10 Horror Romance Books to Read Before Halloween
A dark creepiness that lurks at the edges of our vision and people falling in love. These are the best horror romance books to start with.
You’re probably wondering how the hell a horror novel can be a romance just from reading the title. Is it possible to find horror romance books?
Well, I’ll tell you what, when I sat down to write this, I had a similar thought. Why would someone who is adamant about reading a book with a required happy ending want to experience the most fear and anxiety?
And how could two or more people who were experiencing similar levels of fear and anxiety, and probably trying to apprehend at least a serial killer, if not some otherworldly creature out to destroy the world, find the time or inclination to fall in love?!
So let me tell you.
Very carefully and in intriguing ways.
One of my fellow Jessicas mentioned about a year ago that we needed a horror romance book sub-genre. She makes many compelling arguments for such a requirement, particularly as we enter the autumn season.
That dark creepiness lurking at the edges of our vision, in the falling leaves and the scent of fall scent things makes one crave the sensation of a good scary story. But we still enjoy watching people fall in love.
So, without further ado, here are some of the best horror romance books.
Lord of the Last Heartbeat by May Peterson
Mio is a mage who is horrified by the things he has done with his power. He must now flee the sorcerer mafia that is his mother in order to find a way to turn off that power.
In Moon Soul Rhodry’s home, he finds himself in the middle of a terrifying mystery involving ghosts, portals to The Deep, and questions about who murdered whom. But there are also deep feelings between Rhodry and Mio, even if they aren’t actively seeking love.
It’s possible that some people wouldn’t consider this horror; it’s very much set in Peterson’s fantasy world. But it evokes the chill, the uncertainty, that makes the best kind of gothic horror.
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
I wouldn’t usually include something that wasn’t written as a romance in one of my romance lists, but I just adore this book, and while it’s cute and funny, it’s also got plenty of creepy.
If you’ve seen the movie but not read the book, I totally recommend picking it up. There are enough differences that you’ll experience a completely new story, that has more of the creep-out element thanks to the whole zombie hierarchy thing. It’s silly, but also scary.
The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller
I hear this one is more spookily gothic than true horror, but those are the ones I love best. Some enjoy having to hide from their books every once in a while, while I prefer to just be on edge but hopeful at the same time.
This one helps by being set in a Victorian Gothic home a la Crimson Peak but without the bleeding walls and troubling family secrets. Well, there are troubling family secrets, but they don’t lead to the consequences of Crimson Peak.
(P.S. it’s not a romance, so I’m not officially including it, but if you haven’t checked out the novelization of Crimson Peak, it’s definitely worth checking out.)
Restless Spirits by Jordan L. Hawk
A battle between science and spiritualism brings an inventor and a medium together in a haunted house.
They might be rivals in proving which is better in terms of dealing with ghosts, but they’ll have to work together to battle a different kind of evil residing in the house, where some brutal murders had taken place decades before.
(If you like these, try Hawk’s Widdershins as well.)
Minion by L.A. Banks
While a lot of people don’t link your average paranormal romance with horror, this series is more reminiscent of Anne Rice or (the earlier) Laurell K. Hamilton…or other classic gothic vampires developed by Stoker or Le Fanu.
There’s still the whole slayer concept and demon fighting, but there’s also plenty of darkness and deadly desire. (Note: I didn’t actually enjoy the few pages I read of this book, but I know a lot of people who did.)
Darkhouse by Karina Halle (And the Rest of the Experiments in Terror Books)
When a woman who sees ghosts meets a producer for a ghost hunter show, you never know what’s going to happen.
I somehow always come across books featuring lighthouses, but I’ve never read about a haunted one before.
So begins the saga of Perry and Dex, who over the course of several more books encounter ghosts and more.
The Wicked Deep by Shea Earnshaw
I’m sorry, did you say “Practical Magic meets Hocus Pocus”?! I don’t read a ton of YA, but this is definitely something that I’m going to be picking up this haunted season.
Like, for three witches who inhabit the bodies of young girls to seduce boys to their deaths. Why am I not picking this one up right now?
The Other Side of Midnight by Simone St. James
Did somebody say Roaring Twenties horror? I think someone did.
Apparently, horror romance often involves ghosts (because that’s the thing that really sets it apart from the paranormal?) and this one involves a medium who is contacted by a former medium friend who is now dead.
And while she’s trying to deal with that, she’s got a war vet coming after her trying to disprove the existence of psychics. (This also seems to be a common trope in ghost-related romance.)
There’s Someone in Your House by Stephanie Perkins
Instead of the hauntings, etc., this one is a callback to the biggest slasher fics of the ’90s.
There are students dying, and a new student Makani wonders if her past is coming to haunt her in Nebraska. There’s still kissing, though, so this is still a romance. I’m calling it.
Lothaire by Kresley Cole
Please bear with me. This is the eleventh novel in the Immortals After Dark series, but it stands alone.
Lothaire is one of the most heinous villains in the IAD series, and the story contains enough ambiguity to read horrifyingly.
One thing you may notice is a significant lack of horror romance books written or starring people of color.
Romance authors, particularly Black romance authors, lean toward the real, and those who do have high levels of conflict in their stories have enough real-life trauma to provide all the horror required for their lovers to survive.
That’s not to say I wouldn’t like to see a romance author of color delve into some of the more horrific themes explored by non-romance horror authors. But it will take a deft touch to get to that happy ending in a satisfactory manner.
(Of course, there could be an entire collection of horror romance books by authors of color that I have yet to discover.) If you know who they are, please let me know on social media!)
Horror romance has a long way to go in terms of how we perceive and categorize it, but for now, I’ll take any spooky material I can get.