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
39 Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818 British English
78 Dracula Bram Stoker 1897 British English
84 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 Irish English
102 The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe 1902 American English
114 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle 1902 British English
141 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
218 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American English
231 The Turn of the Screw Henry James 1898 American English
243 The Stand Stephen King 1978 American English
265 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American English
294 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 British English
420 War of the Worlds H. G. Wells 1898 British English
423 The Silence of the Lambs Thomas Harris 1988 American English
432 Melmoth the Wanderer Charles Robert Maturin 1820 British English
456 The Castle of Otranto Horace Walpole 1764 British English
483 Perfume Patrick Suskind 1985 German German
526 The Monk Matthew Lewis 1796 British English
567 Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice 1976 American English
581 The Island of Doctor Moreau H. G. Wells 1896 British English
603 The Outsider And Others H. P. Lovecraft 1939 American English
614 Crash J. G. Ballard 1973 British English
615 I Am Legend Richard Matheson 1954 American English
645 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson 1962 American English
652 The Day of the Triffids John Wyndham 1951 British English
666 At the Mountains of Madness H. P. Lovecraft 1936 American English
725 The House On The Borderland And Other Novels William Hope Hodgson 1908 British English
735 Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary M. R. James 1904 British English
739 Rosemary's Baby Ira Levin 1967 American English
778 Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber 1943 American English
802 Salem's Lot Stephen King 1975 American English
858 It Stephen King 1986 American English
863 The Midwich Cuckoos John Wyndham 1957 British English
889 Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury 1962 American English
894 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks 1984 British English
911 The Lottery and Other Stories Shirley Jackson 1948 American English
950 Misery Stephen King 1987 American English
1026 Sandman Neil Gaiman 1989 British English
1033 The Phantom of the Opera Gaston Leroux 1909 French French
1035 House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski 2000 American English
1099 The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe 1839 American English
1128 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym Edgar Allan Poe 1838 American English
1291 The Exorcist William Peter Blatty 1971 American English
1295 Darker Than You Think Jack Williamson 1948 American English
1307 Red Dragon Thomas Harris 1981 American English
1310 The Sound Of His Horn Sarban 1952 British English
1399 Tales Of Horror And The Supernatural Arthur Machen 1948 British English
1408 Widdershins G. Oliver Onions 1911 British English
1430 Deliverance James Dickey 1970 American English
1432 In a Glass Darkly Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 Irish English
1437 Psycho Robert Bloch 1959 American English
1438 The King In Yellow Robert W. Chambers 1895 American English
1451 The House Of Souls Arthur Machen 1906 British English
1452 Wieland Charles Brockden Brown 1798 American English
1453 The Horror Horn And Other Stories E. F. Benson 1931 British English
1509 The Last Bouquet Marjorie Bowen 1933 British English
1566 Out Of Space And Time Clark Ashton Smith 1942 American English
1577 And The Darkness Falls Boris Karloff 1943 British English
1583 The October Country Ray Bradbury 1955 American English
1621 The Black Spider Jeremias Gotthelf 1842 Swiss German
1668 Books of Blood Clive Barker 1984 British English
1689 The Witches Roald Dahl 1983 British English
1704 The Sleeping And The Dead August Derleth 1947 American English
1725 The Cement Garden Ian McEwan 1978 British English
1730 The Werewolf Of Paris Guy Endore 1933 American English
1749 Carrie Stephen King 1974 American English
1764 The Complete John Silence Stories Algernon Blackwood 1908 British English
1783 Ghost Story Peter Straub 1979 American English
1801 The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe 1842 American English
1901 Medusa E. H. Visiak 1929 British English
1906 The Jewel Of Seven Stars Bram Stoker 1903 British English
1906 The Cadaver Of Gideon Wyck Alexander Laing 1934 American English
1906 The Second Century Of Creepy Stories Hugh Walpole 1937 British English
1961 Great Tales Of Terror And The Supernatural Herbert A. Wise 1944 American English
1996 The Unpleasant Profession Of Jonathan Hoag Robert A. Heinlein 1942 American English
1998 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
2049 The Lurker At The Threshold August Derleth, H. P. Lovecraft 1945 American English
2067 Lost Souls Poppy Z. Brite 1992 American English
2103 Someone Like You Roald Dahl 1953 British English
2152 The Green Man Kingsley Amis 1969 British English
2178 Best Ghost Stories Of Algernon Blackwood Algernon Blackwood 1907 British English
2360 Our Lady Of Darkness Fritz Leiber 1977 American English
2396 Swan Song Robert R. McCammon 1987 American English
2505 They Return At Evening H. Russell Wakefield 1928 British English
2549 The Haunted Omnibus Alexander Laing 1937 American English
2573 Some Of Your Blood Theodore Sturgeon 1961 American English
2576 Geek Love Katherine Dunn 1989 American English
2577 The Werewolf Aksel Sandemose 1958 Norwegian Norwegian
2578 The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward H. P. Lovecraft 1941 American English
2583 Jurassic Park Michael Crichton 1990 American English
2597 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Jack Finney 1955 American English
2604 The Shrinking Man Richard Matheson 1956 American English
2616 Night Visitor B. Traven 1966 German Unknown
2626 Deathbird Stories Harlan Ellison 1975 American English
2630 Carrion Comfort Dan Simmons 1989 American English
2631 Dark Forces Kirby McCauley 1980 American English
2639 Brown Girl In The Ring Nalo Hopkinson 1998 Canadian English
2648 Burnt Offerings Robert Marasco 1973 American English
2681 Nine Horrors And A Dream Joseph Payne Brennan 1958 American English
2721 Dolly City Orly Castel-Bloom 1992 Israeli Hebrew
2734 Quatermass And The Pit Nigel Kneale 1959 British English
2737 The Damnation Game Clive Barker 1985 British English
2755 Pet Sematary Stephen King 1983 American English
2774 Under the Skin Michel Faber 2000 British English
2844 The Burning Court John Dickson Carr 1937 American English
2853 The Lurking Fear And Other Stories H. P. Lovecraft 1923 American English
2853 The Boats Of The "Glen Carrig" William Hope Hodgson 1907 British English
2853 Carnacki The Ghost Finder William Hope Hodgson 1913 British English
2890 Sub Rosa Robert Aickman 1968 British English
2895 Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor 2017 Mexican Spanish
2900 The Devil Rides Out Dennis Wheatley 1934 British English
2942 The Raven Edgar Allan Poe 1845 American English
2983 The Call Of Cthulhu H. P. Lovecraft 1928 American English
3015 Lost Worlds Clark Ashton Smith 1944 American English
3015 Sleep No More August Derleth 1944 American English
3025 Closer Dennis Cooper 1989 American English
3031 The Opener Of The Way Robert Bloch 1945 American English
3077 Black Easter James Blish 1968 American English
3107 The Night Land William Hope Hodgson 1912 British English
3114 The Keep F. Paul Wilson 1981 American English
3160 The Vampyre John William Polidori 1819 British English