When I started writing my first eco-horror book, I wanted to see what other books were in this subgenre. I was on a mission to discover the absolute best eco horror books in the market today.
I knew I loved horror movies and environmental disaster movies—The Day After Tomorrow, anyone?—but I struggled to find great eco horror books to read.Â
Whilst the romance genre seems to have a never-ending supply of newer and weirder subgenres sprouting up like weeds, the horror genre doesn’t seem to have as strong of a subgenre game.
So here is a list of some of the best eco horror novels I’ve read recently, which I hope will be useful to you, fellow reader, on your quest for eco horror stories!Â
Reader beware as there’s likely spoilers!Â
P.S. I’d love it if you left your own recommendations down in the comments and I’ll be sure to read them if I haven’t already!Â
The Ever Growing List of Great Eco Horror Books
Dreamcatcher, by Steven King
Now, we all know that King writes horror, but he’s not exactly known for eco-horror in particular. Dreamcatcher is mostly thought of as a science fiction horror, but I think that it slots nicely into this eco-horror subgenre too.
When an alien virus makes its way to earth, it isn’t just the people that are infected, the animals are too, and ultimately, they have to stop it before the water system becomes contaminated.
Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer
Whenever you search for eco-horror stories, Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer is always sure to pop up, and with good reason. Again, this is mostly marketed as a science fiction story, but the environmental elements throughout make this one perfect for the eco-horror subgenre too.
Area ‘x’ is explored for the 12th time, after 11 previous problematic explorations. We follow four scientists through a beautiful but strange alien landscape where nothing is quite as it seems.
Not ALone, by Sarah K Jackson
A current favorite of mine, Not Alone follows our main character and her young son in a dystopian, modern-day England. There are some wonderful environmental aspects woven in throughout this novel, which are terrifyingly close to reality.Â
The end of the world as we know it is ultimately caused by plastic pollution, leaving our main character alone and isolated, before she leaves home with her young son for the first time in 5 years to try and find her husband that she had presumed dead.
Fuzzy Mud, by Louis Sachar
This one is aimed at a younger readership, but I still found it interesting. Fuzzy mud is narrated through a schoolgirl who happens upon ‘fuzzy mud’ in the woods near her school. It is lighter on the horror aspects, but still has a decent amount of fear factor.
A new type of bacteria is being farmed under the woods and escapes causing the fuzzy mud, which makes our main character sick. The fuzzy mud infection is fast spreading and has the potential to destroy whole ecosystems.
Tender is the Flesh, by Agustina Bazterrica
Oh boy, this one’s ending was not what I’d expected. Normally, I love a twist, but damn! For those who haven’t read it yet, Tender is the Flesh takes us into a world where animals all have a virus that kills humans. No more pets, no more livestock.
Bazterrrica does a fantasic job of making something as horrific as human farming come across as believable, really building the situation so that no other solution can been seen. The story follows one man inparticular who works in the industry as he navigates a series of terrible life events, and ends up being gifted a farmed human of his own.
Eden, by Tim Lebbon
The Virgin Zones are completely cut off from humans. These well guarded and vast areas across the world were introduced as a way to ease climate change and fix some of the damage done to the world. However, people always find a way in.
In this book we follow a team of athletes who are racing across one of the oldest virgin zones, Eden. Their experience with other virgin zones doesn’t prepare them for what finds them inside Eden. This horror is slow to start but once blood begins to flow, it doesn’t stop.
Love Eco Horror Novels?
Then I think you’ll love my upcoming novel, Dying Tides. Check out the inside scoop on it before it’s released!
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