What it's about: After a volcanic eruption at Mt. Rainier leaves them stranded, the clueless denizens of a remote eco-community square off against displaced Sasquatches hungry for their next meal.

Why you might like it: Much like his bestselling debut World War Z, Max Brooks' gruesome latest is written as a firsthand account, featuring diary entries, interviews, transcripts, and the author's own research. 

Movie buzz: Bigfoot fans, rejoice! A film adaptation is in the works.

Ten years ago: A quartet of 20-something Blackfeet men embarked on an ill-fated elk hunting trip on tribal lands meant only for the elders' use.

Now: Still processing their lingering feelings of guilt and shame all these years later, one by one the men find themselves at the mercy of a vengeful entity that stalks their every move.  

What sets it apart: This incisive own voices novel explores themes of cultural identity and intergenerational trauma while offering plenty of eerie supernatural scares.

What it is: the tense sequel to Josh Malerman's bestselling Bird Box.

What happens: Twelve years after Malorie and her children made their daring escape from the mysterious creatures who drive humans mad upon sight, she discovers that her parents might still be alive. Should she risk her family's lives to find them?

Who it's for: Bird Box fans and newcomers alike will flock to this follow-up whose post-apocalyptic world-building and thoughtful characterization make it suitable as both a sequel and a standalone. 

Welcome to...High Place, a decrepit mansion in the remote 1950s Mexican countryside that's home to a racist English mining family.

What happens: After her newlywed cousin Catalina sends a letter from High Place claiming abuse, resourceful 22-year-old socialite Noemí Taboada arrives at the estate, where she's quickly swept up in its nightmarish goings-on and deadly secrets.

Want a taste? "This house is sick with rot, stinks of decay, brims with every single evil and cruel sentiment."  

What it's about: Eschewing life in the Big Apple for a fresh start upstate, the Bennett family discovers that the remote paradise they now call home is anything but, as malevolent forces lurk in the trees -- and in their minds.

Read it for: creeping paranoia, an intensifying pace, and evocative writing from award-winning Baby Teeth author Zoje Stage.

For fans of: Brendan Duffy's House of Echoes.

What it is: a nail-biting and emotionally resonant apocalyptic novel from three-time Bram Stoker Award winner Paul Tremblay.

The premise: When a rabies-like virus forces the state of Massachusetts to go into quarantine, pregnant Natalie -- bitten, newly widowed, and desperate -- enlists the help of her pediatrician friend to help her get a vaccine before it's too late.

Reviewers say: "A prescient, insidious horror novel that takes sheer terror to a whole new level" (Kirkus Reviews).

What it is: the epic finale to Justin Cronin's bestselling The Passage trilogy.

What it's about: One hundred years after the Easter Virus wreaked havoc on humanity, the last of the vampiric "virals" have disappeared -- until now. Can they finally be stopped once and for all? 

Is it for you? Newcomers will want to pick up The Passage and The Twelve before biting into this sweeping series conclusion.

How it begins: Pregnant nurse Harper Grayson, infected with a fungus which causes the afflicted to spontaneously combust, has just fled from her murderous husband. 

Too good to be true? Harper is rescued by the titular Fireman, a mysterious superhero who takes her to a community where the infected can survive in harmony with the fungus. So...what's the catch?  

Don't miss: Joe Hill's winking nods to his father Stephen King's novels.

In case you missed it: This atmospheric epic is horror mainstay Stephen King's massively popular -- and just plain massive -- apocalyptic classic. 

A fight to the finish: After a virus escapes from a germ warfare lab and wipes out 99% of the world's population, humanity's last remaining survivors prepare for the ultimate battle of good vs. evil.

Media buzz: A new miniseries starring Whoopi Goldberg and Alexander Skarsgård is currently in development at CBS All Access.

What it is: a mixture of apocalyptic world-building (a plague has ravaged the globe), anti-capitalist satire, and the coming-of-age of a millennial blogger.

What happens: Shen Fever hits, turning regular people into routine-driven automatons; at first, professionally unfulfilled Candace Chen doesn't notice, but soon she's one of the few survivors of this curious pandemic, and joins an odd little band headed west.  

Read it for: its haunting, vivid, and eerily prophetic storyline.