Recs if you like An Excellent Host...

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, started in 2022 and brought to pb in 2026.

books where women eat or think about eating other people

Horror books with a page count of 200 pages or less.

Before we started defining novellas by word count, they were defined as being any book less than 200 pages. Source: my Analysis of Short Stories & Literature professor in community college. I loved that class. But he loved James Joyce. So, ymmv, I guess.

short books around 200 pages or less that you can easily read in one sitting! for those who just want a quick read or those trying to hit their reading goals ! i tried to include a variety of genres including lit fic, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, thriller, etc.

original fantasies INSPIRED by mythology and folklore (Greek, Arthurian, Norse, Buddhist, Slavic, Jewish, Irish, and more!)

Crime, obsession, feminine rage etc 🩷

i love an unhinged woman

Books under 250 pages

Small independent presses rule

I find it fascinating!

Horror books under 200 pages which you can read in one sitting