Books like 'An Affinity for Formaldehyde'
Readers who enjoyed An Affinity for Formaldehyde by Chloe Spencer also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
horror supernatural spooky body-horror lgbtq wlw madness grief kidnapping gothic
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The Magnus Archives: Season 4 by NOT A BOOK
Rated: 4.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Magnus Archives is a horror audiobook written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims narrates the stories in-character as the main character, Jonathan Sims, the newly-appointed head archivist of the fictional Magnus Institute; an institution based in London centred on research into the paranormal... -
The Magnus Archives: Season 2 by NOT A BOOK
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThe Magnus Archives is a horror audiobook written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims narrates the stories in-character as the main character, Jonathan Sims, the newly-appointed head archivist of the fictional Magnus Institute; an institution based in London centred on research into the paranormal... -
The Magnus Archives: Season 3 by Jonathan Sims
Rated: 4.80 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsThe Magnus Archives is a horror audiobook written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims narrates the stories in-character as the main character, Jonathan Sims, the newly-appointed head archivist of the fictional Magnus Institute; an institution based in London centred on research into the paranormal... -
The Magnus Archives: Season 1 by Jonathan Sims
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Magnus Archives is a horror audiobook written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims narrates the stories in-character as the main character, Jonathan Sims, the newly-appointed head archivist of the fictional Magnus Institute; an institution based in London centred on research into the paranormal... -
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Came Back Haunted by Karina Halle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDex & Perry return in Book #10 of the Experiment in Terror series.A lot can change in three years.For Perry and Dex Foray, it’s been a step in the right direction, a step toward living a normal life. They’re happily married, they have their own media company, they’ve done what they can to leave their sordid and scary past behind them.But something has changed recently... -
Shadows in Bloom: A Dark Romance Anthology by Lola Malone, Garry Michael
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLong summer nights, the rustle of leaves and flowers in full bloom.It’s the perfect time of the year to live life the fullest, plan for tomorrow and forget about yesterday. But what happens when the shadows come out to play?After all…you won’t see it coming until it hits you in the Shadows in Bloom... -
Painted Devils by Robert Aickman
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsStories included:RavissanteThe Houses of the RussiansThe ViewRinging the ChangesThe School FriendThe Waiting RoomMarriageLarger Than OneselfMy Poor... -
In the Roses of Pieria by Anna Burke
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAward-winning author Anna Burke delivers the shivers in this daring queer dark fantasy romance teeming with sensuous vampires, dark academia, plant horrors, and terrifying fungal fae.When Clara Eden is offered a job as an archivist working for eccentric estate owner Agatha Montague, she thinks her prayers have been answered... -
The Feast Makers by H.A. Clarke
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Craft for Gen The Feast Makers , indie bestselling author H. A. Clarke crafts an action-packed conclusion to the Scapegracers trilogy, as our beloved teen coven tackle college acceptances, queer romance, and a witch trial to remember for the ages.After restoring their powers, Sideways just wants to get on with senior year. But the covens have convened for the trial of Madeline Kline... -
The Children in the Lake: A Story You Will Never Forget by Mark Edward Hall
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn 1925 three children vanish without a trace in Arrowhead Lake. Nearly a century later there are those who still report seeing the children swimming beneath the surface like elusive dolphins. After losing her husband in a violent car crash, Rachel King and her two young sons venture to Arrowhead Lake to heal... -
Master of My Heart by Marissa Honeycutt
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen life goes wrong, can it ever be made right? Five years ago... Sabrina left Boston anticipating her stay back home to be full of joy and hope. Instead, she became the leading role in her own living hell. Nothing more than a shadow of her former self, she escapes a malevolence determined to break her, and returns to Boston, trying to regain a semblance of the girl she once was... -
The Witch of Tin Mountain by Paulette Kennedy
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn Depression-era Arkansas, something wicked has come to a haunted mountain town in a novel of uncanny suspense by the author of Parting the Veil.Blood and power bind three generations of women in the Ozark Mountains. So does an evil that’s followed them across the decades.1931. Gracelynn Doherty lives peacefully on Tin Mountain, helping her adoptive granny work her cures... -
Rebel Robin by A.R. Capetta
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDiscover the backstory of the new Stranger Things fan favorite, Robin, played by Maya Hawke! The perfect read while you're waiting for Season 4 to drop on Netflix! High school is a monster, and it's eating everyone Robin knows. As sophomore year starts, Robin's Odd Squad friends have decided to try to be just like everyone else... -
Weeping Walls by Gerri Hill
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAn abandoned old house in a small town northeast of Houston is the site of a second murder, eerily similar to a supposed cold case of fourteen years earlier. FBI Agents CJ Johnston and Paige Riley are dispatched to find the link between the two homicides. The team, including Ice and Billy, find the case to be anything but cold... -
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Pieces by M. Damon Baker
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAll I had to do was find the missing parts of some little trinket, what could possibly go wrong? It turns out the answer was just about everything. I thought I’d finally escaped the worst danger I would face—but I was wrong, very wrong. Only after leaving the safe confines of Lorida behind did I discover the true depths of the evils that plagued my new home... -
Carmilla: The Wolves of Styria by David Brian, J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIs it ever possible for the undead to find true love? You'll find no definitive answer here. Be aware of this much though: When werewolves and vampires clash; there can be no winners.When fate draws together the lives of two young women, their mutual attraction quickly flourishes into a bond which threatens the boundaries of social etiquette in 1860s Styria... -
Awake in the Night by Shauna Mc Eleney
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJessica and Nicole think they’ve finally found their dream house by the sea in the West of Ireland. 17 Montpellier Street has history, character… and so many rooms you could easily lose your way, if you don’t tread carefully.It has memories, too - so many memories. The new owners haven’t learned them yet... -
The Bayou by Arden Powell
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratings"Eugene didn’t know if he believed in the devil beyond the wicked things people did of their own accord, but if the devil had a face, it would look like Johnny Walker’s."Small-town Louisiana, 1935.When Eugene was twelve, a girl from town disappeared. Everyone said the gators must have got her when she strayed too near the bayou. No foul play, just a terrible accident... -
The Soul Auction by Amy Cross
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“I saw a woman on the beach. I watched her face a demon.” Thirty years after her mother's death, Alice Ashcroft is drawn back to the coastal English town of Curridge. Somebody in Curridge has been reviewing Alice's novels online, and in those reviews there have been tantalizing hints at a hidden truth. A truth that seems to be linked to her dead mother... -
The Monsters of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratings'Humans, as is there wont, have a terrible habit of making a mess of everything.'Mirabelle has always known she is a monster. When the glamour protecting her unusual family from the human world is torn and an orphaned brother and sister stumble upon Rookhaven, Mirabelle soon discovers that friendship can be found in the outside world... -
Heart Burn by C.J. Archer
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTime is running out for Hannah. With her life hanging by a thread and Tate trying to kidnap her, she finds help in an unusual quarter - the man who put the narcoleptic memory block on her as a child. Yet the powerful hypnotist may not be all that he seems... -
Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsKnock Knock, Open Wide weaves horror and Celtic myth into a terrifying, heartbreaking supernatural tale of fractured family bonds, the secrets we carry, and the veiled forces that guide Irish life.Driving home late one night, Etain Larkin finds a corpse on a pitch-black country road deep in the Irish countryside. She takes the corpse to a remote farmhouse... -
Night of the Living Queers: 13 Tales of Terror & Delight by Ryan Douglass, Kalynn Bayron
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsNight of the Living Queers is a YA horror anthology that explores a night when anything is possible, exclusively featuring queer authors of color putting fresh spins on classic horror tropes and tales.No matter its name or occasion, Halloween is more than a Hallmark holiday, it’s a symbol of transformation... -
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These Things Linger by Dan Franklin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Alex Wilson's estranged uncle unexpectedly dies, Alex realizes he would do just about anything to make peace with the man who had raised him as his own.He'd even reach out to the dead.But things more dangerous than ghosts haunt his uncle's broken down trailer and the nearly abandoned one-gas-station town of Fair Hill just beyond... -
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsThe Turn of the Key meets Parasite in this eerily haunting debut and Reddit hit—soon to be a Netflix original movie starring Blake Lively—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit... -
The Forgotten Phantom by Kathryn Ann Kingsley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsKeep your hand at the level of your eyes...Christine is certain that the Institute is trying to get rid of her. Why else would they send her to investigate a hundred-year-old cold case about some illusive “Phantom” lurking in the depths of a crumbling old Opera House?Turns out, she’s probably right. But as unlikely as it seems, there might be something to it... -
Mina and the Slayers by Amy McCaw
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNEW ORLEANS, 1995. MINA’S HAVING A KILLER HALLOWEEN.Three months after Fang Fest, Mina’s settling into her new life.Despite the teething problems in her relationship with Jared, she has her sister back, new friends and a part-time job to die for.Over Halloween, Mina and the gang have planned a spooky week of Gothic restaurants, horror movies, ghostly tours, creepy carnivals and a costume ball... -
Nightmare Magazine 37: October 2015. Queers Destroy Horror! Special Issue by Wendy N. Wagner, Chuck Palahniuk
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNIGHTMARE is an online horror and dark fantasy magazine. In NIGHTMARE's pages, you will find all kinds of horror fiction, from zombie stories and haunted house tales, to visceral psychological horror... -
When Dusk Comes by J.J. Arias
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsChasing a bounty from New York to New Orleans, Erin Lewis is on the hunt for an allusive fugitive whose recovery will provide financial breathing room. When she arrives at a French Quarter hotel, Erin finds the captivating hotelier Lucía Guerra instead. The passionate affair that ignites between them catapults Erin into an extravagant world she never imagined. But all is never what it seems... -
Remains by Andrew Cull
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGrief is a black house.How far would you go? What horrors would you endure if it meant you might see the son you thought you'd lost forever?Driven to a breakdown by the brutal murder of her young son, Lucy Campbell had locked herself away, fallen deep inside herself, become a ghost haunting room 23b of the William Tuke Psychiatric Hospital... -
Sodom Road Exit by Amber Dawn, Deborah Burgess
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's the summer of 1990, and Crystal Beach has lost its beloved, long-running amusement park, leaving the lakeside village a virtual ghost town. It is back to this fallen community Starla Mia Martin must return to live with her overbearing mother after dropping out of university and racking up significant debt... -
A Spectral Hue by Craig Laurance Gidney
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor generations, the marsh-surrounded town of Shimmer, Maryland has played host to a loose movement of African-American artists, all working in different media, but all utilizing the same haunting color... -
A Dance In Blood Velvet by Freda Warrington
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe sequel to "A Taste of Blood Wine". Having forsaken her human life, the only light in Charlotte's life is her vampire lover, Karl. When Karl's former love returns, Charlotte turns to the beautiful Violette. However, Violette is more than human, and making her a vampire is filled with danger... -
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The Dark Blood Of Poppies by Freda Warrington
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe ballerina Violette Lenoir has fallen victim to the bite of the vampire Charlotte. Her fire and energy have fuelled a terrifying change and lead her to a dreadful realisation--she has become Lilith, the demon mother of all vampires... -
Ashen Rayne by Skye Knizley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsYoung women are vanishing from Miami’s club scene, most disappearing without a trace, others found suffocated in plastic bags, their battered corpses filled with a deadly cocktail of narcotics. There are no suspects and few clues. When exotic dancer Rayne is taken, her sister Blaze calls the ladies of Shadowlands to find her... -
Dead Girl's Ashes by Annathesa Nikola Darksbane, Shei Darksbane
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAshley Currigan is dead...and it’s the best thing that ever happened to her. Ashley just went from the day to day drudgery of a job she hates to powerful vampire in a single instant of suffering. But now, even more powerful monsters want her dead for good. Her girlfriend is missing. Strange human hunters hound her every step... -
Honour Thy Father by Lesley Glaister, Jilly Bond
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn a remote, crumbling house in the Fens live four sisters—Agatha, Milly, and Ellen and Esther—identical twins so closely linked as to be almost one person. They have lived there all their lives, trapped still by the fear of their dead father, who governs his daughters' lives from beyond the grave. And then there is George, another inhabitant, imprisoned in the cellar... -
A Delicious Descent by Amanda Meuwissen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDracula retold, with Jonathan as the object of the legendary vampire’s obsession.Engaged to his dear friend Mina, Jonathan Harker jumps at the chance to delay their wedding by accepting an assignment in far-off Transylvania. Jonathan loves Mina but not in the way a man should love a wife, for his true passion lies with the company of men, an illicit craving he can never indulge... -
The Memory Eater by Rebecca Mahoney
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA teenage girl must save her town from a memory-devouring monster in this piercing exploration of grief, trauma, and memory, from the author of The Valley and the Flood.For generations, a monster called the Memory Eater has lived in the caves of Whistler Beach, Maine, surviving off the unhappy memories of those who want to forget... -
Melodic Madness by Natalie Bennett
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThere’s a method in his madness. Alaric is as brilliant as he is beautiful, and twice as deadly. He’s been watching me. Studying me. He’d planned to keep me long before I arrived on his doorstep. His chaotic world is now the prison I’m forced to call home. A place where nightmares and reality are indistinguishable... -
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Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology by Celine Frohn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsUnspeakable contains eighteen Gothic tales with uncanny twists and characters that creep under your skin. Its stories feature sapphic ghosts, terrifying creatures of the sea, and haunted houses concealing their own secrets. Whether you're looking for your non-binary knight in shining armour or a poly family to murder with, Unspeakable showcases the best contemporary Gothic queer short fiction... -
Thrum by Meg Smitherman
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAmi awakes from years in stasis to find she’s at the edges of deep space, and the only surviving member of her crew. Utterly alone and unable to contact Earth, she sends out a distress beacon, not expecting a response. When she gets one from a being who calls himself Dorian, she’s welcomed onto his ship as he offers his assistance in any way he can. But nothing on Dorian’s ship is as it seems... -
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Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 15 ratings'Gripping . . . You won't put it down' Sunday TelegraphA shocking collection of dark stories, ranging from chilling contemporary fairytales to disturbing supernatural fiction.Alone in a remote house in Iceland a woman is unnerved by her isolation; another can only find respite from the clinging ghost that follows her by submerging herself in an overgrown pool... -
In Mercy, Rain by Seanan McGuire
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsJack Wolcott was only twelve years old when she and her twin sister Jill, descended the impossible staircase and found herself in the Moors, a world of drowned gods and repugnant royals... -
The Poorly Made and Other Things by Sam Rebelein
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn unsettling and creepy story collection of literary horror set in the Renfield universe from “major new talent” (R.L. Stine) Sam Rebelein, author of Edenville.“I hope I get to go back to Renfield County again, before too long.” —LitHub on EdenvilleThere’s something wrong in Renfield County.It’s in the water, the soil, the wood... -
Sisters of the Crimson Vine by P.L. McMillan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJohn Ainsworth nearly died in that car crash.Soon he’ll learn there are worse fates.After a brutal accident, John awakens in the dilapidated Crimoria Convent under the care of thirteen unconventional nuns. Grievous injuries trap him within the borders of the ruined sanctuary and its strangely successful vineyard... -
Whispers of Blackwell House by Amélia Cognet
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDon’t stare at the paintings. They might stare back.Reeling from grief and a recent breakup, River is desperate for a fresh start. When she sees a listing for a housemaid job in an isolated mansion, she leaps at the chance to get away.Despite being instructed to never speak to the rich family living within the mansion, she can’t ignore Dorian Blackwell... -
To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhat does carrion taste like? Andi has to know. The vultures circling outside her home taunt and invite her to come understand the secrets hiding in their banquet of decay. Fascination morphs into an obsessive need to know what the vultures know. Andi turns to Dr. Fawning, but even the therapist cannot help her comprehend the secrets she’s buried beneath anger-induced blackouts...
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