Books like Pan's Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro reads as dark, melancholic. These 12 books share its genome — matched by how they actually read, not just their shelf label.

What Pan's Labyrinth is like to read

A behind-the-scenes companion volume tracing the making of del Toro's film through concept art, set photography, and interviews with the creative team. Best for: film buffs and del Toro fans who want a definitive account of how Pan's Labyrinth was crafted.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Neil Gaiman · 2013

A dreamlike, unnerving recovery of childhood memory in which small domestic terrors bloom into cosmic ones — lyrical, brief, and quietly aching.

intensely scarycomplete story

The Girl with All the Gifts

M.R. Carey · 2014

An unsettling near-future thriller that opens inside a child's confined, cheerful perspective and slowly reveals the horror around her — propulsive, high-concept, and emotionally charged.

intensely scarycomplete storydeep cut

Deathless

Catherynne M. Valente · 2011

A folklore-steeped tale of a woman drawn into an ancient, magical war between life and death, set against a haunted Soviet landscape.

creepy, not gorydeep cut

The shape of water

Guillermo del Toro · 2018

Same fantasy feel

All the Crooked Saints

Maggie Stiefvater · 2017

A lyrical exploration of a family with miraculous gifts in a remote desert setting, where pilgrims arrive to confront their inner darkness.

YAdeep cut

Empire of Wild

Cherie Dimaline · 2019

A quiet rural mystery shot through with Métis folklore, following a woman's search for her vanished husband as old traditions and ancient enemies resurface in her community.

creepy, not gorydeep cut

Gods of Jade and Shadow

Silvia Moreno-Garcia · 2019

A folklore-steeped fairy-tale quest across Jazz Age Mexico, blending a growing bond between a mortal girl and a god of death with mythic underworld stakes and self-discovery.

mildly eeriecomplete storydeep cut