Let’s Talk Bookish: Oh, the Horror

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted with Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Book Nook Bits has hosted since April 2022, with Dini at Dini Panda Reads as co-host from February 2025.

It’s been a bit since I did LTB. The prompts have been great, but I’ve just been so, so busy recently (also why I haven’t done Blogtober this year!), but I am very slowly catching up on things. And honestly, I could not let this prompt pass me by!

Let’s Talk Bookish 17th October:
Oh, the Horror
(Snapdragon @ Snapdragon Alcove)

  Prompts: Do you read horror? What do you think of when you hear the word horror? Are there any books you read that are not practically horror but have some horror element in them?

I don’t think it’ll come as a surprise to many that yes, I read horror (unless you’ve missed that I also run horror website Divination Hollow Reviews). I love horror. If you were to ask me my favourite genres, it’s Horror, Romance and Fantasy (so, yes, I freaking adore Paranormal Romance, thank you very much).

When I hear the word ‘horror’ I think of how the genre has long been a home for the margenalised, the fact people gravitate towards horror because of their own life experiences, how horror can be cathartic and allow both readers and writers to work through the difficulties they’ve faced. Horror is about over strength, resilience, and overcoming. I also think about how horror and romance are two genres which have always been driven by women (as creators, consumers, champions, and in horror it’s a fact often overlooked!), how they have so much in common and how they work so well together, even with such different conventions/tropes at their core. And how horror endings are, often, unpredictable, especially compared to romance – romance should always have a HEA (or HFN), but when you dive into a horror book, you don’t even know if the people you’re reading about will even survive, and if they do, they’re often deeply, traumatically changed.

As for books that aren’t particularly horror but with horror elements – they’re everywhere! I think it would come as a surprise to people just how much ‘horror’ sits comfortably in other genres, too, and how broad a term it is. There are many thrillers and crime books out there that a step away from horror. Paranormal Romance often features horror monsters – vampires, werewolves and demons, oh my. Fairy tales are, arguably, the original horror stories. And there’s plenty of horror in folklore and myths! Even looking at things like epic fantasy – how many involve some sort of raising the dead? Or needing to fight against some sort of monster?

Horror is everywhere, and if you’ve hesitated over the genre because you feel it might be a little too scary, I can guarantee there is something in horror for you. There is, pretty much, something within horror for everyone, and it’s the kind of genre I’d encourage people to try a few times, thanks to the wide scope it covers.