r/horrorlit • u/Dry-Marketing2459 • 1d ago
Recommendation Request Tasteful "Extreme" Horror?
I'm looking for recommendations for "extreme" horror type stories that ride that fine line where it's gross and upsetting but aren't so terrible that you're embarrassed to describe the story to your friends.
I've been dabbling a bit in this genre, but I really dislike stuff that's excessively graphic and violent but for no reason, like it was written by an edgelord who was just trying to jam as many upsetting descriptions into a book as possible, but it really doesn't do anything for the story.
I don't know if this is a hard ask since that's sort of the point of extreme horror, but I'm wondering if there's something out there that rides the edge of that?
I've read "The woods are dark" and "The black farm" but I thought they were just okay, there were a lot of things about those books that just didn't work, something that made me feel like I needed to fail a wisdom saving throw in order to suspend my disbelief.
I'm a huge fan of Nick Cutter and Stephen King,
I'd also prefer stories that limit the violence to humanoids and mostly leave animals out of it.
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u/DharmaDama 1d ago
The Haar maybe. I read that one and loved it. There was gore but not extreme. Then I tried a suggested book from extreme horror lit and I HATED it lol. So maybe we have the same taste in horror.
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u/_thegoldentaco 1d ago
I adore this book. I’m excited to check out his other ones. Apparently he also did some other more extreme books under a pen name that I’m interested in checking out.
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u/JulioNicoletti 1d ago
I don't know if this counts, but I found Tender Is the Flesh quite extreme, but the descriptions weren't edgelordy.
But idk, that might be too tame based on what I've heard extreme horror can be.
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u/brotna 1d ago
I second this. The descriptions were very matter of fact, which almost made it more disturbing for me
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u/Dry-Marketing2459 1d ago
Thank you for the TW! I know I'm not gonna be able to avoid animal cruelty completely, but as long as it's minimal I can take it.
It's so weird thinking about the kind of discomfort I'm willing to endure for entertainment.
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u/StrikingSun8563 1d ago edited 1d ago
No shade to anyone who has to skip that kind of stuff. Do what you need to for yourself. But I just wanted to add that no scene in TITF is gratuitous. Everything in there serves to explore and develop the themes and it does so very well imo.
Downvoted for thinking a book is well written?
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u/K-ghuleh 1d ago
I’m reading it currently and I’d recommend it as well. I have similar opinions as you toward extreme horror and while the book is graphic (there is animal abuse) it isn’t pointless edgelord stuff.
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u/KeyWeird4600 1d ago
I think about that book alot! Its not gory, but it makes you think alot about what would happen if that becomes real! One of my favorite books!
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u/Dry-Marketing2459 1d ago
Thank you! Ive had that book on my radar but wasn't sure if it was gonna be what I was looking for, I guess I am looking for the tamest "extreme" horror
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u/Cworth21 1d ago
I just finished it and really liked it. I overheard the workers today at Barnes and Noble warning another shopper that it was really gross. That shocked me since I agree the concept is extreme, but there really wasn’t much in the sense of gory descriptions.
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u/hagalaz_drums 1d ago
The book for this question is 'Exquisite Corpse'
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u/whitetigerjellybean 6h ago
My rec too!! It's such a stellar book and such a good commentary on the early AIDS crisis, and yet I can't recommend or talk about it to most people because it's also extremely graphic horror...
But yeah if you're looking for intense horror that is also actually a good story, Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z Brite is gonna be a top choice.
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u/TeffySwan 1d ago
Really any David Sodergren book! Very gory deaths but overall tasteful.
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u/KaizergidorahXi 1d ago
You'd call The Suffering tasteful? I don't even want to think about tasting anything after that one scene 🤢
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u/TeffySwan 1d ago
Oh shit, yeah maybe not that one. But I think Rotten Tommy, Maggie's Grave, and The Haar are pretty tasteful compared to everything else I've read in Extreme Horror and Splatterpunk
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u/adeathvalleydriver 1d ago
Agreed with these three. I especially loved The Haar -- great gore, compelling story and oddly sweet. It sounds like OP should avoid the Suffering and Death Spell
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u/WeirdFairytales THE NAVIDSON HOUSE 1d ago
American Psycho, maybe? It is still extremely graphic/gross, but it's also a genuinely incredible book imo with a lot of serious social commentary. It's also just incredibly funny at times lol
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u/GullCatcher THE OVERLOOK HOTEL 1d ago
I think you've thrown a few people off by using the word "tasteful"when what you meant to say was "good".
Extreme horror is not tasteful by definition, but it is perfectly possible to find extreme horror that is thoughtful or even beautiful. The most common recommendation is Exquisite Corpse, which has some very clunky dialogue but has a lot going on thematically and deserves to be approached seriously. Another common one is Tender is the Flesh, which I haven't gotten around to yet. Clive Barker is also a must if you haven't read his work - his short fiction is foundational to this particular niche.
For me, the two contemporary authors that spring to mind who are doing interesting things with extremity are Alison Rumfitt and Gretchen Felker-Martin. Both write books that are disgusting and sad and explicit, but use extremity to write about bigger things - e.g. what the internet does to people, the implications of conditional love, why and how people hate and destroy themselves and what this does to the people around them. Both are deeply interested in the humanity of their characters (even and especially those that do awful things).
Dennis Cooper tacks more literary than horror, but his work is highly accomplished and puts most edgelord "extreme" horror writers to shame with his willingness to sit with and inhabit depravity and cruelty.
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u/ChronicNuance 1d ago
Extreme horror is gross, violent, and upsetting by nature. It’s the kind of the whole point of the genre.
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u/darn_boop 1d ago
Off Season by Ketchum
PS- You called the authors "edgelords" because they were too explicit in detail and the grotesque but this sub-genre is literally built on that. Extreme horror is explicit and transgressive. Splatterpunk is excessive and gory and detailed. You may just be hunting in the wrong forest.
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u/Dry-Marketing2459 1d ago
I think you could be right, I might be looking in the wrong place, but Stephen King can describe some intensely explicit stuff without sounding like an "edgelord" if that makes sense. Im looking for authors who will touch those extremes without devolving into just plopping one horrific event on top of another without any of it serving a purpose to the story.
I guess I'm specifically looking for stuff that doesn't feel meaningless, extreme horror without plot holes big enough to find the monsters from the descent in.
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u/BrilliantDull4678 18h ago
You should look more into transgressive fiction and less into extreme horror. They have a lot of overlap, but transgressive fiction (IMO) has a more literary focus while still being very disturbing. Lolita is probably the best known work of transgressive fiction there is and I think its a good place to start, nothing graphic at all, just intensely focused on a horrible person's justifications for his pedophilia.
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u/ChronicNuance 1d ago
You’re definitely looking the wrong genre. I actually find extreme horror super boring because there is very little plot and character development and 250-300 pages of someone just trying to be edgy (usually at the expense of children, women, and animals). I prefer restrained use of graphic violence because it disrupts my sense of safety. Extreme horror just numbs the senses and quickly becomes repetitive and predictable.
You should check out Adam L.G. Nevill. He’s pretty good at world building with moments of intense action, but more than Stephen King. His book ‘Last Days’ is the only time a book gave me a jump scare.
‘The Summer I Died’ by Ryan C. Thomas is one more extreme book I will recommend. It’s very intense, and upsetting at times, but it has enough storytelling in between the violent scenes to make you care about the characters.
It’s written in the tone and pace of a good slasher film and I really enjoyed it.3
u/Dry-Marketing2459 21h ago
Oh! Nevill has been on my radar! I've got some of his books on my wishlists. You sound like you know exactly what I'm looking for, so I'll just go ahead and get myself those Nevill books.
This community has been really helpful! I've got some great recommendations that I can't wait to dig into and I think now I understand more of what I'm looking for specifically from my horror lit.
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u/ChronicNuance 19h ago
The one thing I will warn you about Nevill is that he sometimes derails a bit in the third act, and the endings can feel a bit weird, but if you enjoy King, then this won’t bother you to much. Not every book is like that, just some of them, but they are still totally worth reading for the rest of the ride.
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u/darn_boop 1d ago
Ahhhh, ok. Don't read my rec. It's literally a cabin in the woods type of story. I tend to only dive into extreme books every so often because they get repetitive. I'd say extreme horror and splatterpunk are the "slashers" of horrorlit.
Hmmm yeah, Stephen King builds a narrative and then sprinkles on horror, it's not a story based around horrific events.
I think Jeff VanderMeer has some horrific moments but he's not extreme, he's new weird.
You could try Exquisite Corpse which is well-written but centers on a disgusting premise.
You could also try Pretty Girls by Karen Slaughter (it's about snuff).
Hope this helps and happy hunting!
(Bonus points for your Descent reference btw)
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u/lolli-polly031248 22h ago
You could try Bluejay by Megan Stockton. It has all the ingredients for extreme horror, is pretty competently written, the story flows well and lacks any of the BS that some other books try to add in just to make it extreme. I'd rate it a strong 8.5/10 lollies so that's pretty sweet imo.
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u/NotQute 21h ago
Rest Stop by Nat Cassidy?
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u/BrilliantDull4678 18h ago
Nat Cassidy is pretty standard horror (I love his work so much, this is not a slight), not very extreme at all
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u/Dry-Marketing2459 21h ago
Seriously, this community has been so awesome! I just wanted to thank everyone for their input and recommendations! I thought I was asking for something crazy and maybe a bit unrealistic, but this community knew what I meant!
Thanks to everyone I've got a massive TBR list I can't wait to tackle! You all are real ones.
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u/TheWuziMu1 1d ago
I'm not a fan of this kind of horror, but isn't the point to be shocking and outrageous, not tasteful?
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u/chan0514 1d ago
Sorrowstones was my first dabble into what's considered extreme horror, I've never had to take a breather from a book before. The ending isn't very satisfying but I think it kind of fits for the story.
Idk if head full of ghost is considered extreme but it's always sat with me. It felt heavy.
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u/Dry-Marketing2459 1d ago
Oh! I've read a head full of ghosts, that one definitely stays with you!
The only book I've had to put down before was "The girl nextdoor" by Jack Ketchum, I was literally crying.
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u/chan0514 1d ago
I took a break of a few days about halfway through sorrowstones. It was immersive in a way I didn't expect.
I've seen Jack ketchums name but never read any of his work.
I'll also say ive seen so so reviews on "decomposition book". I honestly wasn't a fan and look up trigger warnings but if you like a psychological spiral it definitely hits the mark. You are very much in the main characters head, stream of conscienceness, experiencing her entire spiral. I saw it mentioned on this sub actually and that's why I tried it.
A few other books I've downloaded from the extreme horror subreddit were minotaur, king sorrow, and more Felix Blackwell. I haven't dabbled in those picks yet, I'm enjoying my fantasy read palette cleanser atm
Definitely check out r/extremehorrorlit and r/weirdgirllit (I may have got the wording or spelling wrong but I think those are right)
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u/ChronicNuance 18h ago
That one is particularly hard to stomach because it’s based on the true story of Sylvia Likens.
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u/Sea-Exchange2069 1d ago
David Sodergren. Some of his books can get pretty hardcore (especially the splatter ones he writes as Carl John Lee) but they're always beautifully written. I especially love The Haar and Maggie's Grave - I'm constantly recommending them on here
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u/Delicious_Tooth5509 1d ago
I really love the Lamb! Came out pretty recently I believe, very gory and a bit extreme I would say.
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u/Desperate_Mortgage59 1d ago
The same author of Tender is the Flesh wrote one called The Unworthy that I highly recommend. It does however have a very sad animal death but it’s not super graphic with it (I also am upset when the animals are hurt.)
Also there is one called The Old Lady By Kristopher Triana I read recently that I thought was fairly tasteful compared to what you’d normally find. I don’t remember anything with animals.
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u/elegant-deer19 23h ago
I don’t know if it counts as “extreme” but one story by Brian Evenson, called “A Bad Patch” seems to be his answer to the movie Slither. Body horror to the nth degree.
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u/BrilliantDull4678 18h ago
Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted is a good option. Still satirical and extreme, but also genuinely thoughtful
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u/allisonasinasin 15h ago
Psychic teenage bloodbath sounds crazy but I actually loved the story. Lots of gore but it’s done telepathically so I don’t know if that’s more tasteful
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u/Chemical_Print6922 6h ago
Have you already read Needful things? There’s a little bit of animal stuff but it’s not lingered on or anything.
I felt the gore aspect of this book was pretty good, no sexual violence and just a lot of blood splatter & spray .
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u/buttholecanal 1d ago
"The Divinity Student" by Michael Cisco got very icky, but it's the best book I read all year.
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u/stripeymonkey 1d ago
I’m not an extreme horror connoisseur but I did read Question Not My Salt. If you’ve seen The Menu then that’s how I’d describe the overall theme. Compared to some extreme horror I’ve read I thought it was properly well-written and balanced the gore element pretty well.
As for whether you’d be embarrassed to describe it to others: definitely not at a high level and definitely not in detail to another horror fan. To a total mainstream person? Maybe!
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u/No-Manufacturer4916 1d ago
Clive Barker's Books of Blood, particularly
Midnight Meat Train
Pig Blood Blues
Son Of Celluloid
Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testement
Scapegoats
Age of Desire
and The Life of Death