Fall brings in cooler temperatures, heavy rain, and the gothic vibes brought by Halloween. We bookworms struggle with the mind-twisting decision of what to read next during any other time of year. I’ve read my fair share of horror novels and these are ones that I would recommend for a spooky and awesome reading season.
- Hell Followed With Us by Andrew White
Overview: “A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors.”
Quote: “Angels cut out the parts of us that remember how to cry until we can’t.”
Andrew White’s debut novel, Hell Followed With Us, deals with the intense setting of a post apocalypse that was brought on by a fundamentalist cult. The trans boy protagonist, Benji, is a walking bioweapon and you can see the cover to know his monstrous form. He finds the ALC, a haven for LGBTQ+ teens, and his love interest is the gorgeous autistic leader of the group, Nick.
Now, if you think I’m using labels too much, read the description of the book yourself. However, if you’re excited by these labels, then this is a good option. Andrew White is one of those authors who writes the diversity drawing from his own experiences and puts them in fictional madness.
Hell Followed With Us is a good choice if you want something recent yet available on the cheaper paperback—although the hardcover I own makes the extra money worth it. It has the intimacy of slice of life with the added danger of the cult that isn’t too unfamiliar to many of us who don’t fit the mold of straight, cis, and fitting into our assigned at birth gender roles. The characters and their dynamics are beautifully shown and you’ll root and cry for them.
He also has a second novel, The Spirit Bears Its Teeth, which is set in Victorian London and also has autistic and trans representation.
2. Girl Flesh: An Extreme Horror Novel About Love by May Leitz
Overview: “Does anyone remember Angie Kirby and Caroline Ellis?
Two women, wholly enraptured in their professional lives, find themselves thrust into the Texas mesa with nowhere to go and no one to trust. Angie is a chronically timid, guilt-ridden internet writer lost in a life she didn’t choose. Caroline is an ironic, nihilistic musician, pleased to find herself away from her responsibilities. They face unknown dangers and vast darkness, lost in a place without comforts. Will they succumb to the elements or find strength in their bond enough to escape.”
Quote: “A woman’s pain is a spectacle.”
First off, it’s indie published. Second, look at that majestic cover. Third, May Leitz has the best author description of all time.
The novel begins similar to SAW: two strangers find themselves locked in a dirty, abandoned hotel room. However, the mystery takes a backseat to the survival and bonding between Angela and Caroline, both trauma-bonding and learning how to truly live in the present.
With chapters that express the protagonists’ personal struggles, you’ll feel represented. Girl Flesh is a feminist piece about how people assigned female at birth (AFAB) are conditioned to serve others and sacrifice our autonomy for the stability and pleasure of others. Add in the opposites-but-more-alike-than-we-know Angela and Caroline, their dynamic shows the result of survival and trust in the worst of times. The horror elements come from both outside forces and the psyches of the characters.
May Leitz’ first novel is named Fluids, but for a newcomer to the horror genre, Girl Flesh is more beginner friendly. If you’re a Youtube addict like me, you could browse her channel of dark topics, Nyx Fears.
3. Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Overview: “It’s been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty’s life out from under her.
It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don’t dare wander outside the school’s fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.”
Quote: “A year and a half of empty sky, of not enough medicine, of bodies burning behind the school, we have to help ourselves.”
Rory Power’s debut novel, Wilder Girls, was a dream come true. Girls becoming monstrous, majestically cold writing, and sapphic love? It’s the whole package. The novel is written in first person, but the protagonist narrates everything so much that I didn’t realize it was first person until the ‘I’ appeared.
It’s a brutal depiction of how these girls become barbarians for food, how they protect and care for their friends, and how the ‘tox’ mutates their bodies and even causes sudden deaths. It’s oddly elegant and brutal at the same time. Wilder Girls has won quite a few awards, so that’s got to count for something. The paperback costs seven dollars, so I’d take that deal.
4. Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Overview: “A virus, called T-rex, infected everyone with a certain level of testosterone in their bodies. T-rex caused them to become extremely violent… and live in packs in the wild. There are hunting parties, calling themselves manhunters, that kill the infected men and harvest their testicles and adrenal glands. They use them as a source of hormones.
Beth and Fran spend their days traveling the ravaged New England coast, hunting feral men and harvesting their organs in a gruesome effort to ensure they’ll never face the same fate.
Robbie lives by his gun and one hard-learned motto: other people aren’t safe.
After a brutal accident entwines the three of them, this found family of survivors must navigate murderous TERFs, a sociopathic billionaire bunker brat, and awkward relationship dynamics—all while outrunning packs of feral men, and their own demons.”
Quote: “It was funny, she thought, that people treated her flesh like a public resource, a reservoir for all their insecurities and emotional dysfunction, when it was she who had their insides at her fingertips.”
Alright, so now we’re entering insanity and metaphors. Gretchen Felker-Martin took over Twitter (no, not calling it X) with her controversial novel, Manhunt. I had been following her beforehand and pre-ordered a copy. Reading this book was the reading equivalent of being hit by a truck in the middle of a hurricane.
If you thought Game of Thrones had too many sex scenes, skip this novel. You’ll read about the characters having sexually intrusive thoughts about their friends AND enemies, having sexual relations, and romance in a rough time. There’s violence comparable to Zombieland and you’ll get all the gory details of flesh and blood.
Of course, there’s a metaphorical aspect to the T-virus, the trans protagonists, and the TERFs. But it’s not going to slow down the action, the passion, or the inner conflicts. I’d recommend this if you want something that will keep you awake and shocked.
Gretchen Felker-Martin also has these horror novels for free, if you want to check them out.
5. Black Hollow by Myria Candies
Overview: “In the city of Boston, James meets the captivating Elene. Mesmerized by her beauty, in a destitute position, he accepts an invitation to join her and a mysterious man to their estate to attend to the sickly Amelia. Lies, murder, ominous occurrences and a professed love cause him to stay way past his desire. Every turn at Black Hollow uncovers hidden secrets and dark stories from the past. All to reveal the truth behind why he was brought there in the first place.”
Quote: “Voices inaugurated, crowding my mind in waves of fury. They chanted, talked of murder, daring to accuse me.”
Do you miss Gothic literature? Did you watch Crimson Peak and think, “I wish I could get this aesthetic in a book”? Do you want to read a novel that’s outside the publishing industry’s capitalistic fingers? Are you curious to read a book that I have found by meeting the author in a writer’s chat room in Amino?
Here’s Black Hollow. There’s characters that follow different methods of coping and existing, the ending still leaves me in shock years later, and the gothic aesthetic is woven into the writing and the plot, so you’ll be reading pure gothic goodness.
I can’t say much more because of spoilers, but you’ll feel for the poor protagonist who is going through grief and then the madness of the plot. The series also has a prequel and a novella, so you’ll have extra material.
Heck, looking at it now, I’m going to re-read it so I can read the other books. It’s that good.
And you have to admit, that cover is lovely.
6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Overview: “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.”
Quote: “The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.”
You can’t be surprised. This is one of the classics, one of those that the average reader could enjoy. You have the gothic atmosphere, dramatic characters, suspense, and you can feel better about yourself because it’s a classic. It’s also shorter than the average novel so you’ll be able to feel less overwhelmed if you’re busy.
These, and some three bonus goodies, are the six horror novels that I would recommend for this spooky season. I picked ones that aren’t too disturbing because if you’re taking advice from here, chances are you’re either new to horror or you’ve only grazed it. I also wanted to add indie and lesser known books so you’ll have a more extensive reading list. Trust me, it feels great.
Honorable Mentions
Ice Upon a Pier by Ladz
Sapphic assassins and the protagonist tells her story in an interview. Need I say more? It’s also a short read. The reason I didn’t add it to the list is that it’s not quite horror in genre, but I’d still check it out if you want a gray-morality read.
Leather and Lace by Magen Cubed
Again, not sure if it counts as horror. But the writing is similar to that of shows like Supernatural and the protagonists are a cowboy and a vampire who are secretly into each other. Add in a supernatural murder-mystery and you got a fun read.
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
The series came out recently so I’ll just put it here as a reminder to pick up the books.