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
2939 Best Ghost Stories Sheridan Le Fanu 1923 Irish English
2939 Beyond The Wall Of Sleep H. P. Lovecraft 1919 American English
2939 The Ghost Book Cynthia Asquith 1926 British English
2939 Dracula's Guest Bram Stoker 1914 British English
2939 The Supernatural Omnibus Montague Summers 1931 British English
2939 Wandering Ghosts F. Marion Crawford 1911 American English
2939 Visible And Invisible E. F. Benson 1923 British English
2955 The Dark Country Dennis Etchison 1981 American English
2972 Collected Ghost Stories G. Oliver Onions 1935 British English
2985 The Vampire Lestat Anne Rice 1985 American English
3017 The House With A Clock In Its Walls John Bellairs 1973 American English
3019 Dark Of The Moon August Derleth 1947 American English
3049 Fever Dream Samanta Schweblin 2014 Argentinian Spanish
3071 Fearful Pleasures A. E. Coppard 1946 British English
3071 Kecksies And Other Twilight Tales Marjorie Bowen 1946 British English
3083 Under the Skin Michel Faber 2000 British English
3093 The Travelling Grave L. P. Hartley 1948 British English
3137 The Keep F. Paul Wilson 1981 American English
3142 The Shrinking Man Richard Matheson 1956 American English
3147 Carrion Comfort Dan Simmons 1989 American English
3153 Dark Forces Kirby McCauley 1980 American English
3154 We Are For The Dark Robert Aickman 1951 British English
3160 Who Made Stevie Crye? Michael Bishop 1984 American English
3257 Goosebumps R. L. Stine 1992 American English
3267 Tales Of Mystery And Imagination Edgar Allan Poe 1908 American English
3378 Black Easter James Blish 1968 American English
3384 The Plague-Sower Gesualdo Bufalino 1981 Italian Italian
3407 All Heads Turn When The Hunt Goes By John Farris 1977 American English
3414 Night's Black Agents Fritz Leiber 1961 American English
3435 A Predicament Edgar Allan Poe 1838 American English
3440 The House Next Door Anne Rivers Siddons 1978 American English
3449 Falling Angel William Hjortsberg 1978 American English
3464 The Raven Edgar Allan Poe 1845 American English
3466 Murgunstrumm And Others Hugh B. Cave 1977 American English
3466 Sweetheart, Sweetheart Bernard Taylor 1977 British English
3510 Song Of Kali Dan Simmons 1985 American English
3511 Alone With The Horrors Ramsey Campbell 1993 British English
3539 Fire And Sleet And Candlelight August Derleth 1961 American English
3542 Her Body and Other Parties Carmen Maria Machado 2017 American English
3549 The Wolfen Whitley Strieber 1978 American English
3588 Collected Poems H. P. Lovecraft 1963 American English
3635 The Totem David Morrell 1979 American English
3638 The Golden Pot E. T. A. Hoffmann 1814 German German
3826 Shadows Charles L. Grant 1978 American English
3853 The Girl Next Door Jack Ketchum 1989 American English
3856 Closer Dennis Cooper 1989 American English
3883 The Cellar Richard Laymon 1980 American English
3886 Lunar Park Bret Easton Ellis 2005 American English
3905 Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1964 British English
4104 Selected Poems Of Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith 1971 American English
4106 Wolfskin Hans Lebert 1960 Austrian German
4148 The Dark Descent David Hartwell 1987 American English
4161 The Burning Court John Dickson Carr 1937 American English
4200 The Elementals Michael McDowell 1981 American English
4286 Boy's Life Robert R. McCammon 1991 American English
4298 The Year's Best Horror Stories Richard Davis 1972 British English
4310 The Lurking Fear And Other Stories H. P. Lovecraft 1923 American English
4442 Demons By Daylight Ramsey Campbell 1973 British English
4460 The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman 2008 British English
4483 The Night Of The Hunter Davis Grubb 1953 American English
4501 Night Visitor B. Traven 1966 German Unknown
4506 Different Seasons Stephen King 1982 American English
4519 When The Wind Blows Raymond Briggs 1982 British English
4535 Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer 2014 American English
4562 The Haunted Woman David Lindsay 1922 British English
4641 Prime Evil Douglas Winter 1988 American English
4652 Cold Hand In Mine Robert Aickman 1975 British English
4656 Coraline Neil Gaiman 2002 British English
4769 Dark Carnival Ray Bradbury 1947 American English
4769 The Supernatural Tales Of Fitz James O'brien Fitz-James O'Brien 1908 British English
4836 Black Magic Marjorie Bowen 1909 British English
4836 The Uninhabited House Mrs. Joseph H. Riddell 1875 British English
4900 Titus Andronicus William Shakespeare 1594 British English
4934 The Terror Dan Simmons 2007 American English
4954 Songs Of A Dead Dreamer And Grimscribe Thomas Ligotti 1985 American English
4957 Black God's Shadow C. L. Moore 1934 American English
4957 Uncanny Stories May Sinclair 1923 British English
5000 A Nest Of Nightmares Lisa Tuttle 1986 American English
5000 The Pet Charles L. Grant 1986 American English
5013 Zone One Colson Whitehead 2011 American English
5014 The Hungry Moon Ramsey Campbell 1986 British English
5022 The Werewolf Aksel Sandemose 1958 Norwegian Norwegian
5046 The Death Of Halpin Frayser Ambrose Bierce 1891 American English
5046 The Sandman E. T. A. Hoffmann 1816 German German
5046 The Wolf Leader Alexandre Dumas 1857 French French
5046 For The Blood Is The Life F. Marion Crawford 1905 American English
5046 Typewriter In The Sky & Fear L. Ron Hubbard 1940 American English
5046 The Face In The Abyss A. Merritt 1931 American English
5046 Who Wants A Green Bottle? Tod Robbins 1926 American English
5046 Maker Of Shadows Jack Mann 1939 British English
5046 Grey Shapes Jack Mann 1937 British English
5046 The Lord Of The Dark Red Star Eugene Lee-Hamilton 1903 British English
5046 Tongues Of Conscience Robert Hichens 1893 British English
5114 Let The Right One In John Ajvide Lindqvist 2004 Swedish Swedish
5131 The Influence Ramsey Campbell 1988 British English
5155 Cursed Bunny Bora Chung 2021 Korean Korean
5166 Jirel of Joiry C. L. Moore 1934 American English
5173 Ghost Stories H. Russell Wakefield 1928 British English
5173 The Citadel Of Fear Francis Stevens 1918 American English
5173 Best Tales E. T. A. Hoffmann 1814 German German
5190 Washington Irving's Tales Of The Supernatural Washington Irving 1824 American English
5190 To Walk The Night William M. Sloane 1937 American English
5190 Xelucha And Others M. P. Shiel 1896 British English
5190 The Smoking Leg John Metcalfe 1925 British English
5190 The Ghostly Tales Of Henry James Henry James 1898 American English
5190 The Lock And Key Library Julian Hawthorne 1909 American English
5190 Some Ghost Stories A. M. Burrage 1934 British English
5190 The Professor Challenger Stories Arthur Conan Doyle 1912 British English
5190 A Century Of Creepy Stories Hugh Walpole 1934 British English
5190 Collected Ghost Stories Mrs. Joseph H. Riddell 1882 British English
5190 The Valley Of The Flame Henry Kuttner 1946 American English
5229 The Ringstones And Other Curious Tales Sarban 1951 British English
5230 The Howling Man Charles Beaumont 1960 American English
5231 Whispers Stuart David Schiff 1977 American English
5233 Dark Feasts Ramsey Campbell 1987 British English
5235 Intensity Dean R. Koontz 1995 American English
5253 The Boats Of The "Glen Carrig" William Hope Hodgson 1907 British English
5253 Carnacki The Ghost Finder William Hope Hodgson 1913 British English
5271 I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream Harlan Ellison 1967 American English
5280 Some Of Your Blood Theodore Sturgeon 1961 American English