Madeleine Roux is best known for eerie, fast-paced fiction that blends young adult horror, psychological tension, and gothic atmosphere. Her Asylum books, with their unsettling settings and creeping sense of dread, are especially appealing to readers who like haunted institutions, buried secrets, and stories that feel cinematic and disturbing without losing emotional stakes.
If you enjoy reading books by Madeleine Roux, the following authors deliver similar thrills through ghost stories, dark fantasy, supernatural mystery, and suspense-driven YA fiction:
Kendare Blake is an excellent recommendation for readers who love Madeleine Roux’s mix of horror, sharp pacing, and teen protagonists facing genuinely dangerous supernatural forces. Blake often writes stories that are both creepy and emotionally grounded, making the terror feel personal rather than distant.
A great place to start is Anna Dressed in Blood, which follows Cas Lowood, a teenage ghost hunter who travels from town to town destroying the dead who refuse to stay buried. His newest target is Anna, a murdered girl haunting an abandoned house and slaughtering anyone who enters.
What makes the novel memorable is that Anna is far more complex than a typical monster. Blake combines gruesome horror, compelling mythology, and surprising tenderness, creating the same kind of unsettling-but-addictive reading experience that draws people to Roux.
Cat Winters is a strong pick for readers who want their horror laced with history, grief, and a rich sense of place. Like Madeleine Roux, she creates unsettling atmosphere without relying only on scares; her novels also explore loss, trauma, and the way fear spreads through a community.
Her standout novel In the Shadow of Blackbirds is set during World War I and the 1918 influenza pandemic, where death already feels omnipresent before the supernatural elements even arrive. The story follows Mary Shelley Black as she investigates eerie visions and strange spiritualist claims after a devastating personal loss.
Winters excels at blending real historical anxieties with ghostly intrigue. If you liked the immersive mood and creeping dread in Roux’s books, Winters offers a similarly haunting reading experience with a more historical lens.
Victoria Schwab, also published as V.E. Schwab, is ideal for readers who enjoy ghostly fiction with a strong narrative voice and vivid worldbuilding. Her work often sits at the intersection of fantasy, horror, and adventure, and she is especially good at writing young characters who are brave, vulnerable, and easy to root for.
For fans of Madeleine Roux, City of Ghosts is the most natural place to begin. The novel follows Cass, who can cross into the world of the dead after a near-death experience. When her family travels to Edinburgh to film a TV show about haunted places, Cass encounters spirits far more dangerous than she expected.
Schwab captures the thrill of haunted cities, old legends, and the thin boundary between the living and the dead. Readers who love Roux’s eerie settings and supernatural tension will likely be drawn to Schwab’s atmospheric storytelling.
April Genevieve Tucholke writes dark, lush fiction filled with menace, ambiguity, and gothic unease. Her books tend to be mood-heavy in the best way, making them a smart choice for readers who admire Madeleine Roux’s ability to turn setting into something almost alive.
Try Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, a novel set in a decaying seaside estate where Violet’s quiet summer is disrupted by the arrival of River, a charismatic stranger who seems tied to a string of increasingly sinister events.
Tucholke leans into dread, desire, and uncertainty, keeping readers off balance as the story unfolds. If you enjoy horror that feels dreamlike, sensual, and slightly dangerous, she offers a compelling next step after Roux.
Ransom Riggs is a natural recommendation for readers who like unsettling institutions, hidden histories, and strange young characters trying to survive a larger mystery. His fiction shares with Madeleine Roux a fascination with eerie spaces and the unsettling power of old photographs and forgotten records.
His best-known novel, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, follows Jacob Portman as he travels to a remote Welsh island after a family tragedy and discovers a ruined orphanage tied to his grandfather’s unbelievable stories.
The novel stands out for its fusion of vintage photography and fantasy-horror storytelling. Riggs creates a world that feels both whimsical and ominous, which makes him especially appealing to readers who liked the visual eeriness and gothic mystery in Roux’s work.
Dan Wells is a strong match for readers who enjoy the darker psychological side of Madeleine Roux’s fiction. His books often focus on morally complicated protagonists, unsettling violence, and the fear of what may be lurking inside both human minds and seemingly ordinary towns.
I Am Not a Serial Killer introduces John Wayne Cleaver, a teenage boy obsessed with serial killers and terrified that he may become one. He carefully manages his own violent impulses, but when brutal murders begin in his town, he realizes the threat may be something far stranger than a human killer.
Wells combines horror, thriller plotting, and character psychology with impressive control. If what you loved about Roux was the tension, dread, and sense that something is deeply wrong beneath the surface, Wells is well worth reading.
Marisha Pessl is a great choice for readers who want their horror and mystery to feel layered, intelligent, and immersive. While her work often skews more adult than YA, it delivers the same fascination with hidden truths, eerie lore, and investigations that spiral into obsession.
Her novel Night Film centers on journalist Scott McGrath as he investigates the death of Ashley Cordova, daughter of a legendary and elusive horror filmmaker. The deeper he digs, the more the story takes on the feeling of a curse, a conspiracy, or both.
Pessl excels at creating a reality that feels unstable and sinister. Readers who appreciate Madeleine Roux’s ability to pull them into dark mysteries and keep them questioning what is real will find a lot to admire here.
Jennifer McMahon writes atmospheric suspense with supernatural overtones, making her a strong crossover pick for Madeleine Roux fans ready to explore more adult gothic fiction. Her books often revolve around small towns, family secrets, folklore, and the long shadow of past violence.
The Winter People is one of her most accessible and haunting novels. Set in rural Vermont, it unfolds across dual timelines and follows a present-day disappearance that appears linked to a chilling story from 1908 involving grief, isolation, and the possibility of the dead returning.
McMahon is especially good at building tension through setting and suggestion. If you like stories that feel cold, eerie, and steeped in local legend, her work captures a similar unsettling energy to Roux’s darkest fiction.
Anya Allyn is a lesser-known but memorable option for readers who enjoy claustrophobic, gothic horror with strong visual atmosphere. Her fiction taps into the same appeal that makes Madeleine Roux’s books so readable: eerie places, young characters under pressure, and a mystery that grows stranger the deeper you go.
In Dollhouse, four teenagers become trapped in an abandoned mansion deep in the Australian bush. Inside, they find a house crowded with porcelain dolls, hidden rooms, and a past that refuses to stay buried. The protagonist, Jessamine, must piece together the house’s secrets while trying to survive it.
The novel leans heavily into setting and menace, turning the mansion into a character in its own right. Fans of creepy architecture, escalating dread, and gothic teen horror should definitely give Allyn a look.
Alexandra Bracken is best known for high-stakes YA speculative fiction, but readers who like Madeleine Roux’s tense plotting and emotionally intense characters may still find a lot to enjoy in her work. Bracken excels at building dangerous worlds where teens must navigate fear, betrayal, and survival.
The Darkest Minds follows Ruby, one of the few children to survive a catastrophic disease that kills many others and leaves survivors with frightening powers. Branded as dangerous, she is imprisoned in a brutal government camp and forced to make impossible choices after escaping.
Though more dystopian than horror-driven, the book shares Roux’s sense of danger and psychological strain. Readers who enjoy dark YA with urgent pacing and an undercurrent of dread may find Bracken a rewarding read.
Libba Bray is an excellent author for readers who want supernatural horror on a larger canvas. Her novels often combine rich historical detail, memorable ensembles, and genuinely unsettling occult elements, giving them the same immersive pull that Madeleine Roux readers often look for.
Start with The Diviners, set in 1920s New York. The story follows Evie O’Neill, a lively young woman with a secret supernatural ability, as she becomes entangled in a murder investigation involving dark rituals and a terrifying force haunting the city.
Bray’s writing is stylish, energetic, and creepy when it needs to be. If you enjoy horror mixed with mystery, historical atmosphere, and a strong cast of characters, she is one of the best authors to try after Roux.
Barry Lyga is a particularly good fit for readers who were drawn to Madeleine Roux because of the suspense, the danger, and the psychological edge. His novels tend to be more grounded than supernatural, but they deliver intense tension and dark subject matter with confidence.
I Hunt Killers follows Jazz Dent, the son of a notorious serial killer who has spent his life trying to prove he is nothing like his father. When new murders begin to mirror his father’s methods, Jazz uses his knowledge of criminal behavior to help track the killer.
The premise alone creates immediate unease, and Lyga makes the most of it. If you like stories about identity, fear, and teenagers forced into terrifying circumstances, this is a gripping recommendation.
Lauren Oliver may be best known for dystopian and contemporary YA, but she has also written haunting fiction that will appeal to readers who enjoy Madeleine Roux’s more atmospheric side. Her work often emphasizes emotion and family dynamics alongside mystery and supernatural tension.
In Rooms, the death of Richard Walker brings his estranged family back to an old house inhabited by two restless spirits. As both the living and the dead reveal long-buried secrets, the house becomes a pressure cooker of grief, resentment, memory, and haunting.
Oliver’s approach is less about jump scares and more about emotional unease. Readers who appreciate ghost stories with character depth and a strong sense of place may find her an excellent match.
Amelinda Bérubé writes atmospheric young adult horror that often blurs the line between supernatural menace and psychological collapse. That ambiguity makes her especially appealing to readers who like the creeping uncertainty in Madeleine Roux’s work.
Her novel The Dark Beneath the Ice follows Marianne, a teenage swimmer whose life begins to unravel after her parents’ separation. As her behavior changes and strange experiences intensify, she starts to suspect that something cold, ancient, and malicious is trying to take hold of her.
Bérubé is particularly effective at creating dread through voice and emotional instability. If you enjoy horror that feels intimate, unsettling, and psychologically sharp, she is a strong author to add to your list.
Rachel Vincent is a good recommendation for readers who enjoy Madeleine Roux’s combination of supernatural danger and teen-centered drama. Her books often feature paranormal mythology, fast-moving plots, and protagonists trying to understand powers that make them vulnerable as well as powerful.
My Soul to Take, the first book in the Soul Screamers series, follows Kaylee Cavanaugh, a teenage girl who senses when someone nearby is about to die. As unexplained deaths begin to spread through her school, she learns that her terrifying ability is connected to a hidden supernatural world.
Vincent’s work is accessible, suspenseful, and emotionally engaging. For readers who want something a little more paranormal-romantic while still keeping a dark edge, she makes a strong follow-up to Roux.
