sapphic central!! for the gays who love girls discussion

does anyone have any good sapphic horror books?? i’ve always wanted to read more horror and i think a little gay touch will help add some intrigue for me haha. thanks!! ^^

omg i’ve been looking for the same!!! i don’t have any recs, just don’t get ‘wilder girls’ because it is hard to read and is not horror at all

Carmilla it's not exactly an horror book but it has the mystery and vampire vibe, so yeah

Baby Jane. It’s not a horror but more a thriller.. 🤷🏼‍♀️

thank you all so much!!

tell me I'm worthless. it does focus more on the trans experience and just overall gender identity but there is wlw representation.

You might like The Wicked and the Willing. It's an F/F gothic horror vampire historical with a love triangle. You can even choose one of two endings! It definitely has dark themes, but I enjoyed reading it and getting a glimpse into the twisted nature of some of the characters.

Harkworth Hall is also a sapphic historical horror with romance. I haven't read it yet but it looks interesting.

before i let go! it's much more of a psychological thriller but it was an amazing (if very intense) read that i could not get out of my head for weeks :)

As I descended by Robin Talley - it might be a little more thriller but I enjoyed it :)

idk if this counts as horror but carmilla was amazing.

i love the horror book by Vincent Tirado called "Burn Down, Rise Up"! it is super uncomfy/spooky and gay and amazing!

I love my dearest darkest? also, recommendations based in that one?

My dearest darkest is so good, and I just read an ARC by the same author called “this delicious death”, and I really liked it!
House of Hollow, a lesson in vengeance, Sawkill girls, and wilder girls are good. I think Burn Our Bodies Down also fits into that category, but I didn’t like it very much.

Alice isn’t dead! Great if you enjoy rural gothic otherworldly horror. Main character is an anxious woman named Keisha searching for her wife who she thought was dead. Has both biting plot as well as reflective, heartwarming moments. Vibes include: the creeped out feeling you get driving alone at night. Also is a podcast!

our wives under the sea !!

You guys, check these out:

Adult-
Just Like Home
Hide
Little Eve
Into the Drowning Deep
Plain Bad Heroines

YA-
Wilder Girls
Squad

This is a list I made for someone recently :))

Books I have read:

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. It’s a sapphic sci-fi horror about scientists trying to find mermaids. Bisexual, lesbian, deaf, and Hawaiian representation. I absolutely loved it (and I’m not usually much of a sci-fi person). Unfortunately it wasn’t able to continue in a series even though it was intended to be 🥲. The ending is nicely wrapped up though so it’s still satisfying and not cliff hanger-y.

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson and Blood Countess by Lana Popović are both *chef’s kiss* sapphic vampire horror novels. They’re extremely different but both based on the real Erszébet Báthory who is known to be one of the biggest inspirations for vampire stories, and was rumored to be sapphic herself.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth. I’m not even sure how to describe it. It follows 2 story lines in the same location about 100 years apart. It’s haunting and long but an easy read that I couldn’t stop. I was honestly a bit underwhelmed by the endings but still totally worth a read imo.

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo. One of my books. Bisexual serial k*ller who only k*lls men she deems bad.

Affinity by Sarah Waters. Not totally a horror but I found it to be haunting and creepy at times. I’m usually more of a body horror reader but I love anything Sarah Waters because of her writing and storytelling style so I enjoyed this. The ending ruined me but it was so good 😂 (If you aren’t familiar with Sarah Waters I also HIGHLY recommend Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith.)

Books I haven’t read yet (all sapphic I believe):

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist. Gothic horror about a med school dropout who wants to use her knowledge of poisons to get revenge on the man who destroyed her family.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power. a disease takes over an island with a girl’s boarding school and they try to survive.

This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham. a group of teenage girls develop a taste for flesh and attend a music festival, things happen 👀

Chlorine by Jade Song. coming of age, body horror. teenage girl takes her obsession with mermaids to an extreme.

Sister Maiden Monster by Lucy A. Snyder. cosmic body horror.

Build Your House Around my Body by Violet Kupersmith. magical realism horror.

Wow, who would have thought there is such a wide range of (obviously good!?) sapphic horror books?!? Great, I really have to check them all out!

(I completely agree with what you've written about the Sarah Waters books, though, and I love the novels by Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire, too, Grace!)

I can add some more, the classics at first :

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: vampires

The Hunger by Whitley Strieber: vampires (You should definitely watch the movie with Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon, too!)

The rest is for German-speaking readers only (sorry!):

The Der dunkle Kuß der Nacht/Blutlinien der Nacht: Band 1 von 3 (Volume 1) series by Martina Bernsdorf: (hot and sometimes cruel :-)) vampires

Phase V and Tagebuch nach dem Ende der Welt by Martina Bernsdorf: dystopia with zombies (and there's a REALLY unusual lesbian couple in "Phase V"! ;-))

My own novel Die Nacht hinter mir (Jutta Swietlinski), which is a traveller between several genres: life story/coming-of-age novel/mystery/romance/dark romance/erotica/urban fantasy/horror (there's some blood drinking and there MIGHT be a vampire in it as well ... ;-))

I will definitely check these out thanks Jutta!

Grace wrote: "I will definitely check these out thanks Jutta!"

Great, the same to you! (And welcome, new GR friend! :-))

Just finished You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron. YA sapphic horror. It was loads of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) wrote: "Just finished You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron. YA sapphic horror. It was loads of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Hi Jamie, sounds good! :-) I just added it to my to-read shelf.

A lesson in vengeance by Victoria Lee is a great sapphic horror type of book ◡̈

Amazing recs in here - glad I joined the group!!

I’m surprised no one mentioned it but if you read webtoons there’s that amazing one that is called “Nevermore” inspired by gothic authors ( one of the MC is called Annabelle Lee ) sooooo freaking good and ofc it’s wlw

Oh this is my favourite genre of novel. I'm the perfect example of a creepy old lesbian. I was raised by VC Andrews and Stephen King.

My all time favourites:
Jawbone [cults]
Tell Me I’m Worthless [possession/haunted house]
(The 2 best sapphic horror novels ever, in my highly biased opinion!)

Our Wives Under the Sea [body horror/cosmic horror]
Camp Damascus [demons]
Queer Little Nightmares [it's a short story collection, so there is a bit of everything!]
I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself (leans into speculative fiction but the world is so terrifying, I cannot not think it's horror) [cosmic horror]
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls [ghosts]
Sorrowland [cults]
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke [creepy crawlies/body horror]
Sawkill Girls [rituals/cults]
House of Hunger [vampires]
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead[unreality] (again, flirts with speculative fiction but genuinely I found it scary)
Bunny [cults/body horror]
They Never Learn [serial killers] (a bit more thriller, but it's a touch gory)
Wilder Girls [monsters/body horror]

Check content warnings for sure, especially Things Have Gotten Worse, as it flirts with being an extreme horror novel.

I will spend the rest of my life spreading the good word of Jawbone. Never have I read something that made me feel more understood by a horror story. About feeling dirty and weird when realizing your queerness, about toxic friendships that end up being your first experience with queer relationships.... breathtaking!

shanie wrote: "Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. Its not like a traditional horror but it is pretty grim and it is wlw."

Loved this book! It's definitely a weird body horror (so gritty, almost gives some extreme horror vibes) but is definitely gripping!

Grace wrote: "This is a list I made for someone recently :))

Books I have read:

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. It’s a sapphic sci-fi horror about scientists trying to find mermaids. Bisexual, lesbian, d..."

Oh, I think I've found someone who shares my tastes! I completely forgot to put Into the Drowning Deep on my recommendations, so that is such a good take.

Don't mind if I do add most of these to my library holds list!

Nerdy Werewolf wrote: "You guys, check these out:

Adult-
Just Like Home
Hide
Little Eve
Into the Drowning Deep
Plain Bad Heroines

YA-
[boo..."

Omg Just Like Home was SO GOOD. I loved that one. I might take your recommendation and go back to Little Eve. I like all of [author:Catriona Ward|13801540]'s books when they are set in modern times, and have had a harder time enjoying her prose in more historical fictions. But your tastes align with mine in a lot of cases here, so maybe I gotta go back!

CHLORINE!!!!!!!!!!!

@Abigail I really loved that one, too!!
I get what you mean about Ward's prose, but it was appropriately grounded in Little Eve!

I can't believe I forgot about Bunny! An all-time favorite, for sure!! ❤️

A lesson in vengeance by Victoria Lee

The Luminous Dead was a good one. Caving horror with only 2 characters. Not for anyone claustrophobic.

we ate the dark by mallory pearson!!

This is my fave genre!!
She Is a Haunting is one of my faves!!
I'm also reading Summer's Edge and I'm loving it!!
She's Too Pretty to Burn although it is more of a thriller rather than horror and there's also Dead End Girls by the same author Wendy Heard
This Delicious Death
and they're all sapphic!!