earning praise for its feminist themes. While the novel’s narrative can be a bit uneven in parts, its execution is highly engaging, and it’s ultimately a thrilling read. The book uses the reversal of gender norms to deliver some keen observations on human sociology and psychology that extend beyond its surface-level apocalypse. A series adaptation developed by Alderman, Raelle Tucker, Claire Wilson, and Sarah Quintrell was released on Prime Video in 2023, with Toni Collette, Halle Bush, Auliʻi Cravalho, and more starring in key roles.
5
‘Witchcraft for Wayward Girls’ (2025)
Written by Grady Hendrix, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a period folk horror novel set in 1970s Florida. The book revolves around a group of pregnant teenagers who are sent to an abusive maternity home. When they discover a book on witchcraft, it sets the girls on a path of revenge and dark magic where the hope of liberation is tempered by the sinister cost of consorting with witches.
Released in 2025, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls has earned a generally favorable reception from critics and horror fans. While the book may not be quite as scary as Hendrix’s previous bestsellers, it retains the author’s dark sense of humor, which is used very effectively to balance the novel’s true horrors: the real-life maternity homes that inspired the story and the abuses they inflict upon these young girls. More than the actual supernatural elements, it’s these realities that make Witchcraft for Wayward Girls so very horrifying and lead to its most heartbreaking moments. It’s easily one of the best horror novels of the past year, and a must-read for fans of Carrie and The Craft.
6
‘The Merciless’ (2014)
Danielle Vega’s debut novel, The Merciless, is the first book in the Young Adult novel series. The book follows teenager Sofia Flores, a military brat who arrives in a new town and befriends a trio of popular girls. When her new friends rope her in on a plan to kidnap local goth Brooklyn and perform an exorcism on her, Sofia faces a twisted choice between allowing the torture to continue or saving the girl while risking herself.
As the title suggests, The Merciless is full of intense horror and suspense, with torture scenes that are not for the weak-stomached. Though it’s often compared to the teen comedy Mean Girls, The Merciless uses the same basic premise to launch a tense horror story that goes to some pretty disturbing places, particularly once the true nature of the story is revealed by its shocking twist. It might not be the best YA horror book of all time, but it’s certainly one of the better ones, making it a must-read for fans of teen horror stories.
7
‘Firestarter’ (1980)
Stephen King’s sci-fi horror thriller novel Firestarter explores the story of Charlie McGee, a young girl with powerful pyrokinetic abilities. The novel follows Charlie and her psychic father Andy as they go on the run, trying to evade a shadowy government agency that wants to exploit their powers for their own agenda. Hunted across the country and pushed to violence, Charlie attracts the attention of an assassin who becomes obsessed with killing her.
Both Carrie and Firestarter feature young female protagonists who possess powerful and destructive abilities, but where the former is more rooted in the coming-of-age experience, Firestarter is more of a high-tension thriller. The book quickly became a bestseller upon its publication in 1980, and it went on to win several accolades, including nominations for a British Fantasy Award and a Locus Poll Award. The novel has also inspired multiple adaptations, most famously the 1984 film directed by Mark L. Lester, which stars Drew Barrymore as Charlie, and the 2022 remake by Blumhouse Productions.
Firestarter
- Release Date
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May 11, 1984
- Runtime
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115 Minutes
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Drew Barrymore
Andrew McGee
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David Keith
Charlie McGee
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Freddie Jones
Dr. Joseph Wanless
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Heather Locklear
Vicky McGee