7 Latin American Horror Books to Enjoy on Halloween

Every time the month of October arrives, terror takes over everything that surrounds us. Halloween is a time that is lived to the fullest when we dress up and go out to have fun, or if we stay home to watch a marathon of terrifying movies. However, something that very few know is that the scariest fear is actually embodied in the pages of a book.

Literature is exquisite in all its genres, but something special happens with terror. As you get deeper into the story, fear becomes an attraction that leads you to read everything until the end. On this occasion, we will not talk about the works of masters like Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King, but about Latin American authors who have taken those emotions to another level. These are the 7 recommendations that we bring you for Halloween.

1. Aura, by Carlos Fuentes

This short novel was part of the literary movement called "Latin American Boom" between the sixties and seventies. The Mexican author presents the peculiar story of a young writer who gets a job that consists of organizing and completing the memoirs of a deceased general to be published. The only condition is to move to the gloomy home where the widow and a young woman named Aura live. However, soon the protagonist will realize a disturbing fact that will leave him speechless.

2. Fever Dream, by Samanta Schweblin

In 2021, Netflix premiered on its platform the film adaptation of this Argentine novel, whose great impact made it the most watched Latin American film in the United States. This story tells how Amanda, a woman who is dying in a hospital bed, tries to remember how she got to that situation and what disturbing events took her away from her daughter. Here, the author tells us that the worst (or best) terror is related to our own vulnerability.

3. Tender is the Flesh, by Agustina Bazterrica

The Argentine writer presents a chilling novel with a direct and stripped language. The plot transports us to a futuristic nightmare where cannibalism is considered legitimate, since the world has been hit by a virus that affects animals and is deadly for people. In that sense, society has been divided between those who eat without mercy and those who flee so as not to be eaten. A book as repulsive as it is fascinating.

Also read: “Bodies Bodies Bodies”, the satire that examines Generation Z

4. Jawbone, by Mónica Ojeda

Fear, sexuality, violence. The Ecuadorian writer's novel also shows flashes of psychological thriller to show those mental games capable of connecting horror movies and literature. A young student who is a fan of horror stories circulating on the internet wakes up handcuffed in a cabin in the middle of the woods. Her kidnapper is her school teacher, who has been tormented in class for months. You will soon discover that the true motives are darker than simple bullying.

5. Things we lost in the fire, by Mariana Enríquez

Up to twelve disturbing stories that take terror to another level are presented by the Argentine author in this work. From the story of a girl who digs up some bones in her garden, through a paranormal entity looking for a sacrifice in a spa, to the misfortune sown in a neighborhood by a beggar, all these stories have classic horror literary resources. Mariana delves into the sinister of everyday life to create raw and real images that will leave the reader with an indelible mark at the end of the book.

6. Tales of love, madness and death, by Horacio Quiroga

Without a doubt, one of the most representative works of the Uruguayan writer. With more death than love and madness, Quiroga, in this series of stories, enters the field of horror narration to capture a work that resembled his life. From here come stories such as The Artificial Hell, which is about a drug addict who talks to corpses; The slaughtered hen, which shows how five brothers end up slaughtering their only sister; and The Feather Pillow, which tells the story of a woman who dies after falling ill due to a parasite that was found inside her pillow.

7. Ahora solo queda la ciudad, by Cristian Romero

The Colombian author has focused his attention on science fiction and catastrophes, but always leaving elements of terror in stories marked by violence and monstrosities. In these ten stories, the author highlights the darkest part of fantasy, with disturbing plots that shock and make reality questionable. Family terrors, fraternal jealousy, fears of parenting and loneliness, machismo and many other things, are set in a truly sinister atmosphere.