Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide

This is one of the 759 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 almost 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
7758 The Hunger Whitley Strieber 1981 American English
9173 MetaHorror Dennis Etchison 1992 American English
7042 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Simon Armitage 2007 British Middle english
7758 The Living Dead James Twitchell 1981 Unknown English
797 The Manuscript Found in Saragossa Jan Potocki 1805 Polish French
9621 The Carnival Of Destruction Brian Stableford 1994 British English
10804 The Angel Of Pain Brian Stableford 2009 British English
9817 Possible Worlds Of The Fantastic Nancy H. Trail 1995 American Unknown
8823 The Werewolves Of London Brian Stableford 1990 British English
3146 Carrion Comfort Dan Simmons 1989 American English
5046 The Death Of Halpin Frayser Ambrose Bierce 1891 American English
5229 The Ringstones And Other Curious Tales Sarban 1951 British English
10804 Off With Their Heads! Maria Tatar 2013 American English
8434 The Gentleman In Black James Dalton 2009 Unknown Unknown
5379 A Midsummer Tempest Poul Anderson 1974 American English
7804 Anno Dracula Kim Newman 1992 British English
3538 Fire And Sleet And Candlelight August Derleth 1961 American English
9996 Speaking Bones Denise Dumars 1996 American Unknown
9996 Nestlings Of A Dark God Michael R. Collings 1996 American English
2607 Poems And Prose Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1797 British English
7200 Science Fiction And Fantasy Literature & Supplement R. Reginald 1979 American English
1726 Down There J. K. Huysmans 1891 French French
8046 Autumn Roses G. Sutton Breiding 1984 American Unknown
8399 The First Gothics Frederick S. Frank 1987 American English
2534 Young Goodman Brown & Other Short Stories Nathaniel Hawthorne 1835 American English
6286 New Worlds Of Fantasy Terry Carr 1967 American English
5046 The White Old Maid Nathaniel Hawthorne 1837 American English
8688 Fantasy Literature For Children And Young Adults Ruth Nadelman Lynn 1989 American English
3304 The Silmarillion J. R. R. Tolkien 1977 British English
4081 The White Hotel D. M. Thomas 1981 British English
5641 Was Geoff Ryman 1992 British English
9817 The Supernatural Index Mike Ashley 1995 British English
3018 Dark Of The Moon August Derleth 1947 American English
5172 Omniumgathum Jonathan Bacon, Steve Troyanovich 1976 Unknown Unknown
7112 Index To Science Fiction Anthologies And Collections And Supplement William G. Contento 1978 American English
5046 Selected Poems Of George Sterling George Sterling 1923 American English
5811 The Insistence Of Horror Patricia Meyer Spacks 1962 American English
6566 Songs And Sonnets Atlantean Donald Sidney-Fryer 1971 American English
7641 Lake Of The Devil Jessica Amanda Salmonson 1980 American English
4633 Christina Rossetti Christina Georgina Rossetti 2001 British English
8688 The Poetic Fantastic Patrick D. Murphy 1989 American English
974 The Poems of John Keats John Keats 1817 British English
5509 Always Come Evening Robert E. Howard 1957 American English
5046 The Sandman E. T. A. Hoffmann 1816 German German
8399 Science Fiction And Fantasy Reference Index, 1878 1985 And Supplements H. W. Hall 1987 American English
9996 The Fuel Of Tender Years Joey Froehlich 1996 American Unknown
5046 The Supernatural In English Romantic Poetry, 1780 1830 Sukumar Dutt 1932 Unknown English
64 Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie 1981 Indian English
5378 Bridge of Birds Barry Hughart 1984 American English
6167 Atlan Jane Gaskell 1965 British English
8823 Victorian Fantasy Literature Karen Michaelson 1990 American Unknown
8399 The Failure Of The Gothic Elizabeth R. Napier 1987 Unknown English
9349 Ellipse Of Uncertainty Lance Olsen 1993 American English
3435 A Predicament Edgar Allan Poe 1838 American English
2277 The Old English Baron Clara Reeve 1777 British English
3436 On Wings Of Song Thomas M. Disch 1979 American English
7641 The Literature Of Terror David Punter 1980 British English
6167 Peregrine Avram Davidson 1965 American English
6948 The Fantastic In Literature Eric S. Rabkin 1976 American English
7848 The Aesthetics Of Fantasy Literature And Art Roger Schlobin 1982 American English
9349 The Monster Show David J. Skal 1993 American English
6948 King Arthur's Daughter Vera Chapman 1976 British English
6948 The King's Damosel Vera Chapman 1976 British English
6877 The Green Knight Vera Chapman 1975 British English
7112 Blind Voices Tom Reamy 1978 American English
9996 Magill's Guide To Science Fiction And Fantasy Literature Magill 1996 Unknown English
2904 Longsword, Earl Of Salisbury Thomas Leland 1762 Irish English
5046 The Minister's Black Veil Nathaniel Hawthorne 1836 American English
7848 The Darkangel Meredith Ann Pierce 1982 American English
8046 Fantasists On Fantasy Robert H. Boyer 1984 American English
7112 The Inklings Humphrey Carpenter 1978 British English
9996 Dreams And Wishes Susan Cooper 1996 British English
3903 The Blue Sword Robin McKinley 1982 American English
5046 The Wolf Leader Alexandre Dumas 1857 French French
2904 Zofloya Charlotte Dacre 1806 British English
8823 The Weird Tale S. T. Joshi 1990 American English
7200 The Language Of The Night Ursula K. Le Guin 1979 American English
9173 Christian Fantasy C. N. Manlove 1992 British English
9173 The Impulse Of Fantasy Literature C. N. Manlove 1992 British English
5046 For The Blood Is The Life F. Marion Crawford 1905 American English
5046 Flower Phantoms Ronald Fraser 1926 British English
5046 Fantazius Mallare Ben Hecht 1922 American English
5046 Typewriter In The Sky & Fear L. Ron Hubbard 1940 American English
5046 Still She Wished For Company Margaret Irwin 1924 British English
8303 Darkside Dennis Etchison 1986 American English
5046 Devil's Tor David Lindsay 1932 British English
5046 The Face In The Abyss A. Merritt 1931 American English
5046 By Firelight Edith Pargeter 1948 British English
10804 Circe's Island Eden Phillpotts 2012 British English
5046 The Girl And The Faun Eden Phillpotts 1917 British English
5046 Pan And The Twins Eden Phillpotts 1906 British English
5046 The Wonderful Visit H. G. Wells 1895 British English
2105 Someone Like You Roald Dahl 1953 British English
5046 The Two Thieves T. F. Powys 1932 British English
5046 The Stray Lamb Thorne Smith 1929 American English
5046 A Man Made Of Money Douglas Jerrold 1849 British English
5046 My First Two Thousand Years George Vierick 1928 American English
9817 The Panic Hand Jonathan Carroll 1995 American English
5046 Salome the Wandering Jewess George Vierick, Paul Eldridge 1930 American English
5046 The Invincible Adam George Vierick, Paul Eldridge 1932 American English
7159 Midnight Sun Ramsey Campbell 1990 British English
5046 Essays And Tales John Sterling 1848 British English
8496 Nazareth Hill Ramsey Campbell 1996 British English
3220 Aphrodite Pierre Louÿs 1896 French French
8823 The Unsettled Dust Robert Aickman 1990 British English
9817 The Well Jack Cady 1995 American English
5046 Who Wants A Green Bottle? Tod Robbins 1926 American English
883 Thaïs Anatole France 1890 French French
5046 The Well Of St. Clare Anatole France 1895 French French
5046 Maker Of Shadows Jack Mann 1939 British English
1425 And The Darkness Falls Boris Karloff 1943 British English
5046 Grey Shapes Jack Mann 1937 British English
4506 Different Seasons Stephen King 1982 American English
5046 In Brief Authority F. Anstey 1896 British English
7936 Phantoms Dean R. Koontz 1983 American English
5046 The Lord Of The Dark Red Star Eugene Lee-Hamilton 1903 British English
5046 Lieut. Gullivar Jones Edwin Lester Arnold 1905 British English
5046 Tongues Of Conscience Robert Hichens 1893 British English
5046 Living Alone Stella Benson 1919 British English
5046 The Charwoman's Shadow Lord Dunsany 1926 British English