Recs if you like Mexican Gothic...

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

Books that are part of 3 or more quests ✨for easier planning! Initially thought of making this on my shelf, hope the members of pb find this helpful!! (The list is incomplete, I'm working on checking & adding new quest books🙌🏻 thanks for the love ❤️🥹)

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 that appear on 5 or more quests. It's a 5-for-1 deal! Just for you!

This is an ongoing list as I'm adding manually as I come across them, so feel free to comment additions!

The SCP is an organization that Secures, Contains, and Protects our world against anomalous objects, entities, and phenomena. Be advised: these books contain such SCPs that have escaped confinement and have caused havoc and destruction. Read at your own peril. And remember to document your findings.

Horror books written by Latin American authors.

This list was a winner of the Q1 2026 Community Voting event. To participate in the Side Quest, please follow the link pinned in the comments.

I am planning on keeping this list alive and will be adding more recommendations as I find them. Thank you everyone for nominating and voting for the list to be made into a Side Quest!

Fiction books featuring plants as a major theme. For the purpose of this list, fungi are honorary plants! All fiction genres here (though I am primarily a fantasy reader, so suggestions most welcome!)

This collection of thriller, mystery, and horror novels will send a chill down your spine... right in time for Halloween!

Cottagecore, but make it disgusting & horrifying. I feel like CG Drews would like this list

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.

This is a list of Mushroomcore related books! We have everything from horror, to cozy and fantasy/sci-fi. This is the era of Spontasy (Fantasy), Spomance (Romance) and other genres too. Essentially it's time for the mushroom goblins to take over the world

the title pretty much says it all, fic + nonfic featuring mushrooms and fungus!

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.

pink, sophisticated & sometimes fatale <3 (added some essential nonfic & poetry!)

this is for aesthetics only

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!

Fiction stories about Haunted houses and other locations. Maybe it’s ghosts, maybe it’s cursed, maybe it’s ancient gods or creatures? All kinda of supernatural haunts and creatures attached to homes, objects, or locations.