9 fantastic feminist horror novels to read this Halloween
Gemma Amor is the author of the feminist horror novel ITCH!, about the psychological turmoil of a woman who discovers a dead body in the woods infested by a horde of ants that then seem to crawl under her skin and infect her life. Gemma joins us to share her some of her favourite feminist horror novels to pick up from your local bookshop this Halloween, from modern literary frights to hair-raising classics.
"Being a woman, especially a perimenopausal woman, can be a daily horror story, a sequence of uncomfortable and often terrifying lived experiences relating from anything to bodily autonomy to pay parity to personal safety walking down the street to finding your own reflection in the mirror so suddenly changed that it is hard to know how to function on an existential level at times. Our identities as women are constantly changing throughout the course of our lives and I love fiction that examines these metamorphoses through the lens of horror. It's why I write and consume this kind of fiction so voraciously – to feel less alone, and to hopefully reach others who feel the same as I do." Gemma Amor
The Good House by Tananarive Due
A return to a childhood home saturated with memories, trauma and tragedy, this is a slow-burn story that is part epic family saga and part haunted house novel, where the women shine through for their strength of character, the beliefs they hold and the challenges they face. Spiritualism and magic seep into every skillfully written page.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Not technically a horror novel, this is science fiction with a deep, visceral undercurrent of terror that flows beneath the entire narrative. What starts off as an apparent feminist treatise opens out into a lonely, expansive, compelling journey undertaken by a group of women who escape captivity, only to find a different type of prison awaiting them on the outside. There are no answers offered here, no explanations beyond what the reader assumes themselves, and that is the power of this story – the unknown remains unknown right up until the bitter end. Utterly haunting, a book you will blast through in a few sittings but never forget.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
It has been said that Morrison herself did not identify as a feminist, and wanted her work to be read far and wide without the notion of pigeonholes, categories or being boxed in in any literary sense – "I can't take positions that are closed." That being said, there are undeniably feminist concerns in this wonderful novel, which is first and foremost a raw depiction of slavery and the impact of racism and sexism on Black women's lives. There is folklore, heartbreak, horror, ghosts and a deep vein of mythology running through this book. Colonisation is the monster, as is a woman's pain, but there is hope here too, love, loss and everything in between. A masterpiece.
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
The opening sentence of this book, "On my fourth birthday, I plucked six severed fingers from the shower drain", tells you everything you need to know. Cannibalism, motherly love, interfemale dynamics and so much more. Gorgeous, confronting and rich in atmosphere (and body parts).
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
A collection of fairy tales retold for a far more modern, adult audience than originally intended, Carter was transgressive, deeply sexual and an absolute magician when it came to lyrical prose, wonderfully creeping dread and a heady sense of blurred boundaries between the real world and a fantastical realm of otherness. Essential reading for the radical feminists out there.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
A novel about power dynamics between men and women, class dynamics, gaslighting, secrecy, toxic love, toxic grief, co-dependency, the role of women in the household, the role as women as caretakers of men's emotions, secrets and terrible behaviour… the list of feminist themes goes on, each beautifully introduced narrative thread woven into the gorgeous tapestry of Manderley, a house on the Cornish coastline that the hapless, timid and nameless protagonist unexpectedly becomes mistress of after meeting and marrying the godawful Max de Winter while travelling in Europe as a rich lady's companion. Infuriating and intoxicating, a book I read every year.
Don't Look Now and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier
Nobody has more successfully engaged in the art of the short form horror story than du Maurier in my humble opinion. Her characters are unreliable, sexually complicated, contradictory and often (deliciously) unlikeable to a fault, repeatedly thrust into a variety of unpleasant situations where they react in extremely human ways, as you would expect. A farm in Cornwall assaulted by thousands of angry, murderous birds. A young couple travelling in Venice trying to escape their daughter’s death, only to be plagued by odd twins and paranormal happenings. A woman reuniting with her dead father's ex-friend, with devastating consequences. This collection has it all – incest, death, love, murder, travel, jealously, menopause… read it.
The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro
An examination of motherhood and identity with the looming spectre of the tragic and terrifying Mexican folk demon La Llorona, this is an elegiac examination of the role of women in the home, society and within family life, with generational trauma the clear monster here.
Maeve Fly by CJ Leede
Leede's debut is gory, grimy, gross and everything nice girls shouldn't be as the protagonist, Maeve, works as a theme park princess during the day but takes on a whole new, far more brutal persona by night. This is for all the readers who wanted Patrick Bateman to be a woman. Brilliant and deliciously dark.
About ITCH! by Gemma Amor
Josie is at rock bottom, living a haunted existence after returning to her isolated hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean. But the tall, dense pine trees are not the only things casting shadows across her skin.
When Josie stumbles across a decaying, ant-infested body in the woods, she plummets into a downward spiral, facing uncomfortable truths about the victim and her own past – all whilst battling a growing infestation of her mind... and her flesh.
Desperate to solve the case, Josie scratches the surface of an age-old mystery – a masked predator stalks the forest around Ellwood, a place deeply gripped by folklore.
As the village prepares for its annual festival, Josie gets closer and closer to unveiling a monster, and begins to ask herself: Are these dark crawling insects leading her to uncover the truth? Or is she their next victim?
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