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
45 Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818 British English
66 Dracula Bram Stoker 1897 British English
107 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 Irish English
115 The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe 1902 American English
192 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
194 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle 1902 British English
237 The Stand Stephen King 1978 American English
244 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American English
254 The Turn of the Screw Henry James 1898 American English
277 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 British English
281 Perfume Patrick Suskind 1985 German German
283 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American English
327 House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski 2000 American English
338 The Silence of the Lambs Thomas Harris 1988 American English
414 The Castle of Otranto Horace Walpole 1764 British English
454 War of the Worlds H. G. Wells 1898 British English
455 Melmoth the Wanderer Charles Robert Maturin 1820 British English
508 Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice 1976 American English
559 Red Dragon Thomas Harris 1981 American English
571 The Island of Doctor Moreau H. G. Wells 1896 British English
618 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks 1984 British English
668 The Monk Matthew Lewis 1796 British English
726 The Outsider And Others H. P. Lovecraft 1939 American English
732 It Stephen King 1986 American English
763 Misery Stephen King 1987 American English
784 Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary M. R. James 1904 British English
795 Crash J. G. Ballard 1973 British English
819 Rosemary's Baby Ira Levin 1967 American English
841 Salem's Lot Stephen King 1975 American English
886 I Am Legend Richard Matheson 1954 American English
905 At the Mountains of Madness H. P. Lovecraft 1936 American English
984 Deliverance James Dickey 1970 American English
988 The House On The Borderland And Other Novels William Hope Hodgson 1908 British English
994 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym Edgar Allan Poe 1838 American English
998 Jurassic Park Michael Crichton 1990 American English
1001 The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe 1839 American English
1087 Swan Song Robert R. McCammon 1987 American English
1125 The Black Spider Jeremias Gotthelf 1842 Swiss German
1132 Wieland Charles Brockden Brown 1798 American English
1134 Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor 2017 Mexican Spanish
1151 Books of Blood Clive Barker 1984 British English
1155 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson 1962 American English
1191 The Phantom of the Opera Gaston Leroux 1909 French French
1192 The Day of the Triffids John Wyndham 1951 British English
1204 The Exorcist William Peter Blatty 1971 American English
1226 Sandman Neil Gaiman 1989 British English
1266 Psycho Robert Bloch 1959 American English
1298 The Cement Garden Ian McEwan 1978 British English
1307 Burnt Offerings Robert Marasco 1973 American English
1328 Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber 1943 American English
1334 Ghost Story Peter Straub 1979 American English
1371 The Midwich Cuckoos John Wyndham 1957 British English
1388 The Lottery and Other Stories Shirley Jackson 1948 American English
1415 Carrie Stephen King 1974 American English
1503 The Werewolf Of Paris Guy Endore 1933 American English
1595 Under the Skin Michel Faber 2000 British English
1596 Fever Dream Samanta Schweblin 2014 Argentinian Spanish
1605 The October Country Ray Bradbury 1955 American English
1624 Lost Souls Poppy Z. Brite 1992 American English
1651 Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury 1962 American English
1692 Her Body and Other Parties Carmen Maria Machado 2017 American English
1693 The Ceremonies T. E. D. Klein 1984 American English
1705 The Damnation Game Clive Barker 1985 British English
1715 Widdershins G. Oliver Onions 1911 British English
1719 The Sound Of His Horn Sarban 1952 British English
1719 Who Made Stevie Crye? Michael Bishop 1984 American English
1722 The Green Man Kingsley Amis 1969 British English
1767 And The Darkness Falls Boris Karloff 1943 British English
1770 The King In Yellow Robert W. Chambers 1895 American English
1781 Out Of Space And Time Clark Ashton Smith 1942 American English
1782 The House Of Souls Arthur Machen 1906 British English
1782 Sub Rosa Robert Aickman 1968 British English
1785 The Horror Horn And Other Stories E. F. Benson 1931 British English
1785 The Sleeping And The Dead August Derleth 1947 American English
1788 Worse Things Waiting Manly Wade Wellman 1973 American English
1789 Geek Love Katherine Dunn 1989 American English
1831 The Other Thomas Tryon 1971 American English
1840 The Last Bouquet Marjorie Bowen 1933 British English
1843 Deathbird Stories Harlan Ellison 1975 American English
1867 The Dark Country Dennis Etchison 1981 American English
1953 Our Lady Of Darkness Fritz Leiber 1977 American English
1968 The Witches Roald Dahl 1983 British English
1975 Song Of Kali Dan Simmons 1985 American English
2000 The Keep F. Paul Wilson 1981 American English
2078 Jaws Peter Benchley 1974 American English
2225 Cursed Bunny Bora Chung 2021 Korean Korean
2244 The Great God Pan Arthur Machen 1894 British English
2250 Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer 2014 American English
2308 Carmilla Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 Irish English
2320 Carrion Comfort Dan Simmons 1989 American English
2357 Darker Than You Think Jack Williamson 1948 American English
2376 Dark Forces Kirby McCauley 1980 American English
2404 The God Of The Woods Liz Moore 2024 Unknown English
2406 The Vampire Lestat Anne Rice 1985 American English
2455 Alone With The Horrors Ramsey Campbell 1993 British English
2471 The Complete John Silence Stories Algernon Blackwood 1908 British English
2490 Falling Angel William Hjortsberg 1978 American English
2492 Goosebumps R. L. Stine 1992 American English
2513 All Heads Turn When The Hunt Goes By John Farris 1977 American English
2521 The Animals In That Country Laura Jean McKay 2020 Australian English
2524 Great Tales Of Terror And The Supernatural Herbert A. Wise 1944 American English
2565 Pet Sematary Stephen King 1983 American English
2578 Medusa E. H. Visiak 1929 British English
2578 The Totem David Morrell 1979 American English
2578 Dark Feasts Ramsey Campbell 1987 British English
2583 The Jewel Of Seven Stars Bram Stoker 1903 British English
2583 The Cadaver Of Gideon Wyck Alexander Laing 1934 American English
2583 The Second Century Of Creepy Stories Hugh Walpole 1937 British English
2583 The Lurker At The Threshold August Derleth, H. P. Lovecraft 1945 American English
2583 Nine Horrors And A Dream Joseph Payne Brennan 1958 American English
2583 Quatermass And The Pit Nigel Kneale 1959 British English
2583 Murgunstrumm And Others Hugh B. Cave 1977 American English
2583 Sweetheart, Sweetheart Bernard Taylor 1977 British English
2583 The Wolfen Whitley Strieber 1978 American English
2583 The Cellar Richard Laymon 1980 American English
2583 A Nest Of Nightmares Lisa Tuttle 1986 American English
2583 The Pet Charles L. Grant 1986 American English
2608 Tales Of Horror And The Supernatural Arthur Machen 1948 British English
2634 The Invisible Man H. G. Wells 1897 British English
2669 Zone One Colson Whitehead 2011 American English