Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide

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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
1973 The Invisible Man H. G. Wells 1897 British English
1290 Lilith George MacDonald 1895 Scottish English
6206 The Moon In The Cloud Rosemary Harris 1968 British English
6418 The Pastel City M. John Harrison 1971 British English
1730 The Mouse And His Child Russell Hoban 1967 American English
7884 Archer's Goon Diana Wynne Jones 1984 British English
3442 The Summer Tree Guy Gavriel Kay 1984 Canadian English
66 The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka 1915 Czech German
5948 The Wandering Fire Guy Gavriel Kay 1986 Canadian English
677 Lud-in-the-Mist Hope Mirrlees 1926 British English
1712 The Great God Pan Arthur Machen 1894 British English
4835 The Silver Stallion James Branch Cabell 1926 American English
2358 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Jack Finney 1955 American English
4835 The Cream Of The Jest James Branch Cabell 1917 American English
2728 They Return At Evening H. Russell Wakefield 1928 British English
1157 Twice-Told Tales Nathaniel Hawthorne 1837 American English
8649 The Leiber Chronicles Fritz Leiber 1990 American English
3448 Falling Angel William Hjortsberg 1978 American English
4835 Vice Versa F. Anstey 1882 British English
4835 One Of Cleopatra's Nights Théophile Gautier 1838 French French
4835 Thirteen O'clock Stephen Vincent Benét 1937 American English
1336 Peter Schlemihl Adalbert von Chamisso 1814 German German
4835 The Brass Bottle F. Anstey 1900 British English
4835 A Haunted Man And The Ghost's Bargain Charles Dickens 1848 British English
6885 The Ice Is Coming Patricia Wrightson 1977 Australian English
6560 The Wind Eye Robert Westall 1973 British English
5225 The Children Of Green Knowe L. M. Boston 1954 British English
861 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson 1962 American English
2950 Redwall Brian Jacques 1986 British English
4956 The Man Who Was Born Again Paull Busson 1921 Austrian German
46 One Thousand and One Nights Unknown 800 Multiple Arabic
768 A Glastonbury Romance John Cowper Powys 1932 British English
4956 Creeps By Night Dashiell Hammett 1931 American English
10113 Revelations Douglas Winter 1997 American English
9914 The Lost Jonathan Aycliffe 1996 British English
4956 Miss Hargreaves Frank Baker 1939 British English
6701 A Touch Of Chill Joan Aiken 1974 American English
6077 The Darkest Road Guy Gavriel Kay 1986 Canadian English
3850 Fourth Mansions R. A. Lafferty 1969 American English
4956 The Secret Mountain And Other Tales Kenneth Morris 1926 British English
4956 Thunder On The Left Christopher Morley 1925 American English
3510 Alone With The Horrors Ramsey Campbell 1993 British English
4640 Prime Evil Douglas Winter 1988 American English
4956 Black God's Shadow C. L. Moore 1934 American English
5839 The Grotesque Patrick McGrath 1989 British English
7131 Tales Of Neveryon Samuel R. Delany 1979 American English
2812 The Haunted Omnibus Alexander Laing 1937 American English
2861 The Ghost Pirates William Hope Hodgson 1909 British English
10693 The Story Of The Glittering Plain William Morris 2002 British English
4517 The Black Cauldron Lloyd Alexander 1965 American English
6563 A Castle Of Bone Penelope Farmer 1972 British English
6086 The Maker Of Universes Philip José Farmer 1965 American English
3587 Collected Poems H. P. Lovecraft 1963 American English
1823 Stuart Little E. B. White 1945 American English
8075 Coming And Going Men Paul Fleischman 1985 American English
1978 Great Tales Of Terror And The Supernatural Herbert A. Wise 1944 American English
512 The Golden Ass Apuleius 158 Roman Latin
728 Erewhon Samuel Butler 1872 British English
2529 The Weirdstone Of Brisingamen Alan Garner 1960 British English
5776 The Serpent Jane Gaskell 1963 British English
3255 The Book Of Three Lloyd Alexander 1964 American English
3373 The Green Child Herbert Read 1935 British English
6220 The City Jane Gaskell 1967 British English
6956 Some Summer Lands Jane Gaskell 1977 British English
5162 The Blue Star Fletcher Pratt 1952 American English
4956 Unclay T. F. Powys 1931 British English
7780 The Red Magician Lisa Goldstein 1982 American English
4174 Replay Ken Grimwood 1986 American English
715 The Sketch Book Of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Washington Irving 1819 American English
8911 Spells Of Enchantment Jack Zipes 1991 American English
8599 Beauties, Beasts And Enchantment Jack Zipes 1989 American English
4956 Figures Of Earth James Branch Cabell 1921 American English
4956 The High Place James Branch Cabell 1923 American English
8599 Blood Is Not Enough Ellen Datlow 1989 American English
2743 The Little White Horse Elizabeth Goudge 1946 British English
8332 The Architecture Of Fear Kathryn Cramer 1987 American English
1404 The Last Bouquet Marjorie Bowen 1933 British English
2861 The Haunters And The Haunted Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1859 British English
7966 Magical Realist Fiction David Young 1984 Unknown Unknown
5230 Whispers Stuart David Schiff 1977 American English
3159 Nine Princes In Amber Roger Zelazny 1970 American English
4956 A Fallen Idol F. Anstey 1886 British English
6703 Seventh Son Orson Scott Card, Patrick Couton 1987 American English
2861 The Sorcerer's Apprentice Hanns Heinz Ewers 1910 German German
7562 Lord Valentine's Castle Robert Silverberg 1980 American English
4956 Uncanny Stories May Sinclair 1923 British English
3407 All Heads Turn When The Hunt Goes By John Farris 1977 American English
6880 A String In The Harp Nancy Bond 1976 American English
3407 In A Lonely Place Karl Edward Wagner 1977 American English
2861 Tales Of Wonder Matthew Lewis 1801 British English
4956 The Fiery Angel Valeri Briussof 1908 Russian Russian
4956 Supernatural Horror In Literature H. P. Lovecraft 1927 American English
5664 An Experiment In Criticism C. S. Lewis 1961 British English
6701 The House In Norham Gardens Penelope Lively 1974 British English
4956 The Centaur Algernon Blackwood 1911 British English
3269 The Girl, The Gold Watch And Everything John D. MacDonald 1962 American English
4956 The Human Chord Algernon Blackwood 1910 British English
1692 Till We Have Faces C. S. Lewis 1956 British English
4956 The Venetian Glass Nephew Elinor Wylie 1925 American English
6087 Danse Macabre Stephen King 1981 American English
9104 Foundations Of Fear David Hartwell 1992 American English
5097 The Disappearance Philip Wylie 1951 American English
4956 A Crystal Age W. H. Hudson 1887 British English
1001 Red Dragon Thomas Harris 1981 American English
8734 Houses Without Doors Peter Straub 1990 American English
4956 Mr. Godly Beside Himself Gerald Bullett 1924 British English
4956 The Supermale Alfred Jarry 1902 French French
4956 These Mortals Margaret Irwin 1925 British English
5776 The Stealer Of Souls Michael Moorcock 1963 British English
757 The Adventures of Caleb Williams William Godwin 1794 British English
7131 Fantastic Worlds Eric S. Rabkin 1979 American English
5044 Chickamauga Ambrose Bierce 1889 American English
5044 Peter Ibbetson Daphne du Maurier 1891 British Unknown
810 Amadis of Gaul Garci R. de Montalvo 1508 Spanish Spanish
9170 Memories Of The Body Lisa Tuttle 1992 American English
7200 The Nightwalker Thomas Tessier 1979 American English
9346 Demons And Shadows Robert Westall 1993 British English
10802 Shades Of Darkness Robert Westall 1999 British English
5714 Hotel Transylvania Chelsa quinn yarbro 1978 American English
8046 Masques J. N. Williamson 1984 American English