Horror Books for Guillermo Del Toro Fans

Guillermo Del Toro’s latest gorgeously Gothic effort (now streaming on Netflix) goes back to the roots of science-fiction and horror—Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. 

Initially conceived during a “ghost story” competition among friends (that included the likes of Lord Byron, John Polidori and Percy Bysshe Shelley), the eventual novel also drew upon the trauma of her miscarriage in the tragic tale of a mad scientist determined to create life out of nothing, yet disclaiming all responsibility for it. 

Masterfully crafted, Frankenstein is written in an enticing epistolary format and makes for a highly thought-provoking and relevant read.

Many of Guillermo Del Toro’s films, such as The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth, feature monsters, mer-men and other oddball characters who are alienated from society. And if that’s the kind of thing you like, China Miéville’s genre-defying New Weird novel, Perdido Street Station will certainly feel like a treat. 

With sumptuous worldbuilding and an eclectic cast of fantastical characters including insect-like-humanoids, a garuda and villainous slakemoths that paralyzes victims in multiple directions, the novel is a wild, dense and inventive ride.

Avra Margariti’s debut body horror novella, The New Hunger, is a gem of a book with beautifully-realized characters, an engaging revolution plot, and sensual worldbuilding that explores gender and sexuality in a thoroughly refreshing light. 

The storyline follows Nora, a hacker who’s wracked with guilt for seemingly murdering her lover, Eden, with her sister Evi going to jail for it. When Evi is released, Nora discovers Eden is also alive, and they’re part of the resistance planning to overthrow the dystopian regime. 

Uniquely captivating, deliciously queer, and utterly haunting, The New Hunger will definitely leave you hungry for more of Margariti’s poetic prose.

If you swooned over Crimson Peak, Rebecca must be on your to-read list. In fact, a part of the romantic plot of Crimson Peak actually borrows heavily from the first half of Rebecca while infusing it with elements of the Bluebeard fairytale.

If you liked the chemistry and tangled web of secrets between Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) and Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) in Crimson Peak, you’ll love the dynamics between Maxim de Winter and the unnamed protagonist of Rebecca. 

A Gothic-romance-turned-detective-mystery, Rebecca is a deeply atmospheric and suspense-filled read. 

Those who like experimental narratives may be impressed by Scott Hawkins’ contemporary fantasy/horror novel, The Library at Mount Char, with its memorable characters, intricate plotting, black humor and whimsy shenanigans. 

Without giving away too many spoilers, The Library at Mount Char is probably one of the strangest and marvelous adventures you’ll ever read. And yes, there are some overpowered librarians, lions, and bizarre shenanigans thrown into the mix!

Latin American horror is on a roll, and Fernanda Melchor’s Hurricane Season is one of its finest recent examples. Brutal, grim and rife with violence, Hurricane Season (like some of Guillermo Del Toro’s films) is absolutely unafraid in its excavation of humanity’s darkest impulses. 

The story revolves around the murder of a witch in a small Mexican village, and is told in a non-linear format by unreliable narrators all connected to the murder somehow. 

Horrific yet entrancing, this a book you wouldn’t want to stop reading once you start. 

And if you liked Melchor’s books, you should also check out the works of Mariana Enrquez whose horror stories are also infused with gritty, socio-political realism, like Pan’s Labyrinth.

Finally, if you’re up for a short but searing read, you can check out Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum that blends a historical fiction narrative with a lush body horror thriller, reminiscent of the works of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft but with the weird aspects dialed up a notch. 

Set at the turn of the century, Helpmeet follows Louise Wilk caring for her dying husband in a secluded estate — nursing him through an illness that ushers a transformative experience for both.