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I am a reluctant horror fan. I’ve been a scaredy cat my whole life, with horror movies giving me nightmares for weeks. And yet, some of my favourite people love horror. So, I keep dipping my toe in the genre, despite the risks. I started by incorporating some queer horror reads around Halloween, and I was surprised to find a few I loved. Over the years, that has turned into a month-long horror reading marathon in October. Now, it’s spilling into the rest of the year, too. What can I say?: there’s nothing like a sapphic gothic novel.
At this point, I’m forced to admit that horror is one of my top genres—in fact, the majority of my most anticipated releases are horror or horror-adjacent. Here are three sapphic horror novels out in 2026 on my TBR, from a dark necromantic fantasy to a historical boarding school gothic to a YA Faustian bargain.
All Access members, read on for my most anticipated sapphic horror novels of 2026.
Bone of My Bone by Johanna van Veen (May 26, 2026)
My Darling Dreadful Thing was one of my favourite reads of last year, and it cemented “sapphic gothic” as my new go-to microgenre. I need to read van Veen’s Blood on Her Tongue next, but I’m also looking forward to this horror/fantasy story. It follows a nun and a peasant on the run from invading soldiers. Together, they stumble on a relic: the gilded skull of a saint. If they can reunite it with its body, they will get a wish—but someone else is hunting for the relic and will stop at nothing to take it from them. There’s necromancy, folk horror, and a sapphic love story: how could I not have it on my most anticipated list?
Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran (March 10, 2026)
Sapphic gothic novels are having a moment, and I am here for it. I can’t resist the combination of sapphic longing and a creeping sense of doom. At Briarley School for Girls in 1928, something sinister is spreading, rotting meat and curdling milk. Then the body count begins to climb. Emily is convinced her captivating classmate Violet’s death was not natural, and she intends to prove it. She teams up with rival Evelyn to try to contact Violet from beyond the veil. Through the medium of Evelyn, Violet warns that the danger has only begun. This promises “teenage repression, queer desire, and the everyday horror of coming of age.”
Doe by Rebecca Barrow (June 23, 2026)
Rebecca Barrow wrote one of my favourite YA books, This Is What It Feels Like, and despite that being a contemporary novel, I’ll follow her into any genre. This is about Maris, whose life is falling to pieces: her mother is depressed, her dad left, and her relationship with her girlfriend is practically non-existent. The only bright spot is her role as cheer captain. When a new girl threatens that, too, Maris begins to have dreams about a monstrous figure of an ancient, decaying deer. Doe can give her back her position as cheer captain—if Maris sets her free. This premise reminds me of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea, a YA horror novel about a queer Black ballerina who makes a Faustian bargain with a river of blood to get ahead in ballet. I loved that story, so I have high hopes for this one.
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