Horror Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide

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Book edited by Marshall B. Tymn, 385 Books

The book Horror Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide is a comprehensive reference work designed to serve a wide audience, from library acquisitions staff and educators to scholars, researchers, and general readers interested in horror fiction. Edited by Marshall B. Tymn, the book provides an extensive overview of the genre, tracing its origins from Gothic romance through to modern horror literature. Contributors such as Frederick S. Frank, Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV, Jack Sullivan, and Robert Weinberg bring their expertise to different eras and forms of horror literature, including novels, anthologies, pulp magazines, and supernatural verse.

The book's purpose is to offer bibliographic control of horror fiction and related genres, presenting over 1,300 key works and providing a historical framework for understanding the development of the genre. Each chapter includes annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and a focus on core collection titles, selected based on their influence, popularity, and historical significance. The guide also aims to highlight the importance of horror literature as an entertaining yet intellectually stimulating form of art, while also addressing the contributions of well-known and lesser-known authors in the field.

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Edited by Marshall B. Tymn, with contributors such as Frederick S. Frank, Benjamin Franklin Fisher IV, Jack Sullivan, and Robert Weinberg

This list was originally published in 1981 and was added to this site over 1 year ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
3093 The Travelling Grave L. P. Hartley 1948 British English
9375 The Beast With Five Fingers, And Other Tales W. F. Harvey 1928 British English
9375 Midnight Tales W. F. Harvey 1928 British English
10959 The Bird's Nest Shirley Jackson 1954 American English
10805 Hangsaman Shirley Jackson 1951 American English
215 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American English
861 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson 1962 American English
10426 Revelations In Black Carl Jacobi 1947 American English
12071 Night Shift Stephen King 1978 American English
1293 Salem's Lot Stephen King 1975 American English
400 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American English
13905 The Princess Of All Lands Russell Kirk 1979 American English
11472 The Surly Sullen Bell Russell Kirk 1962 American English
1196 Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber 1943 American English
13768 Heroes And Horrors Fritz Leiber 1978 American English
12217 Night Monsters Fritz Leiber 1969 American English
3414 Night's Black Agents Fritz Leiber 1961 American English
2630 Our Lady Of Darkness Fritz Leiber 1977 American English
894 Rosemary's Baby Ira Levin 1967 American English
13355 The Early Long Frank Belknap Long 1975 American Unknown
9375 The Hounds Of Tindalos Frank Belknap Long 1929 American English
710 At the Mountains of Madness H. P. Lovecraft 1936 American English
2939 Beyond The Wall Of Sleep H. P. Lovecraft 1919 American English
9629 Dagon, And Other Macabre Tales H. P. Lovecraft 1934 American English
9114 The Dunwich Horror And Others H. P. Lovecraft 1963 American English
579 The Outsider And Others H. P. Lovecraft 1939 American English
10127 Nine Ghosts R. H. Malden 1943 British English
10593 The Alabaster Hand, And Other Ghost Stories A. N. L. Munby 1949 British English
13905 Tales Of The Werewolf Clan: Vol. I. In The Tomb Of The Bishop H. Warner Munn 1979 American English
13905 Tales Of The Werewolf Clan: Vol. Ii. The Master Goes Home H. Warner Munn 1979 American English
9375 The Werewolf Of Ponkert H. Warner Munn 1925 American English
13694 Night Side Joyce Carol Oates 1977 American English
11876 The Phantom Fighter Seabury Quinn 1966 American English
10528 Roads Seabury Quinn 1948 American English
661 Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice 1976 American English
11329 The Abominations Of Yondo Clark Ashton Smith 1960 American English
10528 Genius Loci, And Other Tales Clark Ashton Smith 1948 American English
5520 Lost Worlds Clark Ashton Smith 1944 American English
1423 Out Of Space And Time Clark Ashton Smith 1942 American English
11624 Tales Of Science And Sorcery Clark Ashton Smith 1964 American English
13533 The Vampire Of Mons Desmond Stewart 1976 British Unknown
5279 Some Of Your Blood Theodore Sturgeon 1961 American English
1826 The Other Thomas Tryon 1971 American English
13905 In The Mist, And Other Uncanny Encounters Elizabeth Walter 1979 British English
6479 Who Fears The Devil? Manly Wade Wellman 1963 American English
2451 Worse Things Waiting Manly Wade Wellman 1973 American English
5307 The Devil Rides Out Dennis Wheatley 1934 British English
10370 West India Lights Henry S. Whitehead 1946 American English
3905 Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1964 British English
12587 The Second Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1971 British English
11624 The Third Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1964 British English
12020 The Fourth Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1967 British English
12217 The Fifth Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1969 British English
11829 The Sixth Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1965 British English
12800 The Eighth Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1972 British English
2939 The Ghost Book Cynthia Asquith 1926 British English
10850 The Second Ghost Book Cynthia Asquith 1952 British English
5911 The Third Ghost Book Cynthia Asquith 1955 British English
13993 New Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos Ramsey Campbell 1980 British English
5665 New Terrors Ramsey Campbell 1980 British English
13993 New Terrors Two Ramsey Campbell 1980 British English
4297 The Year's Best Horror Stories Richard Davis 1972 British English
13298 The Year's Best Horror Stories: Ii Richard Davis 1974 British English
13232 The Year's Best Horror Stories: Iii Richard Davis 1973 British English
11472 Dark Mind, Dark Heart August Derleth 1962 American English
10426 The Night Side August Derleth 1947 American English
5520 Sleep No More August Derleth 1944 American English
1496 The Sleeping And The Dead August Derleth 1947 American English
12217 Tales Of The Cthulhu Mythos August Derleth 1969 American English
10370 Who Knocks? August Derleth 1946 American English
13533 Nightmares Charles L. Grant 1976 American English
3826 Shadows Charles L. Grant 1978 American English
13905 Shadows 2 Charles L. Grant 1979 American English
13993 Shadows 3 Charles L. Grant 1980 American English
12426 The Black Magic Omnibus Peter Haining 1970 British English
12800 The Lucifer Society Peter Haining 1972 British English
13905 Weird Tales Peter Haining 1979 British English
1425 And The Darkness Falls Boris Karloff 1943 British English
13694 Cold Fear Hugh Lamb 1977 British English
13533 Return From The Grave Hugh Lamb 1976 British English
12426 The Taste Of Fear Hugh Lamb 1970 British English
13694 The Thrill Of Horror Hugh Lamb 1977 British English
13905 A Tide Of Terror Hugh Lamb 1979 British English
13232 A Wave Of Fear Hugh Lamb 1973 British English
3153 Dark Forces Kirby McCauley 1980 American English
5682 Frights Kirby McCauley 1980 American English
11624 Weird Tales Leo Marguiles 1964 American English
11829 Worlds Of Weird Leo Marguiles 1965 American English
12119 Hauntings Henry Mazzeo 1968 American English
13694 The Year's Best Horror Stories: V Gerald W. Page 1977 American English
13768 The Year's Best Horror Stories: Vi Gerald W. Page 1978 American English
13905 The Year's Best Horror Stories: Vii Gerald W. Page 1979 American English
5230 Whispers Stuart David Schiff 1977 American English
13905 Whispers Ii Stuart David Schiff 1979 American English
13993 The World Fantasy Awards: Vol. 2 Fritz Leiber, Stuart David Schiff 1980 American Unknown
9375 At Dead Of Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1931 British English
9375 By Daylight Only Christine Campbell Thomson 1929 British English
9732 Grim Death Christine Campbell Thomson 1936 British English
9375 Gruesome Cargoes Christine Campbell Thompson 1931 British English
9904 Keep On The Light Christine Campbell Thomson 1939 British English
10073 Nightmare By Daylight Christine Campbell Thomson 1942 British English
9375 Not At Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1925 British English
9375 More Not At Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1930 British English
9375 Switch On The Light Christine Campbell Thompson 1931 British Unknown
9629 Terror By Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1934 British English
9375 You'll Need A Light Christine Campbell Thompson 1927 British Unknown
13993 The Year's Best Horror Stories: Viii Karl Edward Wagner 1980 American English
13694 First World Fantasy Awards Gahan Wilson 1977 American English
1978 Great Tales Of Terror And The Supernatural Herbert A. Wise 1944 American English
5171 Omniumgathum Jonathan Bacon, Steve Troyanovich 1976 Unknown Unknown
2707 The Works Of Thomas Lovell Beddoes Thomas Lovell Beddoes 1851 British English
9375 Lenore Gottfried Burger 1773 German German
10593 Unseen Wings Stanton A. Coblentz 1949 American English
3019 Dark Of The Moon August Derleth 1947 American English
3538 Fire And Sleet And Candlelight August Derleth 1961 American English
13768 Supernatural Poetry Michael Hayes 1978 Unknown Unknown
2861 Tales Of Wonder Matthew Lewis 1801 British English
3587 Collected Poems H. P. Lovecraft 1963 American English
4103 Selected Poems Of Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith 1971 American English
9375 The Haunted Hour Margaret Widdemer 1920 American English