Halloween is right around the corner, and as you continue to craft and work through your TBR list this month, I want to ensure that horror poetry is front and center in your mind. Over the last few years, we’ve seen speculative poetry bring out its claws as it slashed its way into all of our hearts…only to leave us bleeding and crying, desperate for more. As such, I’ve compiled a list of five must-read collections (both new and old) that will keep you up all night and have you screaming well into the day.
The Demeter Diaries by Marge Simon and Bryan D. Dietrich
This collection is a dark, velvet-clad dream for fans of Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula. It has the perfect balance of romance, horror, and of course…blood! Plus, it left me breathless and starry-eyed as it transported me to a world of love letters, stolen glances, and forbidden desires.
A Complex Accident of Life by Jessica McHugh
For fans of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this black-out poetry book will be the jolt you need on Halloween night. Here, McHugh stitches together her own masterpiece as she gives birth to a new creature in this bold, beautiful, and monstrous collection.
Ladies and Other Vicious Creatures by Donna Lynch
There’s empowerment to be found in monstrosity and Lynch both accepts and embraces that with the women throughout the pages. Her ladies are broken and bleeding, their fangs pointed and piercing, and I liken her writing to the transformation of human to werewolf: it’s painful, and it hurts, but it’s forever sublime, and I can never look away.
The Sex Lives of Monsters by Helen Marshall
What would spooky season be without folklore, urban legends, and ancient myths and curses? Marshall’s work encompasses the definition of beautiful horror as she dives into the complex relationships we have with all things monstrous. She explores the parts of ourselves we turn away from and uncovers the shadows of all things hideous we choose to embrace, and while this book might be short, it’s far from anything sweet.
I Am Not Your Final Girl: Poems by Claire C. Holland
Behold, slasher fans! This is the book for you. Not only does Holland write poems about your favorite films, but she explores gender stereotypes and stigmas as she rewrites what it means to be a final girl. This collection will satiate your appetite for something gory, fierce, and full of action, and it makes for a wonderful companion piece as you binge-watch John Carpenter’s Halloween for the 13th time this month.
Note: An earlier version of this article originally appeared via LitReactor