Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Book, 722 Books

Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide to Literature, Illustration, Film, TV, Radio, and the Internet, edited by Richard Neil Barron, is an exceptionally comprehensive and well-researched exploration of the history of fantasy and horror literature. Barron, a renowned science fiction bibliographer and scholar, has curated a nearly 800-page volume featuring contributions from numerous experts and academics in the field. This book delves deeply into the evolution of both genres, offering rich discussions and insights into their development and key works.

The book's unique ranking system categorizes notable works of fantasy and horror literature using a variety of labels. These labels serve to highlight different aspects of each book's significance:

** (The Best of the Best)
* (The Best)
F (Best Fantasy)
H (Best Horror)
MF (Modern Fantasy)
EB (Selected by Everett F. Bleiler)
DH (Selected by David Hartwell)
FR (Selected by Franz Rottensteiner)
L1 (Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults)
L2 (Higher Ranked Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults)
To create a more organized understanding of the books listed, I assigned points based on these labels and devised a smart ranking system, giving each book a score according to its accumulated points. This method allowed for a clearer hierarchy, showcasing the most significant works in the genres.

I highly recommend this guide to anyone interested in a meticulously organized summary of fantasy and horror literature. It is an essential resource for those who wish to explore the depth of these genres and their history in greater detail.

How many contributors are there?
Counting the chapter authors and the three guest critics, you’re looking at roughly two-dozen named specialists. There’s no statement like “X hundred voters” anywhere, because the book never positioned itself as a popularity poll – it’s closer to an annotated canon chosen by experts

This list was originally published in 1999 and was added to this site over 1 year ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
7711 Cast A Cold Eye Alan Ryan 1984 American English
4290 The Year's Best Horror Stories Richard Davis 1972 British English
3821 Shadows Charles L. Grant 1978 American English
7711 Usher's Passing Robert R. McCammon 1984 American English
9332 Dread And Delights Philippa Pearce 1995 British Unknown
3009 The House With A Clock In Its Walls John Bellairs 1973 American English
6235 Skeleton Crew Stephen King 1985 American English
7141 The One Tree Stephen R. Donaldson 1982 American English
6522 The Fog James Herbert 1975 British English
7581 White Gold Wielder Stephen R. Donaldson 1983 American English
6446 The Essential Ellison Harlan Ellison 1987 American English
5952 Swords In The Mist Fritz Leiber 1968 American English
5952 Swords Against Wizardry Fritz Leiber 1968 American English
5955 Incarnate Ramsey Campbell 1983 British English
4436 Demons By Daylight Ramsey Campbell 1973 British English
4597 Swords And Deviltry Fritz Leiber 1970 American English
6161 Swords Against Death Fritz Leiber 1970 American English
6678 Swords And Ice Magic Fritz Leiber 1977 American English
2482 The Golden Compass Philip Pullman 1995 British English
4643 Cold Hand In Mine Robert Aickman 1975 British English
3820 The Subtle Knife Philip Pullman 1997 British English
4216 The Shadow of the Torturer Gene Wolfe 1980 American English
3488 The Claw Of The Conciliator Gene Wolfe 1981 American English
4711 The Sword of the Lictor Gene Wolfe 1982 American English
4618 The Chimes Charles Dickens 1844 British English
669 The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe 1839 American English
211 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
175 Metamorphoses Ovid 8 Roman Latin
73 The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne 1850 American English
3162 The Travels Of Sir John Mandeville John Mandeville 1357 Unknown French
2338 Goblin Market Christina Georgina Rossetti 1862 British English
1043 Justine Marquis de Sade 1791 French French
2471 The Last Battle C. S. Lewis 1956 British English
2835 The Magician's Nephew C. S. Lewis 1955 British English
2816 The Horse and His Boy C. S. Lewis 1954 British English
2792 The Silver Chair C. S. Lewis 1953 British English
1832 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader C. S. Lewis 1952 British English
2683 Prince Caspian C. S. Lewis 1951 British English
379 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis 1950 British English
1917 The Dying Earth Jack Vance 1950 American English
139 The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame 1908 British English
55 Animal Farm George Orwell 1945 British English
277 A Wizard Of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
2126 Conan The Conqueror Robert E. Howard 1935 American English
1759 Lady into Fox David Garnett 1922 British English
2910 The Broken Sword Poul Anderson 1954 American English
1535 The Owl Service Alan Garner 1967 British English
2130 Mythago Wood Robert Holdstock 1984 British English
1293 Salem's Lot Stephen King 1975 American English
1879 The Complete John Silence Stories Algernon Blackwood 1908 British English
1306 Widdershins G. Oliver Onions 1911 British English
3119 Undine Baron Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué 1811 German German
2812 The Empty House And Other Ghost Stories Algernon Blackwood 1906 British English
4759 The Incomplete Enchanter L. Sprague de Camp 1940 American English
1989 Fancies And Goodnights John Collier 1951 British English
442 The Man Who Was Thursday G. K. Chesterton 1908 British English
308 Tarzan of the Apes Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 American English
950 A Princess Of Mars Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 American English
45 Fictions Jorge Luis Borges 1944 Argentinian Spanish
4759 Dark Carnival Ray Bradbury 1947 American English
1847 Darker Than You Think Jack Williamson 1948 American English
2843 The Ghost Stories Of Edith Wharton Edith Wharton 1937 American English
776 I Am Legend Richard Matheson 1954 American English
3223 Phantastes George McDonald 1858 British English
4759 Works Of Fancy And Imagination George MacDonald 1867 British English
4759 The Supernatural Tales Of Fitz James O'brien Fitz-James O'Brien 1908 British English
107 Charlotte's Web E. B. White 1952 American English
4759 The Bee Man Of Orn Frank R. Stockton 1887 American English
4759 The White Deer James Thurber 1945 American English
1288 The 13 Clocks James Thurber 1950 American English
3190 The Crock Of Gold James Stephens 1912 Irish English
4759 Turnabout Thorne Smith 1931 American English
2233 The Tombs Of Atuan Ursula K. Le Guin 1971 American English
3611 The Farthest Shore Ursula K. Le Guin 1972 American English
4759 The Ship Of Ishtar A. Merritt 1924 American English
3578 Two Sought Adventure Fritz Leiber 1957 American English
1046 Green Mansions W. H. Hudson 1904 British English
828 Lost Horizon James Hilton 1933 British English
31 Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 1899 British English
3409 Night's Black Agents Fritz Leiber 1961 American English
2812 The Riddle Walter de la Mare 1923 British English
2812 On The Edge Walter de la Mare 1930 British English
661 The House On The Borderland And Other Novels William Hope Hodgson 1908 British English
2825 Alraune Hanns Heinz Ewers 1911 German German
3247 Dwellers In The Mirage A. Merritt 1932 American English
2825 The Room In The Tower E. F. Benson 1912 British English
7868 The Changeover Margaret Mahy 1984 New Zealand English
1194 Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber 1943 American English
8142 The Tricksters Margaret Mahy 1986 New Zealand English
6064 Earthfasts William Mayne 1966 British English
3209 The Forgotten Beasts Of Eld Patricia A. McKillip 1974 American English
1649 The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1892 American English
3545 Gloriana Michael Moorcock 1978 British English
2798 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
5242 The War Hound And The World's Pain Michael Moorcock 1981 British English
171 Steppenwolf Hermann Hesse 1927 German German
2697 Witch World Andre Norton 1963 American English
1546 Tom's Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce 1958 British English
885 Herland Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1915 American English
2217 The Anubis Gates Tim Powers 1983 American English
890 Golem Gustav Meyrink 1915 Austrian German
2825 The Listener And Other Stories Algernon Blackwood 1907 British English
4826 Black Magic Marjorie Bowen 1909 British English
2115 The Crystal Cave Mary Stewart 1970 British English
2590 The Gods Of Pegana Lord Dunsany 1905 Irish English
3872 The Hollow Hills Mary Stewart 1973 British English
5641 The Last Enchantment Mary Stewart 1979 British English
2061 The Infernal Desire Machines Of Doctor Hoffman Angela Carter 1972 British English
8353 The Wine Dark Sea Robert Aickman 1988 British English
3248 All Hallows' Eve Charles Williams 1945 British English
1792 The Last Unicorn Peter S. Beagle 1968 American English
642 Lolly Willowes Sylvia Townsend Warner 1926 British English
217 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 British English
1878 Tuck Everlasting Natalie Babbitt 1975 American English
1172 Little, Big John Crowley 1981 American English
6786 The Blue Hawk Peter Dickinson 1976 British English
4826 The Water Of The Wondrous Isles William Morris 1897 British English
6196 The High King Lloyd Alexander 1968 American English
4826 The Uninhabited House Mrs. Joseph H. Riddell 1875 British English
1675 Time and Again Jack Finney 1970 American English