Audiobooks Like Bird Box

Cassandra Campbell's narration of this post-apocalyptic horror is at its most effective in the sensory gap the premise creates — a story told by someone who cannot look at the threat forces the narrator to convey dread through everything except visual description, and Campbell's voice in those moments has a carefully held terror. Josh Malerman's own catalog appears in the recommendations alongside other highly rated horror anthologies, and the shared quality is that atmospheric horror built around what isn't seen rather than what is.

10 audiobooks for fans of Bird Box

  1. 1
    Hardboiled Horror cover

    Hardboiled Horror

    by Jonathan Maberry, Heather Graham, Kevin J. Anderson, Rachel Caine, Scott Sigler, Seanan McGuire, Alethea Kontis, Josh Malerman, Chris Ryall, Jim Beard, Jon McGoran, Jacopo della Quercia, Dana Fredsti, John Gilstrap, Nancy Holder, Max Allan Collins, Matthew V. Clemens

    Narrated by Dan John Miller, Karin Allers

    3.63 ABR Score (226 ratings)
    ★ 3.87 Goodreads (124) ★ 4.04 Audible (102)
    14h 33m listening time • Released 2018

    Fifteen heavyweight crime writers inject noir detectives into genuinely creepy supernatural cases, and dual narrators Dan John Miller and Karin Allers nail the gritty atmosphere that makes each twisted investigation feel real.

  2. 2
    Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror cover

    Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror

    by John F.D. Taff, Caroline Kepnes, Ramsey Campbell, Priya Sharma, Livia Llewellyn, Stephen Graham Jones, Chesya Burke, Alma Katsu, Gemma Files, Josh Malerman, Usman T. Malik, John Langan

    Narrated by Jennifer O'Donnell, John Keating, Jonathan Todd Ross, Neil Shah, Jasmin Walker, Rita Wolf, Fareeda Ahmed

    3.52 ABR Score (898 ratings)
    ★ 3.42 Goodreads (872) ★ 3.46 Audible (26)
    16h 10m listening time • Released 2022
  3. 3
    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.

  4. 4
    Mountain Man: Prequel cover

    Mountain Man: Prequel

    Mountain Man #0.4

    by Keith C. Blackmore

    Narrated by R.C. Bray

    4.61 ABR Score (9.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.31 Goodreads (1.6K) ★ 4.75 Audible (7.7K)
    8h 19m listening time • Released 2018

    R.C. Bray's gravel-voiced delivery transforms this zombie siege into something claustrophobic and relentless—he makes you feel trapped inside that megastore as hard as the characters are.

  5. 5
    Carrie cover

    Carrie

    by Stephen King

    Narrated by Sissy Spacek, Margaret Atwood

    4.54 ABR Score (864.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.99 Goodreads (856.4K) ★ 4.57 Audible (8.4K)
    7h 46m listening time • Released 2012
  6. 6
    FantasticLand cover

    FantasticLand

    by Mike Bockoven

    Narrated by Angela Dawe, Luke Daniels

    4.35 ABR Score (70.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.83 Goodreads (53.8K) ★ 4.48 Audible (16.6K)
    10h 1m listening time • Released 2017

    Dawe and Daniels' dual narration transforms this disaster-into-horror investigation into something genuinely unsettling—their competing testimonies make you question every account of what actually happened at the park.

  7. 7
    My Best Friend's Exorcism cover

    My Best Friend's Exorcism

    by Grady Hendrix

    Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

    4.20 ABR Score (163.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (154.2K) ★ 4.26 Audible (9.4K)
    10h 11m listening time • Released 2016
  8. 8
    Conspiracy Theory cover

    Conspiracy Theory

    Zombie Theories • Book 2

    by Rich Restucci

    Narrated by Michael Kramer

    4.12 ABR Score (718 ratings)
    ★ 4.4 Goodreads (466) ★ 4.73 Audible (252)
    7h 48m listening time • Released 2016

    Michael Kramer's gravel-voiced delivery transforms this into a taut psychological thriller where you're never sure if the real danger is the zombies outside or the government inside.

  9. 9
    The Phantom of the Opera cover

    The Phantom of the Opera

    by Gaston Leroux

    Narrated by Ralph Cosham

    4.10 ABR Score (283.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.96 Goodreads (281.0K) ★ 4.19 Audible (2.2K)
    7h 45m listening time • Released 2004
  10. 10
    Conversion Theory cover

    Conversion Theory

    Zombie Theories • Book 3

    by Rich Restucci

    Narrated by Michael Kramer

    4.06 ABR Score (545 ratings)
    ★ 4.46 Goodreads (328) ★ 4.71 Audible (217)
    10h 23m listening time • Released 2017

    Michael Kramer's narration transforms this zombie apocalypse into something genuinely hilarious—he nails the deadpan delivery of a protagonist who's simultaneously humanity's last hope and its most disaster-prone liability.

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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