The Greatest Gothic 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 467 '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
11 Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë 1847 British English
30 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë 1847 British English
39 Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818 British English
67 Dracula Bram Stoker 1897 British English
71 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier 1938 British English
92 The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe 1902 American English
96 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 British English
99 The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne 1850 American English
128 Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy 1891 British English
131 Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys 1966 British English
135 The Woman in White Wilkie Collins 1860 British English
167 The Flowers of Evil Charles Baudelaire 1857 French French
202 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American English
219 The Turn of the Screw Henry James 1898 American English
296 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 British English
287 The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner James Hogg 1824 Scottish English
367 Gormenghast Mervyn Peake 1950 British English
390 Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy 1895 British English
402 Nightwood Djuna Barnes 1936 American English
423 Melmoth the Wanderer Charles Robert Maturin 1820 British English
443 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Victor Hugo 1831 French French
479 Titus Groan Mervyn Peake 1946 British English
499 Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice 1976 American English
505 The Castle of Otranto Horace Walpole 1764 British English
533 The Monk Matthew Lewis 1796 British English
536 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson 1962 American English
551 Uncle Silas Sheridan Le Fanu 1864 Irish English
595 Maldoror Comte de Lautréamont 1868 French French
627 The Manuscript Found in Saragossa Jan Potocki 1805 Polish French
677 Rhymes And Legends Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer 1871 Spanish Spanish
692 Fingersmith Sarah Waters 2002 British English
738 Salem's Lot Stephen King 1975 American English
768 The Mysteries of Udolpho Ann Radcliffe 1794 British English
786 The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne Brontë 1848 British English
820 The Phantom of the Opera Gaston Leroux 1909 French French
889 Justine Marquis de Sade 1791 French French
903 The House of the Seven Gables Nathaniel Hawthorne 1851 American English
1010 Against Nature J. K. Huysmans 1884 French French
1079 The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe 1839 American English
1179 Widdershins G. Oliver Onions 1911 British English
1206 Down There J. K. Huysmans 1891 French French
1317 The Murders in the Rue Morgue Edgar Allan Poe 1841 American English
1322 In a Glass Darkly Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 Irish English
1336 The House Of Souls Arthur Machen 1906 British English
1337 The Horror Horn And Other Stories E. F. Benson 1931 British English
1355 She H. Rider Haggard 1887 British English
1357 Villette Charlotte Brontë 1853 British English
1496 The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe 1842 American English
1510 The Black Spider Jeremias Gotthelf 1842 Swiss German
1557 Great Tales Of Terror And The Supernatural Herbert A. Wise 1944 American English
1613 The Werewolf Of Paris Guy Endore 1933 American English
1630 Bomarzo Manuel Mujica Lainez 1962 Argentinian Spanish
1647 The Complete John Silence Stories Algernon Blackwood 1908 British English
1813 The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon 2001 Spanish Spanish
1851 The Bloody Chamber And Other Stories Angela Carter 1979 British English
1860 The Little Demon Fedor Sologub 1907 Russian Russian
1899 Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres Henry Adams 1904 American English
1935 Ghost Story Peter Straub 1979 American English
1974 The Haunted Omnibus Alexander Laing 1937 American English
2022 The Master of Ballantrae Robert Louis Stevenson 1889 British English
2034 My Cousin Rachel Daphne du Maurier 1951 British English
2060 Wieland Charles Brockden Brown 1798 American English
2108 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1798 British English
2274 Seven Gothic Tales Isak Dinesen 1934 Danish English
2356 Lost Souls Poppy Z. Brite 1992 American English
2623 The Hill Of Dreams Arthur Machen 1907 British English
2703 The Tales Of Hoffmann E. T. A. Hoffmann 1814 German German
2749 Sub Rosa Robert Aickman 1968 British English
2799 The Raven Edgar Allan Poe 1845 American English
2965 The Keep F. Paul Wilson 1981 American English
3075 The Vampyre John William Polidori 1819 British English
3109 The Great God Pan Arthur Machen 1894 British English
3130 The Room In The Tower E. F. Benson 1912 British English
3130 The Listener And Other Stories Algernon Blackwood 1907 British English
3165 The Haunters And The Haunted Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1859 British English
3165 The Sorcerer's Apprentice Hanns Heinz Ewers 1910 German German
3165 Tales Of Wonder Matthew Lewis 1801 British English
3193 The Blithedale Romance Nathaniel Hawthorne 1852 American English
3208 Zofloya Charlotte Dacre 1806 British English
3208 The Return Walter de la Mare 1910 British English
3232 The Passion Of New Eve Angela Carter 1977 British English
3240 The Ghost Stories Of Edith Wharton Edith Wharton 1937 American English
3242 Best Ghost Stories Sheridan Le Fanu 1923 Irish English
3242 The Demon Lover Elizabeth Bowen 1927 British English
3242 Dracula's Guest Bram Stoker 1914 British English
3318 The Woman In Black Susan Hill 1983 British English
3529 Kecksies And Other Twilight Tales Marjorie Bowen 1946 British English
3626 Kamouraska Anne Hébert 1970 Canadian French
3661 We Are For The Dark Robert Aickman 1951 British English
3690 Lilith George MacDonald 1895 Scottish English
3785 Outer Dark Cormac McCarthy 1968 American English
3855 Hotel Transylvania Chelsa quinn yarbro 1978 American English
3865 Sweetheart, Sweetheart Bernard Taylor 1977 British English
3988 Nightmare Abbey Thomas Love Peacock 1818 British English
4055 Harvest Home Thomas Tryon 1973 American English
4121 Mistress Of Mellyn Victoria Holt 1960 British English
4222 Biserica Neagră A.E. Baconsky 1970 Romanian Romanian
4309 The Grotesque Patrick McGrath 1989 British English
4352 A Rose for Emily William Faulkner 1930 American English
4354 Carmilla Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 Irish English
4351 Affinity Sarah Waters 1999 British English
4447 The Haunted Woman David Lindsay 1922 British English
4564 Black Magic Marjorie Bowen 1909 British English
4564 All Hallows' Eve Charles Williams 1945 British English
4639 The Fiery Angel Valeri Briussof 1908 Russian Russian
4639 Supernatural Horror In Literature H. P. Lovecraft 1927 American English
4639 The Human Chord Algernon Blackwood 1910 British English
4663 Young Goodman Brown & Other Short Stories Nathaniel Hawthorne 1835 American English
4755 The Death Of Halpin Frayser Ambrose Bierce 1891 American English
4755 The White Old Maid Nathaniel Hawthorne 1837 American English
4755 The Sandman E. T. A. Hoffmann 1816 German German
4755 The Minister's Black Veil Nathaniel Hawthorne 1836 American English
4755 For The Blood Is The Life F. Marion Crawford 1905 American English
4755 Fantazius Mallare Ben Hecht 1922 American English
4755 Still She Wished For Company Margaret Irwin 1924 British English
4755 Devil's Tor David Lindsay 1932 British English
4755 The Lord Of The Dark Red Star Eugene Lee-Hamilton 1903 British English
4755 Tongues Of Conscience Robert Hichens 1893 British English
4796 Collected Writings Ambrose Bierce 1909 American English
4831 The Complete Short Stories Of Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Bierce 1970 American English