Wojnicz is an intersex person, though this is never explicitly stated in the novel. How does his intersex identity complicate the binary ideas about gender espoused by the other patients at the sanitorium?

The English subtitle for The Empusium is “A Health Resort Horror Story.” To what extent does the novel adhere to the conventions of the horror genre?

The Empusium is one of several wellness-oriented horror novels that have been published in the past decade. Compare this novel to another in this subgenre, such as Mona Awad’s Rouge, Ling Ling Huang’s Natural Beauty, or E. K. Sathue’s Youthjuice. What critiques do these novels share? What is unique about The Empusium?