If you were captivated by how The Devil in America blends supernatural forces with the haunting legacy of American racial violence, you'll be deeply moved by Beloved. Morrison’s novel follows Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman tormented by the ghost of her dead daughter and the inescapable horrors of her past. The book's seamless merging of the spiritual and the historical, and its unflinching confrontation with generational trauma, echo the same powerful themes and atmosphere.

If you were drawn to the way The Devil in America uses dark, supernatural forces as a metaphor for generational pain and injustice, you’ll appreciate The Ballad of Black Tom. LaValle reimagines Lovecraftian horror through the eyes of Charles Thomas Tester, a Black man in 1920s Harlem whose choices lead him into the heart of eldritch power and racial terror. The novella’s atmosphere, moral ambiguity, and chilling magic will feel familiar and compelling.

If you valued the psychological and emotional depth in The Devil in America, especially how it explores the scars left by history and the supernatural’s role in family legacy, Sing, Unburied, Sing will resonate with you. Ward follows a Black Mississippi family haunted by ghosts—both literal and metaphorical—as they journey through a landscape scarred by racism and violence. The intimate portrayal of characters grappling with the past and the dead is haunting and unforgettable.

If you appreciated how The Devil in America weaves American folklore and myth into the lives of its characters, you’ll be gripped by The Changeling. Apollo Kagwa’s search for his missing wife and child leads him into a New York City where legends, ancient magic, and contemporary terrors collide. LaValle’s novel is deeply imaginative, and its exploration of family, loss, and urban myth will appeal to your love of stories that merge the magical with the real.

If you were moved by the way The Devil in America confronts the legacy of slavery and generational trauma through speculative storytelling, Kindred is essential reading. Butler’s protagonist, Dana, is repeatedly pulled from 1970s California into antebellum Maryland, forced to navigate the horrors of slavery and her own ancestry. The emotional intensity and the powerful use of speculative elements to interrogate history make this a perfect next read.