Recs if you like Victorian Psycho...

An emergent subgrene by and about strange women on themes of female rage, sisterhood, hunger, attraction, beauty, motherhood, violence, and much more.

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

in the first edition of ‘the monstrous-feminine’, barbara creed challenges the dominant representation of women in horror films as victims, arguing that patriarchal ideology constructs women as monstrous because of their sexuality (or lack thereof).

later, creed reinterprets the monstrous-feminine as a being who embraces her body and reclaims her otherness. in line with this contemporary vision, these are books which use horror to redefine notions of ‘womanhood’.

recommendations welcome!

an oddly specific trend i’ve noticed, mostly in genres like horror, weird girl, feminine rage, etc. (but there are some others here, too).

Following women on journeys to do weird and maybe violent things.

We all love gothic classics, but what is new when it comes to the gothic genre (from the last 20 years or so)?! For fans of Dracula, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, etc. Please comment with suggestions to add!

pink, sophisticated & sometimes fatale <3 curating the personality of my aspirations (added some essential nonfic & poetry!)

Books We Love from NPR began in 2013, always boasting over 200 books (almost 400 in recent years) featuring genres from memoirs, to cookbooks, to graphic novels, to children’s literature, to nonfiction, to novels. Check out NPR’s website to filter this massive list.

The list is in reverse alphabetical order directly from NPR.

| 2026 | sunrise on the reaping: november 20 pride & prejudice: december 3 dune messiah: december 18

| 2027 | children of blood & bone: january 15 the magician's nephew: february 12 the nightingale: february 12 beach read: may 7

| 2028 | cinder: november 3

This includes book that have either mystery or thrillers as a primary or secondary genre. If you have recommendations to add please comment and I'll happily add them 💕

Weird, mostly girlys going through different unique life adventures. Supporting girlies (the girls, theys and thems) rights and wrongs.  Regina George screaming down her hallway into her room hunting down the Burn Book

A list of horror books with stunning cover art because sometimes we do judge a book by its cover. Obviously this list is subjective but it’s diverse and inclusive.

Ongoing list so please feel free to suggest!

Every single Aardvark Book Club book pick since its inception. Updated monthly!

I can't be the only one who want to remember all the books without jumping around in a video, right?

horror novels written by women about girls and women with deadly appetites. despite the title there is sapphic lit here i just liked the pun. these books focus on human cannibals, i.e. not supernatural monsters like vampires, werewolves, etc. is the cannibalism a metaphor for love? rage? sex? all of the above!

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.

A tribute to a type of cover, originally deemed Girls with Fucked Up Faces, that never fails to grab my attention. Not all of these are books I’ve enjoyed or endorse or even read, it’s just all about the covers.

historical fiction novels that also have cannibalism in them