Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Horror is often based on what we fear most. The stranger in the night, the noises in the walls, an unraveling of your mind while no one around you notices it happening. It’s about the monster under the bed, the killer haunting your dreams, the twisting of children, animals, or man itself into something evil. But, horror can also take what we want most, twisting yearning and hunger into something destructive until the creature it makes of you becomes a horror in and of itself. Desire corrupts just as much as power does, forcing characters into places they ought not to have gone just to get even a taste of what they so desperately want.
Sexual desire is no different. Lust and desire are prime real estate for the horrible and the haunting. This plays heavily in vampire novels, a few of which you’ll see on this list, but that’s not the only arena where lust and desire can take a turn to the terrifying. Check out these six books that dig into horror about lust and desire.
House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
In desperate need of money and an elevation of her societal circumstance, Marion Shaw answers an ad in the paper and winds up the newest bloodmaid at the notorious and grandiose House of Hunger. There, Marion is overwhelmed by the debauchery and wild abandon of those in the house, but soon earns the attention of Countess Lisavet, and she’s drawn further and further into their depravity. While Marion is promised riches for her service, the disappearance of a fellow bloodmaid and the darkness she finds in Countess Lisavet’s inner circle make it clear the money may not be worth the danger she’s in.
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
After solving a puzzle called Lechan’s Box that opens a doorway into a dimension that promises to satiate Frank’s never-ending lust, he accepts an agreement with demonic creatures called Cenobites who take him into a world of pleasure, yes, but also torture. Stuck in this other dimension, he’s helpless to these creatures’ whims unless someone from the real world can bring him back.
Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite
Fifteen years ago, Nothing’s mom was wooed by Zillah, a vampire, who then left her behind. Childbirth kills her, leaving Nothing to grow up alone and feeling like he doesn’t belong anywhere. Now, Nothing sets off on a road trip in search of Zillah and his familial line, where he finds a group of vampires relishing in their eternal lives by doing whatever they want to whomever they want.
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
Stuck in a bland marriage, Lady Lenore Crowther and her husband, Henry, relocate to an isolated manor in the countryside. As Henry prepares to host a hunt for the high society figures he yearns to wow, a woman shows up at the manor seeking refuge after a carriage accident nearby. The woman, Carmilla, soon captures the attention of Lenore, an attention that soon turns into an indescribable and insatiable hunger.
The Pink Agave Motel: & Other Stories by V. Castro
If short stories are more your speed, Bram Stoker Award winner V. Castro has you covered. Inside, you’ll find stories of flesh-eating creatures, AI-gone-wrong, zombies, and more, all with their own brand of hunger and desire. V. Castro’s signature cutting prose mashes sexuality and violence together in this sharp short story collection.
American Rapture by CJ Leede
Sixteen-year-old Sophie is Catholic, sheltered, and just trying to survive her teenage years when a virus breaks out. At first, it seems to come with the typical flu symptoms until it mutates, infecting the ill with an insatiable lust. Sophie must brave the rowdy world around her to reunite with her twin brother while keeping her innocence intact, a feat that may prove too difficult in a society now all focused on one thing.
I hope one of these horror books about lust and desire catches your eye. If you’re in the mood for more scares, check out these must-read horror novels coming out this fall and these weird horror novels!
English (US) · 