Subject spotlight: Horror

The spookiest month of the year is behind us, but that doesn’t mean the fun is over. Whether you’re a fan of Horror literature, making your way through leftover Halloween candy, planning to watch Guillermo del Toro’s new Frankenstein movie, or just like to keep an eye on what’s happening in the Canadian book market, you’re in the right place!

Welcome back to Subject Spotlight, your go-to source for quarterly data-driven insights into the performance of particular subjects in the Canadian book market.

In case you missed it, previously, we looked at the sales and library circulation of Health & Fitness titles. In this instalment, we shine the spotlight on Horror titles.

How did Horror titles perform during the third quarter of 2025? We find out with the help of our SalesData and LibraryData services.

Buying Fiction / Horror

As shown in the graph below, year-over-year sales of Horror titles were up 1% in July, then down 11% in August, and then went up again by 10% in September.

In 2024, sales increased by 5% from July to August, but then saw a decrease of 7% in September. Overall, the sales of Horror titles decreased by 3% during the third quarter of 2024.

In 2025, the above trend shifted. Sales decreased by 8% from July to August, and then saw an increase of 15% in September. Overall, the sales of Horror titles increased by 6% during the third quarter of 2025.

These are the BISAC subcategories with the highest year-over-year increase in sales:

• Fiction / Horror / Cosmic & Eldritch — up 387% and

• Fiction / Horror / General — up 14%.

From July to September, the most purchased Horror subcategories were:

• Fiction / Horror / General — 84% of all Fiction / Horror sales;

• Fiction / Horror / Psychological — 10% of all Fiction / Horror sales; and

• Fiction / Horror / Monsters & Creatures — 3% of all Fiction / Horror sales.

Borrowing Fiction / Horror

Year-over-year, Horror loans increased by 31% in July, then decreased by 13% in August, and increased again by 18% in September. Overall loans increased by 7% in the third quarter of 2024 and decreased by 4% in the third quarter of 2025.

Year-over-year renewals increased by 77% in July, 20% in August, and 65% in September. Overall, renewals increased by 5% in the third quarter of 2024 and decreased by 2% in the third quarter of 2025.

Which Horror subcategories were the most popular in Canadian libraries? From July to September 2025, these subcategories saw the greatest increases in library circulation compared to 2024:

• Fiction / Horror / Cosmic & Eldritch — loans up 80% and renewals down 34%;

• Fiction / Horror / Occult & Supernatural — loans up 27% and renewals up 85%; and

• Fiction / Horror / General — loans up 15% and renewals up 51%.

During the third quarter of 2025, the most circulated Horror subcategories were:

• Fiction / Horror / General — 85% of all Fiction / Horror loans and 86% of all Fiction / Horror renewals;

• Fiction / Horror / Psychological — 6% of all Fiction / Horror loans and 4% of all Fiction / Horror renewals; and

• Fiction / Horror / Monsters & Creatures — 4%of all Fiction / Horror loans and 5% of all Fiction / Horror renewals.

Reading Fiction / Horror

Here are the top selling and top borrowed Fiction / Horror titles from the third quarter of 2025.

Top borrowed

1. Confessions of the Dead by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

2. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

3. The Outsider by Stephen King

4. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

5. How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

Top selling

1. Confessions of the Dead by James Patterson and J. D. Barker

2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

3. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

4. Killer on the Road / the Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones

5. The Shining by Stephen King