As the weather gets colder and fall comes into full swing, there is nothing better than curling up with a hair-raising horror novel. However, while many shy away from the genre due to its perceived gruesomeness, horror is multifaceted.
This list blends history, fantasy, dystopian and classic slashers all into the overarching genre of horror, ensuring that anyone can find a subgenre they like. With Halloween looming over us, creeping closer and closer, these four books are certain to get even the scarediest of cats reaching for a horror novel.
“The Glutton” by A.K. Blakemore
Historical fiction mixed with horror, the 2023 novel “The Glutton” set in Versailles, France, reimagines the story of Tarare, an actual historical figure, who is said to have an insatiable appetite. A nun watches over a dying Tarare as he states that his appetite has led him to eat a golden fork. Rumors follow Tarare at every turn with whispers throughout the palace that he has eaten the unthinkable — another human.
Blakemore weaves an interesting tale of how this larger-than-life, historical figure could have existed. From exploring Tarare’s childhood with a prostitute mother and stepfather who leaves him for dead to swallowing live animals for the entertainment of French nobles, Blakemore describes each stomach-curdling feast in gripping detail.
As his desires, and hunger, grow deeper and darker, this book is ultimately not for the faint of heart. If you desire a dark and twisted historical story, however, this book is perfect for morbid curiosity.
“Rouge” By Mona Awad
Blending reality with fantasy and horror, “Rouge,” published in 2023, follows Belle, a young woman obsessed with skincare and beauty tutorials, after her estranged mother suddenly dies. Belle is forced to go back home to California and grapple with what her mother has left behind. In doing so, she uncovers her similarly beauty-driven mother’s obsession with a cult-like spa. As she becomes more and more intertwined with the spa, the 2023 novel begins to blur reality, fantasy and horror elements.
The book is a gothic fairytale with real-life critiques on the beauty industry and our pursuit of perfection. While it critiques modern beauty standards, its fantastical elements take the focus of the book, creating a whimsical, disconcerting story.
Written by the same author as the fantastical-horror book “Bunny,” Mona Awad once again shows that horror can contain bizarre plotlines and societal critiques, all while remaining entrenched in traditional genre tropes as well. For fans of a mind-bending, messed-up fairytale, “Rouge” checks every box.
“The Final Girl Support Group” By Grady Hendrix
Riffing on iconic slasher films, the 2021 horror thriller novel “The Final Girl Support Group,” follows the life of final girls — the last girls to survive in a horror movie — after their horrific experience. Lynnette Tarkington, loosely based on the final girl from “Silent Night Deadly Night,” has just survived a horrific massacre. She attends a secret support group with other women who have also survived terrifying massacres in order to regain some semblance of normalcy. However, just as the women think they are out of the woods, a terrifying slasher begins to stalk the group.
Having already survived the worst of the worst, the women are not going to give up without a fight. In a hallmark slasher, each final girl is targeted with harrowing moments of pure violence mixed with tongue-in-cheek dark humor.
With characters plainly meant to represent famous “final girls,” Hendrix rewards classic slasher fans with easter eggs throughout the book. For fans of ‘80s slashers, this book is a treat — for those who are not, the humor littered throughout the violence makes for a unique reading experience.
“Tender is the Flesh” by Agustina Bazterrica
Originally published in Spanish 2017 and later translated to English in 2020, the dystopian horror novel “Tender is the Flesh” explores a future where animal meat is inedible. After a virus contaminates all animals, governments turn towards institutionalizing cannibalism. Humans begin to be bred like livestock with this group of people being referred to as “heads.”
Marcos, a vegan who works in a slaughterhouse, is gifted a woman “head.” Refusing to eat her based on morals, he instead keeps her in his home. As the novel follows Marcos and the dichotomy between his job at the slaughterhouse and how he treats the “head,” the novel delves into themes of state-sanctioned cruelty and does so in repulsive detail.
Written by Agustina Bazterrica, an Argentine author, Bazterrica is not hesitant to describe the process of preparing human livestock for consumption or the depraved acts that would be done unto these livestock humans. While the premise of a virus affecting all animals is far-fetched, the novel confronts the reader with the question of what the government would do if food sources were suddenly unavailable. “Tender is the Flesh” will delight and nauseate any fans of bleak dystopias.
Though the Sunday scaries may seem horrifying enough, as the season for spine-chilling reads arrives, these books are sure to send a shiver down your spine. Whether you are a fan of historical oddity, fantastical cults or classic slasher meets dark humor, there is something for everyone within the horror genre.
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