Though Jordan Peele was first introduced to the public as a comedian, his name is now synonymous with horror.
He made is first mark on the genre in 2017 when he wrote, directed, and produced the film Get Out, which not only received great critical acclaim, but changed the landscape of horror films. His work redefined the roles minorities were perceived as being able to play, and kicked open the door of a whole new era of socially driven horror movies.
Peele continued to grab the attention of audiences with two more works he wrote, directed and produced, Us and Nope. He was also a writer and producer on the 2021 Candyman reboot, as well as an executive producer behind The Twilight Zone reboot, Lovecraft Country, and the Scare Tactics revival.
While he has more horror projects on the way, he has a relatively small horror repertoire so far. So what makes him stand out so starkly from the rest of the genre?
His attention to detail is unmatched, not only building suffocatingly eerie atmospheres in his work, but constructing a vivid world that is both immediately recognizable as the one we navigate every day and wholly unique and horrific.
Peele's stories blossom from the kernels of identity, weaving terrors that arise from alienation and exploitation. He celebrates Blackness while shining an unflinching light on the social and cultural tensions that go hand in hand with being othered.
He bravely navigates the psyches of not only his harrowed protagonists, but his twisted antagonists. And every character he develops on the page and the screen is vibrantly tangible and painfully human.
When someone is as good as Peele, it can be devastating when you run out of projects to binge. But we at The Lineup have the perfect balm.
Here are nine incredible books for Jordan Peele fans.
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror
What better way to start than with a collection of Black horror stories curated by Jordan Peele himself?
Edited and introduced by Peele, this anthology explores both otherworldly terrors and the hauntingly unjust realities of our current social climate. From a pair of freedom riders whose bus leaves them on an unsettling stretch of road to a young girl searching for the demon that killed her parents, these stories are gripping pieces of an artful collection.
This anthology features work from Erin E. Adams, Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, N. K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, Cadwell Turnbull, and more.
Lakewood
Lena Johnson's grandmother has passed away, and when the depths of her family's debt suddenly come to light, Lena drops out of college to support her family. But the job she's taken may be too good to be true.
Tucked away in the isolated town of Lakewood, Michigan, Lena's new gig provides free lodging and a hefty paycheck. All she has to do is participate in a secret experiment and keep those closest to her from finding out what the program is researching.
Eye drops that change eyes from brown to blue, medicine that eliminates dementia, pills that chase away bad thoughts—the work done at Lakewood is supposed to change the world. But the consequences the test subjects face are horrific.
As the truths of these experiments reveal themselves to Lena, the novel explores the moral dilemmas of the working class and the horrors forced upon black bodies.
The Changeling
Victor LaValle weaves a dark fairy tale in this emotional novel, named one of Time’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time.
All Apollo Kagwa was left with when his father vanished was a box of books and unsettling dreams. Now Apollo has a child of his own, and he and his wife Emma are struggling under the new weight of exhaustion and worry.
As Apollo's old recurring dreams return to him, Emma starts to take on some peculiar behaviors. At first, it seems like postpartum depression, but when Emma does the unthinkable and disappears, Apollo must set off on a mythic odyssey to find his wife and child.
Through a forgotten island, a graveyard of secrets, a forest brimming with immigrant legends, and a place he thought was forever lost, Apollo winds through a dark journey of love, loss, and madness.
When No One Is Watching
Described as “Rear Window meets Get Out,” this psychological thriller follows Sydney Green. Though she was born and raised in Brooklyn, Sydney doesn't seem to recognize the neighborhood around her.
With every blink of her eyes, it seems there are more condos and FOR SALE signs. Not to mention, the neighbors she's known her whole life seem to be disappearing every time she turns around.
As she succumbs to her frustrations, Sydney finds a surprising ally in one of the block's new arrivals. Her neighbor Theo explores the history of the area with her, but discovery soon turns into paranoia.
What exactly happens to the neighbors who leave Sydney's beloved neighborhood? With coincidences bordering on conspiracy, the revitalization of the area may be more sinister than previously thought.
Can Sydney and Theo trust each other enough to uncover the truth, or will they be the next to disappear?
The Other Black Girl
Nella Rogers is a young editorial assistant at Wagner Books. She is, in fact, the only Black employee working for the company.
She's had more than her fair share of microaggressions and alienation, so she's thrilled when Harlem native Hazel joins the company in the cubicle next to her. Though it seems the days of common ground and standing together are short-lived.
Following a series of uncomfortable events, Hazel is suddenly the star of the office, leaving Nella to choke on her dust. And then Nella stars to receive the ominous notes: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW.
She doesn't want to believe Hazel could be behind the hostility, but it soon becomes clear there's more at risk here than just her job.
Nella joined Wagner Books to uphold the legacy of Burning Heart, a novel written and edited by two Black Women. But it seems the animosity of the past has not been put to rest.
Does she have what it takes to lead the fight of a new generation?
Jackal
Johnstown, Pennsylvania is a predominantly white town in the Rust Belt. As a Black woman, Liz Rocher doesn't have a lot of good memories of the place, but still, she's coming home.
Her best friend is getting married, so Liz is prepared to be subjected to a weekend of uncomfortable hometown reunions. She's dedicated enough time to personal growth that she's sure she can handle anything Johnstown wants to throw her way.
But on the night of the wedding, the newlyweds’ daughter, Caroline, goes missing, and all that's left in her place is a piece of bloody white fabric. But this isn't the first Black girl to go missing, and Liz doesn't think she'll be the last.
It happened years ago to Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl at Liz's high school. She went into the woods with a strange man and was found later with her chest ripped open and her heart missing.
It chills Liz to think that it could've been her dead in the woods. And she doesn't believe that it's a coincidence that it's Caroline missing now.
Digging through the past for answers, she finds a horrifying secret in the town's history. Black girls have gone missing in these woods for years.
Liz knows that it's up to her to find Caroline, or else be swallowed whole by the evil encroaching from the trees.
Buzzfeed calls this gripping thriller “Get Out meets The Vanishing.”
The Between
As a boy, Hilton almost drowned until his grandmother sacrificed her life for him. 30 years later, he gets the feeling he was never meant to live beyond that day—and now sinister forces are out to correct that mistake.
Hilton's wife is the only elected African American judge in Dade County, Florida. When she starts getting hate mail from a man she prosecuted, Hilton spirals into an obsession over keeping his family safe.
Outside is brimming with demons, but they don't compare to the intense and macabre nightmares he experiences each night. Are these unsettling dreams the creations of a man losing his grip on sanity, or terrifying portents of what's to come?
The lines between reality and the impossible begin to blur as Hilton battles against a sociopath fixated on his family and an evil that finds him in his sleep.
The Only Good Indians
Ten years ago, four teen boys of the Blackfeet Nation were participants in a disturbing hunting event. Now they and their families are the hunted, haunted by an entity seeking brutal revenge.
In this sharp and poignant horror novel by the brilliant Stephen Graham Jones, these American Indian men find the culture they have left behind is making a violent return, weaving a story of broken tradition and identity politics.
The Trees: A Novel
Money, Mississippi has seen an unusual spate of brutal murders. The two detectives that roll into town from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are here to help—but it seems not everyone wants them to.
The sheriff, his deputy, the coroner, and a long line of local racists kick up some resistance to the MBI investigation. But the murders present a puzzle too eerie to ignore.
At each murder scene, a second body is found. A body that resembles Emmett Till.
The detective duo believe that the murders are an act of retribution, but similar killings are occurring all across the country. As the death count skyrockets, the detectives turn to a local root doctor who has documented every lynching in America for years.
Featured image: Teodor Drobota/Unsplash
