An Infestation of Insect-Related Horror
Have you ever experienced the dread that comes with hearing a disembodied buzzing in the room with you, only to see the slim leg of a paper wasp come creeping out from behind the blinds? Have you experienced the disgust that comes when you go to pick an errant hair away from your sweaty neck, only to realize it’s a click beetle? How do you feel when you see a silverfish scurry across your bathroom ceiling…a spotted lantern fly pinwheel toward you on a current of air…a hulking spider retreat into the dark, narrow space between your mailbox and your house’s siding?
Am I the only one to be filled with horror? Sheer panic?
I’ve had an irrational fear of creepy crawlies—mostly of the stinging sort—my entire life. I once slammed my elbow against a door jamb while attempting to run away from a skittering stink bug. Another time, I nearly got into a car accident when a yellow jacket landed on my steering wheel. Just the other day, I crawled across the passenger seat of my car, over the gear shift, eventually squeezing myself into place in the driver’s seat because a wasp was hovering alongside my side-view mirror.
So it may seem weird that I’m drawn to insect horror. But I’ve always loved facing my fears within the controlled context of a book. I find it fun and thrilling. I enjoy it so much, I even wrote my own insect horror.
And this year has seen an explosion of insect-related horror. An infestation, if you will.
Below are some of my favorite works of insect horror, plus some forthcoming novels where those insects take center stage. I cannot wait to read them.
Regression by Cullen Bunn, Marie Enger, and Danny Luckert
It was about seven years ago—still early on in my comics obsession—when I spotted this particular issue on the shelf of my LCS. I didn’t need to know anything about the premise. That horrifying, many-legged creature crawling on the protagonist’s ear was enough for me to know I had to have it. And in fact, this was the first horror comic series to end up on my pull list. In Regression, a man suffers from waking nightmares that typically involve him covered in creepy crawlies. When he agrees to engage in some past-life regression hypnotherapy, he is pulled into an occult conspiracy he didn’t see coming.
Cackle by Rachel Harrison
Okay. So the arachnids in this lighthearted horror don’t take center stage, but they do act as familiars. The book centers around Annie, who has moved to a remote village in an attempt to start over, only to become besties with a woman who turns out to be a witch. But before she realizes her friend’s true identity, a small spider turns up in her apartment, one she eventually takes to carrying around in her pocket like a pet. It turns out the spider actually belongs to her new friend, and it’s one of many who help out around the house. Can Annie take this all in stride, or will she run screaming back to her old life?
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
Over a century ago, two young women—students at the Brookhants School for Girls—are killed by a swarm of yellowjackets. My nightmare, basically. The institution is later said to be haunted and is eventually shut down. Fast forward to the present day, and a book about the school’s queer, feminist (and haunted) history is being adapted for film. When the author of the book and the film’s two actors arrive at the location of the former school to begin filming, it seems the curse that claimed the lives of those students all those years ago has reawakened.
The Secret Life of Insects and Other Stories by Bernardo Esquinca
This collection came out in 2023, but the title story was originally published in 2006, in BOMB magazine. In it, a forensic entomologist’s wife is murdered. It’s determined that she must have been killed when, presumably, she was asleep in bed with the protagonist. This is despite the fact that her body was discovered in a forest miles away. Interwoven with the unfolding story are facts the protagonist shares about insects that invade corpses, and how they can be used to determine a time of death and even to catch a murderer. FUN!
InSEXts by Marguerite Bennett, Ariela Kristantina, Bryan Valenza, and A Larger world
In this comic series, two women in the Victorian era—who also happen to be secret lovers—discover the ability to transform into terrifying human-insect hybrids. They use this power to exact vengeance against the one woman’s cruel husband (in the most satisfying way possible), which allows them to finally be together. Come for the femme fatales. Stay for the body horror.
She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
First of all, love this cover. This YA novel made it onto my TBR on the strength of that alone. The premise is pretty darn fantastic, too. A young woman visits her estranged father in Vietnam, determined to get along with him for five weeks so that she can get the college money he’s promised her. But things get weird fast, as her father appears to be living in a parasitic ghost house that plays host to a ton of bugs who like to creep where they don’t belong. The book tackles themes of identity, colonialism, and intergenerational trauma.
The Queen by Nick Cutter
This novel (out in October) is the book that inspired me to write this list in the first place. In it, Margaret, a high school student, wakes up to a text from her best friend—who’s been missing for a month and is presumed dead. Margaret follows the texts on a macabre scavenger hunt that leads her to discover that her bestie is not who she thought she was. Wasps and other insects play a huge part in this story, but I don’t want to reveal too much. Just trust me when I say that you’re in for a wild, over-the-top, absolutely terrifying ride. Also: that cover. ::shudders::
The Swarm by Andy Marino
This is another forthcoming title (November 2024), and I can’t wait to read it. In it, millions of cicadas appear unexpectedly, completely off their usual every-17-years rhythm. When they turn aggressive, the cast of characters in this book struggle to figure out what’s behind the deadly swarm. Soooo thrilled we’re living in a year when two different types of cicadas are emerging. This won’t give me nightmares at all.
But Not Too Bold by Hache Pueyo
And here’s the last bug-laden title I’m looking forward to (though, to be fair, arachnids are neither bugs nor insects; rather, they’re in a class all their own. ::shivers::). In this dark gothic fantasy, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for human brides needs a new keeper—because she ate the last one. Dália is the lucky lady, and we follow her as she grows into her new role, rooting for her as she looks into the death of her predecessor and tries to avoid being eaten herself. Too bad it’s not out until February 2025!
Love bugs in all genres? Jenn Northington put together this delightful flow chart tracking the bugs of literature.