Book Riot has published a list of six horror books set in or adjacent to the medieval era, highlighting the period's inherent scariness and thematic potential. The article explores how these stories delve into religious upheaval, power dynamics, and survival in a time of uncertainty.
The medieval era, spanning roughly from the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century to the Renaissance in the 13th and 15th centuries, offers a fertile ground for horror due to its blend of religious dominance, societal struggles, and the unknown. Book Riot's article, published on March 20, 2026, compiles six such titles, some set directly in the Middle Ages and others in similar secondary worlds or adjacent periods. It notes a predominance of European settings by white authors, lamenting the scarcity of stories from other regions like Africa or Asia and works by authors of color. The recommendations include religious and monstrous horrors that reflect vulnerabilities without modern protections like medicine or democracy. First is Between Two Fires by Christopher Buelhman, a 1348 tale of knight Thomas escorting a plague-orphaned girl with visions to Avignon amid a religious cataclysm; it gained BookTok fame and a Tor Nightfire rerelease. The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling depicts a besieged Aymar Castle where the Constant Lady and a saint bring aid that spirals into cult horrors. Hiron Ennes's The Works of Vermin, medieval-adjacent, follows exterminator Guy Moulène battling a venomous, dragon-sized centipede in tree-stump city Tiliard. Alexis Henderson's House of Hunger features Marion Shaw as a bloodmaid to Countess Lisavet in a blood-drinking society. Cassandra Khaw's Nothing But Blackened Teeth unfolds in a Heian-era (794-1185) haunted mansion during a modern wedding, involving yōkai and sacrifices. Otessa Moshfegh's Lapvona centers on shepherd boy Little Marek amid village disasters, abuse, and supernatural forces under a deviant lord. The piece concludes that medieval horror mirrors the present, questioning if humanity has learned from the past.
