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
53 Dracula Bram Stoker 1897 British English
89 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 Irish English
98 The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe 1902 American English
155 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
164 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle 1902 British English
189 The Turn of the Screw Henry James 1898 American English
215 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American English
218 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 British English
274 The Stand Stephen King 1978 American English
346 The Castle of Otranto Horace Walpole 1764 British English
372 War of the Worlds H. G. Wells 1898 British English
378 Melmoth the Wanderer Charles Robert Maturin 1820 British English
400 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American English
459 The Island of Doctor Moreau H. G. Wells 1896 British English
476 The Monk Matthew Lewis 1796 British English
511 Perfume Patrick Suskind 1985 German German
578 The Silence of the Lambs Thomas Harris 1988 American English
579 The Outsider And Others H. P. Lovecraft 1939 American English
607 House of Leaves Mark Z. Danielewski 2000 American English
615 Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary M. R. James 1904 British English
661 Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice 1976 American English
662 The House On The Borderland And Other Novels William Hope Hodgson 1908 British English
671 The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allan Poe 1839 American English
710 At the Mountains of Madness H. P. Lovecraft 1936 American English
773 The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym Edgar Allan Poe 1838 American English
777 I Am Legend Richard Matheson 1954 American English
811 The Phantom of the Opera Gaston Leroux 1909 French French
841 Crash J. G. Ballard 1973 British English
861 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson 1962 American English
866 The Black Spider Jeremias Gotthelf 1842 Swiss German
871 Wieland Charles Brockden Brown 1798 American English
894 Rosemary's Baby Ira Levin 1967 American English
917 The Day of the Triffids John Wyndham 1951 British English
925 Deliverance James Dickey 1970 American English
981 It Stephen King 1986 American English
1001 Red Dragon Thomas Harris 1981 American English
1071 The Midwich Cuckoos John Wyndham 1957 British English
1073 The Lottery and Other Stories Shirley Jackson 1948 American English
1086 Misery Stephen King 1987 American English
1148 The Werewolf Of Paris Guy Endore 1933 American English
1196 Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber 1943 American English
1210 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks 1984 British English
1279 Psycho Robert Bloch 1959 American English
1293 Salem's Lot Stephen King 1975 American English
1306 Widdershins G. Oliver Onions 1911 British English
1338 Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury 1962 American English
1348 Sandman Neil Gaiman 1989 British English
1361 The King In Yellow Robert W. Chambers 1895 American English
1370 The House Of Souls Arthur Machen 1906 British English
1372 The Horror Horn And Other Stories E. F. Benson 1931 British English
1398 The Exorcist William Peter Blatty 1971 American English
1404 The Last Bouquet Marjorie Bowen 1933 British English
1420 The October Country Ray Bradbury 1955 American English
1423 Out Of Space And Time Clark Ashton Smith 1942 American English
1425 And The Darkness Falls Boris Karloff 1943 British English
1496 The Sleeping And The Dead August Derleth 1947 American English
1531 Jurassic Park Michael Crichton 1990 American English
1535 The Sound Of His Horn Sarban 1952 British English
1562 Burnt Offerings Robert Marasco 1973 American English
1578 The Cement Garden Ian McEwan 1978 British English
1688 Carrie Stephen King 1974 American English
1712 The Great God Pan Arthur Machen 1894 British English
1757 Books of Blood Clive Barker 1984 British English
1767 Carmilla Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 Irish English
1813 Swan Song Robert R. McCammon 1987 American English
1826 The Other Thomas Tryon 1971 American English
1837 Jaws Peter Benchley 1974 American English
1848 Darker Than You Think Jack Williamson 1948 American English
1880 The Complete John Silence Stories Algernon Blackwood 1908 British English
1931 The Witches Roald Dahl 1983 British English
1937 Geek Love Katherine Dunn 1989 American English
1945 Medusa E. H. Visiak 1929 British English
1948 The Jewel Of Seven Stars Bram Stoker 1903 British English
1948 The Cadaver Of Gideon Wyck Alexander Laing 1934 American English
1948 The Second Century Of Creepy Stories Hugh Walpole 1937 British English
1973 The Invisible Man H. G. Wells 1897 British English
1978 Great Tales Of Terror And The Supernatural Herbert A. Wise 1944 American English
2056 Tales Of Horror And The Supernatural Arthur Machen 1948 British English
2060 Ghost Story Peter Straub 1979 American English
2077 The Lurker At The Threshold August Derleth, H. P. Lovecraft 1945 American English
2103 Someone Like You Roald Dahl 1953 British English
2146 The Night Land William Hope Hodgson 1912 British English
2156 The Green Man Kingsley Amis 1969 British English
2209 Sub Rosa Robert Aickman 1968 British English
2270 In a Glass Darkly Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 Irish English
2322 The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward H. P. Lovecraft 1941 American English
2357 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Jack Finney 1955 American English
2405 Best Ghost Stories Of Algernon Blackwood Algernon Blackwood 1907 British English
2430 The Call Of Cthulhu H. P. Lovecraft 1928 American English
2435 Nine Horrors And A Dream Joseph Payne Brennan 1958 American English
2450 Worse Things Waiting Manly Wade Wellman 1973 American English
2476 Quatermass And The Pit Nigel Kneale 1959 British English
2513 Deathbird Stories Harlan Ellison 1975 American English
2544 The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe 1842 American English
2623 Collected Writings Ambrose Bierce 1909 American English
2629 Our Lady Of Darkness Fritz Leiber 1977 American English
2646 Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor 2017 Mexican Spanish
2677 The Vampyre John William Polidori 1819 British English
2688 The Ceremonies T. E. D. Klein 1984 American English
2694 Pet Sematary Stephen King 1983 American English
2727 They Return At Evening H. Russell Wakefield 1928 British English
2731 Lost Souls Poppy Z. Brite 1992 American English
2802 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
2810 The Haunted Omnibus Alexander Laing 1937 American English
2817 The Empty House And Other Ghost Stories Algernon Blackwood 1906 British English
2817 On The Edge Walter de la Mare 1930 British English
2820 The Damnation Game Clive Barker 1985 British English
2830 Alraune Hanns Heinz Ewers 1911 German German
2830 The Room In The Tower E. F. Benson 1912 British English
2830 The Listener And Other Stories Algernon Blackwood 1907 British English
2834 The Unpleasant Profession Of Jonathan Hoag Robert A. Heinlein 1942 American English
2848 The Ghost Stories Of Edith Wharton Edith Wharton 1937 American English
2859 The Ghost Pirates William Hope Hodgson 1909 British English
2859 The Haunters And The Haunted Edward Bulwer-Lytton 1859 British English
2859 The Sorcerer's Apprentice Hanns Heinz Ewers 1910 German German
2859 Tales Of Wonder Matthew Lewis 1801 British English
2902 Zofloya Charlotte Dacre 1806 British English
2914 The Woman In Black Susan Hill 1983 British English
2932 Dolly City Orly Castel-Bloom 1992 Israeli Hebrew