In May of 2020, author V. Castro and I founded a website called Fright Girl Summer. The goal was to highlight books, artwork, and short stories from authors and creators on the margins. Running the site was a wonderful experience, but unfortunately, our schedules became too full to keep it running.

Still, it’d be a shame to have its content disappear entirely. Below is our Fright Girl Summer reading list, where we recommend horror written by authors from marginalized groups. Check back, as we may add new books from time-to-time!

BIPOC:

• White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
• Sed de Sangre by V. Castro
• Goddess of Filth by V. Castro
• Mestiza Blood by V. Castro
• The Between by Tananarive Due
• Mayan Blue by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason (aka Sisters of Slaughter)
• The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez
• Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Creep by Jennifer Hillier
• Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
• The Awakening of the Spirit Trilogy (Blood of my Blood, The Providence of Human Affairs, and Soulless) by Montiese McKenzie
• Kindred by Octavia Butler
• Cirque Berserk by Jessica Guess
• Bruja by Wendy C. Ortiz
• The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco
• The Vampire Quartet (Voice of the Blood, Wounds, Fiend, and A Drop of Scarlet) by Jemiah Jefferson
• Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
• The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin 
• Orange Laughter by Leone Ross
• Containment by Eden Royce
• Things We Lost in the Fire: Stories by Mariana Enriquez
• Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin 
• Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
• Revenge by Yoko Ogawa
• The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
• Afterlife: Ghost Stories from Goa by Jessica Faleiro
• The Face at the Window by Kiran Manral
• Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills by Minakshi Chaudhry
• The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
• House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
• Cenote City by Monica Quintana
• Hell Hath No Sorrow Like a Woman Haunted by R.J. Joseph
• Severance by Ling Ma

Independent:

• All You Need is Love and a Strong Electric Current by Mackenzie Kiera
• White Pines by Gemma Amor
• Full Immersion by Gemma Amor
• Crossroads by Laurel Hightower
• Below by Laurel Hightower
• Boneset and Feathers by Gwendolyn Kiste
• All That’s Fair by S.H. Cooper
• Hell’s Bells by Lisa Quigley
• Lucid Screams by Red Lagoe
• Halloween Season by Lucy Snyder
• Little Paranoias: Stories by Sonora Taylor
• Benny Rose, the Cannibal King by Hailey Piper
• Abode by Morgan Sylvia
• The Vine That Ate the Starlet by Madeleine Swann
• Three Days in the Pink Tower by EV Knight

LGBTQIA+/Non-Binary:

• The Awakening of the Spirit Trilogy (Blood of my Blood, The Providence of Human Affairs, and Soulless) by Montiese McKenzie
• The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper 
• Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper
• Out of Water by Sarah Read
• The Tricker-Treater and Other Stories by Briana Morgan
• The Reyes Incident by Briana Morgan
• The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez
• The Devil’s Call by j. danielle dorne
• Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett
• Cirque Berserk by Jessica Guess
• The Wingspan of Severed Hands by Joe Koch
• Transmuted by Eve Harms
• Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
• Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Poetry:

• How to Recognize a Demon Has Become Your Friend by Linda D. Addison
• Cradleland of Parasites by Sara Tantlinger
• Witches by Donna Lynch
• Hysteria by Stephanie Wytovich
• Into the Forest and All the Way Through by Cynthia Pelayo
• Crime Scene by Cynthia Pelayo
• Breathe. Breathe by Erin Sweet al-Mehairi
• A Collection of Nightmares by Christina Sng

Nonfiction:

• Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present by Robin R. Means Coleman
• America’s First Female Serial Killer by Mary Kay McBrayer
• Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica by Zora Neale Hurston
• The Science of Women in Horror: The Special Effects, Stunts, and True Stories Behind Your Favorite Fright Films by Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence
• The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O’Meara
• Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween and The Samhanach and Other Halloween Treats by Lisa Morton
• Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

Anthologies

• We Are Wolves (eds. Gemma Amor and Laurel Hightower)
• Latinx Screams (ed. V. Castro)
• Women of Horror Vol. 1: Under Her Black Wings (ed. Jill Girardi)
• Women of Horror Vol. 2: Graveyard Smash (ed. Jill Girardi)
• Not All Monsters (ed. Sara Tantlinger)
• Chromophobia (ed. Sara Tantlinger)
• Diet Riot: A Fatterpunk Anthology (eds. Nico Bell and Sonora Taylor)
• Hell Hath Only Fury (ed. S.H. Cooper)
• Mine: An Anthology of Body Autonomy Horror (eds. Nico Bell and Roxie Voorhees)