Horror Apologetics

I constantly meet folks who are surprised that I write, read, watch, and teach Horror. Here, hold my red pen, my cat, and my beer, and check out this list.

Recently on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (March 15, 2026), the show featured a super-cut video compiled of the many times Kelly Clarkson, shaking her head, twisting and shuddering in her interviewer’s chair, dramatically extolled how much she hates Horror . The segment ran, it seemed, over a minute, and to say Horror is a “nope” for her would be like saying, “Water. It’s wet.”

But her reaction, I’ve found, is pretty common. Horror seems to reside on the fringe of respectability, next-door to Romance (and that is another topic for another day). But people are out there reading and watching.

For example, in the film industry, it’s widely known that Horror still pays when other genres don’t. Horror movies are often inexpensive to make but have great returns in profits (see: Blumhouse). But! When a Horror movie earns broader appeal, it becomes something else, say a “Thriller,” (see: Se7en) or it’s “Elevated Horror” (see: most of A24), or it even might “transcend” its Horror classification. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners (2025) is rightly praised for its directing, acting, cinematography, and story about racial injustice, the power of culture and family, and its grounding in the historic Mississippi Blues. It won Oscars!

But don’t forget, it also has vampires in it.

A Horror movie, at its core.

If you’re in academia, you also see the Horror rebranding of writers who are clearly Horror writers, or at least have an aspect of Horror in their works. You’ve probably read some Horror even if you haven’t read Stephen King or Sutter Cane. The Bronte Sisters, they wrote some horrific novels. Edgar Allan Poe? Horror writer. Shirley Jackson? Horror. Toni Morrison? Yep. With Beloved, Horror. I can even make the case with the many dark stories of Flannery O’Connor (e.g. “A View of the Woods”) and William Faulkner (“A Rose for Emily”) for both being Horror writers.

So, if you’re a Horror reader or watcher, you don’t need convincing, but I see my purpose in life is to proselytize that Horror is a HUGE tent, with all kinds of creators and sub-genres within it.

Call it Horror Apologetics.

A Far-from-Extensive List of Books and Films for Those Who Think They Don’t Like Horror

If you’re into Dark Academia, and you loved, The Secret History, by Donna Tartt, (and read that book that if you haven’t) , try the 2015 film The Blackcoat’s Daughter, directed by Osgood Perkins. (I’ve already given a lot of love to this movie.)

If you like your Dark Academia with a dark sense of humor, read Bunny (2019) and the prequel/sequel We Love You, Bunny (2025). Mona Awad understands the Horror of grad school, Bunny. So fun.

Then for a movie about dark friendships, watch Friendship, directed by Andrew DeYoung, and, in my opinion, one of the best films of 2024, so cringy good, and yes, a Psychological Horror film about male friendships.

If you’re one of those True Crime fans who thinks you hate Horror but loves Dark Psychology, dig into the psychological nesting doll of a book, The Last House on Needless Street (2021), by Catriona Ward. Plus, a cat is a “character” in the book.

Once you’ve read Ward’s novel, and you want to continue to explore suburbia as a Gothic haunt, try the 1993 novel The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffery Eugenides, and then watch the 1999 film adaptation written and directed by Sophia Coppola. I also suggest for a suburban dark film (and for fans of Buffy, Supernatural, or any cult show you hold dear to your heart), try the excellent and trippy 2024 movie, I’ve Seen the TV Glow, directed by Jane Shoenbrun.

Then for an advanced next reach, watch Weapons (2025), written, directed, and produced by Zach Cregger. Kudos to Amy Madigan for her 2025 Best Supporting Actress Oscar, but there’s even more to this film than her stand-out strange performance. Watch this film and see why it should’ve also been nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar. This is a masterpiece in structure, and, along with Friendship, it’s one of my recent favorite films. It deftly, creepily, and shockingly (in the final act) explores real-world connections between Horror and suburbia, its repressions and mob mentalities.

If you’re into historical novels, and like the serious parts of Downton Abbey, try this novel set in 1940s England, The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters. The novel explores history and women’s place in it, war trauma, a Great House, land-poor gentry, and, maybe a ghost. Or maybe not.

And don’t forget other classics, that maybe you haven’t gotten around to reading, or re-reading. If you’re drawn to stories of old houses and family/bonded trauma, read the Shirley Jackson 1959 classic, The Haunting of Hill House (possibly the first Postmodern Horror novel) and the 1962 favorite of mine, We’ve Always Lived in the Castle. Our Horror Household has a cat named Merricat Blackwood. She’s on my lap right now as I type. Then if you want more family drama/trauma, watch the 2014 film written and directed by Jennifer Kent, The Babadook. I’m now afraid/even more intrigued by pop-up books. And if you’ve gotten through this list so far, or you’re already a Horror fan, and into stories that explore family trauma and grief, with some gore (okay, a lot of earned gore), try the 2025 film Bring Her Back, directed by Danny and Michael Philippou.

As you can see, Horror can talk about many important ideas about human beings and our places in families, society, and inside ourselves.

So, if you think that you’re reluctant to give Horror a try, I promise, I can find something you can read or watch, and if you’re a Horror creator and fan, I hope this is a list you can share with the Kelly Clarkson in your sphere, or dip into and enjoy yourself!

The Monster, She Wrote Podcast

I love this podcast with Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson where they discuss works by women working in the darker arts.

On the April 14 episode they’ll discuss Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. I’m excited to be guest on that episode!

Listen to Monster, She Wrote on Apple, wherever you listen to your podcasts!

Stay Spooky!