5 Horror Cookbooks that Are Perfect for the Morbid Foodie in Your Life

Elvira: isn’t she just the best? She’s a horror icon, a queer icon, and honestly just an icon for anyone who wants to have fun and be themselves.

Now she’s taken all that awesomely macabre energy and channeled it into her very own cookbook.

The full-color photos are absolutely magnificent, and the recipes are the perfect culinary balance of creepy and cool. From her Bone-Chilling Berry Bundt and Corny Candy Crisps to Transylvanian Ghoul-ash and Menacing Mummy Poppers, these delicious recipes will make you smile.

I had this one on pre-order, and when the signed copy showed up at my doorstep, I seriously squealed with horror delight.

Cassandra Peterson has more than outdone herself with this cookbook, so pick this one up for anyone in your life who loves to cook with a side of scary movies.

I’ve been using this cookbook for years now, and I still get a jolt of joy every time I open it up.

Written by the founder of the fabulous restaurant Beetle House, this one’s got it all. Inspired by the world of Tim Burton, the book design is lovely and appropriately spooky, and the photos capture the Burton-esque spirit so well.

With recipes like Beetle Bacon Bread, Shrimpy Hollow, and Edward Burger Hands, there’s endless inspiration for your next dinner party—or simply your next snack.

And if you want to add yet another awesome horror movie-themed cookbook to your shelf, then definitely pick up Neil’s follow-up, Death for Dinner. With recipes including Pumpkinhead Soup and Crystal Lake BBQ Sliders, this cookbook is just as much fun as The Nightmare Before Dinner, and just as horror-centric.

Author Amy Bruni has hit it out of the park with this wonderful ode to cooking and spooky travel.

The cover for Food to Die For is beyond gorgeous, and the interior writeups are filled with haunting history about each of the locations. And then, of course, there’s the fantastic recipes.

Each one focuses on the place it’s from, such as Lizzie Borden’s Meatloaf, which was found on one of Borden’s real-life recipe cards. From the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts to The Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles, this is truly a culinary road trip of haunting Americana.

If you or someone in your life adores creepy locales, then wrap up a copy of this book beneath the Christmas tree. It’s both devilish and delicious.

I’ve been an Edward Gorey fan since I was a kid, so needless to say, when I found out there was a cocktail book inspired by his work, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

Fortunately, Uneasy Elixirs does not disappoint.

With plenty of Gorey illustrations featured throughout, the spirit of his work is everywhere in these pages as you learn how to make The Doubtful Guest, Drusilla’s Cobbler, and The Troubled Adverb. There are even a few mocktails included for you or anyone in your life who doesn’t imbibe.

From the first page to the last, this one is a morbid delight. Put Uneasy Elixirs on your holiday list as soon as possible.

This cookbook is possibly the most unusual on the list, because it illuminates one of the stranger cemetery traditions.

Across the country and around the world, there are numerous tombstones that feature recipes right on the inscriptions. From nut rolls to spritz cookies, you can learn how to make a wide variety of foods if you happen to come across one of these unique stones.

Author Rosie Grant dives into this phenomenon with a slice of little-known history, while also sharing the recipes that were so precious to the dead that they’ve literally followed them to the grave.

This one is currently on my wishlist, and in the meantime, you better believe I’ll be pondering what recipe I’d want to include on my own tombstone. A Bloody Mary mocktail, perhaps?