The Greatest Horror Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
37 Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818 British English
72 Dracula Bram Stoker 1897 British English
93 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 Irish English
101 The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe 1902 American English
109 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle 1902 British English
153 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
183 The Turn of the Screw Henry James 1898 American English
187 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American English
224 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American English
227 The Stand Stephen King 1978 American English
298 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 British English
372 War of the Worlds H. G. Wells 1898 British English
430 Melmoth the Wanderer Charles Robert Maturin 1820 British English
431 The Silence of the Lambs Thomas Harris 1988 American English
469 Perfume Patrick Suskind 1985 German German
489 I Am Legend Richard Matheson 1954 American English
520 The Castle of Otranto Horace Walpole 1764 British English
523 The Monk Matthew Lewis 1796 British English
542 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson 1962 American English
546 At the Mountains of Madness H. P. Lovecraft 1936 American English
549 Rosemary's Baby Ira Levin 1967 American English
579 Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice 1976 American English
580 The Outsider And Others H. P. Lovecraft 1939 American English
583 Crash J. G. Ballard 1973 British English
624 Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury 1962 American English
634 Salem's Lot Stephen King 1975 American English
675 The Island of Doctor Moreau H. G. Wells 1896 British English
688 Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber 1943 American English
694 The Day of the Triffids John Wyndham 1951 British English
701 The House On The Borderland And Other Novels William Hope Hodgson 1908 British English
724 The Lottery and Other Stories Shirley Jackson 1948 American English
761 Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary M. R. James 1904 British English
806 The Midwich Cuckoos John Wyndham 1957 British English
829 Misery Stephen King 1987 American English
835 The Phantom of the Opera Gaston Leroux 1909 French French
874 It Stephen King 1986 American English
876 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks 1984 British English
944 The Exorcist William Peter Blatty 1971 American English
1088 Tales Of Horror And The Supernatural Arthur Machen 1948 British English
1126 The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe 1839 American English
1143 Darker Than You Think Jack Williamson 1948 American English
1164 House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski 2000 American English
1195 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym Edgar Allan Poe 1838 American English
1212 The October Country Ray Bradbury 1955 American English
1237 Psycho Robert Bloch 1959 American English
1254 The Sound Of His Horn Sarban 1952 British English
1258 Widdershins G. Oliver Onions 1911 British English
1296 Books of Blood Clive Barker 1984 British English
1312 Deliverance James Dickey 1970 American English
1362 Red Dragon Thomas Harris 1981 American English
1379 In a Glass Darkly Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 Irish English
1386 The King In Yellow Robert W. Chambers 1895 American English
1391 The House Of Souls Arthur Machen 1906 British English
1394 The Horror Horn And Other Stories E. F. Benson 1931 British English
1442 The Last Bouquet Marjorie Bowen 1933 British English
1459 Ghost Story Peter Straub 1979 American English
1480 Out Of Space And Time Clark Ashton Smith 1942 American English
1495 And The Darkness Falls Boris Karloff 1943 British English
1532 The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe 1842 American English
1574 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
1578 Sandman Neil Gaiman 1989 British English
1580 Great Tales Of Terror And The Supernatural Herbert A. Wise 1944 American English
1591 The Sleeping And The Dead August Derleth 1947 American English
1619 Best Ghost Stories Of Algernon Blackwood Algernon Blackwood 1907 British English
1639 The Werewolf Of Paris Guy Endore 1933 American English
1672 The Complete John Silence Stories Algernon Blackwood 1908 British English
1698 The Cement Garden Ian McEwan 1978 British English
1783 Lost Souls Poppy Z. Brite 1992 American English
1785 Carrion Comfort Dan Simmons 1989 American English
1788 The Black Spider Jeremias Gotthelf 1842 Swiss German
1792 Some Of Your Blood Theodore Sturgeon 1961 American English
1796 Medusa E. H. Visiak 1929 British English
1800 The Jewel Of Seven Stars Bram Stoker 1903 British English
1800 The Cadaver Of Gideon Wyck Alexander Laing 1934 American English
1800 The Second Century Of Creepy Stories Hugh Walpole 1937 British English
1807 Book Of The Dead John Skipp , Craig Spector 1989 Multiple English
1811 The Witches Roald Dahl 1983 British English
1856 Swan Song Robert R. McCammon 1987 American English
1870 Pet Sematary Stephen King 1983 American English
1872 The Unpleasant Profession Of Jonathan Hoag Robert A. Heinlein 1942 American English
1902 The Damnation Game Clive Barker 1985 British English
1940 Dark Forces Kirby McCauley 1980 American English
1949 Wieland Charles Brockden Brown 1798 American English
1953 The Lurker At The Threshold August Derleth, H. P. Lovecraft 1945 American English
1969 Someone Like You Roald Dahl 1953 British English
1989 Burnt Offerings Robert Marasco 1973 American English
2000 They Return At Evening H. Russell Wakefield 1928 British English
2008 The Green Man Kingsley Amis 1969 British English
2016 The Haunted Omnibus Alexander Laing 1937 American English
2017 Our Lady Of Darkness Fritz Leiber 1977 American English
2059 The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward H. P. Lovecraft 1941 American English
2112 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Jack Finney 1955 American English
2148 Hell House Richard Matheson 1971 American English
2184 Deathbird Stories Harlan Ellison 1975 American English
2422 Geek Love Katherine Dunn 1989 American English
2459 The Boats Of The "Glen Carrig" William Hope Hodgson 1907 British English
2459 Carnacki The Ghost Finder William Hope Hodgson 1913 British English
2499 Night Visitor B. Traven 1966 German Unknown
2501 The Werewolf Aksel Sandemose 1958 Norwegian Norwegian
2504 The Devil Rides Out Dennis Wheatley 1934 British English
2516 The Shrinking Man Richard Matheson 1956 American English
2587 Lost Worlds Clark Ashton Smith 1944 American English
2587 Sleep No More August Derleth 1944 American English
2591 Nine Horrors And A Dream Joseph Payne Brennan 1958 American English
2596 The Opener Of The Way Robert Bloch 1945 American English
2607 The Other Thomas Tryon 1971 American English
2625 The Keep F. Paul Wilson 1981 American English
2635 The Collected Ghost Stories Of M. R. James M. R. James 1931 British English
2638 Quatermass And The Pit Nigel Kneale 1959 British English
2640 The Dark Descent David Hartwell 1987 American English
2655 Carrie Stephen King 1974 American English
2698 The Night Land William Hope Hodgson 1912 British English
2710 The Third Ghost Book Cynthia Asquith 1955 British English
2734 Prime Evil Douglas Winter 1988 American English
2776 The Call Of Cthulhu H. P. Lovecraft 1928 American English
2792 The Lurking Fear And Other Stories H. P. Lovecraft 1923 American English
2818 Sub Rosa Robert Aickman 1968 British English
2847 The Ceremonies T. E. D. Klein 1984 American English
2871 The Raven Edgar Allan Poe 1845 American English
2901 Song Of Kali Dan Simmons 1985 American English