By Leigh M. Hall
Fierce. Feminine. Fatal.
When you think of Southern Gothic novels, you probably think about spooky settings, paranormal activity, and spiritual sacrifices. Perhaps an old, abandoned mansion, or a long-forgotten house in the woods. But don’t forget about the strong, fearless female leads who drive many of these stories.
Historically, you would see brutish, powerful men in control of the plot line. Dracula, Lestat, Leatherface, The Lord of Darkness — the list goes on. From vampires, psychos, serial killers, or just plain evil villains, men know how to dominate these roles and do it well.
However, there is always this damsel in distress trying to get away from the big, bad wolf. A desperate woman frantically scrambling, screaming, or tripping to get out of a sticky situation. Most of us can relate to her in moments, but sometimes we sit and think—What the hell are you doing? Run, girl, RUN!
Then there is the other side of the spectrum. The witch, the evil stepmother, the creepy old lady who lives alone, and no one dares step on her lawn in fear of never being seen by anyone again. I like to create characters that are somewhere in between the helpless damsel in distress and the vindictive old hag with a score to settle.
I like to combine these two characteristics — not too sweet, not too mean, just right. The perfect amount of good and evil to make them seem realistic. Someone all women can relate to in one way or another.
No one likes a character they cannot relate to. Even if the character is likable, they have to be realistic, yes, as realistic as a fictional character can be. Because we all know fictional characters are better than real people. A protagonist or antagonist can even be unlikable, but you can find yourself understanding them when they are fleshed out right.
My favorite type of characters are the morally gray ones who have some form of traumatic history or have been wronged in some way. I love reading them, I love writing them, and I love rooting for them. These can be done through male or female, but I think we can all agree that women are just so much better at it. Men may have the mean factor down, but women are masters at manipulation.
One thing I like to do is make the reader fall in love with a character before showing their true colors. By the time you realize they aren’t as innocent as you first thought, you are already siding with them, understanding why they act a certain way or may do horrendous things.
Poor Cindy Lou Who had Christmas stolen from her, so now she is going to create a fake identity, start dating The Grinch under false pretenses, boil his dog in a stew, feed that stew to him, and say it is deer, then help him look for the missing dog. Only after she is positive The Grinch is losing his mind and completely miserable will she untwine the last thread that is holding him together by informing him of where his dog went, then setting his world on fire while she laughs at the flames.
That’s the story I want to read. We all have a little villain inside of us; our daily choices decide whether it will show its ugly little head or not. I may not choose violence today, but tomorrow is still open for discussion.
My next book releases on November 11th, 2025. ‘The Chambermaids’, a Southern Gothic horror novel, can be purchased anywhere books are sold.
There are three spotlight characters in this novel: Eloise, our protagonist, and Mary and Margo, the chambermaids, our antagonists. All three of these women will show you different sides of themselves. Just like a living, breathing person, they are not one-dimensional.
Not only will they grow throughout the story, revealing more and more of themselves and their intentions, but they will also grow on you. Women tend to analyze and question everything and everyone, just as Eloise does to the mysterious chambermaids, just as you will do to all of them.
Like any other horror story, by the end, you will find out who the big, bad wolf is, whether they are really all that bad, and if Eloise was able to outrun them.
Some of my already published work that also have strong female leads includes…
Girl Bully—A standalone psychological thriller
Capability—A standalone domestic psychological thriller
Where The Hell Are We?—A standalone dark comedic fantasy
The Broken Sister—A standalone psychological thriller
Happy reading, my literary friends.
Leigh M. Hall is an award-winning writer of several dark and gripping novels. Her debut, Girl Bully, is a bestseller. Book one in The St. James Saga: Within These Walls was a finalist for the Killer Nashville Reader’s Choice Award in 2023. The Broken Sister, a standalone novel, was also up for a Reader’s Choice Award in 2024. Her next release, ‘The Chambermaids’, won a Claymore award for Best Southern Gothic and is currently available for pre-order. Right about now, she is probably floating in a pool, soaking up the Texas sun, and arguing with fictional characters. Make sure you visit her website and sign up for her newsletter so you can get the scoop on all future releases. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
ABOUT THE BOOK: After losing their fortune to the Civil War, hot-headed Wilbur Saxton resents having to move South to his wife’s newly-inherited house, but his young wife Elouise is glad to finally return to her home state. But when they arrive at the crumbling estate, they discover a dark family secret among the rot. When two mysterious young women arrive, offering their services as chambermaids and claiming they know the land better than anyone, the couple accept–unaware they’ve opened their lives to something far more dangerous. As the women’s influence deepens, Wilbur falls under their spell, and Elouise begins to lose her grip on reality. What should have been a fresh start curdles into a nightmare. To save herself–and her husband–Elouise must confront the truth buried within her family’s legacy. But is she truly fighting for freedom, or merely playing out the fate that was written for her long ago?
