We tend to associate horror with negative emotions. Terror. Disgust. Distress. Often, people are drawn to the genre for the adrenaline rush—the thrill of facing these emotions head-on and emerging on the other side of the story (hopefully) unscathed. But horror can also be cathartic, even comforting.

Such is the case with cozy horror, a paradoxical yet popular subgenre most of us are familiar with, though we may not readily recognize it.

What is the Cozy Horror Subgenre?

As it turns out, horror doesn’t have to be scary to be horror. Writer José Cruz did an excellent job of breaking down the cozy horror subgenre into its fundamental characteristics in an article for Nightmare Magazine. These characteristics, according to Cruz, include:

• Familiarity: While horror often plays on our instinctual fear of the unknown, cozy horror allows us a safe space in the form of familiar tropes and themes.
• Sensuousness: Sensory input, such as a crackling fireplace or a hot mugful of apple cider, plays a key role in creating a sense of comfort (at least in certain scenes).
• Distance: Cozy horror keeps terror at arm’s length by portraying events that we can be fairly confident will never happen to us.
• Fun: Rather than leaving us jumping at our own shadows, cozy horror is more likely to give us a case of the warm-and-fuzzies when all is said and done.

Think of cozy horror as a friendly vampire or a cuddly werewolf. Yes, it’s got a dark side, but it’s also got a big heart and a goofy smile, and at the end of the day, it just wants to make you happy.

Examples of Cozy Horror Stories

If my vampire/werewolf analogy wasn’t clear enough, here are a few of my favorite examples of cozy horror stories.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving

Replete with flickering candlelight and spooks that stop a safe distance short of being truly nightmarish, “Sleepy Hollow” and the majority of its 19th-century gothic horror relatives are all situated—quite comfortingly—in an era that has now become the distant past to modern readers, making these stories ideal literary comfort food.

(Fun fact: Growing up with “Sleepy Hollow” and its various adaptations eventually inspired me to write my own headless horseman story, an interactive fiction novel titled The Harbinger’s Head. In retrospect, this story fits rather snugly under the cozy horror umbrella, too.)

“Something Wicked This Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury

I can’t think of Halloween month without thinking of Ray Bradbury, and vice versa. That man was—and somewhere out there in the universe, still is, I suspect—the very spirit of the season. His classic novel Something Wicked This Way Comes is a relatively gentle horror/fantasy that simply cannot be read properly unless you’re snuggled up under a soft blanket with a mug of hot cocoa and a cat on your lap.

(I’ll also point to my favorite Bradbury story, The Halloween Tree, as an equally good option. I’ve already got another children’s horror story farther down the list, but I can’t bring myself to leave this one out completely. In my opinion, no other story in the world captures the comfy side of Halloween-themed horror quite as effectively as The Halloween Tree—nor likely ever will.)

“October in the Chair” by Neil Gaiman

One of my favorite short stories, “October in the Chair” is almost more Bradbury than Bradbury’s own writing, but it’s gilded with that unique Gaiman charm. It’s a ghost story with just the right balance of haunting and homey vibes, the perfect spooky blend for a cozy night in. 

Welcome to Dead House (Goosebumps #1) by R.L. Stine

Children’s horror, for obvious reasons, often falls under the cozy horror category. Over the years, I’ve given many of my childhood reads away; this is the only Stine book I couldn’t quite give up. It’s a classic haunted house story heavy on familiar tropes, but with enough of a creative twist to keep things interesting.

Cozy Horror as a Creature Comfort

As much as I love a good scare—especially during spooky season—I also believe in balance. (I even wrote an entire interactive fiction novella, chiaroscuro, based around that exact concept.) Cozy horror offers a vital respite from its more intense cousins, allowing us to engage our darker halves with minimal stress. It’s perfect for when you need a break from cowering under the covers from your latest dose of nightmare fuel, or for those readers who simply find other types of horror too aggressive.

It’s also a reminder that not all monsters are evil, and not all shadows are threats. It’s important to acknowledge our darker aspects—and learn, now and then, to let the right ones in.

Kim Berkley writes fantasy and horror stories like it’s her job or something. Check out The Harbinger’s Head and other interactive stories here, and be sure to sign up for her newsletter to be the first to know about new and upcoming releases.