9 Horror Books with Romance at Heart

There are actually a number of Darcy Coates books I could have included on this list. Coates is fantastic at incorporating romance into her horror books, and I’m a huge fan of her haunted houses. But the reason I opted for Voices in the Snow is the setup: our heroine has amnesia and wakes up to find herself snowed in with the man who rescued her from the storm. Or so he says, but who really knows? I mean, it’s not like Claire can remember. It’s such a delightful string of tropes that could just as easily be the setup for a romance novel as a horror story. It all depends on what happens next! The house Claire wakes up in is a crumbling Gothic pile surrounded by woods, and the more Claire sees and hears, the more she becomes convinced that, despite her rescuer’s reassurances, they aren’t actually alone. Something is waiting in the woods. Unable to escape because of the storm, Claire has to determine who she can trust and fast before whatever is outside the house finds a way in.

As I previously suggested, romance and horror can not only peacefully coexist but actually make rather spectacular bedfellows. Something Freydis Moon understands very well, as evidenced by their book Heart, Haunt, Havoc, about a lonely trans exorcist who falls for the nonbinary homeowner of his latest job site. Colin was hired to deal with a haunted house in Colorado, only to find that the home, owned by the handsome Bishop Martinez, may prove more of a challenge than Colin anticipated. It’s awash in restless spirits, drawn by the house’s dark, heartbreaking past. As he navigates the horrors of the house and his budding romance with its owner, Colin finds himself digging into secrets that Bishop would rather forget, further muddying an already messy supernatural situation.

If you are unfamiliar with my obsession with The Luminous Dead, welcome, and I’m sorry. Except I’m not. I talk about this book too much, but I won’t let that stop me! Honestly, Starling had me at “attractive caver gets (literally) in over her head with more than a little help from the equally attractive but untrustworthy person controlling her survival suit, also giant cave worms.” There’s just something horrifically hypnotic about watching helplessly as Gyre is dragged through the worst kind of hell. Just when you think it can’t get worse, somehow, it always does. And all the time, there’s Em, who seems just as desperate as Gyre is but for different reasons, reasons that all but guarantee Gyre can’t trust the very woman who can control everything from Gyre’s movement to her emotions with just a push of a button. Chemistry. jazz hands But honestly, the (not quite healthy) relationship that develops between these two is everything to me.

THIS. This book is a freaking love story for the ages, and I would die for the mermaid and her plague doctor. Think Little Mermaid, but the prince is an ass, and Ariel leaves him to get eaten by their half-mer children while she goes on a roundtrip with the court’s resident physician. The two stumble upon a super creepy village deep in the forest, with a bunch of kids who make the Children of the Corn look friendly, and they’re being governed by three ghastly Surgeons. When the Plague Doctor reveals that the Surgeons have a dark, violent secret that is a part of the Doctor’s own past, the two travelers find themselves attempting to unravel the Surgeons’ powers and put an end to their terrible work. The Salt Grows Heavy is a novella, so if you’re looking for a shorter horror romance, I definitely recommend starting here. It even bumped The Monster of Elendhaven out of 1st place for my favorite “terrible people in love” horror novella!

Have you ever realized that a book was going to break your heart, and you decided you were just going to let it? Ya’ll, the way I cried over this book. Echo is the sort of queer horror love story that I desperately need more of in my life, and there’s so much more to the story than the synopsis suggests, so don’t be deterred by the back cover copy. Yes, Echo is about Nick Grever surviving a terrible mountaineering accident that left him horribly scarred, killed his climbing buddy, Augustin, and left him figuratively and literally haunted by the mysterious mountain, Maudit. But Echo isn’t just Nick’s story, it’s also about his boyfriend, Sam. It’s about their relationship, their past, and their horrifying present as Sam tries desperately to save the man he loves from the mountain intent on possessing him.

Love is the whole purpose of My Dear Henry. It’s the constant at the heart of a story about two young men, torn apart by a hateful world, trying to make their way back to each other. When Gabriel Utterson was sent to London by his father to study medicine, he fell head over heels in love with fellow medical student Henry Jekyll. But it’s hard to hide a love that burns that brightly, and before long, rumors and whispers begin to follow Henry and Gabriel, forcing them to separate. When Gabriel returns to London after a long summer away, it becomes instantly clear that something has changed. Something is wrong with Henry, and Gabriel is certain that it has to do with the strange young man, Hyde, who has been seen coming and going from the Jekyll household. If Gabriel cannot discover the truth about what has happened to Henry, he may be at risk of losing the boy he loves forever.