We know that supernatural creatures and entities can be terrifying–they are the stuff of Halloween and horror films. We also know that they can be kind of (or a lot) sexy. But often, it’s easy to forget that books with any array of paranormal favorites can also be quite funny. Whether that humor is straightforwardly laugh-out-loud or more of the dark variety, there are some great paranormal reads that bring with them plenty of levity.
→ Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris: The Sookie Stackhouse series is the perfect example of marrying the dreadful–vampires–with the humorous. Sookie is hard not to enjoy, with her deadpan humor soaked with southern charm.
→ Raised in Fire by K.F. Breene*: First read Born in Fire, then dive into book two of this 11 (!) book series. It follows a sarcastic and funny supernatural bounty hunter, whose work brings her in touch with all manner of demons, vampires, and more. (If you like a steamy scene or two, you’ll dig this.)*
→ That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming: Haven’t we all been there? Have a few too many cocktails, and you make decisions you may not otherwise under normal circumstances. This rom-com features a spice trader who accidentally saves a demon who then recruits her on his mission to take down an evil witch.
→ Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones: Feared by society, the unnamed teen boy at the center of this story regularly relocates across the south with his aunt and uncle. As he comes of age, his family worries he’ll inherit the traits that make them feared. Prepare for some funny werewolf lore.
→ Cackle by Rachel Harrison: Any of Harrison’s novels would fit the bill here. Cackle tells the story of a woman learning to break free from the rules she’s followed for her life, thanks to the help of a witch.
Horror and humor are moods, not genres, and they occupy opposite sides of the same coin. What one person finds scary, another might find hilarious, and vice versa. What is for sure is that the right funny book can take a story from being good to being great. — KJ
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