Books with: Southern gothic vibes

[Audrey]

Hi, I’m looking for recommendations for books with Southern gothic type vibes and setting, similar to the Raven Boys books and Beautiful Creatures. I prefer fantasy/sci-fi and no romance/sexual content please. Thanks!

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Southern Gothic vibes is a broad topic. For SFF set in the south, You might enjoy Windmaster's Bane from Tom Deitz. I do think the protagonist had a girlfriend, but that was very secondary to the plot. (Soulsmith is more Southern Gothic-ish, but there are some very sexual themes in that one, though not really romantic ones.) Less fantasy and more cli-fi, Annihilation feels very Gothic to me, and was based on Florida biomes. (One brief mention of sex as the MC remembers her late husband, and her bereavement drives some of the plot, but this is not a romantic book.)

If you like short stories, it's hard to go wrong with actual Southern Gothic. The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor and Collected Stories of William Faulkner both won the National Book Award, and short stories means you can read a few and see if it suits you. "Everyday Use" is the only story I've read from Alice Walker's In Love & Trouble and wow do I need to remedy that! More towards SFF, Bloodchild and Other Stories might be a good jumping on point for Octavia Butler. Toni Morrison doesn't do short stories as far as I know, but Beloved is a ghost story. (Some of these might be heavier than what you're looking for due to theme.)

If you just want the vibe, New England Gothic is adjacent to Southern and We Have Always Lived in the Castle is so, so good (but not SFF). Every Heart a Doorway is solid fantasy with nice Gothic vibes and an ace protagonist. The Knife Thrower and Other Stories also has the vibe (more magical realism than straight SFF I'd say). Wylding Hall is English punkrock Gothic written by an American. (Sex between various bandmates may have been hinted, but nothing on screen; it's epistolic.) (ETA: Sorry! I read right over the request for setting OP. Ignore these!)

[Pamela]

An excellent children's book that fits your request is The Rambling by Jimmy Cajoleas. The Rambling

[...cats?]

The House Next Door
The Family Plot

[Daisy]

The Galveston series by Sean Stewart? They're fantasy-ish. Not sure about sex/romance.

[Daisy]

Daisy wrote: "The Galveston series by Sean Stewart? They're fantasy-ish. Not sure about sex/romance."

Sorry, Galveston is the third book in a different series. Not sure if the first two have the Southern setting.

[Audrey]

Thanks all!! Yes, I’m looking for a Southern setting as well. I actually had no idea that Southern Gothic was an actual genre🤣.