The Greatest Gothic Books of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
5188 A Strange Story Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1862 British English
5226 The Green Face Gustav Meyrink 1916 German German
5227 The Ringstones And Other Curious Tales Sarban 1951 British English
5228 The Howling Man Charles Beaumont 1960 American English
5307 The Devil Rides Out Dennis Wheatley 1934 British English
5325 The Patient In Room 18 Mignon G. Eberhart 1929 American English
5376 The Town in Black Kálmán Mikszáth 1910 Hungarian Hungarian
5412 Reflections In A Golden Eye Carson McCullers 1941 American English
5440 The Pendragon Legend Antal Szerb 1934 Hungarian Hungarian
5482 The House At Sunset Norah Lofts 1962 British English
5514 Hell House Richard Matheson 1971 American English
5530 Podivné Přátelství Herce Jesenia Ivan Olbracht 1962 Czech Czech
5530 Petrolejové Lampy Jaroslav Havlíček 1944 Czech Czech
5586 Brother Of Sleep Robert Schneider 1992 Austrian German
5618 Our Share of Night Mariana Enríquez 2019 Argentinian Spanish
5682 Frights Kirby McCauley 1980 American English
5714 Hotel Transylvania Chelsa quinn yarbro 1978 American English
5782 Malombra Antonio Fogazzaro 1881 Italian Italian
5818 René François-Auguste-René de Chateaubriand 1802 French French
5838 The Grotesque Patrick McGrath 1989 British English
5862 The Stones Of Venice John Ruskin 1851 British English
5917 The Magic Toyshop Angela Carter 1967 British English
5912 The Third Ghost Book Cynthia Asquith 1955 British English
5966 Incarnate Ramsey Campbell 1983 British English
6004 Seven Gothic Tales Karen Blixen 1934 Danish Danish
6146 The Historian Elizabeth Kostova 2005 American English
6182 Kenilworth Sir Walter Scott 1821 British English
6310 Burial Rites Hannah Kent 2013 Australian English
6487 The Keepers of the House Shirley Ann Grau 1964 American English
6493 The Hidden Hand Or, Capitola The Madcap E. D. E. N. Southworth 1859 American English
6547 The Boarded Window Ambrose Bierce 1891 American English
6610 The Collected Strange Stories Of Robert Aickman Robert Aickman 1999 British English
6666 The Gashlycrumb Tinies Edward Gorey 1963 American English
6699 The Little Stranger Sarah Waters 2009 British English
6701 A Touch Of Chill Joan Aiken 1974 American English
6794 Elegant Nightmares Jack Sullivan 1978 American English
6808 The Queen Of The Damned Anne Rice 1988 American English
6810 Down A Dark Hall Lois Duncan 1974 American English
6909 The Chatelaine Claire Lorrimer 1978 British English
6928 The Repairer Of Reputations Robert W. Chambers 1895 American English
6933 The Tell Tale Heart And Other Writings Edgar Allan Poe 1843 American English
6996 Dina's Book Herbjørg Wassmo 1989 Norwegian Norwegian
7011 Ancestral Shadows Russell Kirk 2004 American English
7011 Green Tea Sheridan Le Fanu 2004 Irish English
7159 Midnight Sun Ramsey Campbell 1990 British English
7215 'Tis Pity She's A Whore John Ford 1633 British English
7215 The Revenger's Tragedy Cyril Tourneur 1607 British English
7215 Death's Jest Book Thomas Lovell Beddoes 1850 British English
7215 Poems Of Thomas Lovell Beddoes Thomas Lovell Beddoes 1851 British English
7215 The City Of The Dreadful Night James Thomson 1880 British English
7215 Essays And Reviews Edgar Allan Poe 1845 American English
7215 The Antiquary Sir Walter Scott 1816 Scottish English
7215 Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead Barbara Comyns 1954 British English
7636 Soulless Gail Carriger 2009 American English
7640 The Literature Of Terror David Punter 1980 British English
7727 Cast A Cold Eye Alan Ryan 1984 American English
7727 Usher's Passing Robert R. McCammon 1984 American English
7757 The Hunger Whitley Strieber 1981 American English
7803 Anno Dracula Kim Newman 1992 British English
7846 The Case Against Satan Ray Russell 1962 American English
7882 Mexican Gothic Silvia Moreno-Garcia 2020 Mexican English
7954 The Collected Ghost Stories Of M. R. James M. R. James 1931 British English
7954 A Sicilian Romance Ann Radcliffe 1790 British English
8075 The Seven Churches Miloš Urban 1999 Czech Czech
8106 The Amber Gods And Other Stories Harriet Prescott Spofford 1863 American English
8106 Kelroy Rebecca Rush 1812 American English
8177 Lilith J.R. Salamanca 1961 American English
8205 Waking the Moon Elizabeth Hand, Elisabeth Hand 1994 American English
8209 The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield 2006 British English
8252 The Old Curiosity Shop Charles Dickens 1841 British English
8368 The Wine Dark Sea Robert Aickman 1988 British English
8397 The First Gothics Frederick S. Frank 1987 American English
8397 The Failure Of The Gothic Elizabeth R. Napier 1987 Unknown English
8409 Lira Dos Vinte Anos Álvares De Azevedo 1853 Brazilian Portuguese
8429 Those Across The River Christopher Buehlman 2011 American English
8432 The Gentleman In Black James Dalton 2009 Unknown Unknown
8494 Nazareth Hill Ramsey Campbell 1996 British English
8508 Crônica Da Casa Assassinada Lúcio Cardoso 1959 Brazilian Portuguese
8512 Harvest Home Thomas Tryon 1973 American English
8554 The Woodwitch Stephen Gregory 1988 British English
8650 Victorian Psycho Virginia Feito 2025 Unknown English
8781 Noite Na Taverna Álvares De Azevedo 1855 Brazilian Portuguese
8799 The Revenger's Tragedy Thomas Middleton 1606 British English
8799 Jumbee And Other Uncanny Tales Henry S. Whitehead 1929 American English
8819 The Werewolves Of London Brian Stableford 1990 British English
8819 The Weird Tale S. T. Joshi 1990 American English
8819 The Unsettled Dust Robert Aickman 1990 British English
8999 Haunted Joyce Carol Oates 1994 American English
9114 The Dunwich Horror And Others H. P. Lovecraft 1963 American English
9169 Tales Of Terror Charles Higham 1961 British English
9251 White Is For Witching Helen Oyeyemi 2009 British English
9346 The Monster Show David J. Skal 1993 American English
9375 The Italian Ann Radcliffe 1797 British English
9375 Sir Bertrand, A Fragment Anna Laetitia Barbauld 1773 British English
9375 The Heroine Eaton Stannard Barrett 1813 British English
9375 Arthur Mervyn Charles Brockden Brown 1799 American English
9375 Ormond Charles Brockden Brown 1799 American English
9375 Edgar Huntly Charles Brockden Brown 1799 American English
9375 The Monk Of Udolpho T. J. Horsley Curties 1807 British English
9375 Confessions Of The Nun Of Saint Omer Charlotte Dacre 1805 British English
9375 The Libertine Charlotte Dacre 1807 British English
9375 The Passions Charlotte Dacre 1811 British English
9375 Saint Leon William Godwin 1799 British English
9375 The Abbot Of Montserrat William Child Green 1826 Unknown Unknown
9375 Horrid Mysteries Carl Grosse 1796 German German
9375 Saint Margaret's Cave Elizabeth Helme 1801 British English
9375 The Abbess William Henry Ireland 1801 British English
9375 The Necromancer Karl Friedrich Kahlert 1794 German German
9375 The Abbey Of Saint Asaph Isabella Kelly 1795 British English
9375 Glenarvon Caroline Lamb 1816 British English
9375 Midnight Bell Francis Lathom 1798 British English
9375 The Recess Sophia Lee 1783 British English
9375 The Castle Spectre Matthew Lewis 1797 British English
9375 Bertram Charles Robert Maturin 1816 Irish English
9375 The Albigenses Charles Robert Maturin 1824 Irish English
9375 Count Saint Blancard Elizabeth Meeke 1803 British Unknown
9375 Grasville Abbey George Moore 1797 Irish English
9375 The Castle Of Wolfenbach Eliza Parsons 1793 British English
9375 The Mysterious Warning Eliza Parsons 1796 British English
9375 The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne Ann Radcliffe 1789 British English