Joe Hill Reading Order

27 books (2003–2023)

Joe Hill edited twenty-four horror and fantasy anthologies between 2003 and 2023, with the series likely now complete. These collections should be read in publication order, beginning with The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14 and continuing through works like The Living Dead, Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror, and Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury. Each volume features stories from various authors across the horror and fantasy genres, making them ideal for readers seeking diverse voices within dark and speculative fiction.

Start with The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14, the first of 24 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14 2003Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Best New Fantasy 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Best New Horror 17 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Nineteenth Annual Collection 2006Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Best New Horror 19 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Living Dead 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Smoke and Mirrors 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Dead That Walk 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Best New Horror 21 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Demons: Encounters with the Devil and His Minions, Fallen Angels, and the Possessed 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	A Carnivàle of Horror 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Flotsam Fantastique: The Souvenir Book of World Fantasy Convention 2013 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Four For Fantasy 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Shadow Show: Stories In Celebration of Ray Bradbury 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Dark Discoveries - Issue #35 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Nightmare Magazine 44: May 2016 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Flight or Fright 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Phantoms 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	At Home in the Dark 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Best of Best New Horror Volume 2 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	When a Stranger Comes to Town 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Revelations 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	Twice Cursed 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

19 books (2009–2026)

The Best Horror of the Year is an ongoing anthology series edited by Joe Hill, featuring eighteen volumes published from 2009 to 2025. Each annual installment curates the most notable horror short fiction from the previous year, making it ideal for readers seeking contemporary examples of the genre. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Volume One, though individual volumes can also stand alone as independent collections. A tenth-anniversary retrospective, The Best of the Best Horror of the Year, was included among the volumes.

Start with The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One, the first of 18 books in the Best Horror of the Year series.

#	Title
1	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Two 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Three 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Best Horror of the Year Volume Five 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Six 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Seven 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eight 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Nine 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Ten 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: 10 Years of Essential Short Horror Fiction 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Eleven 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Twelve 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Best Horror of the Year Volume Thirteen 2021Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fourteen 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Fifteen 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Sixteen 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	The Best Horror of the Year, Volume Seventeen 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Best Horror of the Year, Volume Eighteen 2026Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (2023–2023)

The Creature Feature Collection is a five-book horror and fantasy anthology series published in 2023, edited by Joe Hill. Each installment features a different author contributing a novella-length creature-focused story, with entries by Grady Hendrix, Jason Mott, Chandler Baker, Josh Malerman, and others. The series appears to be complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with Grady Hendrix's Ankle Snatcher. This collection showcases various horror and dark fantasy interpretations of monsters and supernatural beings across its volumes.

Start with Ankle Snatcher(By: Grady Hendrix), the first of 5 books in the Creature Feature Collection series.

1 book (2019–2019)

3 books (2020–2020)

Joe Hill's horror and fantasy graphic novel trilogy spans from 2020 to the present, consisting of three complete works: Basketful of Heads, Dying is Easy (illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez and Martin Simmonds), and Plunge. These standalone stories should be read in publication order for the best experience. The series showcases Hill's dark imagination across distinct narratives within the horror and fantasy genres.

Start with Basketful of Heads and read in order.

#	Title
1	Basketful of Heads 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Dying is Easy(With: Gabriel Rodríguez,Martin Simmonds) 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Plunge 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (2026–2026)

The IDW Classics series comprises six books published in 2026 across fantasy and horror genres, featuring adaptations and original stories from IDW Publishing's catalog. The series is ongoing and should be read in publication order, beginning with Aliens by John Byrne, Scott Tipton, Jackson Lanzing, and Collin Kelly. Subsequent entries include D4VE by Ryan Ferrier, followed by Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft and Head Games, Star Trek: The Edges of the Final Frontier by John Byrne, Star Trek: The Next Generation--The Mirror War by Scott Tipton and David Tipton, and concluding with Thrills, Spills, and Chills by Roger Langridge, Darwyn Cooke, John Cassaday, and Dave Stevens.

Start with Aliens(By: John Byrne,Scott Tipton,Jackson Lanzing,Collin Kelly), the first of 6 books in the IDW Classics series.

1 book (2022–2022)

#	Title
1	Rain(With: David M. Booher) 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2007–2013)

Joe Hill's Thumbprint is a complete three-book fantasy and horror series published between 2007 and 2013. Read the books in publication order, beginning with the first installment and continuing through the third and final entry.

Start with Joe Hill's Thumbprint and read in order.

9 books (2008–2022)

Joe Hill's Locke & Key graphic novel series consists of nine books published between 2008 and 2022, blending fantasy and horror elements throughout its complete story arc. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Welcome to Lovecraft and concluding with The Golden Age. This supernatural saga follows the Locke family as they uncover magical keys hidden within their ancestral home, each with extraordinary and often dangerous properties that gradually reveal a larger mystery spanning the entire narrative.

Start with Welcome to Lovecraft, the first of 9 books in the Locke & Key Graphic Novels series.

#	Title
1	Welcome to Lovecraft 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Head Games 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Crown of Shadows 2010Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Keys to the Kingdom 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Clockworks 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Alpha & Omega 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Heaven and Earth 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Small World 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Golden Age 2022Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (2020–2021)

This three-book crossover series by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez blends fantasy and horror elements across issues published between 2020 and 2021. The series appears to be complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with issue #0 and continuing through issue #2. This collaboration brings together two distinct fictional universes in a limited crossover event.

Start with Locke & Key/Sandman: Hell & Gone #0(With: Gabriel Rodríguez) and read in order.

3 books (2020–2020)

This three-book series by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez for the first two installments, was published in 2020 as a complete fantasy and horror collection. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with the first volume and progressing sequentially through all three entries to experience the full narrative as intended.

Start with Locke & Key: ...In Pale Battalions Go… #1(With: Gabriel Rodríguez) and read in order.

3 books (2011–2019)

Joe Hill's Locke & Key: One-Shots is a complete three-book series of standalone stories published between 2011 and 2019, each exploring different corners of the universe established by the main Locke & Key saga. These fantasy and horror tales should be read in publication order, beginning with The Guide To Known Keys, followed by Grindhouse, and concluding with Locke & Key: Dog Days. While each entry can be enjoyed independently, reading them in sequence provides the fullest experience of this supplementary collection.

Start with The Guide To Known Keys and read in order.

2 books (2013–2014)

This two-book horror fantasy series by Joe Hill follows a complete story arc across its 2013 and 2014 releases. The books should be read in publication order, beginning with NOS4A2 (also titled NOS4R2), followed by Wraith. The series is now complete and can be enjoyed as a finished narrative without waiting for future installments.

Start with NOS4A2 / NOS4R2 and read in order.

#	Title
1	NOS4A2 / NOS4R2 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Wraith 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

22 books (2005–2024)

This ongoing collection gathers 22 horror and fantasy short stories and novellas by Joe Hill, beginning with Voluntary Committal and continuing through 2024. The stories should be read in publication order, which spans from 2005 to the present, with several collaborative works alongside Hill's solo pieces. Notable entries include The Black Phone, In the Tall Grass (co-written with Stephen King), and Throttle (also with Stephen King), among others. This series remains open to new additions.

Start with Voluntary Committal, the first of 22 books in the Short Stories/Novellas series.

#	Title
1	Voluntary Committal 2005Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Abraham's Boys 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Better Than Home 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the Dead 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Dead-Wood 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	In the Rundown 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Last Breath 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	My Father's Mask 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Pop Art 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Black Phone 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Widow's Breakfast 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	You Will Hear the Locust Sing 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	In the Tall Grass(With: Stephen King) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Throttle(With: Stephen King) 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Twittering from the Circus of the Dead 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Wolverton Station 2014Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Dark Carousel 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	You Are Released 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	Late Returns 2019Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	A Sign of the Times 2023Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	Ushers 2024Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

6 books (2005–2022)

Joe Hill has published six short story collections between 2005 and 2022, spanning his work in horror and fantasy. These collections should be read in publication order, beginning with 20th Century Ghosts and progressing through Best New Horror, Road Rage (a collaboration featuring Stephen King and Richard Matheson), Strange Weather, Full Throttle, and The Black Phone and Other Stories. The series appears to be complete as of 2022.

Start with 20th Century Ghosts, the first of 6 books in the Short Story Collections series.

6 books (2007–2025)

Joe Hill has written six standalone fantasy and horror novels published between 2007 and 2025, with the series remaining ongoing. These books should be read in publication order, beginning with Heart-Shaped Box and continuing through Gunpowder, Horns, Locke & Key Audio Drama, The Fireman, and King Sorrow. Each novel stands alone as a complete story, making them accessible entry points into Hill's dark and imaginative fiction.

Start with Heart-Shaped Box, the first of 6 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	Heart-Shaped Box 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Gunpowder 2008Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Horns 2009Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Locke & Key Audio Drama 2015Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Fireman 2016Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	King Sorrow 2025Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

1 book (2017–2017)

#	Title
1	Tales from the Darkside 2017Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (2016–2016)

Joe Hill's Tales from the Darkside Comic series consists of four horror and fantasy graphic novels published in 2016, now complete. The books should be read in publication order beginning with the first installment. This collection presents dark, atmospheric stories across its four volumes, each contributing to the series' exploration of horror themes.

Start with Tales From The Darkside #1, the first of 4 books in the Tales from the Darkside Comic series.

2 books (2007–2013)

Joe Hill's The Cape is a complete two-book horror fantasy series comprising The Cape (2007) and The Cape: 1969 (2013). These interconnected stories should be read in publication order, beginning with the first installment. The series explores dark fantasy themes across its two entries, which together form a concluded narrative arc.

Start with The Cape and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Cape 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Cape: 1969 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

5 books (2025–2025)

The Shivers Collection is an ongoing horror anthology series edited by Joe Hill, featuring five novellas published in 2025 by different authors including Owen King, Catriona Ward, Grady Hendrix, and Stephen Graham Jones. Begin with Jackknife and follow the books in publication order, as each entry offers a standalone supernatural story while contributing to the broader collection. The series blends fantasy and horror elements across its diverse author lineup, making it ideal for readers seeking varied voices within a unified framework.

Start with Jackknife, the first of 5 books in the The Shivers Collection series.