Audiobooks Like Home Before Dark

Cady McClain and Jon Lindstrom alternate the haunted-house narrative with a split that maps onto the story's dual timeline structure — McClain anchoring the present-day investigation, the shifts between them building the same creeping wrongness Riley Sager specializes in across 11 hours. The recommendations lean into similar atmospheric horror and psychological suspense, several award-winning, most arriving at a comparable runtime.

10 audiobooks for fans of Home Before Dark

  1. 1
    The Stand cover

    The Stand

    by Stephen King

    Narrated by Grover Gardner

    4.91 ABR Score (922.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.35 Goodreads (841.5K) ★ 4.69 Audible (81.1K)
    47h 47m listening time • Released 2012

    King's apocalyptic magnum opus pits good against evil across a ravaged America — sprawling, terrifying, and peopled with characters you'll never forget.

  2. 2
    Occultation and Other Stories cover

    Occultation and Other Stories

    by Laird Barron, Michael Shea

    Narrated by David Drummond

    3.97 ABR Score (4.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.06 Goodreads (4.1K) ★ 4.2 Audible (730)
    12h 32m listening time • Released 2014

    David Drummond's narration transforms these cosmic horror stories into something genuinely unsettling—his ability to shift between characters and capture Barron's creeping dread makes the audiobook format essential here.

  3. 3
    The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All cover

    The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All

    by Laird Barron

    Narrated by Ray Porter

    3.88 ABR Score (6.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (4.7K) ★ 4.09 Audible (1.3K)
    12h 15m listening time • Released 2018

    Ray Porter's deadpan delivery transforms Barron's cosmic horror into something genuinely unsettling—his noir-hardboiled cadence makes the supernatural feel inevitable rather than shocking.

  4. 4
    The Dinosaur Tourist cover

    The Dinosaur Tourist

    by Caitlín R. Kiernan

    Narrated by Neil Hellegers, Xe Sands, Tavia Gilbert, Lisa Flanagan, Paul Woodson, Lauren Ezzo, Kevin Kenerly, Chelsea Stephens

    3.57 ABR Score (142 ratings)
    ★ 3.93 Goodreads (138) ★ 4.75 Audible (4)
    13h 1m listening time • Released 2021

    A stellar ensemble cast elevates Kiernan's unsettling short fiction collection, with each narrator embodying the creeping wrongness that makes these nineteen tales linger long after they end.

  5. 5
    The Shining cover

    The Shining

    The Shining • Book 1

    by Stephen King

    Narrated by Campbell Scott

    4.93 ABR Score (1.8M ratings)
    ★ 4.28 Goodreads (1.7M) ★ 4.75 Audible (41.5K)
    15h 50m listening time • Released 2012

    King's most psychologically terrifying novel — a haunted hotel, a disintegrating father, and a little boy whose gift is his greatest danger.

  6. 6
    It cover

    It

    by Stephen King

    Narrated by Steven Weber

    4.90 ABR Score (1.3M ratings)
    ★ 4.24 Goodreads (1.3M) ★ 4.72 Audible (64.9K)
    44h 55m listening time • Released 2016

    Steven Weber's voice work transforms King's sprawling epic into something genuinely hypnotic—he doesn't just narrate the terror, he embodies the friendship that makes you care about it. Nearly 45 hours that feel essential.

  7. 7
    All the Stars in the Sky cover

    All the Stars in the Sky

    Until the End of the World • Book 3

    by Sarah Lyons Fleming

    Narrated by Julia Whelan

    4.77 ABR Score (8.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.56 Goodreads (5.0K) ★ 4.81 Audible (3.7K)
    12h 19m listening time • Released 2015

    Julia Whelan's performance captures every fracture in Cassie's determination as Fleming delivers a finale that refuses easy answers—the emotional gut-punch you've been waiting three books for.

  8. 8
    The Exorcist cover

    The Exorcist

    The Exorcist • Book 1

    by William Peter Blatty

    Narrated by William Peter Blatty, Eliana Shaskan

    4.73 ABR Score (284.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.21 Goodreads (274.5K) ★ 4.71 Audible (9.5K)
    12h 51m listening time • Released 2011
  9. 9
    Make Me King cover

    Make Me King

    Mountain Man • Book 5

    by Keith C. Blackmore

    Narrated by R.C. Bray

    4.69 ABR Score (7.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.43 Goodreads (1.4K) ★ 4.83 Audible (6.3K)
    11h 12m listening time • Released 2020

    R.C. Bray transforms this post-apocalyptic power struggle into something genuinely gripping—his vocal range makes every faction feel distinct, and the tension between survival and ambition hits harder through audio than it would on the page.

  10. 10
    And After cover

    And After

    Until the End of the World • Book 2

    by Sarah Lyons Fleming

    Narrated by Julia Whelan

    4.64 ABR Score (9.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.43 Goodreads (5.4K) ★ 4.71 Audible (3.8K)
    10h 48m listening time • Released 2014

    Julia Whelan's narration transforms this zombie sequel into something genuinely gripping—her delivery makes you believe every hard choice Cassie faces, turning post-apocalyptic dread into something you won't want to pause.

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

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