With Valentine’s day looming on the horizon, do you need an antidote to the sickening cuteness and horrendously twee romance inferno? 

Well, why not cuddle up with a good book? 

Sounds like a good idea? 

In fact, why not make it a book that’s gonna scare the goddamn bejesus out of you, you say? 

OKAY THEN YOU GOT IT 

And, it being Women in Horror month in February, let me suggest just a few female authors who are absolutely bringing it in the horror stakes [insert your own vampire joke here]. In this first instalment of this fierce, female horror authors list, I present to you some authors who are just outstanding in their creepiness, downright darkness and fiendish wordplay. If anything can cure your romantic overdose, these sure can. 

Sarah Lotz: Making the list for The Three, Day Four and The White Road 

I love Lotz’s books. She expertly weaves her horror through books that are bona fide page turners. She takes child survivors of plane crashes, cruise ship mediums and internet celebrity mountaineers and races you through stories that leave you holding your breathe and reaching for a blanket. 

Check out my review of The White Road and also goddamn just read them all.

Lauren Beukes: Making the list for Broken Monsters and The Shining Girls 

Lauren Beukes is officially one of my favourite authors of all time. I fell in love with her early works, Moxyland in particular, but her novels Broken Monsters and The Shining Girls filled some horrific, crime-thriller shaped holes in my bookish life that I didn’t know needed filling. The rhythm that Beukes pulls words together with is fantastic to read, and her stories are vivid with their darkness. Beukes is one of my writing heroes, and I can’t wait for Afterland to drop in the summer.

Shirley Jackson: Making the list for We have always lived in the castle, The haunting of hill house and The Lottery 

Jackson is a master of gothic horror. Her books take you to frightful haunted houses, creepy village communities, and spooky family dynamics. Subtly disturbing, her stories are perfect for long, winter nights (as well as the rest of the year, for you horror gannets). If you want to know more about how good I think her horror words are, I reviewed We have always lived in the castle and *spoiler alert* I loved it. Also, at least the first half to Netflix’s adaptation of The haunting of hill house was some excellent creepy fare, so if you’re into the televisual variety of scares then that’s worth checking out. 

Deborah Sheldon: Making the list for Body Farm Z 

Sheldon’s zombie horror, set on a body farm (quite simply a genius move), is fantastically fun and infested with a whole menagerie of zombie animals, all in various states of undress. Full of action and with plenty of undead to keep you busy, this is a full-on rampage through zombie land (farm).  

Need more to fill your horror fix? Check in later in February for part two of this fierce, female horror authors list.