9 Horror Books for Foodies

I know I said this list wasn’t about cannibalism. But before succumbing to her unspeakable appetites, the protagonist of this book is your average food critic, pushing for success in a male-dominated field. As the author dives into themes of gender and sexual desire and the ways our hunger(s) can consume us, we’re also treated to lush descriptions of high-end food and drink. A satire of foodie-ism as much as it is a critique of gender essentialism, this book is the quintessential horror title for foodies.

I’m such a fan of Harrison’s work, so I’m always looking for an excuse to include it in my book lists. Cackle is Harrison’s latest and, in it, we’re introduced to Annie, a woman going through a low point in her life. She moves to a remote village, hoping for a fresh start, and quickly latches onto a new bestie in a relationship that seems increasingly codependent. It’s clear to the reader, long before it’s clear to Annie, that her new friend is a witch. They continue to grow close, though, making elaborate meals together, baking delicious cakes, sipping tea, and solidifying what could be a bond that lasts forever.

Billed more as a supernatural fantasy than as a horror, I nevertheless feel compelled to include this story of a Nigerian girl who struggles to fit in anywhere…until she discovers some latent magical powers. A number of food bloggers have pointed out how this first book in the Akata Witch duology is filled with delicious foods, from fufu, egg stew, and okra soup to jollof rice, spicy chicken, and plantain. Foods also pop up in chapter titles and character names, and there’s even a full recipe for Tainted Pepper Soup and a guide to cookery. Come for the magic. Stay for the fantastic dinner ideas.

This book of short stories is by an author who often uses food as a means of signaling character development. But the titular story in this collection is the one that most intrigues me. In it, two ancient vampires who have been together for a very long time struggle to find ways to keep their marriage exciting. At the same time, they also seek out different drinks that might serve to sate their blood lust. And so, they travel the globe, sucking the juice from apples, sipping mint tea, throwing back cherry Coke floats, and more. Eventually, after drinking a pitcher of lemonade in the grove of Santa Francesca in Sorrento, they decide that lemons are the drink they’ve been searching for, and so they settle by the lemon grove for the long haul. Feeling thirsty?

A book of magical realism tied up in a dark fairytale, I find this story unsettling enough to include in a list of horror for foodies. And in this one, the food in question — gingerbread — takes center stage. It’s difficult to pin down the plot of this book, but what I can say is that a family with a gingerbread recipe that’s popular in certain parts of the world serves as a thread that takes us through this tale of legacy and tradition and what makes a family.

This dark satire is built around a supper club formed by two women who decide to spit in the face of society’s expectations for women and embrace their appetites. And so, they bring together a group of women in celebration of food and their changing bodies, breaking into empty buildings, feasting until they’re sick, leaving absolute carnage in their wake. But how far will they go to break out of the constraints of proper womanhood?

To be fair, this book is more about the food one gives up rather than the food one consumes. The woman at the center of this book suffers from violent, bloody dreams and gives up eating meat. Throughout the book, her husband and his extended family attempt to force her to return to more carnivorous habits, but she refuses. In the end, she gives up food altogether, coming to lose her connection not only to her family but to herself.

Part of the appeal of this book — at least to me — is the way in which Machado celebrates the appetites of women. Particularly their sexual desire. But much like the tale above, one of these stories is about the renunciation of food though, in this case, it’s in an attempt to control the protagonist’s expanding body. In “Eight Bites,” the protagonist — who struggles with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder — undergoes bariatric surgery. But the ghost of her former, overweight self continues to haunt her, leading her to become even more obsessed with food and the body.

Finally, there’s the book that inspired me to put together a list of horror for foodies in the first place. In this book that’s been billed as a Millennial vampire novel, Lydia, the vampire in question, leaves her mother in a nursing home so she can strike out on her own and pursue her artist dreams. Being both biracial and half-human/half-vampire, Lydia has often felt that she doesn’t quite fit in anywhere. For her, this often manifests in her cravings for Japanese food, cuisine she feels would make her feel closer to the father she never met, but which she is unable to eat. The way food wends its way throughout this piece, even as Lydia attempts to subsist on blood sausage powder and to ignore her pull toward human blood, is such a fascinating way to explore hunger, various appetites, and even identity. I regret to inform you that this one’s not out until the spring, but I believe it’s well worth the preorder.