The Dark Corner of BookTok: All the Horror Books That Scare the Sh*t Out of HorrorTok

This first book is a horror novel in translation from Argentinian author Agustina Bazterrica. Tender is the Flesh has BookTokers talking because of its disturbing content and the interesting moral questions it raises. This book is set in a world where an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous. In response, the government has sanctioned the consumption of human meat — or “special meat.” Marcos has a job processing this “special meat,” so he knows better than anyone that personal contact with humans raised for meat is strictly forbidden. But when he’s given the gift of a live specimen of the finest quality, he finds himself, little by little, treating her more and more like a human being.

Mexican Gothic has had readers talking since it was first released in 2020, and word is Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are producing a limited series adaptation of the for Hulu. So it’s not going anywhere anytime soon — especially not with those shocking twists. After receiving a distressing letter from her newlywed cousin, Noemí Taboada leaves her life as a socialite in Mexico City to come to her cousin’s rescue. But her cousin’s new home, High Place, is a dark and remote mansion in the country where unsettling surprises and threats await Noemí.

BookTok was already enamored with Paul Tremblay’s The Cabin at the End of the World. Then M. Night Shyamalan’s adaptation Knock at the Cabin was released, and everyone is reading this one all over again. This apocalyptic horror novel tells the story of a gay couple who take a trip with their adopted daughter Wen to a remote cabin. But what was meant to be a relaxing vacation quickly turns into something terrifying when four strangers show up with a message: a decision must be made or the world will come to an end.

Creepy, unsettling cover? Check! Super disturbing content that leave BookTokers asking “WTF did I just read?” Triple check times infinity. This book is suuuuper disturbing. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a sapphic horror novella that follows the story of two young women who meet each other in a chatroom in the early 2000s. What starts as a friendship quickly escalates to romance and then obsession. And as their relationship gets more intense, the women are driven to disturbing behavior.

Let’s be real. BookTokers love a Rebecca moment (just think about how much BookTok loves Colleen Hoover’s Verity). And The Hacienda is Rebecca meets Mexican Gothic, another HorrorTok fave. Set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, this book follows Beatriz, who is marrying the handsome and wealthy Don Rodolfo Solórzano. But there’s something strange about the Hacienda San Isidro where the couple is set to live. And when Beatriz is left alone in the house while her new husband tends to work at the capital, she starts seeing visions and hearing voices in her head.