How Do Spooky Romance Books Create Suspense Alongside Romantic Tension?

Spooky romance hinges on the same question: can I trust this person, and more importantly, should I? The suspense often builds from that doubt. The romantic tension comes from wanting to trust them anyway, against all better judgment. A creepy setting amplifies that, making every shadow a potential threat and every comforting gesture from the love interest feel both vital and suspect. It's a fantastic genre mashup when done right, because the emotional stakes feel sky-high—you're not just worried they'll break a heart, but that they might literally consume it.

I think a lot of spooky romance books lean heavily on the 'secluded house' or 'haunted estate' trope to build suspense, which honestly gets a bit tired. The real suspense for me comes when the love interest's true nature is the source of fear. Is he a protective guardian spirit, or is he the thing that's been scratching at the window all along? That internal debate the protagonist has, parsing every touch for affection or predation, ramps up both the romantic and the scary tension simultaneously. It forces the reader to question their own attraction to the character, which is a far more potent kind of suspense than any jump scare.

Take something like 'A Dowry of Blood'. The core romance is there, steeped in obsession and decadence, but the horror isn't just external—it's woven into the power imbalance of the relationship itself. You're constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the tender moment to curdle into something monstrous. That anticipation is the engine. The setting just provides the closed room for that dynamic to play out. A lot of newer books seem to forget that and just dress up a standard billionaire romance with a gothic filter, which completely misses the point. The fear should be personal, not just atmospheric.