Guest post written by Kill Your Darlings author Yuvashri Harish
Yuvashri Harish writes speculative fiction for YA and adult audiences, featuring Tamil main characters in dramatic, magical, and often terrifying situations. Born on Tharawal land and now living on Gadigal land, she grew up borrowing twelve books a week from the library. She is deeply passionate about writing stories and creating worlds where brown girls are not just represented but are the protagonists of their own narrative. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found eating pasta, watching Bob’s Burgers, and providing employment law advice and representation for disadvantaged and vulnerable people in New South Wales.
About Kill Your Darlings: A teen girl faces the horrors of misogyny and racism—plus an evil witch and her horde of monsters—in this fun, fast-paced thriller. Released September 22nd 2026.
Sometimes, I’m asked, “why horror?” Underlying that question is a follow-up: “why horror for teenagers?”
Well, starting with the ‘horror’ of it all, I gravitated towards the genre because it was and is meant to be confrontational. It takes these concepts, your scary masks, haunted houses, monsters that are nightmare fodder, and it turns them back on us. Horror has a remarkable ability to dig deep and reveal something about each of us.
When I was a teenager, everything felt too big and too real and too insurmountable. Horror took those things that felt like the end of the world to me—the fears I had over growing up and losing what I thought were supposed to be the best years of my life, the contentious relationship I had with my body, how distant and awkward I felt compared to my peers, the values and the beliefs I was forming—and splashed them everywhere like blood stains so there was nowhere left to hide. There was a sense of freedom in that. And if it was all there for everyone to see, and I wasn’t alone in how I was feeling, that meant there was hope.
I think of what that meant for me, and what it might mean for teenagers today. I want that for them. We could all use some more hope.
So, here are five YA horror novels that belong in my own little start-up pack, which I think truly celebrate the multitudes of emotion at the heart of this genre:
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
I think this should be on every single horror reader’s starting line-up. My Best Friend’s Exorcism follows two best friends, Abigail and Gretchen, through the evolution of their friendship. That is, until they reach high school, and Gretchen starts to change. Abby’s convinced this means she must be possessed by a demon.
This book is old-school horror nostalgia. It’s the 1980s, and Satanism is all the rage! It’s an exploration of so many things, including the social structure of the period, bodily autonomy and religion, but at the centre of this book is the tireless friendship between Abby and Gretchen and the lengths to which Abby would go to save and protect her best friend. As a teenager, I know I would’ve wanted my best friend to be this ride-or-die for me.
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
Did you enjoy Carrie by Stephen King? If so, you’ll love (maybe even more) The Weight of Blood. Something happened on prom night, and the people of Springfield are convinced that resident outcast and social reject, Madison (Maddy) Washington, is responsible. Especially when Maddy is revealed as biracial and has been passing as white because her racist father required her to.
This book was striking and heart-wrenching and so visceral in the way I think only BIPOC horror and horror written by marginalised folks can achieve. Maddy’s experience as a biracial girl in this small, racist town is so thoughtfully detailed. That, coupled with the supernatural element and the mixed media that unfolds the impending horror and doom of what is such a powerful and furious climax, makes this an absolute must read in YA horror!
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
Readers looking for a bit of history to go alongside their horror will definitely enjoy The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. Sixteen-year-old Silas Bell wants nothing less than to be married off, until he is diagnosed with Veil Sickness and sent off to a sanatorium, where the dead have no intention of remaining silent.
To me, the real horror in The Spirits Bares Its Teeth wasn’t even in the supernatural/paranormal elements (although, those were delightfully spooky), but in the way it draws out the horrific treatment experienced by queer people, even teenagers, in the 19th century all for being queer. The story does not shy away from those experiences. It’s a gut-punch, but there’s still a tender undercurrent that truly makes this book shine. If there’s ever a YA horror novel that embodies the ideal of hope, even in such pitch darkness, it’s this one!
Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis
I’m not sure if there’s anything more synonymous with horror than witches! Bad Witch Burning is your witchy YA horror, featuring teenage Katrell who can speak to the dead and uses that ability to make enough money so that she can escape her neglectful mother. That is, until she gets into hot water and suddenly, she can bring the dead back to life.
I think the reason this one struck me is very similar to why all the others did. If you’re someone who likes your horror to say something deeper than just gore and blood splatters, Bad Witch Burning will not disappoint. As someone who often felt like I had to grow up too quickly (and whose debut features much of the same theme), Katrell was such a phenomenal protagonist. Hurt and grief-stricken and desperate, but also tough and resilient and compassionate in equal measure. I wish I could read this book again for the first time; it made me feel so much!
The Dark We Know by Wen-Yi Lee
I remember being on the verge of keyboard smashing when I first read this book, that’s how much I enjoyed it! The Dark We Know is about Isadora, a teenage girl who returns to her hometown, Slater, following the loss of her father, as she grapples with the deaths of two of her childhood friends and what really happened to them. This is book is so difficult to describe, but I think the most iconic part is the use of second-person POV, which isn’t easy to get right. I was submerged in this raw, hungry, hurt, eerie book from start to finish. This is just such a beautiful, unrestrained story, and those who like their YA horror more on the uncanny side than outright gory will definitely enjoy this one.
