After
Spawn
Shaun Hutson2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
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The Summoning
Bentley Little1993
An ancient blood-drinking entity awakens in a small Arizona town. The story follows several residents as the creature begins a violent spree.
Same tense register, still splatterpunk
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Flesh
Richard Laymon1987
An eyeless, slug-like parasite enters human hosts and forces them to commit acts of extreme violence and sexual assault.
tense → sardonic, still splatterpunk
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
The Fog
James Herbert1975
A chemical leak releases a thick fog that causes anyone it touches to commit acts of extreme violence. An investigator tries to stop its spread.
Same tense register, still splatterpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Kin
Kealan Patrick Burke2011
A woman escapes a family of cannibals in Alabama, only to return for vengeance. It follows the aftermath of trauma and the hunt.
Same tense register, still splatterpunk
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
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The Manitou
Graham Masterton1975
A woman discovers a growth on her neck that is the reincarnation of a vengeful Native American shaman. It is a story of supernatural body horror.
Same tense register, still body horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
Denser prose
tense → dreamlike
- pace-1prose+3bleak0
House of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski1998
A man finds a door in his house that should not exist. The story is told through layers of academic footnotes and a decaying manuscript.
pace-1·prose+3·bleak0
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Ambergris
Jeff VanderMeer2020
This collection follows the history of a city built atop a subterranean race. It uses fake histories, journals, and detective noir.
pace-1·prose+3·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
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The Golden
Lucius Shepard1993
A vampire detective investigates the murder of a woman bred for her blood. The story takes place within a sprawling castle during a summit.
tense → decadent
pace-1·prose+3·bleak0
- pace0prose+3bleak+1
The Unholy Consult
R. Scott Bakker2017
A messiah leads his armies toward a final confrontation with an ancient, soul-devouring force. The world is ending.
tense → bleak
pace0·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+3bleak+1
Edgar Allen Poe (Black Cat / Cask of Amontillado / Fall of the House of Usher / Gold Bug / Metzengerstein / Murders in the Rue Morgue / Narrative of Arthur Gordn Pym / Never Bet the Devil Your Head / Pit and the Pendulum / Purloined Letter / Tell-Tale Heart)
Edgar Allan Poe2005
A collection of gothic stories and a novel. Narrators deal with psychological collapse, premature burial, and macabre crimes.
tense → bleak
pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1
To recover
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
Until You
Judith McNaught1994
A teacher is mistaken for an heiress by an Earl after a dockside accident causes her to lose her memory. She lives as his guest in Regency England.
tense → earnest
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace0prose0bleak-2
The Sentinel
Lee Child2020
A drifter helps an IT manager targeted by criminals after a cyberattack. He uses physical force to protect the man and uncover a conspiracy.
tense → propulsive
pace0·prose0·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
One Good Earl Deserves a Lover
Sarah MacLean2013
A sheltered noblewoman hires a gambling club owner to teach her about London's vices before her wedding.
tense → playful
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett1989
A secret society summons a dragon to take over a fantasy city. A group of cynical, underfunded night watchmen must stop the beast.
tense → wry
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra
Vaseem Khan2015
A retired police inspector in Mumbai investigates a boy's death while caring for a baby elephant inherited from his uncle.
tense → warm
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Flesh
Richard Laymon1987
An eyeless, slug-like parasite enters human hosts and forces them to commit acts of extreme violence and sexual assault.
tense → sardonic, still splatterpunk
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose+2bleak0
Manhunt
Gretchen Felker-Martin2022
Two trans women and a trans man hunt feral men in a world where a virus transforms anyone with high testosterone. It features graphic gore.
tense → propulsive, still splatterpunk
pace+1·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
Infected
Scott Sigler2008
Alien parasites burrow into human skin, causing paranoia and violent outbursts while a CDC doctor and CIA agent track the spread.
tense → propulsive, still body horror
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Rising
Brian Keene2003
A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.
tense → bleak, still splatterpunk
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
Johnny Gruesome
Greg Lamberson2008
A murdered teenager returns from the grave to kill the classmates who betrayed him. It is a fast-paced slasher story with high gore.
tense → sardonic, still splatterpunk
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-2prose+3bleak0
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
tense → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+3·bleak0
- pace-2prose+3bleak-2
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+3bleak-1
Ulysses
James Joyce1914
Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.
tense → playful
pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+3bleak+1
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
tense → elegiac
pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+3bleak-1
Either/Or
Søren Kierkegaard1992
A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.
tense → meditative
pace-2·prose+3·bleak-1
Heavier
tense → bleak, still splatterpunk
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three (Books of Blood, #1-3)
Clive Barker
A collection of short stories focusing on visceral body horror and supernatural encounters. The prose focuses on physical transformation and gore.
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
And By God's Hand You Shall Die
David Sodergren2023
A woman working in a brothel built on a ruined church experiences visions of an apocalypse. Violence and gore ensue as a priest's warnings come true.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
Exquisite Corpse
Poppy Z. Brite1996
Two serial killers meet in New Orleans and collaborate on the abduction and murder of a young man. The prose details extreme physical violence.
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
The Troop
Nick Cutter2014
A scoutmaster and five boys are stranded on an island with a man carrying a parasitic infection. The organism spreads through the group.
tense → bleak, still body horror
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
The Girl Next Door
Jack Ketchum1989
A group of children in the 1950s witness and participate in the prolonged torture of two sisters held captive in a basement.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
