Recs if you like What Feasts at Night...

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.

A compilation of all the books published by Ursula Vernon under the pen name T. Kingfisher. Will be updated as new works are announced!

main or side characters

Creepy books made better because there are queer characters

Eclectic choices of stories to forget life sucks.

Books with trans characters that are not just about being trans

Novellas, shorter books, and stories that are a decent bite of literature and a full meal despite being compact. Like a burrito on a commute to work. AKA my full novella master list.

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!

Botanical horror is great and all, but have you ever thought about all the horrors scuttling beneath the leaves?

Horror that features bugs (insects and arachnids - argue about whether shellfish should be involved in the comments) as a major antagonist.

Call me Ishmael for this is my white whale

All of the books under this pen name for those of us who can't bare to miss any

books that shayne topp from smosh has read in 2025 (ones that he talked about or posted on social media at the end of the year)

Cozy, Horror, Mystery, Adventure, Romance. As long as the book has shrooms as a major plot point, there is a place for it in this list.

Audiobooks that are less than 10 hours long and are safe for work AKA not aiming to get your horned up at your desk (no guarantees that you won't cry or get the creeps though). Recommendations welcome!

Books to reach for when you feel the itch to daydream about running through a dimly lit castle, followed by a shadowy presence, only to discover a dark forest stretching out before you.

Speculative works that form part of what I've called the "the fungal imaginary" in an academic context

For all the body horror and splatterpunk fans. Ranging from light to absolutely brutal! NOTE: Most of these are books I have read but this list is also a library of what I have yet to read. If you have suggestions, please do comment!

books where characters are inhabited by some sort of parasite that takes over their body and mind.

open to suggestions!

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.

Short horror novels you can finish in less than a day.