Recs if you like The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion...

horror books with a queer focus, including queer stories and central characters

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.

Works in the speculative, fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres by authors who are not cisgender! Two spirit, nonbinary, trans, genderfluid, and other gender diverse authors count!

Speculative (sci-fi, fantasy, horror etc.) novellas less than 200 pages long that are either standalone or read like a standalone story

Queer & trans stories in apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic worlds

First of a series only

Sister list to: Zombies, but make it Queer

As always, suggestions incredibly welcome!

☣

Note: Not specifically a list of good LGBTQ+ representation (though many of them absolutely are, and many are written by queer and/or trans authors!). But I haven't read all of them (yet), so this list doesn't inherently imply my recommendation, as such

♡ ₍^. .^₎⟆

Stories featuring transfemme characters (trans women & non-binary characters) as main characters or love interests. Not exclusively, but largely indie. Stretches genres and age groups, including graphic novels & short stories (but not including non-fiction) 🔞

Recommendations welcome!

✦ I have not read all of these books - if you notice anything that seems to be mis-labeled/mis-placed on this list, please let me know! ✦

Horror and thriller stories that prominently feature trans characters, across age groups and sub-genres. 🔞

Recommendations welcome!

✦ I have not read all of these books - if you notice anything that seems to be mis-labeled/mis-placed on this list, please let me know! ✦

Somebody asked for a list based on the recs folks gave on my pagebound club post, so this is that! (Plus i dumped a bunch of my faves & tbr in)

If you're a podcast addict like myself, you know that a lot of hosts also write books! Recs are welcome and appreciated 🩷

These books have lgbt+ representation in them even if sometimes it's not the main focus or the leading couple. It's important to me to have a list that has variety and of not just stories about love but also those exploring gender identity and about those who don't experience love the same way like asexuals and aromatics. So far thare's a lot of sapphic books as well as quite a few books w/transgender mc's.

Fiction books written by transfems & published by a small press or independently (itch, etc). Not bound by any genre.

(this list is very incomplete! please bother me over the ones I inevitably missed!)

Listen my wife is obsessed and that makes me a secondhand expert. Mostly queer!!

Bite-sized books you can read in a single sitting.

Quick speculative fiction reads (quick, like under 40,000 words).

a list for a friend! heavy on the sci-fi but some fantasy sprinkled in too. also poetry because 😍

Sci-fi, Fantasy, and some Horror (not all) where fungal and botanical contagion threatens our protagonists with ominous powers or foreboding new changes. (More than botanical horror.)

Books by or recommended by Cool Zone Media folks