Recs if you like Silver Nitrate...

are you sick of being recommended stephen king when you ask for a horror novel? have you picked up a book expected to be scared, but the scariest thing about it was a woman being needlessly tormented and gaslit? have you read 4627473 books about a man in a haunted house and need something different?

if so, this list is for you :)

a masterlist of horror by anyone who isn't a straight cis white man. i've been maintaining it for myself since 2022 and it was time to share the wealth!

Ever dreamed of getting railed by Pyramid Head? What about falling in love with a murderous monster? Then, babes, you're in the right place. These romance and erotica reads are horrifying, frightening, and downright titillating. 😏

For interconnected series, only book 1 is listed. Open to recs!

Note: These are romance/erotica books with horror themes and horror books with romantic/erotic themes. Come get this hot and scary goodness!

This collection of thriller, mystery, and horror novels will send a chill down your spine... right in time for Halloween!

Horror books to read just for the aesthetic

A list of (mostly) mystery books with sapphic main characters.

I included some books of other genres that have a strong mystery element.

for this list, i am specifically looking into creating an extensive list of novels whose narratives center in some way film as an art or an industry. these are fictional explorations of what it means to make, love, fear, consume, be consumed by cinema.

Fiction with witches — their stories , origins or their general rise to power. I intended the mood to be quite a bit darker when making this list, and will pull from mostly elaborate fantastical worlds — morally obscure, villainous, heroic and everything in between.

Your essential handbooks to witchery and eldritch horrors

I love horror that takes place in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, so figured I'd put it all together here and hope for more recs in the process! This is a Stephen King free list.

Do you, like me, often find yourself looking at a book cover thinking, "Y'all are doing waaay too much." Why are book covers so dang extra nowadays? Here are some books that appeal to me simply because they have covers that don't look like a 19 year old with Photoshop barfed a bunch of design elements on a book and called it a day. Some I've read, some are on the TBR. And to all the authors and publishers out there, K.I.S.S.

Books about haunted or cursed films, books, websites, etc

There’s an FMC who is at least over the tender age of 30. If you have an eligible book, please send rec!

analogue horror, vhs, cult films, occult objects, static, exploitation, found footage, snuff

Book ideas for the ‘Rainbow of Words’ - Books with colours in the title. I know that not all these colours are in the challenge but I’m down the rabbit hole now okay and I’m not leaving you can’t make me!!!

Includes: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Jade, Blue, Purple, Violet, Black, White, Brown, Gold, Silver, Rose & Pink

plus some french, spanish & german titles for colours too

Created from the list on Goodreads by Cybil and Sadie Hartmann (September 29, 2025)

Horror books with red covers!

Gabs 2024 reads in her ranking video. Hope you'll find something you'll like!

Horror novels that are set in Latin countries and/or based around Latin cultures.