This first book recommendation is the oldest of three, having been released in 1991, but it remains a favorite among fans of body horror. The Cipher follows Nicholas, a 20-something wannabe poet and video store clerk with seemingly little direction in his life. But everything changes when he discovers a mysterious hole inside a storage room in his apartment building. He and his girlfriend Nakota start playing with the hole, sticking various items inside it. Then Nicholas decides to see what happens when he sticks his hand in the hole…

This is the ultimate exploration of codependency through body horror, and it will leave you completely unsettled. In Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, two women meet online on a message board and begin a strange dom/sub relationship with each other via emails and instant messages. But things quickly get out of hand, and while one is ready to stop, the other just can’t seem to let go.

This prize-winning novel follows Yeong-hye, a woman who is haunted by nightmares that eventually drive her to vegetarianism. It seems like an innocuous enough decision, but Yeong-hye’s changes in diet drive a wedge between her and her husband. It sets of a strange chain of events that get weirder and more grotesque as the story goes along. There’s a reason this one has gotten such critical acclaim, horror fans! If you haven’t read it yet, you have to.