Recs if you like Hunted...

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.

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 💕

survival stories, often but not always set in extreme locations or climates.

“Nothing bad has ever happened in the forest.” -Andrew from Don't Let the Forest In (and all of these MCs, probably)

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

The horrors that haunt the woods

what gab smolders read in 2025 as per her book talk video! horror + in tier order from most to least liked by her:

★ S TIER: from "night shoot" to "old country"

★ A TIER: from "what stalks the deep" to "listen to your sister"

★ B TIER: from "the long walk" to "the gathering"

★ C TIER: from "banquet for the damned" to "model home"

★ D TIER: from "3 streets" to "my darling dreadful thing"

★ F TIER: from "basilisk" to "survivor song"

women who survive the greatest monster of all : men (and make them pay if we're lucky)

Reading list to read everything Darcy Coates has written.

Stories that involve monsters (literal, psychological, metaphorical) and the woods. 🌲🌲🌲

I hope your cardio's not lacking and you didn't skip leg day.

This is a list of horror books written by women, as recommended by Sadie Hartmann (Mother Horror) in her book Feral and Hysterical. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Feral and Hysterical because it is so much more than a list of books. There are more lists of books, but also thoughtful essays by women writers. It's worth spending some time with Feral and Hysterical.

"Women are overqualified to write fictional horror. Period." -- Sadie Hartmann

spooky, scary, romantic, evil, deadly, wild, haunted, cozy, maybe even a lil sexy…and so much more

all books summerween: spooky, scary, and some romance all with the perfect ambiance and atmosphere