Slay, Girl: Horror About Monstrous Women and Girls
Women and girls frequently find themselves on the victim side of a horror narrative. But the scary stories I simply can’t get enough of put women in a very different position: the monster, the thing that goes bump in the night, the source of bone-chilling fear. These kinds of horror novels imagine women not as powerless, but as powerful and terrifying in how they choose to wield that power. You, too, can embrace female rage, spite, and vengeance with this list of horror about monstrous women and girls.
My perspective on horror shifted dramatically after reading feminist theorist Barbara Creed’s 1993 book The Monstrous-Feminine, a psychoanalysis of villainous women characters. Creed explores the archetypes of feminine monsters in classic horror, from witch to cruel mother to seductive castrator. While the book still holds many relevant takes on the genre, Creed’s examples largely pull from classic horror films that tell us more about men’s fear of women than the horrors of being a woman. As more cis women, trans, and nonbinary writers have entered the horror scene, these archetypes have stretched into more nuanced portrayals of femininity and existing in a patriarchal society. The books below feature many kinds of monstrous women and girls, including witches, vampires, cannibals, and ancient spider beings. All of them will make your skin crawl, but if you dig a little deeper, their portrayals of deeply complicated women and girls will haunt you in a different way.
But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo
The Lady of Capricious House prefers to stay hidden from sight as her staff sends her a constant stream of new brides, none of whom ever measure up to her satisfaction. Young maid Dália knows the truth: the Lady is an ancient humanoid spider named Anatema who eats her brides. Anatema also recently ate the keeper of the keys of Capricious House, forcing Dália to step up into the position and put her own life at risk. If she can solve the mystery associated with the former keeper of the keys’ death, Dália might convince Anatema to let her live.
But Not Too Bold is a sapphic monster romance novella sure to make your skin crawl.
The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim
Ji-won’s life was upended when her father left their family. Now she’s trying to balance her freshman year of college while holding her mother and younger sister together. Ji-won’s mother convinces her to join her in eating the eyes of a roasted fish for good luck. When Ji-won’s mother starts dating a white man Ji-won and her sister detest, Ji-won starts having strange intrusive thoughts about what his blue eyes might taste like — thoughts that blur the lines between reality and her imagination.
This is a deliciously creepy tale that absolutely lives up to that unforgettable cover.
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Motheater by Linda H. Codega
Bennie is sick and tired of the Appalachian mining company where she works putting its employees in danger. After her best friend dies in a coal mine, Bennie quits her job and starts investigating the deaths of local miners to prove the company is at fault. She soon finds a nearly-drowned woman in a mine slough who turns out to be a frightening ancient witch named Motheater, destined to protect the mountains from being exploited. Together, Bennie and Motheater find unexpected power to change the future for their mountain home.
With eerily beautiful prose, mystical characters, and an immersive natural setting, it’s a powerful story about the sacrifices we make to protect the places and people we love.
Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove
Detective Carrie Starr is still devastated by the murder of her daughter when she’s offered a new job on the reservation where her father grew up, starting with an investigation into the disappearance of a young woman whose case looks shockingly similar to Starr’s daughter’s. As Starr sets about finding the missing woman, she keeps catching glimpses of the Deer Woman, a mythical figure who appeared in many of her father’s stories. The Deer Woman seems very real, but is she here to help Starr or seek revenge?
Mask of the Deer Woman is a vivid mystery/horror novel with a powerful message about our society’s failure to protect Indigenous women and girls.
Old Soul by Susan Barker
Jake and Mariko are two grieving strangers who, upon a chance meeting at the Osaka airport, realize they both recently lost loved ones in shockingly similar ways. Mariko’s twin and Jake’s best friend both died after an encounter with the same mesmerizing young woman with dark hair. As they search for answers, they realize the woman has appeared before multiple mysterious deaths, not just recently, but over centuries.
Old Soul is literary horror with bewitching prose and a terrifying ancient being at its core.
The Monstrous Misses Mai by Van Hoang
Vietnamese American fashion designer Cordelia is thrilled to find an affordable apartment in 1959 Los Angeles. The fact that her three roommates all share her middle name — Mai — seems like a sign she’s found the right place. When a friend of their landlord offers the four young women a way to make their dreams come true with a small sacrifice, they all agree to give it a shot. But their small successes give them a taste for more, and the personal costs get higher and higher. It’s a darkly magical tale about greed, power, and how they make us unrecognizable to ourselves.
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
The Haddesley family has a centuries-long spiritual connection to the Appalachian cranberry bog under their care. With each generation, they sacrifice the family’s patriarch to the bog, and the bog sends up a bog wife for the oldest son to marry and carry on the family line. But when the ritual fails to return a bog wife for the current generation, the Haddesley siblings are forced to dig into the family’s long-kept secrets to understand what went wrong. It’s a hauntingly atmospheric Appalachian gothic with a one-of-a-kind setting.
Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen (March 25, Poisoned Pen Press)
When Lucy learns that her twin sister Sarah is in poor health, she travels to Sarah’s home to care for her. It turns out a long-dead corpse was found on Sarah’s husband’s property, and after witnessing the examination of the body, Sarah has become obsessed, and her mind and physical health are suffering for it. As Sarah turns from confused to angry to hungry for things she shouldn’t consume, Lucy must wonder if her twin is becoming something dark and dangerous.
Set in the Netherlands in 1887, this is a gothic horror about sisterhood, Victorian gender roles, and women’s rage.
The Summer I Ate the Rich by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite (April 22, Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
When Brielle’s mom loses her job, Brielle steps up to support her family by catering for the rich families of Miami. Her secret trick is adding a bit of human flesh from the same wealthy people who have made it impossible for her family to survive. You see, Brielle has been hiding her zombie tendencies, the kind only whispered about in Haitian lore.
The Summer I Ate the Rich is a scrumptiously horrifying YA novel about race, class, and economic justice.
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