Scary Women Mixtape

Apparently, it's Women In Horror Month. As part of this you'll find many great female horror writers talking about their work, which can only be a good thing - I don't know if there's any residual sexism meaning woman have a harder time getting accepted as a horror author than their male counterparts, but given that dickheads like Vox Day exist, the answer is probably yes.

(Don't google "Vox Day" if you are unaware of the man or his views. Seriously, don't. You'll end up feeling worse about people in general, which is never good.)

Anyway, for Women In Horror Month I thought I'd post 20 of my favourite horror short stories by female authors. For no other reason than I like compiling imaginary anthologies; it's like making mix-tapes all over again...

This list is off the top of my head, so it's pretty biased towards stories I've read recently, but I've tried to include both classic and contemporary stories. I've only picked one story per author and as ever my definition of what makes a story 'horror' is pretty loose.

Further suggestions very much welcome in the comments...

In The Waterworks (Birmingham, Alabama, 1883) - Caitlin R Kiernan
The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Idolised - Emma Newman

The Screwfly Solution - James Tiptree Jr.
The Little Dirty Girl - Joanna Russ
Don't Look Now - Daphne du Maurier
Cold Coffee Cups & Curious Things - Cate Gardner
A.G.A. - S.P. Miskowski

The Summer People - Shirley Jackson
The Dark - Karen Joy Fowler
Replacement - Lisa Tuttle
Under Fog - Tanith Lee
The Dog That Bit Her - Autumn Christian
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas - Ursula K. Le Guin
The Room Upstairs - Sarah Pinborough
The Devil of Delery Street - Poppy Z Brite
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? - Joyce Carol Oates
The Hortlak - Kelly Link

Afterward - Edith Wharton
White Roses, Bloody Silk - Thana Niveau