Five Southern Horror Books to Haunt You

There’s a breeze in the air, the leaves are transforming into rich auburns and deep mahoganies, and pumpkin spice greets you at every corner. It’s officially fall, and spooky season is upon us, which means it’s time to grab your favorite blanket and settle in to relax with a good horror book. Whether you like slashers, monster fics, or ghost stories, Southern horror hits differently.

Southern horror is a genre of horror set in the Southern United States, with themes centered on culture, trauma, folklore, and history. But what really makes them so creepy, and fascinating, are the small towns and wide-open spaces. So, if you’re looking for some spooky chills to go with the brisk weather, read on for a list of five Southern horror novels that showcase the variety and range within the genre.

Gothictown by Emily Carpenter

We hear all about the scary parts of living in a big city, but small towns aren’t as innocent as they may seem. Gothictown by Emily Carpenter is a perfect example of that. Billie Hope, a restaurateur in New York, is given the opportunity of a lifetime when she gets an offer to purchase a Victorian home in Juliana, Georgia.

Billie jumps at the chance to move herself, her husband, and her daughter away from the struggle of the New York hustle. At first, it seems like your typical southern town, full of “bless your hearts” and southern hospitality. However, as things usually go in horror stories, it ends up being too good to be true when she discovers the town’s sinister secrets.

Stuck in a town run by an increasingly authoritarian group of town elders who descended from the founders of Juliana, Billie and her husband fight while nightmares plague her. As the story progresses, Billie is forced to face the reality that she may have doomed her family and trapped them in the not-so idyllic town even as her grip on reality falters. Gothictown is full of plot twists and family secrets that will leave you in shock days after.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix combines teen angst with the occult as it follows Fern, one of twelve girls sent to Wellwood House in Florida, during the 70s.

Wellwood House is a maternity commune where pregnant teenage daughters are sent and held against their will until they give birth. They’re stripped of any independence by the adults of the commune, but things take an interesting turn when Fern is given a book about witchcraft.

Witchcraft for Wayward Girls tugs on the heartstrings as the girls struggle with teen pregnancy, abandonment, trauma, but we’re able to see them become stronger through each other and, well, witchcraft. The girls learn with power comes a price, and dealing with dark magic always has conditions. Hendrix portrays the struggles and joys of girlhood as we get to know the complex characters and adds a dash of supernatural themes to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Red Rabbit Ghost by Jen Julian

Red Rabbit Ghost is a LGBTQ+ horror-mystery debut by Jen Julian. Jesse Calloway is determined to leave his hometown in North Carolina far behind, but after receiving a mysterious message about his mom’s unexplained death eighteen years ago, he finds himself returning.

Jesse is thrown into a chaotic storm of magic, supernatural forces, secrets, betrayal, and dangerous ex-boyfriends as he goes back to uncover the truth, ready to be free of the obsession his mother’s death has become. At the center of this mystery is Alice, who seems to think Jesse holds the answers to her own family’s dark history. The pair team up, albeit begrudgingly, and soon discover Blacknot is not what it seems.

Red Rabbit Ghost is a dark fantasy Southern Gothic that captures the scars we might carry from our hometowns as we grow up and move forward. The weight of unfinished business pushes people to the brink as Jesse fights for survival and answers. If you love atmospheric horror that leaves you thinking about it months after, Red Rabbit Ghost is for you.

Children of Solitude by Michael G. Williams

Written by Michael G. Williams, Children of Solitude combines folklore, haunted houses, humor, cosmic horror, and grief. Another LGBTQ+ book set in North Carolina, Children of Solitude offers readers a classic ghost story with a twist.

Reginald Voth returns to his ancestral home following his mother’s death but quickly realizes something isn’t quite right, in the house or the neighborhood. Between the haunted house and obsessive neighbors, Reginald finds himself caught in the middle of something sinister. On top of all of this, he ends up in a new fling with one of his mother’s neighbors, who also happens to be his favorite *ahem* content creator.

In Children of Solitude, Reginald battles his conflicted emotions about his mom and the ghosts she left behind. Michael G. Williams masters a tense southern queer horror story that will have you laughing and crying in the same breath.

This Cursed House by Del Sandeen

This Cursed House, Del Sandeen’s debut novel, is a historical-fiction novel set in 1962 New Orleans. Gothic horror often focuses on decay, grotesque characters, and psychological terror, which readers will get plus more in The Cursed House.

Jemma, a light-skinned young Black woman from Chicago, gets a job in New Orleans working for the Duchon family. She accepts thinking it’s a positive change in her life, only to face prejudice from the Black family members due to her being “white passing.” Worse, Jemma discovers the family is cursed, and they think she is their only hope for saving them.

The horror in This Cursed House is steeped in racism and family scandal. It explores complex concepts such as generational trauma, colorism, and internalized racism in a way that breaks them down and lays them out for readers to confront. Sometimes it’s the characters’ stories themselves that haunt the narrative.

Honorable mention: The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister.

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Southern horror is an emotionally rich genre that immerses readers in places full of culture and history. Folklore and cryptids, combative family trees, ghost stories, and magic are at the heart of Southern Horror as characters often find themselves fighting nature and the past. If you like ghostly, slow-burning horror, then dive into Southern horror this fall.

Discover more creative works to set your reading list off right on the F(r)iction Log.