Filipino horror writers to keep you up at night

Filipino horror draws from folklore, urban legends and everyday fears, turning familiar places into settings for the uncanny. From haunted streets to supernatural encounters, local writers blend horror with humor, fantasy and social commentary, exploring the anxieties and realities of Filipino life.

Yvette Tan

Known as the Queen of Philippine Horror, Yvette Tan brings Filipino folklore into contemporary settings. Her collections, Waking the Dead, Seek Ye Whore and Insect Hag, feature stories about a possible tiyanak, zombies in Angeles City and a widow who uses her grandmother’s anting-anting for revenge.

Kenneth Yu

Award-winning author and editor Kenneth Yu explores the strange and fantastical in collections such as Mouths to Speak, Voices to Sing and The Greatest Fight of Sunny Granada and Other Stories. His works feature unusual characters and imaginative worlds. He also co-edited Crime, Mystery and Suspense, the fourth installment in UP Press’ Filipino Fiction for Young Adults series, with Dean Alfar.

Eliza Victoria

Eliza Victoria moves between horror, fantasy and science fiction, examining guilt, identity and the supernatural. Her National Book Award-winning novel Dwellers follows body-swappers caught in a web of secrets. She also collaborated with artist Mervin Malonzo on After Lambana: Myth and Magic in Manila, a graphic novel set in a city where magic survives despite being outlawed.

Anthony Shieh

Taiwanese-Filipino-Dutch author Anthony Shieh draws on childhood fears and urban legends in Head by the Ceiling and Demonyito, Demonyita. He also explores contemporary fiction in his upcoming book Lies We Live With.

Chuckberry J. Pascual

Novelist, translator and professor Chuckberry J. Pascual combines horror, humor and social commentary. His books include Ang Nawawala, Ang Nawawalang Barangay and Mars, May Zombie!, which appeared on the White Ravens 2026 list. His other works include Daddy and the queer science fiction novella hi-baby.

Budjette Tan

Budjette Tan co-created the acclaimed komiks series Trese with artist Kajo Baldisimo. The stories follow detective Alexandra Trese as she investigates crimes involving creatures from Philippine folklore. Tan also co-created Kwentoys, an anthology inspired by Filipino childhood toys, with his brother Brandon Tan.

Lucia Asul

Ilonggo artist and comic creator Lucia Asul turned her vivid dreams into illustrations that eventually became Lucia Dreaming. The black-and-white graphic novel takes readers through seven nightmares, featuring unsettling scenes that range from dark hallways to a girl’s fascination with frogs.