High-heeled Horror: The Feminist Horror Reading List

Jun 4

If you've arrived at this page, you no longer have an excuse for putting out sexist and/or misogynistic writing. All writers have the ability to create feminist works. Or at the very least, “feminist-friendly” works.

That's the conclusion I drew after moderating the StokerCon 2024 panel, “High-heeled Horror: Feminism and Womanhood in the Horror Genre,” in San Diego, California.

Attendees were treated to an expert panel of brilliant minds—Sumiko Saulson, Kenya Moss-Dyme, Catlyn Ladd, Carina Stopenski, and Tiffany Michelle Brown—who had a spirited discussion about what they’d like to see and no longer see in works of horror when it comes to female and femme characters.

I pitched the “High-heeled Horror” panel because I wanted to dig into the juxtaposition of feminism—which by many accounts should reject coercive force—and horror—which often tackles violence head-on. And the discussion gave life to a list of feminist horror works that can both enlighten and inspire.

With fewer than fifty entries, this list is neither perfect nor exhaustive, rather it has grown out of discussions before, during, and after the event. The texts listed here are intended to deepen one’s understanding of feminism in the genre and to illustrate how to get feminist horror right.

The works inform the author’s ability to push back against the:

perpetual victimization of the “final girl;”
trope of the “strong female protagonist;”
criticism of the female protagonist as “unlikeable;”
Mammy-fication of black female protagonists in the vein of Michonne from The Walking Dead;
pervasive use of sexual violence as past trauma.

The works on this list also include what feminist horror panelists strive for in their own projects and hope others will seek out as well, such as:

inclusion of all female/femme body types;
inclusion of female/femme characters of all ages;
creation of well-rounded female/femme characters with nuanced pasts and interiorities;
inclusion of female/femme pain and bodily functions;
recognition of the female mutilator as feminist icon.

I’d love to hear of any additions others would like to see here. Enjoy!