Recs if you like Brother...

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

Kudzu climbs up the hills, katydids sing in the hollers, and there's something calling from the woods...

Think: whistling winds, howling coyotes, rural isolation, small towns, folklore, religious fanaticism, and ghostly voices coming from the forest

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

Fiction has always been where truth hides. Across horror, thriller, literary fiction, fantasy & mystery every book on this list has something to say about power, who holds it, who destroys it, and how it reproduces itself.

These unsettling mountains

Country roads, take me home. Appalachia is such an interesting region of the US, and also the setting of many incredible books! Whether it be historical fiction, biographies, folklore, or just every day stories from the Great Smoky Mountains, every recommendation is welcome

“Before we begin, you must all be warned — nothing here is vegetarian.”

The intensity of the appetites and content in these books vary, check trigger warnings if needed.

for the people who seek out a little bit of cannibalism in their literature 💕 comment recs for me to add to this list/my tbr!!

PLEASE NOTE: THIS LIST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS IF CANNIBALISM IS THE PLOT TWIST!!

a collection of horror books set in Appalachia - recommended by the community

These books are from @fromthemixedupdesk's bingo card on Bindery and Instagram. Of 191 works nominated for the Bram Stoker award, only 26 authors are women.

I was surprised I couldn't find a list already. This is for my fellow cannibalism readers. Let me know if I missed any!

you definitely don’t want to babysit the kids in these books!! these are some bad kids, some might even say evil kids, like they’re possessed by demons or something, think Damien from The Omen or the twins in Goodnight Mommy

as always, taking any and all suggestions!

Bright sun, bad decisions, and something already in the woods.

Skin burning. Air too heavy. Summer lasting too long. ☀️

Beach houses with doors that jam. Rentals that were always a red flag. Footsteps that don't match anyone inside. Slasher chaos, slow dread, or almost playful, until it's not.

Your summerween you're looking for is here, welcome 🎃🔪🥂

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

books where there's cannibalism. this is it, folks: this is tea's finalized and confirmed cannibalism fiction recommendations. more explanation in the comments

Qwordy's Hardest Reading Challenge You'll Ever Do 3.0 Familial Terms Prompt You must find five books with DIFFERENT familial terms in the title. You can use other languages, but once you use it in another language, you cannot use it again This is an on going list and always open for recommendations

books where there's motherhood and cannibalism

Have you ever noticed how many books there are with characters named after things you can spot on a hike? Well, here’s a list for you!

Books where at least one MC is named after something you can find on a hike (e.g. Wren, Dahlia, Wolf). Names in books are listed in the comments! I’m excusing the random extra letters or alternate spellings for these lol

please add any suggestions!!!

God loves you, but not enough to save you from these stories. Ethel Cain & Preacher’s Daughter vibes/inspired fiction