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
8054 The Jaguar Hunter Lucius Shepard 1987 American English
8067 Bunny Mona Awad 2019 Canadian English
8076 The Seven Churches Miloš Urban 1999 Czech Czech
8158 The Tricksters Margaret Mahy 1986 New Zealand English
8175 A Demon In My View Ruth Rendell 1976 British English
8191 The Fisherman John Langan 2016 American English
8206 Waking the Moon Elizabeth Hand, Elisabeth Hand 1994 American English
8209 Outer Dark Cormac McCarthy 1968 American English
8214 Collected Stories Of Richard Matheson Richard Matheson 1989 American English
8231 Frankenstein In Baghdad Ahmed Saadawi 2013 Iraqi Arabic
8259 Christine Stephen King 1983 American English
8289 Night They Missed The Horror Show Joe R. Lansdale 1988 American English
8290 They Will Drown In Their Mother’s Tears Johannes Anyuru 2017 Swedish Swedish
8302 Darkside Dennis Etchison 1986 American English
8310 This Present Darkness Frank Peretti 1986 American English
8315 The Bottoms Joe R. Lansdale 2000 American English
8329 Contemporary Science Fiction, Fantasy, And Horror Poetry Scott E. Green 1989 American English
8332 The Architecture Of Fear Kathryn Cramer 1987 American English
8370 Watchers Dean R. Koontz 1987 American English
8369 The Wine Dark Sea Robert Aickman 1988 British English
8423 The Green Mile Stephen King 1996 American English
8430 Those Across The River Christopher Buehlman 2011 American English
8433 The Gentleman In Black James Dalton 2009 Unknown Unknown
8457 Penpal Dathan Kahn Auerbach 2012 American English
8466 La Dama Número Trece José Carlos Somoza 2003 Spanish Spanish
8464 Seeing Red David J. Schow 1990 American English
8464 Best New Horror Ramsey Campbell 1990 British English
8495 Nazareth Hill Ramsey Campbell 1996 British English
8513 Harvest Home Thomas Tryon 1973 American English
8519 Sourdough And Other Stories Angela Slatter 2010 Australian English
8555 The Woodwitch Stephen Gregory 1988 British English
8599 Blood Is Not Enough Ellen Datlow 1989 American English
8637 Patient Zero Jonathan Maberry 2009 American English
8655 Punct și De La Capăt Gabriel Chifu 2014 Romanian Romanian
8651 Victorian Psycho Virginia Feito 2025 Unknown English
8735 Houses Without Doors Peter Straub 1990 American English
8783 Noite Na Taverna Álvares De Azevedo 1855 Brazilian Portuguese
8794 Audition Ryū Murakami 1997 Japanese Japanese
8801 The Edge Of Running Water William M. Sloane 1939 American English
8801 Creep, Shadow! A. Merritt 1934 American English
8801 Jumbee And Other Uncanny Tales Henry S. Whitehead 1929 American English
8821 The Werewolves Of London Brian Stableford 1990 British English
8821 The Unsettled Dust Robert Aickman 1990 British English
8950 The Hunger And Other Stories Charles Beaumont 1957 American English
8985 Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil V. E. Schwab 2025 Unknown English
8997 A Stir Of Echoes Richard Matheson 1958 American English
8997 A Scent Of New Mown Hay John Blackburn 1958 British English
9000 Haunted Joyce Carol Oates 1994 American English
9022 Dark Back Of Time Javier Marias 1998 Spanish Spanish
9072 The Town That Forgot How To Breathe Kenneth J. Harvey 2003 Canadian English
9105 Foundations Of Fear David Hartwell 1992 American English
9110 The Collected Short Stories Of Roald Dahl Roald Dahl 1991 British English
9115 The Dunwich Horror And Others H. P. Lovecraft 1963 American English
9171 MetaHorror Dennis Etchison 1992 American English
9170 Tales Of Terror Charles Higham 1961 British English
9176 Anima Wajdi Mouawad 2012 French French
9245 The Red Tree Caitlín R. Kiernan 2009 American English
9252 White Is For Witching Helen Oyeyemi 2009 British English
9261 The Memory Police Yōko Ogawa 2024 Japanese Japanese
9275 The Butcher's Wife And Other Stories Li Ang 1983 Taiwanese Chinese
9334 Authority Jeff VanderMeer 2014 American English
9334 Acceptance Jeff VanderMeer 2014 American English
9340 Ring Koji Suzuki 2002 Japanese Japanese
9348 Demons And Shadows Robert Westall 1993 British English
9353 Dread And Delights Philippa Pearce 1995 British Unknown
9377 Edgar Huntly Charles Brockden Brown 1799 American English
9377 The Monk Of Udolpho T. J. Horsley Curties 1807 British English
9377 Horrid Mysteries Carl Grosse 1796 German German
9377 The Necromancer Karl Friedrich Kahlert 1794 German German
9377 The Castle Spectre Matthew Lewis 1797 British English
9377 The Castle Of Wolfenbach Eliza Parsons 1793 British English
9377 The Mysterious Warning Eliza Parsons 1796 British English
9377 Checkmate Sheridan Le Fanu 1871 British Unknown
9377 The Five Nights Of St. Albans William Mudford 1829 British English
9377 The Iron Shroud William Mudford 1830 British English
9377 Varney, The Vampire Thomas Prest 1845 British English
9377 Wagner, The Wehr Wolf George William MacArthur Reynolds 1847 British English
9377 Spook Stories E. F. Benson 1928 British English
9377 Can Such Things Be? Ambrose Bierce 1893 American English
9377 Ghost And Horror Stories Of Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Bierce 1904 American English
9377 In The Midst Of Life Ambrose Bierce 1891 American English
9377 Ancient Sorceries And Other Tales Algernon Blackwood 1927 British English
9377 The Dance Of Death And Other Tales Algernon Blackwood 1927 British English
9377 Day And Night Stories Algernon Blackwood 1917 British English
9377 Incredible Adventures Algernon Blackwood 1914 British English
9377 John Silence, Physician Extraordinary Algernon Blackwood 1908 British English
9377 The Lost Valley And Other Stories Algernon Blackwood 1910 British English
9377 Strange Stories Algernon Blackwood 1929 British English
9377 Ten Minute Stories Algernon Blackwood 1914 British English
9377 Tongues Of Fire And Other Sketches Algernon Blackwood 1924 British English
9377 The Willows And Other Queer Tales Algernon Blackwood 1907 British English
9377 The Mystery Of Choice Robert W. Chambers 1897 American English
9377 The Slayer Of Souls Robert W. Chambers 1920 American English
9377 The Spider Hanns Heinz Ewers 1908 German German
9377 The Luck Of The Strong William Hope Hodgson 1916 British Unknown
9377 Men Of Deep Waters William Hope Hodgson 1914 British English
9377 More Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary M. R. James 1911 British English
9377 A Thin Ghost And Others M. R. James 1919 British English
9377 A Warning To The Curious And Other Ghost Stories M. R. James 1925 British English
9377 The Phantom Rickshaw Rudyard Kipling 1888 British English
9377 The Glorious Mystery Arthur Machen 1924 British English
9377 The Shining Pyramid Arthur Machen 1895 British English
9377 The Terror Arthur Machen 1917 British English
9377 The Three Imposters Arthur Machen 1895 British English
9377 Ghosts In Daylight G. Oliver Onions 1924 British Unknown
9377 The Painted Face G. Oliver Onions 1929 British English
9377 Thirty Strange Stories H. G. Wells 1897 British English
9377 Twelve Stories And A Dream H. G. Wells 1903 British English
9377 The Valley Of Spiders H. G. Wells 1903 British English
9377 Tales Of Men And Ghosts Edith Wharton 1910 American English
9377 Fishhead Irvin S. Cobb 1913 British English
9377 The Beast With Five Fingers, And Other Tales W. F. Harvey 1928 British English
9377 Midnight Tales W. F. Harvey 1928 British English
9377 The Hounds Of Tindalos Frank Belknap Long 1929 American English
9377 The Werewolf Of Ponkert H. Warner Munn 1925 American English
9377 At Dead Of Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1931 British English
9377 By Daylight Only Christine Campbell Thomson 1929 British English
9377 Gruesome Cargoes Christine Campbell Thompson 1931 British English
9377 Not At Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1925 British English
9377 More Not At Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1930 British English