Forced into unending sleep or perilous insomnia, repeating tedious daily routines until your body rots, watching as your skin starts to glow or your hands sprout scales—these novels feature illnesses that are far from typical.

From ancient monsters to doomed voyages and the crushing silence of the deep, these are stories soaked in saltwater, isolation, and fear. Some horrors surface. Others pull you under.

Outcasts, rebels, and misfits unite in magical worlds. Here, strangers become chosen family, facing every challenge together and proving that home is found, not given.

Creepy crawling vines, sentient mushrooms, or a killer forest; no matter what shape they take, plants and fungi play a main part in these horror novels.

I like my castles cold, my moors windswept, and my heroines swooning.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Plants! Celebrate the leafy, fungal, flowering world with these non-fiction titles. Through science writing, memoirs, and essays (and more!), learn about the inner workings of plants, explore the interconnected nature of nature, and discover just how vast the mycelium network really is.

A selection of contemporary titles exploring the decay, despair, and trauma of the reconstructed American South. Come for the atmospheric settings, stay for the commentary on the legacy of the South's oft-romanticized past.

This Quest was inspired by the List "One and Done Fantasy" by hannah, winner of Q2 2026 community voting.

This Quest was inspired by the List "forgive us our trespasses: religious horror," winner of Q2 2026 community voting.