By Vikki Patis 
Top Queer Horror Books You Shouldn’t Miss by Vikki Patis
I used to say that I wasn’t a horror girlie. Despite devouring my mum’s John Saul books from a young age, I’d call myself a wimp because I was haunted by an illicit cinema trip to see The Grudge when I was about 13. It wasn’t until many years later that I realised I had nothing to fear from that wronged woman, no matter how terrifying she was. Over time, her rage became my own.
It is this theme which forms the basis of my debut horror novel, which I like to pitch as Jennifer’s Body meets Carmilla in the Scottish Highlands. Horror is one of the best genres to explore themes of identity, and at a time when queer and other marginalised groups are losing our rights, we need these stories more than ever. I can’t say much more about my upcoming novel just yet, so instead, here’s a list of some of the best queer horror stories I’ve read recently, and the ones I’m most looking forward to.
Top Queer Horror Books You Shouldn’t Miss by Vikki Patis
This Is My Body by Lindsay King Miller
Single gay mother Brigid always thought that cutting ties with her extremist Catholic family was the best thing she could have done for her daughter, and for herself, until Dylan starts suffering from demonic possession, and there’s only one place Brigid can turn.
Publishing 5th August, This Is My Body tackles themes of shame, religious trauma, and mother-daughter bonds.
Praise for This is my Body
“This Is My Body is simply one of the finest works of familial horror I have ever encountered. This book is hideously satisfying.”–Sarah Gailey, author of Just Like Home
“A brutal, brilliant story of motherhood, memory, and religion, deviously simple and terribly clever. King-Miller has become one of my must-read authors.”–Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Cuckoo
“A cathartic tangle of love, rage, and religious trauma. . . . King-Miller explores the fraught dynamics of mothers and daughters, bodily autonomy, and generational curses in an inventive possession tale unlike any you’ve read.”–Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth
“A necessary and unique possession tale, This Is My Body looks religious trauma and queerness straight in the eye. Intense and gory! A great exploration of the spectrum of belief, both worldly and otherworldly.”–Jenny Kiefer, author of This Wretched Valley and Crafting for Sinners
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
No queer horror list would be complete without this sensational debut. Margot and Mama have lived by the forest since Margot can remember. Mama loves the strays. She feeds them wine, keeps them warm, then she satisfies her burning appetite by picking apart their bodies.
I stand by my blurb: Visceral and aching, The Lamb is a magnetic, monstrous tale of womanhood and desire. I devoured it, hungry for each and every word. Margot is going to haunt me forever.
Praise for The Lamb
Deliciously dark and shockingly bold – someone needs to make this into a film right now! Lucy Rose is one to watch. This is one of my favourite debuts in a long time — Kirsty Logan, author of NOW SHE IS WITCH
Stunning, shocking and surprising at each turn – everything one would want from a novel, and so much more. Lucy Rose’s fearful and fantastic imagination is a powerful weapon — Benjamin Myers, author of CUDDY
Outstanding and disturbing and transformative. A new generation of literary horror begins with Lucy Rose. Brutal yet tender, The Lamb is a book that refuses to offer its reader the easy way out. A masterclass in suspense with an unflinching focus on intergenerational violence, The Lamb will leave you with a twisting feeling on the inside. Sensational. Read now, before everyone you know gets there first — Genevieve Jagger, author of FRAGILE ANIMALS
Lucy Rose weaves together flesh, bones and mommy issues with unsettling deftness to create an unforgettable, nightmarish tale. I ate it all up — Anna Bogutskaya, author of FEEDING THE MONSTER
This is the book I’ve been waiting for. Dark, twisted and utterly enthralling, The Lamb is a novel I will never forget. Lucy Rose’s prose gave me chills, perfectly capturing the horrors and beauties of girlhood. Dear reader, I predict you will be as obsessed as me — Molly Aitken, author of BRIGHT I BURN
Top Queer Horror Books You Shouldn’t Miss by Vikki Patis
Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin
When Shell Pine sees the HELP NEEDED sign in a flower shop window, she takes the chance to bring some good into her life: a new start, and the beautiful florist, Neve. An orchid growing in the heart of the mall is watching them closely. The beautiful florist belongs to him, and he’ll do just about anything to make sure he can keep growing big and strong.
Botanical body horror viewed through a queer lens, with gorgeous, lyrical prose and a unique omniscient narrative that is both engaging and terrifying. Baby tore out my soul and ate it whole.
Praise for Eat the Ones You Love
Deliciously strange, delightfully wicked… Griffin thrives in the liminal space between genres, throwing out roots and blooming in weird and wonderful ways
–V.E. Schwab
Sarah Maria Griffin is an artist of the rarest kind: genuine, vulnerable, funny, tragic and wise.
–Sarah Rees Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of Long Live Evil
Eat The Ones You Love is a masterpiece inventive, intimate, and so incisive on the way class shapes human relationships. Griffin’s voice is absolutely singular; scalpel-sharp and deeply lyrical, every word unexpected and yet precise. Simply put, this book redefines the literary horror genre. Fans of Paul Tremblay and T. Kingfisher have found their new obsession.
–Laura Steven, award-winning author of The Society of Soulless Girls
Eat the Ones You Love is a beautiful, dark gem of a book. Sarah Maria Griffin writes with acute attention to the intersection between class and relationships, and the all-consuming effects of possession.
–Zoraida CÛrdova, USA Today bestselling author of The Inheritance of OrquÌdea Divina
Eat the Ones You Love is a visceral experience akin to stepping into a lush greenhouse and feeling your skin come alive, blood warm and tingling, as spring green vines brush your cheeks whispering promises of hunger. Decadent, heartfelt, delicious, dark, broken, sweet, and horrifying, this book is a journey of verdant, blooming love and creeping terror not to be missed.
–Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times-bestselling author of Bloom and Guillotine
My Lips, Her Voice by L.L. Madrid
Copper City’s bloody history is steeped in ghost stories and whispers of serial killers, but three girls have caught the attention of something far more sinister. Publishing 14th October, My Lips, Her Voice is described as an atmospheric, haunting, and empowering horror novel. I cannot wait to read it.
Praise for My Lips, Her Voice
“The ultimate insider’s tour of an Arizona ghost town haunted by missing girls and murdered miners. Madrid weaves fierce teenage relationships, ghost possession, and psychic visions into a harrowing tale that’s literally about finding and claiming your own voice. Moody, tense, and atmospheric, it all comes to a point in an ending that gave me actual chills.” -Alisa Alering, author of Smothermoss
“Deeply immersive, exhilarating, and unflinching in the face of terror, My Lips, Her Voice is an empowering horror novel that tangles and transcends time and sparks with furious energy. As the dead find their voice and girls fight for their lives and each other, I found myself frightened, enraptured, and wholly satisfied.” –Nova Ren Suma, New York Times bestselling author of The Walls Around Us
“I utterly loved this book, with its hazy atmospheric prose, gorgeously messy girls, and fresh spin on hometown ghosts. It is heart-wrenching, harrowing and beautiful all the way through, and I adored every word on the pages.” –Camilla Bruce, author of At the Bottom of the Garden and You Let Me In
“My Lips, Her Voice is an exquisite debut, beautifully bittersweet and cutting as a pickaxe. The bloody mystery of Copper City beckons you in and then sends you racing through the scraggly pines of its desert woods, haunted by specters, decaying mines underfoot, all the way to its explosive ending. Don’t miss out on this one.” –Ann Fraistat, bestselling author of A Place for Vanishing and What We Harvest
Chlorine by Jade Song
Ren grew up on stories of creatures of the deep, of the oceans and the rivers. Stories that called sailors to their doom. Stories that dragged them down and drowned them. Stories of the creature that she’s always longed to become: a mermaid.
This book has some of the best, and most disturbing, body horror scenes I’ve ever read, but it’s also an engaging story of queer longing and transformation.
Praise for Chlorine
A mesmerising debut novel of sapphic longing, intense obsession and fierce, defiant becoming – enthralling and visceral, this is an unforgettable vision of adolescence in all its horrific glory.
Top Queer Horror Books You Shouldn’t Miss by Vikki Patis
Venus Fly Trap by Emma Medrano
When university student Louise moves in with her friend Cat, she can’t believe her luck. In her eyes, Cat is perfect – she’s rich, gorgeous, enigmatic, and sexy. Louise would do anything for Cat, even if what Cat asks terrifies her.
More thriller than horror, it still has some real horrifying aspects. Publishing 24th July, this is toxic infatuation at its finest, a story that sinks its teeth into you and refuses to let go.
Praise for Venus Fly Trap
Emma Medrano is such a talent. A gripping story I literally couldn’t put down. Wonderfully authentic characters in an increasingly dark, twisted fantasy. So looking forward to what Medrano does next — Chloe Michelle Howarth, Polari Shortlisted author of Sunburn
A toxic psychological thriller that will sink its teeth into you, Venus Fly Trap oozes with sass and seduction — Vikki Patis, author of Return to Black Water house
Meet Me At the Surface by Jodie Matthews
Merryn grew up on the wilds of Bodmin moor, raised by her mother and her aunt in an old farmhouse. Here, the locals never leave the village, fear for the future of their farms and cling desperately to the folkloric tales that are woven into their history.
Cornish folk horror centred around a queer love story, Meet Me At the Surface is dark and beautiful and utterly haunting.
Prasie for Meet Me At the Surface
‘Mysterious and otherworldly, this powerfully brutal novel is the most exciting thing I’ve read in years’ S. J. Watson
‘A wild and darkly exuberant ride of a novel, feral and surprising, with sublime writing and a deep understanding of human nature’ Jeff VanderMeer
‘A lyrical exploration of landscape, folklore and self. Brilliantly captures the feelings of not fitting in and the intensity of first love’ Emily Barr
‘A strange and beautiful novel from a first-time author who skillfully wields mystery and unease’ Observer
‘A book where language feels like hands reaching into the soil, where landscapes feel alive. An astonishing book by a special writer’ Tom De Freston
The Ladie Upstairs by Jessie Elland
When a chance meeting with Ropner’s Lady Charlotte leads to the opportunity to become her personal maid, scullery drudge Ann is convinced she has finally escaped her own version of hell. But has she?
The Ladie Upstairs is recent release that I still can’t find the right words to describe, other than maybe absolutely batshit, but in the best way.
Praise for The Ladie Upstairs
A delirious, ultra-visceral body horror, the book is not for the faint of heart ― Radio Times
The Ladie Upstairs is a fever dream of a novel. Fuelled by sapphic femgore, it’s sick and sultry, and a deeply beguiling masterclass in the perverse; I couldn’t put it down! — Lucy Rose, author of THE LAMB
Devilishly addictive and delightfully gory from an exciting new voice in literary horror. Northanger Abbey meets Saltburn — Christine Anne Foley, author of BODIES
Elland’s voice is established and enchanting, leading you unarmed into the unexpected. Her prose is disgustingly beautiful and sharp with shame. The Ladie Upstairs is an addictive, feverish and strangling read — Charlotte Paradise, author of OVERSPILL
Top Queer Horror Books You Shouldn’t Miss by Vikki Patis
Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning
Former sitcom star Willow checks into Camp Castaway, an adults-only retreat based at an old camping ground in the woods, after posting something online she really shouldn’t have. Perfect for fans of cult classics like Scream and the Fear Street series, Heads Will Roll is a fun slasher with some crucial themes at its core.
Praise for Heads Will Roll
Winning continues to write great horror novels, and this is a must-buy… a warm love letter to slasher flicks… [he] masterfully builds a story that will leave readers breathless… The pacing is frenetic and captivating ― Library Journal
This book is incredible! A gripping slice of 80s-inspired horror with a rattling good plot, terrific characters and zingy dialogue, and with something important to say about the world today. I can’t recommend Heads Will Roll enough. — William Hussey, award-winning author of Killing Jericho
I enjoyed Heads Will Roll, with its compelling, complex characters and inventiveness in how it engaged politically with its horrors — Paul Tremblay, author of Horror Movie
Between the frequent jump scares and blood spillage, Winning’s story is packed with an awful lot of heart. Readers will be on the edges of their seats ― Publishers Weekly
Beautifully written and impossible to put down — Fiona Cummins, bestselling author of All of Us Are Broken
Of Beasts by M. Jane Worma
Dante, a protestant young man, and Jude, a sadistic pastor of a small Texas church, harbour a terrible secret from the world: they’re together. Publishing in February 2026, this debut horror novel centres around a priest falling in love with the antichrist. Sign me up!
Praise for Of Beasts
I just finished Of Beasts by @m.jane.worma it was a good short horror MLM novella, I felt like it could’ve been a lot longer, and had more to it. I liked Dante, he was my favorite. I like to think maybe they did make it to the final place they were wanting to go but it could’ve been a little scarier. 5 stars because the writing was good and I wasn’t expecting anything that happened, very creepy! Spine chilling.
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
It would be remiss of me not to include this retelling on this list. Set against the violent wilderness of the Peaks and the uncontrolled appetite of the Industrial Revolution, Hungerstone is fierce and full of female fury – and freedom.
Praise for Hungerstone
A true feast for all the senses. ― Cosmopolitan
Filled with longing and loneliness, Hungerstone is a beguiling feast of a novel. Kat Dunn writes with a disturbing savagery and hunger, yet, Hungerstone and the characters within are left raw from their tenderness. ― Lucy Rose, bestselling author of THE LAMB
This atmospheric gothic novel should only be read with the lights on. ― Red magazine
A sumptuously dark gothic novel that is the sapphic retelling of Carmilla, the first vampire fiction, we all deserve . . . The story delves into themes of female autonomy, desire, and societal constraints. Dunn’s atmospheric prose and intricate character development make Hungerstone stand out amongst the crowd. ― Glamour
Author bio
Vikki Patis is a bestselling author of suspense novels with a gothic twist. She also writes historical fiction as Victoria Hawthorne. Her latest novel, The Darkest Night, was recently shortlisted for the ADCI Prize, and her debut horror novel will be published in 2026. Originally from North London, she lives in Scotland with her wife, two wild golden retrievers, and an even wilder cat.
Website: https://vikkipatisauthor.com/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vikkipatis.bsky.social
Further Reading
If you’re a fan of spine-chilling tales and hair-raising suspense, then you won’t want to miss the horror features page on The Ginger Nuts of Horror Review Website. This is the ultimate destination for horror enthusiasts seeking in-depth analysis, thrilling reviews, and exclusive interviews with some of the best minds in the genre. From independent films to mainstream blockbusters, the site covers a broad spectrum of horror media, ensuring that you’re always in the loop about the latest and greatest.
The passionate team behind The Ginger Nuts of Horror delivers thoughtful critiques and recommendations that delve into the nuances of storytelling, character development, and atmospheric tension. Whether you’re looking for hidden gems to stream on a dark and stormy night or want to explore the work of up-and-coming horror filmmakers, this page is packed with content that will ignite your imagination and keep you on the edge of your seat.
So grab your favorite horror-themed snacks, settle into a cozy spot, and immerse yourself in the chilling world of horror literature and film. Head over to The Ginger Nuts of Horror and embark on a journey through the eerie and the extraordinary it’s an adventure you won’t soon forget!
Jim Mcleod 
Tony Jones