5 Books About Dybbuks That Will Absolutely Possess You

Written by Jewish author, researcher and activist Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (otherwise more commonly known by his penname S. An-sky), “The Dybbuk” play centers a young couple, Leah and Khanan. Although they are in love, Leah and Khanan are tragically separated when Leah’s father arranges for her to be married to another man, and Khanan dies from shock and disappointment. However, Leah’s beloved suitor returns on the day of her wedding, taking over Leah’s body and confronting the old men who tried to keep them apart. A love torn apart by familial expectations and death, and later reunited through Jewish mysticism, this play is one of THE original dybbuk stories ever told.

Set against the World Fair of 1893, the story’s protagonist Alter Rosen, is a Romanian Jewish immigrant trying to survive in the windy city of Chicago and work to save enough to bring his mother and siblings to America. However, Alter is haunted by his own ghosts, including that of Yakov, the boy he once loved who was mysteriously murdered. As Alter tries to understand the circumstances surrounding Yakov’s brutal end, the young man is also set on a strict deadline.The longer Yakov possesses his body, the more at-risk Yakov becomes of turning into a dybbuk, and taking over Alter’s body… forever! This young adult novel is a brilliant exploration of history and queerness at the turn of the century, and is one ghost story you don’t want to miss. 

Aviva never asked to deal with a mischievous dybbuk. It’s hard enough dealing with the loss of her beloved father, a grieving mom who can’t get out of bed and a complicated distance between herself and the other girls at her school— much less a ghost who just causes trouble. Yet is this specter only a faint nuisance, or a harbinger of darker things to come, like the antisemitic vandalism that soon targets her Jewish neighborhood? A thoughtful middle grade story exploring grief and community with an Orthodox Jewish lead, this is definitely a dybbuk story worth diving into. 

Ghosts, forbidden books and queer people, Oh my! When Sorel, a genderqueer lesbian, tries to escape her arranged marriage to a man, they mysteriously finds themself in the body of Isser Jacobs, a boy currently with a target on his back. Set against the Pale of Settlement and richly embroidered with Jewish history and folklore, Sorel/Isser must figure out a way to survive, and untangle the mysteries haunting them in life and in death. Written by the author of “When the Angels Left the Old Country” and “Avi Cantor Has Six Months to Live,” “The Forbidden Book” is another queer Jewish speculative fiction novel you don’t want to miss. 

I mean, the title alone was enough to grab my interest! But if you need another Jewish queer person’s opinion, Shira Glassman (author of the “Mangoverse” series) calls this book a “great piece of sapphic Jewish fantasy.” Meet Rainbow Rosenbloom, a Jewish lesbian taxi driver and film reviewer whose life gets upended when an old, chaotic dybbuk named Kokos decides to possess her in the 20th century. If you’re looking for a vintage sapphic dybbuk story, try checking this one out. (Warning: While physical copies may be a bit rare these days, it is available online, including for free on Internet Archive.)