13 Comedy Horror Book Recommendations
Who says you can’t laugh and be scared at the same time?
Finding the balance between comedy and horror can be tricky. Both are intense, relatable, emotions. While on the surface they appear to be opposite, they can both be a release mechanism, a catharsis, from the harshness of reality.
Comedy and horror walk the line of tension and release, a staple element of the horror genre. In real life, humor is often used as a defence mechanism, so realistically weaving it into a horror story helps to bring the story to life.
Comedy can make you feel closer to the characters, building an attachment to them while giving your brain some relief. Then, when the horror comes back, it hits that much harder because your defences are down.
So, here are 13 curated comedy horror book recommendations for your reading horror (and pleasure).
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Table of Contents
Cold – Drew Hayden Taylor
Crime comedy horror
Elmore Trent is a professor of Indigenous studies who finds himself entangled in an affair that’s ruining his marriage.
Paul North plays in the IHL (Indigenous Hockey League), struggling to keep up with the game that’s passing him by.
Detective Ruby Birch is chasing a string of gruesome murders, with clues that conspicuously lead her to both Elmore and Paul.
And then there’s Fabiola Halan, former journalist-turned-author and famed survivor of a plane crash that sparked a nationwide tour promoting her book.
What starts off as a series of subtle connections between isolated characters quickly takes a menacing turn, as it becomes increasingly clear that someone – or something – is hunting them all.
“For the moment, it seemed all the universe was quiet and cold. Well, cold anyway.”
Zoltergeist the Poltergeist – Douglas Hackle
Ghost comedy horror
Jimmy Green is a middle-aged limousine driver and a devoted fan of the insane TV sitcom Zoltergeist the Poltergeist. Once when he was a boy, Jimmy had an impure thought about the lead singer of The Bangles.
After confessing his sin to a drunken priest thirty-five years later, Jimmy is sentenced to six months’ penance in an old, isolated house, dubbed Penance House, in the middle of nowhere in rural Ohio. There, sequestered from civilization, Jimmy must repent for his sinful nature or else endure the Everlasting Fires of Hell.
As if Penance House weren’t creepy, whack, and janked-up enough, Jimmy is forbidden to enter the room at the end of the upstairs hallway. Does something sinister lurk beyond its closed door? And what about that leprechaun he keeps seeing skulking around in the woods?
Lucky for Jimmy, he has all forty-nine seasons of Zoltergeist the Poltergeist saved to his laptop to distract himself from his unsettling surroundings. Toward that end, probably the only thing better than rewatching old Zoltergeist episodes would be a visit from the show’s enigmatic, titular star itself…
“…the most intriguing fact about the show was that the actor who played Zoltergeist was an actual poltergeist named – you guessed it – Zoltergeist.”
A Bad Case of Tinnitus – Tony Evans
Supernatural comedy horror
Arnold Masterson had always been a bit of a hypochondriac, so when he woke up one morning with a strange and unexplainable ringing in his right ear, the first thought that entered his mind was that he must have a brain tumor.
Why not? Everything else in his life had gone south. His wife paid little to no attention to him anymore (in fact, he had a sneaking suspicion she was having an affair with Brian, one of her hunky coworkers), he had no real friends, and he absolutely hated his job. Tack on a now bulging gut and several randomly placed bald spots on his head that made him feel like a mangy dog, and the sound of a brain tumor didn’t really seem all that bad.
But, upon further investigation, Arnold quickly discovers that brain tumors aren’t the only thing that can cause this strange ringing in his ear… and in his case, the cause may just lead to a very unlikely friendship that turns out to be the solution to all of his other problems.
“Yeah. I said I’ve got a brain tumor. Internet says so.”
The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle - Steve Hugh Westenra
Monster comedy horror
Tyler Kyle doesn’t believe in monsters.
A washed-up thirty-year-old actor and reluctant cryptid investigator, Tyler is used to playing the Scully to his best friend Josh’s Mulder on their stupidly popular YouTube channel. But when Tyler receives previously unseen footage of the B movie bombshell mother who abandoned him eighteen years ago – footage linked to an isolated island in the Canadian wilderness – the mystery is one conspiracy he’s determined to investigate.
But Echo Island isn’t what it seems. Its eerily scenic veneer hides a twisted secret buried in its roots as a gay conversion camp, and as Tyler retraces his mother’s footsteps, he discovers a supernatural connection between the residents and the island, one they seem to think Tyler and his mother share.
Even worse, the footage of Tyler’s mom came from someone on the island, a stalker whose obsessive fascination with both Tyler and Josh is about to make Tyler wish he hadn’t gone this one alone.
Puppeteered by his stalker, searching for his mother, and debating whether it’s possible to queerbait yourself, Tyler comes to realize that it doesn’t matter so much whether you believe in monsters, if they believe in you.
“I’m just saying, if I end up dead … it probably wasn’t a cult.”
Earworm – Aaron Thomas Milstead
Psychological comedy horror
Ripley awakens with an earworm in his head. At first the voice only sang annoying songs. Now, it’s talking like a person. “Call me Bogart,” the earworm says. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Ripley and his earworm, Bogart, are now in a race against time to save his family from the murderous clutches of an ancient alien race bent on enslaving humanity.
After the diagnosis of a degenerative brain disease, Ripley McCain’s only desire is to dull the pain of his mediocre life until death. The universe, however, has a different plan.
If the Earworm is correct, Ripley has one more chance to redeem himself as a father and husband at the same time as saving the human species from a fate worse than death. Or perhaps this is all just a hallucination from his medical condition. Either way, he’s going out with a bang.
“You’ve got a friend in me. You’ve got a friend in me.”
The Graveyard Shift – DM Guay
Cosmic comedy horror – Book 1 of 24/7 Demon Mart
One loser, one talking cockroach, and one karate-chopping bombshell are all that stand between YOU and hell on earth.
Lloyd Wallace is the most clueless crossing guard the intersection of hell and earth has ever seen. So clueless, that he doesn’t even realize the beer cave in the corner store where he works is the gateway to hell. The gate needs a hero, but Lloyd’s a zero, a loser with a capital L. He’s ten thousand dollars in debt and lives with his parents. He’s been fired from every job he’s ever had. He was the first thing his ex-girlfriend tossed to the curb when she upgraded her life. He had no money and no prospects until the night he accidentally slayed a one-eyed tentacle monster hellbent on world domination. And, impressed by his pure heart and bravery, the suave but devilish owner of the 24/7 Dairy Mart gave Lloyd a job.
His coworkers – a karate-chopping bombshell and a talking roach with a really bad attitude – need Lloyd’s help to keep the demons in line. Can he man up and become a world-saving hero? Or, will he remain a couch-surfing zero? The fate of the world is on the line. What could go wrong?
“Who was dumb enough to think I was qualified to battle a horde of monsters and stave off the apocalypse?”
Cannibal Nuns from Outer Space! - Duncan P Bradshaw
Supernatural comedy horror
With an encyclopaedic knowledge of cake, and exclusive access to the church’s stockpile of holy weapons, the Order of the Crimson Rosary are on the frontline in the eternal war between good and evil. Whether it’s repelling demonic possession, judging the authenticity of supposed miracles or having the final say on the colour of bunting at church fetes, the organisation’s members sacrifice their own freedom to keep the world safe.
Father Flynn, the top operative in the UK, has been responsible for a number of recent high profile gaffs. Given an ultimatum, he must choose between returning to his old job of preserving the last microfiche machine in the church’s library, or submit himself for rehabilitation.
Yet evil doesn’t take a ticket and wait in line, as the dreaded cannibal nuns from outer space land to begin their annual harvest. Can Flynn get himself sober enough to repel their evil machinations? Or will another idyllic British village become the nun’s latest buffet?
One thing’s for certain, to beat them, Father Flynn is going to have to kick the habit.
“And the Holy shovel, you’re absolutely sure you packed the Holy shovel?”
Midnight Men - Kevin David Anderson
Supernatural comedy horror
Midnight.
The Witching Hour.
But the creatures of darkness are not confined to the shadows of the night.
Lonely stretches of highways… Bustling college campuses… Quiet suburban neighborhoods… Pricey, upscale day spas… They’re everywhere.
Earl and Dale, a pair of burly truckers, seem to be drawn to those that dwell in the darkness. Monster hunters by default, they confront the evil fearlessly, and with just a bit of humor. Vampires, werewolves, half-human spider demons, and those that prey on the innocent…
All will realize they’ve met their match when they go head-to-head with… The Midnight Men.
“Dale stared down at death.”
John Dies at the End – Jason Pargin
Cosmic comedy horror
STOP. You should not have touched this book with your bare hands. NO, don’t put it down. It’s too late. They’re watching you. My name is David. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours. You may not want to know about the things you’ll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it’s too late. You touched the book. You’re in the game. You’re under the eye. The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me.
The important thing is this: The sauce is a drug, and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do.
Unfortunately for us, if you make the right choice, we’ll have a much harder time explaining how to fight off the otherworldly invasion currently threatening to enslave humanity.
I’m sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault.
“If you already happen to know the awful secret behind the universe, feel free to skip ahead.”
Larry - Adam Millard
Slasher comedy horror
Between 1975 and 1978, Larry ‘Pigface’ Travers terrorised Camp Diamond Creek, killing more than a hundred horny, stoned teens, hacking them to death with his axe (the machete was already taken by some hockey guy over in New Jersey), and making a general nuisance of himself. Life couldn’t have been better for a psycho slasher.
But in ’78, after being outwitted by that year’s ‘final girl’, Pigface found himself trapped (and a little bit on fire). Presumed dead, Larry Travers disappeared, but his legend lived on.
It’s now 2014. Living in the woods with his overbearing, and slightly antique, mother, Larry’s old enough to play bingo and enjoy jigsaw puzzles without feeling guilty. But the urge to kill has returned, and Larry thinks he still has what it takes to be a homicidal lunatic.
Pigface is back. Trouble is, he’s not as young as he used to be.
“He hadn’t killed anyone in thirty-six years. The bubonic plague had better stats than him.”
Curse of the Werepoodle - Paul Lubaczewski
Werewolf comedy horror
A howl rends the peaceful atmosphere of the night asunder! They come! And there is no way to sate their ravening hunger! They will not be deterred… not until you throw the stick?
Heed the old poem, “Even a man who’s pure of heart and says his prayers at night, may become a….poodle?”
Wait, what in the heck is going on here?
Christopher Richter might not have said his prayers every night, and his heart was as pure as anyone else. He had a nice normal life. Until the night he was bitten by a Lhasa Apso under the full moon.
Now he needs to learn the rules of being a fluffy, curly hound from hell three nights a month. He needs to fear the bigger things that lurk in the night if he’s to survive The Curse of the Werepoodle!
“Chris started to make that weird, squelching, clicking noise that people for some reason think that dogs are unbelievably attracted to. If anything the growling intensified, probably rightly so.”
Practical Demonkeeping – Christopher Moore
Supernatural comedy horror – Book 1 of Pine Cove
The good-looking one is one-hundred-year-old ex-seminarian and “roads” scholar Travis O’Hearn.
The green one is Catch, a demon with a nasty habit of eating most of the people he meets.
Behind the fake Tudor facade of Pine Cove, California, Catch sees a four-star buffet. Travis, on the other hand, thinks he sees a way of ridding himself of his toothy traveling companion.
The winos, neo-pagans, and deadbeat Lotharios of Pine Cove, meanwhile, have other ideas. And none of them is quite prepared when all hell breaks loose.
“The Breeze blew into San Junipero in the shotgun seat of Billy Winston’s Pinto wagon.”
Apartment 239 - Elford Alley
Monster/serial killer comedy horror
Monsters. Mayhem. Minimum Wage.
Marble Springs is a town with a hundred missing persons cases, a lake harboring a blood-thirsty monster, and a second-generation serial killer on the loose.
When undervalued city employee Abe Barret begins to see the dead, he discovers the loss of his family is linked to these unsolved disappearances, and he only has days to solve it before his time is up.
There are a lot of ways you can go in Marble Springs, and none of them are pleasant.
Welcome to the City of the Dead!
“Marble Springs welcomes you!”
Published: 5 September 2024
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