9 feminist-leaning horror books to curl up with this Halloween

Mary is a middle-aged woman, unremarkable in any way. As she approaches menopause, strange things start happening. She can’t look into a mirror without fainting at the horror she’s faced with, and the voices in her head have been urging her towards unspeakable acts of violence. 

After being fired from her job in New York, she returns to her hometown to understand where her strange visions are coming from. While there, she is immediately met with visions of mutilated women and the unsettling sense that something is deeply wrong with the townsfolk.  

A visionary voice in the horror genre, Nat Cassidy dives deep into the intersection of horror and social commentary. His debut novel explores the struggles of middle-aged women with menopause and losing their youthfulness. At the same time, it explores the religious fanaticism of small towns when taken to the extreme. 

Undoubtedly one of the most iconic horror books of all time, The Shining is a psychological horror novel that follows Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic, who takes a job as the winter caretaker of the isolated Overlook Hotel. He moves into the hotel with his wife, Wendy, and their young son, Danny, who has psychic abilities known as “the shining.”

Haunted by unresolved sins from the past and taunted by the hotel’s many ghosts, Jack descends into madness. At the same time, his son Danny’s powers make him the target of the hotel as well. But what truly stands out about the novel is Wendy’s resilience amid these challenges, as she reckons with the weight of Jack’s choices and carves out a better fate for Danny than she had. 

With his characteristically hypnotic, clear prose, King explores themes of family, addiction and the destructive effects of isolation.

Mexican Gothic is a gothic horror novel set in 1950s Mexico. The story follows Noemí Taboada, a glamorous socialite, who travels to a remote mansion called High Place after receiving a disturbing letter from her cousin, Catalina. Upon arrival, Noemí discovers the house is filled with dark secrets connected to the unsettling Doyle family that Catalina has married into. 

As she unravels the truth about the mansion’s cursed history, Noemí must confront ancient horrors rooted in family ties and colonialism. Blending an eerie atmosphere with intriguing elements of Mexican folklore, the novel explores themes of power and survival against oppressive forces.

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This iconic psychological thriller follows the eccentric Blackwood family who live in isolation after a family tragedy. Years earlier, most of their family was poisoned. Constance was accused but acquitted of the crime. 

The townspeople remain resentful toward the surviving sisters, Merricat and Constance, who live with their ailing uncle in the decaying family mansion. As Merricat fiercely protects their home from outsiders, a visiting cousin threatens their fragile existence.   

Delectable, meandering and gory: three words that summarise A Certain Hunger. The novel explores the tension between Dorothy Daniels’ private appetites and public indulgences. As a successful food critic, Dorothy seems to lead a glamorous life. But behind closed doors, she has an insatiable need to consume human flesh. 

The book is a journey through her trail of gruesome crimes, as Dorothy reflects on desire and the power dynamics of consumption. Blending horror and dark humour with feminist themes, it explores the unflinching complexity of female hunger, however far it leads.

Rebecca is a Gothic novel about a young, unnamed woman who marries a wealthy widower named Maxim de Winter. After their marriage, she moves to his grand estate. There, she finds herself overshadowed by the lingering presence of Rebecca, Maxim’s beautiful and seemingly perfect first wife, whose memory haunts both the mansion and its inhabitants. 

As the new Mrs de Winter grapples with insecurity and the manipulative housekeeper, Mrs Danvers, she uncovers dark secrets about Rebecca’s life and death. The novel explores themes of identity, jealousy and the power of the past, all set against an eerie yet elegant backdrop.

Motherthing is a darkly comedic novel that follows Ruth, a young woman navigating the complexities of motherhood and the haunting legacy of her late mother-in-law, who was a demanding and manipulative figure in her husband Bill’s life. 

After her mother-in-law’s death, Ruth grapples with the unsettling presence of her spirit, which disrupts her life and marriage with Bill. As Ruth attempts to assert her identity and parenting style, the tension between her and the ghostly matriarch escalates. 

The novel explores motherhood, familial expectations and the struggle for autonomy, blending horror with sharp wit and emotional depth.

Salt Slow is a collection of nine speculative short stories that explore women’s experiences as they navigate transformation, isolation, and bodily change. Each story blends elements of horror, science fiction, and the surreal, focusing on the body and its vulnerabilities. 

From a woman slowly transforming into a sea creature to a couple surviving an apocalyptic world, Armfield’s tales examine the tension between the ordinary and the strange. With lyrical prose and unsettling imagery, Salt Slow offers a fresh, feminist perspective on the complexities of human existence and metamorphosis. 

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