During the impressive 15-year run of Supernatural, a total of 23 tie-in novels were written and published between 2007 and 2019. Many of the novels feature episodic standalone stories of brothers Sam and Dean Winchester as they travel across the U.S. and solve a rash of paranormal mysteries. Some even crossover and include such iconic Supernatural characters as Bobby, Castiel, and others.
The most memorable Supernatural tie-in books tend to boast an original premise, terrifying story, creepy setting, freaky and frightening monsters, and most importantly, the unbreakable bond between the badass brothers.
Nevermore (Keith R. A. DeCandido)
As the very first tie-in novel written in 2007, there's no surprise that extra effort went into making Nevermore as great as it can be. Indeed, the story follows Sam and Dean to New York, where they must uncover the harrowing mystery of a haunted rock star's house where a screaming banshee in '80s heavy-metal garb is going berserk.
In addition to the allure of the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll setting, the story takes a great turn when the brothers' investigation is quickly interrupted by a gory murder down the street, which turns out to be the wicked work of a serial killer inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. Scary, unpredictable, and a great way to kick off the memorable Supernatural monster-of-the-week type of novelizations.
Bone Key (Keith R. A. DeCandido)
Bone Key finds Sam and Dean in sunny and stormy Key West, Florida, where the host of a lucrative ghost tour has been found dead with his face frozen mid-scream. Out to discover exactly what the host saw that scared him to death, Sam and Dean run into a host of demonic ghouls.
Trapped on the tropical island like a campy and kitschy Scooby-Doo episode, the brothers can't evade the town's most menacing and macabre supernatural spirits out for revenge. With an unpredictable storyline involving Bobby, a refreshingly sunny setting the show rarely featured, and a spooky amount of fun to be had in the ghoulish ghost tours themselves, Bone Key is hard to beat.
Witch's Canyon (Jeff Mariotte)
In Witch's Canyon, Sam and Dean travel to the Grand Canyon to snoop around a deserted stretch of lands besieged by decades of gruesome murders. With no known assailant, Sam and Dean try to find answers before the denizens of a mega-mall grand opening become unsuspecting targets of the murderous scourge.
Aside from the funny Supernatural characters, and the tried and true mall setting for a horror story which always provides endless entertainment, the story serves as a direct sequel to Nevermore, which provides a connective tissue between the two stories that give the novels a more inherently linked context that draws the reader in even more than a simple standalone story.
One Year Gone (Rebecca Dessertine)
In one of the few tie-in books to deliberately separate the brothers, One Year Gone imagines a time when Dean believes Sam resides in Hell. Attempting to lead a normal life with Ben and Lisa, Dean gets the chance to deliver Sam from evil upon discovering a spell in the Necronomicon.
The dramatic conflict of Dean working tirelessly to rescue Sam is a reminder of what a profound brotherly bond the two share and how much fans care about their general wellbeing. Taking the story back to Salem, Massachusetts also provides a baleful backstory that bolsters the current tale of terror's overall eerieness.
Night Terror (John Passarella)
The sheer iconography and imagistic spookiness of Night Terror alone make it one of the better Supernatural tie-in tomes. When Bobby dispatches Sam and Dean to investigate a series of paranormal activities in snowy Colorado, they're met by nocturnal nasties that include a speeding driverless car, a gargantuan Gila monster attacking a homeless man, and a little boy being chased by trees uprooted from the ground.
As the title suggests, the story takes place almost entirely at night, where the stygian gloom is so palpable that the darkness almost behaves like it's its own character. Most importantly, the story feels aligned with the good old days of Supernatural, where old-fashioned horror stories take precedent over the religious fight between heaven and hell.
Coyote's Kiss (Christa Faust)
In one of the most lurid and unsettling environments of all the tie-in books, Coyote's Kiss imagines Sam and Dean at the Mexican border, where they encounter Xochi Cazadora, a scary supernatural bandit-biker and an Aztec deity who presides over a host of mortifying monsters.
The vivid borderland and Mexico City settings are unlike anything seen or read in Supernatural, touching on salient topics such as illegal immigration, the failed war on drugs, brutal gangland violence, and how these issues all tie into the country's complicated past. Seeing Sam and Dean outside of their comfort zone adds to the tension, suspense, and overall sense of unease.
Fresh Meat (Alice Henderson)
A good old fashion zombie onslaught set in the Sierra Nevada Mountains is the subject of Fresh Meat, a frighteningly figurative and lethally literal chiller that puts Sam and Dean on a perilous path. The Tahoe National Forest blizzard setting is fantastic, made all the more memorable when flesh-starved corpses begin rising from the grave looking for fresh food.
While lumbering zombies are one thing, the story becomes extra freaky when a mysterious flying creature (wendigo) begins picking off campers in the region before changing into human form and doing whatever is necessary to survive. With a blizzard blowing down on the boys, Fresh Meat is bone-chilling to the core.
Carved In Flesh (Tim Waggoner)
While multiple tie-in books deal with animal attacks, hell hounds, werewolves, and the like, Carved in Flesh takes the petrifying premise into new territory via the Franken-Mutt subplot. Sam and Dean are summoned to Ohio to check out a spate of hellhound sightings, only to discover that the killer canine is actually a zombie dog comprised of body parts from various deceased dogs.
As Franken-Mutt begins terrorizing the town of Brennan, Sam and Dean are swept up into a really fascinating controversy involving odious medical experiments, unethical biotech companies, and an ancient power source in town that has the ability to summon the dead.
Heart Of The Dragon (Keith R. A. DeCandido)
The best tie-in book featuring ever-curious Castiel is Heart of the Dragon, a story incited when the renegade angel sends Sam and Dean to San Francisco's Chinatown to solve a rash of ultra-bloody murders. When the brothers realize they are facing the ancient Heart of the Dragon curse that their father John took on decades before, a huge redemption opportunity unfolds.
Beyond the vibrant Chinatown, the story presents fascinating Chinese mythology while also exploring Winchester's complicated past. The culture clash is exhilarating, but it's the important storyline that sees Sam and Dean honoring their father and grandfather Campell's legacy that gives the story such emotional resonance.
Children Of Anubis (Tim Waggoner)
Children of Anubis is the most unsettling Supernatural tie-in book involving werewolves and hellhounds. Sam and Dean are sent to Indiana to examine a murder that resembles the work of a werewolf. However, the boys discover a species of rabid, carrion-devouring jackals who loath werewolves and mount an all-out war for canine supremacy.
If the deadly dog-on-dog action wasn't captivating enough, Sam and Dean soon learn that the ancient god Anubis presides over the beastly battle for its own powerful gain and must put an end to Anubis' reawakening before it's too late. All told, Children of Anubis mixes creature-feature tenets with ancient mythology to synthesize a truly sinister story.