hi folks! thanks so much to those who voted for this list to be quest-ified, and thanks for those who have already expressed their enthusiasm by posting and making suggestions already!

when putting together the initial list that inspired this quest, i took a few details into consideration when assessing whether a book would be a good fit. i’m going to note them here, as i think they’ll act as good guidelines for anyone hoping to recommend a book for this quest.

1. is this a horror book wherein the horror stems from or is fundamentally connected to a religion or religious community? this one may sound obvious, but there are a few instances in which this question may apply. the first is in relation to genre - i am interested purely in horror works for this quest. there are, of course, books that feature genuine genre cross-overs, which is fine, but i don’t want to shoehorn a fantasy or an action-thriller book into this quest just because it deals with religion. the second is to do with relevance. the religious aspect shouldn’t start and end at a character being of faith; religion should play central role in the narrative. the third is to do with the nature of religion itself. spirituality is at the heart of religion, but religion differs from a broader definition of spirituality in that it involves specific beliefs, rituals and practices that are established within a community. there are lots of spiritual horror books that relate to an individual’s experiences with, for example, the afterlife or the occult, without connecting to a larger religious body, and if i opened this quest up to spiritual horror, the scope would be much broader than what it currently is. for similar reasons, i’m not interested in including works of mythological horror unless the mythology is engaged with as it pertains to its religiosity.

2. what is the author’s relationship to the religion they’re writing about, and how is the work engaging with religion in a thought-provoking, considered, and unique way? this will tie into a few other questions, namely in how it applies to books that feature non-christian religions, but in a way that is stereotyping, appropriating, or just downright prejudicial. i have no interest in including books that make a horror of a specific religion but are written by someone who has not made an attempt to meaningfully engage with said religion, resulting in a work that is hurtful, racist, or resorting to stereotype.

3. does this work offer something unique or of significance to this collection of works? this could pertain to pop-cultural significance, diversity of religions represented, representation for marginalised groups, non-western or anti-colonial perspectives on religions that may otherwise only be represented from a western or colonial perspective, representing historical moments or facets of religion that are under-explored, as well as a diversity of horror subgenres represented (i.e. we don’t want 50 demonic possession books).

with that being said, i am particularly keen for recommendations that offer the following:

• non-christian religions being tackled with nuance, particularly from authors who have lived experience with said religion or religious community
• decolonial and anti-colonial perspectives on religion
• religious horror featuring queer people of colour
• religious horror featuring under-explored facets of religions that may otherwise be represented
• religious horror featuring disabled protagonist/s

if you’re recommending books that tick any of these boxes, please make that clear in your comment! i’ll be prioritising books that do, and that’s not always evident by reading a blurb.

if you’ve read this far, thanks so much! have the best/worst time reading!