Recs if you like The Weight of Blood...

horror fiction from Black authors featuring Black characters

A selection of contemporary Southern Gothic titles exploring the decay, despair, and trauma of the reconstructed American South. Come for the palpably atmospheric settings and descriptions, stay for the literary commentary on the legacy of the South's oft-romanticized past.

As a note: I did not include the most well known writers in the genre, e.g. Truman Capote, Harper Lee, William Faulkner, etc. as the list is more focused on the resurgence of Southern Gothic in contemporary literature.

It’s hot and humid, the cicadas are buzzing, and there’s violence in the air.

Horror books and short stories set in the Deep South.

Think: swamps, bayous, bullfrogs, Spanish moss, hauntings, haints, voodoo/hoodoo, monsters hidden in plain sight, structural violence, and the oppressive weight of history.

Comps: True Detective S1; Sinners; South of Midnight

❗️Some of the these books are classified as extreme horror/splatterpunk. PLEASE protect yourself, and check all trigger warnings.❗️

Horror books were cameras and journals may be all that remain

Thrillers, Fantasies, and Romance books with Paranormal vibes by black authors that are perfect for spooky season.

as comprehensive a guide to ya horror as i can make it! work in progress, suggestions welcome ♡

books by black authors and/or with black characters

Note: The Sapphic story in The Revanche Cycle tetralogy (Winter's Reach) continues in the Wisdom's Grave trilogy (Sworn To The Night), which also has the final HEA. However the two series can be read independently of each other.

A reading list celebrating the women who know exactly how to get under your skin! Thankful for the gurlies!!!

I have no idea what I am doing here exactly. Just prioritising deconstructions/confrontations of the white, Western 'classic' canon for now, however the goalposts/parameters might change!

Not intending this to be exhaustive - there are many lists on Austen, Dickens, The Great Gatsby retellings etc already! Just a few remixes for a range of classics.

📌 List of books and what they retell in pinned comment.

🚧 In Progress! 🚧

Recommendations are welcome 😊

home of the problematic and unreliable heroine, where decisions are messy and questionable at best.

Unsettling or gritty books featuring portraits of troubled youth, with varying elements of horror.

just because it's ya doesn't make it less spooky! includes different subgenres from gothic horror to botanical horror to apocalypse horror — recommendations welcome!

Books available on Kindle Unlimited that fall under the horror/thriller genres👻

Thrillers & mysteries that will keep you guessing until the end

Women pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in pursuit of their urges and desires. They’re behaving badly, unconventionally, and selfishly. Some are violent, some are horny, some are traumatized, some are angry—but all of them are finally acting for themselves.

An expansive list born out of combination of feminine rage, weird girl lit, “good for her”, women vs the void, monstrous feminine, and everything in between. Books written by women, trans, and nonbinary authors only.

Books that are considered "weird girl" lit or have "unhinged" women.