Recs if you like Water Shall Refuse Them...

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.

Hauntology is the philosophical concept, as quoted by Mark Fisher from his article taking a deeper look into Derrida's philosophical work, that "the present is always haunted by the ghosts of the past and the unfulfilled promises of the future." From generational trauma to dark histories to dying Old World pagan traditions, these elements persist throughout the wide genre of folk horror. These books explore deeply into the hauntings of the past and the instability of the future.

Horror (and thriller) books about summer camp, camping, summer holidays and just general summer vibes

the green man, pagan rites, stone circles, sacrifice, jack of the woods

These books are sticky and sweating and SUFFOCATING

unnerving, unsettling, spooky or generally creepy books that take place in summer + have that slow scorching summer dread vibe

Fiction and non-fiction that feels like baking heat, chirping crickets, and the harsh glare of the sun.

Horror books with orange covers!

Folk horror, weird and unsettling eerie books set in nature. In other words my favourite genre😋

Gathering all the books published by my favourite indie press.

🚧🔧 work in progress! will need to be on my laptop to finish the list 🔧🚧