These 7 Social-Horror Books Are Equal Parts Thought-Provoking and Terrifying

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Are you a fan of movies like Get Out, Parasite, or Rosemary's Baby and looking for something like that in book form? Let me introduce you to the genre of social-horror, a type of book or film that uses elements of suspense and horror to augment or highlight instances of oppression in society. Many social-horror books will focus on issues of race, gender, sexuality, class, or nationhood while still keeping within the realm of mystery and suspense.

If this kind of book sounds right up your alley, then you're in luck: it also happens to be one of the prompts for our 2022 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge! Keep reading to find seven social-horror books that you need to add to your TBR pile immediately.

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
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Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

Arguably the most popular book on this list thanks to its 2020 HBO adaptation, Lovecraft Country ($10) highlights the terrors of life under Jim Crow America in the 1950s while melding Lovecraftian horror and fantasy in one gripping novel. When 22-year-old Atticus Turner's father goes missing, he embarks on a road trip to find him, accompanied by his childhood friend Letitia and his uncle George. While traveling, they encounter both the mundane terrors of white America and supernatural spirits straight from . . . well, a Lovecraftian novel.

The Circle by Dave Eggers
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The Circle by Dave Eggers

Not to be confused with the Netflix series by the same name, The Circle ($16) is the world's most powerful internet company, and Mae Holland feels as though she's been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle links users' personal emails, social media, banking, and purchases to their universal operating system, creating one online identity that ushers in a new era of online transparency never before seen. As Mae settles into her new job on a sprawling California campus, she's shaken by a strange encounter with a colleague, and her life outside the Circle becomes a distant memory . . .

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
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Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Glamorous debutante Noemí Taboada heads High Place, a sprawling mansion in the Mexican countryside, after receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin, Catalina, begging her to save her from a mysterious doom. Noemí isn't afraid of anything, especially not the house itself, which begins appearing in Noemí's dreams along with horrifying visions that cause her to sleepwalk. Mexican Gothic ($14) explores themes of colonialism, misogynist patriarchy, and working-class exploitation wrapped up inside an enigmatic house that may truly be impossible to leave.

Penance by Kanae Minato
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Penance by Kanae Minato

Penance ($16), a short, fast-paced novel, opens with a murder — Sae, Maki, Akiko, and Yuko were tricked into leaving their friend Emily with a stranger, who is found dead hours later. Because the four girls were unable to describe the stranger to the police, the trail goes cold, and Asako, Emily's mother, is beside herself with grief. She curses the surviving girls, vowing that they'll pay for Emily's murder if they don't find who killed her before time runs out.

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi
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Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi

Set in US-occupied Baghdad circa 2005, Frankenstein in Baghdad ($13) follows Hadi, a scavenger who collects human body parts to stitch together in order to create a corpse after losing his best friend in a bombing. His goal is for the government to recognize the individual body parts as people and give them a proper burial. But when the body goes missing, a wave of murders sweeps the city, with eyewitnesses reporting a horrendous-looking killer who cannot be killed despite being shot. Hadi realizes he has created a monster that survives on human flesh — and no one is safe from it.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
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The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Fans of Get Out will enjoy The Only Good Indians ($15). The novel follows the lives of four Native American men and their families who are all connected by a deadly event that took place in their youth. Now adults, they find themselves being followed by an entity bent on revenge, as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up with them in a violent way.

White Is For Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
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White Is For Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

When she was a child, Miranda Silver developed pica, a rare eating disorder that causes its victims to eat non-edible substances, such as chalk or plastic. When Miranda is 16, her mother dies, and it only exacerbates her condition. As her family's home in Dover, England, is converted into a B&B, Miranda becomes plagued by nightmares from what seem like the house itself — and the spirits who inhabit it. White Is For Witching ($15) weaves in themes of bodily desire and the politics of family and nation into an unforgettable mystery.