body horror

noun

: a fiction genre in which a character's body undergoes mutation, disfigurement, decomposition, etc.

Body horror taps into the very human fear of how unpredictable, and even uncontrollable, our bodies can be.

—Theara Coleman

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein might be the earliest example of body horror, a subgenre … that focuses on mutation, destruction and transformation of the human form.

—James Marsh

The Resident Evil franchise has never been a stranger to incorporating elements of body horror into its games, especially given how often enemies will transform and mutate.

—Ewan Lewis

Examples of body horror in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Samantha Josephs, Carrying (Putnam, October 6) One of the year’s most unhinged premises comes from this trans body horror debut, as perfect housewife Martha begins to suffer the strain of performing impeccable femininity as a stealth trans woman. — Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026

The series spotlights emerging writers and directors across body horror, dark comedy and the supernatural. — ABC News, 25 Sep. 2026

Kutcher was most recently seen starring alongside Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope and Rebecca Hall in The Beauty, Ryan Murphy and Matthew Hodgson’s body horror series for FX. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1989, in the meaning defined above