13 Isolation Horror Books
Deep down, we’re all a little scared of being alone.
How insignificant do we feel in the deep vastness of the dark, the eternal solitude of isolation?
These horror authors bring to life the emotions and fears that can surface when we know there’s no one nearby to help. We have to rely on ourselves, and what’s more terrifying than that?
“Alone. Yes, that’s the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn’t hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym.”
― Stephen King
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Table of Contents
Echo – Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Isolation horror
Nature is calling – but they shouldn’t have answered.
Travel journalist and mountaineer Nick Grevers awakes from a coma to find that his climbing buddy, Augustin, is missing and presumed dead. Nick’s own injuries are as extensive as they are horrifying. His face wrapped in bandages and unable to speak, Nick claims amnesia – but he remembers everything.
He remembers how he and Augustin were mysteriously drawn to the Maudit, a remote and scarcely documented peak in the Swiss Alps.
He remembers how the slopes of Maudit were eerily quiet, and how, when they entered its valley, they got the ominous sense that they were not alone.
He remembers: something was waiting for them.
But it isn’t just the memory of the accident that haunts Nick. Something has awakened inside of him, something that endangers the lives of everyone around him.
It’s one thing to lose your life. It’s another to lose your soul.
“Julia sees the people in the stairwell when she gets up at night to pee.”
Isolation Island: Into the Wild – Johnny Moscato
Isolation horror
Ten contestants compete in a survival challenge on the new reality show called Isolation Island. Each must survive as long as they can on their own with minimal supplies. The last person standing wins a million dollars.
When the production crew conducts a routine health check, they get stranded on the island along with the contestants and whatever is killing them.
The Contestants:
Derrick Bond. A 29-year-old ex-Marine from Texas. He’s come to Isolation Island to escape the demons of his past and prove he still has what it takes to adapt, overcome, and survive.
Jillian Hill. 49 years-old. A self-proclaimed badass. She’s a wife and mother of six from Kentucky, full of grit and determination. She signed up for the ultimate test of endurance to prove to her kids anything is possible.
Tucker Jordan. A yoga instructor from Vermont looking to become one with nature and test his ability to live off the land. But, Isolation Island’s harsh climate does not welcome visitors with open arms. Can he find peace and harmony among the hungry wild animals?
Stephanie Hamilton. An artist and experienced survivalist from Colorado. She can survive anywhere, but what she wants most is to win the million dollars so she can live off the grid on a Caribbean Island.
Wes Wood. A farmer from Mississippi looking to strike it rich on his first trip outside the country. Will his shady past catch up with him in a competition where mental toughness is as important as physical ability?
Kimmie Arden. A burnt-out nurse from New York who’s sick of the daily grind and work-related stress. If she can outlast the others, it can mean a more peaceful life for her whole family.
Seaton Rogers. A screenwriter and self-described introvert; perhaps the type of personality most suited for months of isolation. He wants the million dollars so he can distance himself from society and live a self-sustaining life on his own terms.
Zoey Price. A dance instructor and the youngest person in the competition entering at 24 years-old. She’ll have to learn quickly and adapt if she wants a shot at beating the older, more experienced survivalists.
Floyd Benson. A pizza delivery man from Florida with two young children depending on him. Can his energy-conserving strategy help him survive longer than the others?
Ezra Greer. A hard-nosed truck driver from Alaska. He’s come to Isolation Island to escape his dark past and make a new start. One million dollars would surely go a long way.
“Ten contestants. One million dollars up for grabs. Welcome to Isolation Island.”
The Old Lady – Kristopher Triana
Isolation horror
She never wanted to come home.
After the death of her estranged father, Tracey returns to the remote cabin she grew up in. As a traumatized veteran of the Vietnam War, Tracey’s father subjected her to rigorous survival training under brutal conditions, believing it was for her own good. She escaped and never looked back. Now in her fifties with a criminal record, Tracey returns to claim the property she’s inherited.
Hiking through the forest, teenage Alicia and her friends get lost in the snow. They stumble upon a compound run by extremists, and when the teens see too much, only Alicia manages to escape. She searches for help and comes across a secluded cabin.
With the panicked girl banging on her door, Tracey is launched into combat mode, awakening her inner demons. Though she suffers from extreme PTSD, she is skilled in combat, making her a deadly adversary, perhaps too deadly. As a snowstorm hammers down, the women must work together to save Alicia’s friends from their captors.
Alicia has a protector now, but what if this strange old lady is even more dangerous than the people she’s escaped from?
“…Tracey never imagined she would return to her father’s cabin.”
The Devil Came Down the Mountain – Christopher Bond
Isolation horror
For almost a hundred years, locals have proclaimed that a portion of the Uinta Mountains in Utah is cursed. They call the area the Murmuring Caves, the site of the historic Yangguang Massacre, where distortions and reverberations beneath the earth’s surface create something very akin to human voices.
And if you listen long enough, you might just hear the dead.
Josh Bridges, an experienced dark tourist, has finally convinced his three best friends to accompany him in search of the Murmuring Caves. But they only agreed because of the tragedy Josh just lived through, which seems to have broken him. They’d do anything for their friend.
Even descend into darkness.
But when they call out for help, what answers them might not be safe.
It might not even be alive.
“The tunnel was dark once more. But it was not empty.”
The Luminous Dead – Caitlin Starling
Sci-fi isolation horror
When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck – enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother – meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.
Instead, she got Em.
Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash, and a lash. And Em has secrets, too.
As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies – missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations – drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive, she must confront the ghosts in her own head.
But how come she can’t shake the feeling she’s being followed?
“Nobody had warned her that the opening to the lower cave system was so small – or empty.”
Stuck – Ben Young
Psychological isolation horror
Each death is unique. Will you recognize when yours begins?
John Camden doesn’t realize he’s dying, yet the physical signs are becoming clearer, and he’s having recurring visions where he is trapped in a tight space.
Everything changes when his best friend Robbie convinces him to go on a poorly planned caving trip as a form of immersion therapy.
Soon the lines of reality blur as John finds himself lost and alone, deep underground where all is not as it seems, and the person he trusted most may have sinister intentions.
“On the worst day of his life so far, John Camden was both fired from his job writing parking tickets and started dying.”
Desolation – RW Duder
Supernatural isolation horror – Book 1 of Desolation Series
Stranded at a desolate highway rest stop during the fiercest winter storm in memory, a group of strangers face a nightmare beyond imagination.
As travelers vanish without a trace and suspicions of a serial killer loom, a sinister supernatural force closes in on them, relentless and unforgiving.
What begins as a chance encounter soon reveals itself as a twisted fate, and the malevolent spirit haunting them will stop at nothing to claim its prize.
With every chilling revelation, the true horror of this night emerges, plunging the group into a terrifying battle for survival.
“The humming was getting louder, there was no doubt.”
Thin Air – Michelle Paver
Ghost isolation horror
The Himalayas, 1935. Kangchenjunga. The sacred mountain. Biggest killer of them all.
Five Englishmen set out to conquer it. But courage can only take them so far.
And the higher they climb, the darker it gets.
“We set off in three days. I can’t wait.”
When the Cicadas Stop Singing – Zachary Ashford
Post-apocalyptic isolation horror
When the poison gas first leaked out of the ground, mankind thought the horror would be over in no time.
When the lizard-men followed, swarming the land, slaughtering indiscriminately, those who survived scattered to the hills and the forests. Most did not last long.
But Cora, who found refuge and made a home in the mountains where she lives with the memory of her dead son, still fights. Tenacious, she lives wild and protects that home from the lizards who seek to kill her.
Until now.
Because man has arrived, and he is not friendly.
“This was life now. Precarious. Fragile.”
The Drift – C.J. Tudor
Apocalypse isolation horror
Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. After she was evacuated from a secluded boarding school during a snowstorm, her coach careered off the road, trapping her with a handful of survivors. They’ll need to work together to escape with their sanity and secrets intact.
Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She’s in a cable car stranded high above snowy mountains, with five strangers and no memory of how they got on board. They are heading to a place known only as “The Retreat,” but as the temperature drops and tensions mount, Meg realizes they may not all make it there alive.
Carter is gazing out the window of an isolated ski chalet that he and his companions call home. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, something hiding in the chalet’s depths threatens to escape, and their fragile bonds will be tested when the power finally fails for good.
The imminent dangers faced by Hannah, Meg, and Carter are each one part of the puzzle. Lurking in their shadows is an even greater danger, one with the power to consume all of humanity.
“Bright blue eyes surrounded by frosty lashes stared up at an equally bright blue sky.”
Under Bethel – Hubert L. Mullins
Psychological isolation horror – Book 1 of The Under a Shattered Olympus Saga
Hundreds have disappeared into the Hole, a passageway hidden under the Highlands of Scotland. After years of ignored recovery wishes, the Hole’s ownership has passed to disgraced heiress Elisabeth Wingate.
Despite her scandalous past, Elisabeth yearns for redemption. Determined to make amends, she offers to finance an expedition to recover the bodies lost within the Hole. But there’s one catch: she insists on joining the caving team.
But they’re not alone down there.
Everything goes wrong in the darkness. Elisabeth is split from her group, thrust into a labyrinth of caverns and inexplicable chambers of carved stone. With dwindling supplies and failing light, she must escape the creatures hiding in the dark.
“Maybe running away from home had been a bad idea.”
The Shuddering – Ania Ahlborn
Isolation horror
Ryan Adler and his twin sister, Jane, spent their happiest childhood days at their parents’ mountain Colorado cabin, until divorce tore their family apart.
Now, with the house about to be sold, the Adler twins gather with their closest friends for one last snowboarding-filled holiday. While commitment-phobic Ryan gazes longingly at Lauren, wondering if his playboy days are over, Jane’s hopes of reconciling with her old boyfriend evaporate when he brings along his new fiancée. As drama builds among the friends, something lurks in the forest, watching the cabin, growing ever bolder as the snow falls … and hunger rises.
A blizzard leaves the group stranded and the true test of their love and loyalty begins as the hideous creatures outside close in, one bloody attack at a time.
Ryan, Jane, and their friends must fight, tooth and nail, bullet and blade, for their lives. Or else surrender to unspeakable deaths in the darkened woods.
“The drips of blood that trailed him like scarlet breadcrumbs assured him that this wasn’t a dream.”
Isolation: The Horror Anthology – Dan Coxon (editor)
Isolation horror anthology
Twenty stories about the terrifying fears of isolation, from the modern masters of horror.
Lost in the wilderness, or alone in the dark, isolation remains one of our deepest held fears. This horror anthology calls on leading horror writers to confront the dark moments, the challenges that we must face alone: survivors in a world gone silent; the outcast shunned by society; the quiet voice trapped in the crowd; the lonely and forgotten, screaming into the abyss.
Featuring Tim Lebbon, Paul Tremblay, Joe R. Lansdale, M.R. Carey, Ken Liu and many more.
“Beyond this is only the Arctic Circle and the dark and the cold; where my mother lives, there is nothing.”
Published: 22 June 2024
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