38 Books like The Empusium

The Bewitching

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A grad student researching a forgotten horror writer wakes a witch, and she's the next course.

3.81

46k+

🕯️ Academic Gothic 🌲 Folk Horror 💔 Saphic Yearning 📜 Found Manuscript 🔮 Generational Curse

The Bewitching 93%

A grad student researching a forgotten horror writer wakes a witch, and she's the next course.

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 2025

3.81

46k+ ratings

🕯️ Academic Gothic 🌲 Folk Horror 💔 Saphic Yearning 📜 Found Manuscript 🔮 Generational Curse

Smothermoss

by Alisa Alering • 2024

Two sisters draw monsters for protection while a killer stalks their Appalachian mountain.

3.43

5k+

🏔️ Appalachian Gothic 🌲 Folk Horror 👭 Sisters In Peril 👾 Monsters Come Alive 💜 Queer Awakening

Smothermoss 93%

Two sisters draw monsters for protection while a killer stalks their Appalachian mountain.

by Alisa Alering 2024

3.43

5k+ ratings

🏔️ Appalachian Gothic 🌲 Folk Horror 👭 Sisters In Peril 👾 Monsters Come Alive 💜 Queer Awakening

The Ghost Woods

by C.J. Cooke • 2022

A decaying Scottish manor hides unwed mothers and a curse of living rot that consumes them all.

3.91

9k+

🏚️ Folk Horror 🏰 Gothic Manor 🍄 Fungal Body Horror 👥 Found Family 🌈 Queer Love Story

The Ghost Woods 93%

A decaying Scottish manor hides unwed mothers and a curse of living rot that consumes them all.

by C.J. Cooke 2022

3.91

9k+ ratings

🏚️ Folk Horror 🏰 Gothic Manor 🍄 Fungal Body Horror 👥 Found Family 🌈 Queer Love Story

A Land So Wide

by Erin A. Craig • 2025

To rescue her sacrificed love, a mapmaker must become the monster her settlement fears most.

3.57

5k+

🕯️ Gothic Fantasy 🌾 Folk Horror 🩸 Hidden Heritage 🦴 Supernatural Transformation 💔 Forbidden Romance

A Land So Wide 93%

To rescue her sacrificed love, a mapmaker must become the monster her settlement fears most.

by Erin A. Craig 2025

3.57

5k+ ratings

🕯️ Gothic Fantasy 🌾 Folk Horror 🩸 Hidden Heritage 🦴 Supernatural Transformation 💔 Forbidden Romance

The Wax Child

by Olga Ravn • 2023

In a Danish village, a wax doll watches women whose healing magic draws the witch hunters.

3.61

8k+

🕯️ Literary Horror 🌾 Folk Horror 🔥 Witch Trials 💕 Queer Desire ✨ Folk Magic

The Wax Child 93%

In a Danish village, a wax doll watches women whose healing magic draws the witch hunters.

by Olga Ravn 2023

3.61

8k+ ratings

🕯️ Literary Horror 🌾 Folk Horror 🔥 Witch Trials 💕 Queer Desire ✨ Folk Magic

Experimental Film

by Gemma Files • 2015

Her search for a lost silent film awakens a Slavic demon hungry for her autistic son.

3.52

4k+

🎭 Folk Horror 🎞️ Cursed Film 📖 Metafictional Horror 📜 Archival Obsession 👩‍👦 Maternal Anxiety

Experimental Film 92%

Her search for a lost silent film awakens a Slavic demon hungry for her autistic son.

by Gemma Files 2015

3.52

4k+ ratings

🎭 Folk Horror 🎞️ Cursed Film 📖 Metafictional Horror 📜 Archival Obsession 👩‍👦 Maternal Anxiety

Black Flame

by Gretchen Felker-Martin • 2025

Restoring a cursed Nazi film, a queer archivist discovers the footage wants to inhabit her.

3.54

4k+

🎞️ Cursed Film Horror 🩸 Queer Body Horror 📼 Archival Horror 💀 Nazi Occult 📖 Literary Horror

Black Flame 92%

Restoring a cursed Nazi film, a queer archivist discovers the footage wants to inhabit her.

by Gretchen Felker-Martin 2025

3.54

4k+ ratings

🎞️ Cursed Film Horror 🩸 Queer Body Horror 📼 Archival Horror 💀 Nazi Occult 📖 Literary Horror

The Last Goddess

by Kateřina Tučková • 2022

An ethnographer mines secret police files to learn why the state destroyed her folk-healer aunt.

4.02

9k+

🔮 Folk Healing 📜 Archival Mystery 🐍 Family Curse Saga 💔 Intergenerational Trauma 🌫️ Folk Horror Atmosphere

The Last Goddess 92%

An ethnographer mines secret police files to learn why the state destroyed her folk-healer aunt.

by Kateřina Tučková 2022

4.02

9k+ ratings

🔮 Folk Healing 📜 Archival Mystery 🐍 Family Curse Saga 💔 Intergenerational Trauma 🌫️ Folk Horror Atmosphere

The Temptation of Charlotte North

by Camilla Bruce • 2026

A willful girl on a remote island embraces a dark spirit, trading obedience for power.

3.57

267

🖤 Feminist Horror 🌊 Gothic Seaside 🔥 Female Rage 💔 Forbidden Desire 👻 Demonic Possession

The Temptation of Charlotte North Summary

The Temptation of Charlotte North 92%

A willful girl on a remote island embraces a dark spirit, trading obedience for power.

by Camilla Bruce 2026

3.57

267 ratings

🖤 Feminist Horror 🌊 Gothic Seaside 🔥 Female Rage 💔 Forbidden Desire 👻 Demonic Possession

Blood on Her Tongue

by Johanna van Veen • 2025

A desperate letter summons her to a remote estate where a bog body stirs a hunger.

3.79

21k+

📜 Epistolary Horror 👯 Twin Horror 🧬 Changeling Myth 🩸 Body Horror 🌿 Bog Setting

Blood on Her Tongue 92%

A desperate letter summons her to a remote estate where a bog body stirs a hunger.

by Johanna van Veen 2025

3.79

21k+ ratings

📜 Epistolary Horror 👯 Twin Horror 🧬 Changeling Myth 🩸 Body Horror 🌿 Bog Setting

Morsel

by Carter Keane • 2026

A work trip strands Lou among Appalachian cultists who keep a starving god in the basement.

3.58

2k+

🫀 Body Horror 🌲 Folk Horror 🕯️ Cult Horror 💼 Corporate Horror 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Protagonist

Morsel 92%

A work trip strands Lou among Appalachian cultists who keep a starving god in the basement.

by Carter Keane 2026

3.58

2k+ ratings

🫀 Body Horror 🌲 Folk Horror 🕯️ Cult Horror 💼 Corporate Horror 🏳️‍🌈 Queer Protagonist

The Bog Wife

by Kay Chronister • 2024

When their father dies, five siblings must revive an ancient bargain with a sickening bog.

3.57

16k+

🪵 Folk Horror 🕸️ Gothic Decay 🍄 Eco Horror 🌿 Haunted Land 🩸 Family Curse

The Bog Wife 92%

When their father dies, five siblings must revive an ancient bargain with a sickening bog.

by Kay Chronister 2024

3.57

16k+ ratings

🪵 Folk Horror 🕸️ Gothic Decay 🍄 Eco Horror 🌿 Haunted Land 🩸 Family Curse

Pine

by Francine Toon • 2020

A woman in white haunts the pines, and a grieving girl hopes the dead return.

3.37

17k+

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Gothic 🌲 Folk Horror 👻 Grief And Ghosts 🤫 Small Town Secrets 🔮 Protective Rituals

Pine 92%

A woman in white haunts the pines, and a grieving girl hopes the dead return.

by Francine Toon 2020

3.37

17k+ ratings

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Gothic 🌲 Folk Horror 👻 Grief And Ghosts 🤫 Small Town Secrets 🔮 Protective Rituals

Bone of My Bone

by Johanna van Veen • 2026

Bavaria, 1635: a peasant and a nun flee war with a wish-granting skull. The dead pursue.

3.79

2k+

🐐 Folk Horror 🖤 Sapphic Horror 😈 Deal With The Devil 🏚️ Gothic Horror ⚔️ Thirty Years War

Bone of My Bone 93%

Bavaria, 1635: a peasant and a nun flee war with a wish-granting skull. The dead pursue.

by Johanna van Veen 2026

3.79

2k+ ratings

🐐 Folk Horror 🖤 Sapphic Horror 😈 Deal With The Devil 🏚️ Gothic Horror ⚔️ Thirty Years War

Withered Hill

by David Barnett • 2024

A London woman wakes trapped in a village of masks, old rites, and no way back.

4.04

4k+

🐗 Folk Horror 🪞 DoppelgäNger 🌿 Nature's Revenge 🖤 Sapphic Horror 😰 Slow Dread

Withered Hill 93%

A London woman wakes trapped in a village of masks, old rites, and no way back.

by David Barnett 2024

4.04

4k+ ratings

🐗 Folk Horror 🪞 DoppelgäNger 🌿 Nature's Revenge 🖤 Sapphic Horror 😰 Slow Dread

The Hounding

by Xenobe Purvis

A ferryman's claim that five sisters turn into dogs gives a drought-parched village its witches.

3.64

24k+

🏘️ Witch Trial Hysteria 🌾 Folk Horror 👁️ Ambiguous Supernatural 🖤 Sisters As Outsiders 🏡 Rural English Village

The Hounding 92%

A ferryman's claim that five sisters turn into dogs gives a drought-parched village its witches.

by Xenobe Purvis 2025

3.64

24k+ ratings

🏘️ Witch Trial Hysteria 🌾 Folk Horror 👁️ Ambiguous Supernatural 🖤 Sisters As Outsiders 🏡 Rural English Village

The Reaping

by Bernard Taylor • 1980

An artist's retreat to a crumbling manor becomes a trap when the household's true purpose surfaces.

3.57

915

🐐 Folk Horror 🏚️ Gothic Manor 🕯️ Secret Cult 🕰️ Immortality Ritual 🎭 Hidden Identities

The Reaping 92%

An artist's retreat to a crumbling manor becomes a trap when the household's true purpose surfaces.

by Bernard Taylor 1980

3.57

915 ratings

🐐 Folk Horror 🏚️ Gothic Manor 🕯️ Secret Cult 🕰️ Immortality Ritual 🎭 Hidden Identities

My Darling Dreadful Thing

by Johanna van Veen • 2024

A medium escapes to a widow's decaying estate, where love and the dead both prove insatiable.

3.85

21k+

🖤 Sapphic Gothic 🏚️ Haunted Estate 👻 Spirit Companion 🩸 Toxic Devotion ✍️ Lyrical Horror

My Darling Dreadful Thing 92%

A medium escapes to a widow's decaying estate, where love and the dead both prove insatiable.

by Johanna van Veen 2024

3.85

21k+ ratings

🖤 Sapphic Gothic 🏚️ Haunted Estate 👻 Spirit Companion 🩸 Toxic Devotion ✍️ Lyrical Horror

She Made Herself a Monster

by Anna Kovatcheva • 2026

A cursed orphan allies with a vampire slayer to fake her death and flee her abuser.

3.56

2k+

✊ Feminist Horror 🧛‍♀️ Vampire Hunter 💀 Fake Death 👭 Female Alliance 🔗 Patriarchal Abuse

She Made Herself a Monster 92%

A cursed orphan allies with a vampire slayer to fake her death and flee her abuser.

by Anna Kovatcheva 2026

3.56

2k+ ratings

✊ Feminist Horror 🧛‍♀️ Vampire Hunter 💀 Fake Death 👭 Female Alliance 🔗 Patriarchal Abuse

The Beast You Are

by Paul Tremblay • 2023

An animal village sacrifices a child each generation. Two survivors plot to stop the beast.

3.33

3k+

🖋️ Literary Horror 🌾 Folk Horror 🌌 Cosmic Dread 🐾 Dark Fable 🗡️ Ritual Sacrifice

The Beast You Are 92%

An animal village sacrifices a child each generation. Two survivors plot to stop the beast.

by Paul Tremblay 2023

3.33

3k+ ratings

🖋️ Literary Horror 🌾 Folk Horror 🌌 Cosmic Dread 🐾 Dark Fable 🗡️ Ritual Sacrifice

We Are Always Tender With Our Dead

by Eric LaRocca • 2025

After a massacre a boy patrols unburied corpses in a town where grief becomes ritual

3.30

2k+

🖋️ Literary Horror 🐦‍⬛ Cursed Town 🩸 Body Horror 🌈 Queer Horror 🔪 Small Town Cruelty

We Are Always Tender With Our Dead Summary

We Are Always Tender With Our Dead 92%

After a massacre a boy patrols unburied corpses in a town where grief becomes ritual

by Eric LaRocca 2025

3.30

2k+ ratings

🖋️ Literary Horror 🐦‍⬛ Cursed Town 🩸 Body Horror 🌈 Queer Horror 🔪 Small Town Cruelty

The Hunger

by Alma Katsu • 2018

The Donner Party cuts through the mountains. By the first snow, something is feeding on them.

3.59

36k+

🏜️ Frontier Horror ❄️ Snowbound Isolation 💀 Ancestral Curse 🔥 Slow Burn Horror 🌫️ Atmospheric Dread

The Hunger 92%

The Donner Party cuts through the mountains. By the first snow, something is feeding on them.

by Alma Katsu 2018

3.59

36k+ ratings

🏜️ Frontier Horror ❄️ Snowbound Isolation 💀 Ancestral Curse 🔥 Slow Burn Horror 🌫️ Atmospheric Dread

The Winter People

by Jennifer McMahon • 2014

Two sisters find a century-old diary after their mother vanishes: instructions for raising the dead.

3.81

100k+

🧵 Folk Horror 🏚️ Rural Gothic 🪦 Grief Horror 📖 Hidden Diary 💔 Mother Daughter Grief

The Winter People 91%

Two sisters find a century-old diary after their mother vanishes: instructions for raising the dead.

by Jennifer McMahon 2014

3.81

100k+ ratings

🧵 Folk Horror 🏚️ Rural Gothic 🪦 Grief Horror 📖 Hidden Diary 💔 Mother Daughter Grief

The Drowning Girl

by Caitlín R. Kiernan • 2012

A schizophrenic painter and her girlfriend shelter a roadside ghost who sings them toward drowning.

3.70

6k+

🖋️ Literary Horror 🏚️ Gothic New England 🌀 Unreliable Narrator 💕 Sapphic Love Story 🎨 Art As Obsession

The Drowning Girl 91%

A schizophrenic painter and her girlfriend shelter a roadside ghost who sings them toward drowning.

by Caitlín R. Kiernan 2012

3.70

6k+ ratings

🖋️ Literary Horror 🏚️ Gothic New England 🌀 Unreliable Narrator 💕 Sapphic Love Story 🎨 Art As Obsession

Itch!

by Gemma Amor • 2025

An ant infestation after finding a corpse forces her to confront her family's secrets and a ritual.

3.71

3k+

🌾 Folk Horror 🤢 Body Horror 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 Sapphic Horror 🔥 Feminine Rage 🔄 Unreliable Narrator

Itch! 91%

An ant infestation after finding a corpse forces her to confront her family's secrets and a ritual.

by Gemma Amor 2025

3.71

3k+ ratings

🌾 Folk Horror 🤢 Body Horror 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 Sapphic Horror 🔥 Feminine Rage 🔄 Unreliable Narrator

The Lighthouse Witches

by C.J. Cooke • 2021

A single mother's daughters vanish on a remote Scottish island. The lighthouse has seen this before.

3.93

32k+

🏚️ Folk Horror 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Gothic ⏳ Time Slip 🔥 Witch Trial Horror 👧 Uncanny Child

The Lighthouse Witches 91%

A single mother's daughters vanish on a remote Scottish island. The lighthouse has seen this before.

by C.J. Cooke 2021

3.93

32k+ ratings

🏚️ Folk Horror 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Gothic ⏳ Time Slip 🔥 Witch Trial Horror 👧 Uncanny Child

Slewfoot

by Brom

A widow's pact with a horned spirit brings prosperity. Then the Puritans come with a noose.

4.20

112k+

🐐 Folk Horror 📜 Colonial Witch Trials 🔥 Vengeful Witch 🌳 Forest Spirit 🩸 Blood Pact

Slewfoot 91%

A widow's pact with a horned spirit brings prosperity. Then the Puritans come with a noose.

by Brom 2021

4.20

112k+ ratings

🐐 Folk Horror 📜 Colonial Witch Trials 🔥 Vengeful Witch 🌳 Forest Spirit 🩸 Blood Pact

Season of Fear

by Emily Cooper • 2025

A girl born fearless threatens an ancient bargain: her village's safety, paid for in women's terror.

4.03

740

🏚️ Folk Horror 🌲 Dark Fairy Tale 🌳 Forbidden Forest 🔥 Sapphic Slow Burn 💕 Found Family

Season of Fear 93%

A girl born fearless threatens an ancient bargain: her village's safety, paid for in women's terror.

by Emily Cooper 2025

4.03

740 ratings

🏚️ Folk Horror 🌲 Dark Fairy Tale 🌳 Forbidden Forest 🔥 Sapphic Slow Burn 💕 Found Family

Lost in the Garden

by Adam S. Leslie • 2024

The dead walk a scorched English village. When her friend vanishes into Almanby, Heather follows.

3.50

4k+

🏚️ Folk Horror 🌀 Surreal Horror 💔 Sapphic Longing 🌿 Feral Youth 🕯️ Quiet Dread

Lost in the Garden 93%

The dead walk a scorched English village. When her friend vanishes into Almanby, Heather follows.

by Adam S. Leslie 2024

3.50

4k+ ratings

🏚️ Folk Horror 🌀 Surreal Horror 💔 Sapphic Longing 🌿 Feral Youth 🕯️ Quiet Dread

The Last Witch

by C.J. Cooke • 2025

1485: A noblewoman defies an inquisitor. In her cell, women are already summoning a goddess.

4.07

3k+

🖤 Witch Trial Horror 👩‍👩‍👧 Female Solidarity 💪 Defiant Heroine 🌫️ Gothic Dread 🔥 Female Rage

The Last Witch 91%

1485: A noblewoman defies an inquisitor. In her cell, women are already summoning a goddess.

by C.J. Cooke 2025

4.07

3k+ ratings

🖤 Witch Trial Horror 👩‍👩‍👧 Female Solidarity 💪 Defiant Heroine 🌫️ Gothic Dread 🔥 Female Rage

Letters from the Dead

by Isabella Valeri • 2025

An heiress must hide her family's murderous past or lose the woman she loves.

3.26

325

🏰 Gothic Family Saga 💔 Forbidden Sapphic Love 👑 Dysfunctional Dynasty 🏫 Boarding School 🌫️ Atmospheric Dread

Letters from the Dead 91%

An heiress must hide her family's murderous past or lose the woman she loves.

by Isabella Valeri 2025

3.26

325 ratings

🏰 Gothic Family Saga 💔 Forbidden Sapphic Love 👑 Dysfunctional Dynasty 🏫 Boarding School 🌫️ Atmospheric Dread

What Moves the Dead

by T. Kingfisher • 2022

A soldier returns to a decaying manor: her friends are dying, and the lake is learning.

3.84

146k+

🍄 Fungal Body Horror 🏚️ Crumbling Gothic Manor 📜 Poe Retelling 🏳️‍⚧️ Non-Binary Protagonist 🔬 Amateur Investigation

What Moves the Dead 91%

A soldier returns to a decaying manor: her friends are dying, and the lake is learning.

by T. Kingfisher 2022

3.84

146k+ ratings

🍄 Fungal Body Horror 🏚️ Crumbling Gothic Manor 📜 Poe Retelling 🏳️‍⚧️ Non-Binary Protagonist 🔬 Amateur Investigation

Dark Sisters

by Kristi DeMeester • 2025

In her father's megachurch, purity is law. In the woods, something older and hungrier waits.

3.81

6k+

🏚️ Southern Gothic 🖤 Feminist Horror 🩸 Generational Curse 🗡️ Blood Magic ⛪ Purity Culture

Dark Sisters 91%

In her father's megachurch, purity is law. In the woods, something older and hungrier waits.

by Kristi DeMeester 2025

3.81

6k+ ratings

🏚️ Southern Gothic 🖤 Feminist Horror 🩸 Generational Curse 🗡️ Blood Magic ⛪ Purity Culture

The Gathering Dark

by Tori Bovalino • 2022

Teen girls battle cursed houses and hungry forests in folk horror stories where trauma grows teeth.

3.53

4k+

🌒 Folk Horror 🌈 Queer Horror 🩸 Generational Trauma 🌲 Vengeful Nature 🔥 Female Rage

The Gathering Dark 91%

Teen girls battle cursed houses and hungry forests in folk horror stories where trauma grows teeth.

by Tori Bovalino 2022

3.53

4k+ ratings

🌒 Folk Horror 🌈 Queer Horror 🩸 Generational Trauma 🌲 Vengeful Nature 🔥 Female Rage

We Call Them Witches

by India-Rose Bower • 2026

The world ended. A girl guards her family with folk magic, but survival steals her soul.

3.37

1k+

🏚️ Folk Horror 💕 Sapphic Romance 🫂 Found Family 🌫️ Atmospheric Dread 🌾 Rural Apocalypse

We Call Them Witches 91%

The world ended. A girl guards her family with folk magic, but survival steals her soul.

by India-Rose Bower 2026

3.37

1k+ ratings

🏚️ Folk Horror 💕 Sapphic Romance 🫂 Found Family 🌫️ Atmospheric Dread 🌾 Rural Apocalypse

The Ritual

by Adam L.G. Nevill • 2011

Four friends, lost in a Scandinavian forest, realize something older than the trees is hunting them.

3.56

35k+

🏚️ Folk Horror 🩸 Survival Horror 🐐 Ancient Pagan God 🌲 Nordic Wilderness 💀 Cult Horror

The Ritual 91%

Four friends, lost in a Scandinavian forest, realize something older than the trees is hunting them.

by Adam L.G. Nevill 2011

3.56

35k+ ratings

🏚️ Folk Horror 🩸 Survival Horror 🐐 Ancient Pagan God 🌲 Nordic Wilderness 💀 Cult Horror

Mexican Gothic

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia • 2020

A socialite follows a desperate letter into a decaying mansion where a fungal mind binds the family.

3.66

449k+

🍄 Fungal Horror 🏚️ Haunted House 👁️ Gothic Heroine 💀 Colonial Horror 🔥 Slow Burn Horror

Mexican Gothic 91%

A socialite follows a desperate letter into a decaying mansion where a fungal mind binds the family.

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 2020

3.66

449k+ ratings

🍄 Fungal Horror 🏚️ Haunted House 👁️ Gothic Heroine 💀 Colonial Horror 🔥 Slow Burn Horror

To Those Willing to Drown

by Mark Matthews • 2025

A missing camper sends a counselor to an ancient well that grants miracles for blood.

4.08

108

🏕️ Folk Horror 📜 Faustian Bargain 🩸 Generational Curse 💔 Grieving Parent 🌫️ Atmospheric Dread

To Those Willing to Drown 91%

A missing camper sends a counselor to an ancient well that grants miracles for blood.

by Mark Matthews 2025

4.08

108 ratings

🏕️ Folk Horror 📜 Faustian Bargain 🩸 Generational Curse 💔 Grieving Parent 🌫️ Atmospheric Dread

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