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
8053 The Jaguar Hunter Lucius Shepard 1987 American English
8066 Bunny Mona Awad 2019 Canadian English
8075 The Seven Churches Miloš Urban 1999 Czech Czech
8156 The Tricksters Margaret Mahy 1986 New Zealand English
8173 A Demon In My View Ruth Rendell 1976 British English
8189 The Fisherman John Langan 2016 American English
8204 Waking the Moon Elizabeth Hand, Elisabeth Hand 1994 American English
8207 Outer Dark Cormac McCarthy 1968 American English
8212 Collected Stories Of Richard Matheson Richard Matheson 1989 American English
8229 Frankenstein In Baghdad Ahmed Saadawi 2013 Iraqi Arabic
8257 Christine Stephen King 1983 American English
8287 Night They Missed The Horror Show Joe R. Lansdale 1988 American English
8288 They Will Drown In Their Mother’s Tears Johannes Anyuru 2017 Swedish Swedish
8300 Darkside Dennis Etchison 1986 American English
8308 This Present Darkness Frank Peretti 1986 American English
8313 The Bottoms Joe R. Lansdale 2000 American English
8327 Contemporary Science Fiction, Fantasy, And Horror Poetry Scott E. Green 1989 American English
8330 The Architecture Of Fear Kathryn Cramer 1987 American English
8367 Watchers Dean R. Koontz 1987 American English
8366 The Wine Dark Sea Robert Aickman 1988 British English
8420 The Green Mile Stephen King 1996 American English
8427 Those Across The River Christopher Buehlman 2011 American English
8430 The Gentleman In Black James Dalton 2009 Unknown Unknown
8462 La Dama Número Trece José Carlos Somoza 2003 Spanish Spanish
8460 Seeing Red David J. Schow 1990 American English
8460 Best New Horror Ramsey Campbell 1990 British English
8491 Nazareth Hill Ramsey Campbell 1996 British English
8510 Harvest Home Thomas Tryon 1973 American English
8516 Sourdough And Other Stories Angela Slatter 2010 Australian English
8552 The Woodwitch Stephen Gregory 1988 British English
8596 Blood Is Not Enough Ellen Datlow 1989 American English
8634 Patient Zero Jonathan Maberry 2009 American English
8652 Punct și De La Capăt Gabriel Chifu 2014 Romanian Romanian
8648 Victorian Psycho Virginia Feito 2025 Unknown English
8731 Houses Without Doors Peter Straub 1990 American English
8779 Noite Na Taverna Álvares De Azevedo 1855 Brazilian Portuguese
8790 Audition Ryū Murakami 1997 Japanese Japanese
8797 The Edge Of Running Water William M. Sloane 1939 American English
8797 Creep, Shadow! A. Merritt 1934 American English
8797 Jumbee And Other Uncanny Tales Henry S. Whitehead 1929 American English
8817 The Werewolves Of London Brian Stableford 1990 British English
8817 The Unsettled Dust Robert Aickman 1990 British English
8947 The Hunger And Other Stories Charles Beaumont 1957 American English
8982 Bury Our Bones In The Midnight Soil V. E. Schwab 2025 Unknown English
8994 A Stir Of Echoes Richard Matheson 1958 American English
8994 A Scent Of New Mown Hay John Blackburn 1958 British English
8997 Haunted Joyce Carol Oates 1994 American English
9019 Dark Back Of Time Javier Marias 1998 Spanish Spanish
9068 The Town That Forgot How To Breathe Kenneth J. Harvey 2003 Canadian English
9101 Foundations Of Fear David Hartwell 1992 American English
9106 The Collected Short Stories Of Roald Dahl Roald Dahl 1991 British English
9111 The Dunwich Horror And Others H. P. Lovecraft 1963 American English
9168 MetaHorror Dennis Etchison 1992 American English
9167 Tales Of Terror Charles Higham 1961 British English
9173 Anima Wajdi Mouawad 2012 French French
9242 The Red Tree Caitlín R. Kiernan 2009 American English
9249 White Is For Witching Helen Oyeyemi 2009 British English
9258 The Memory Police Yōko Ogawa 2024 Japanese Japanese
9271 The Butcher's Wife And Other Stories Li Ang 1983 Taiwanese Chinese
9330 Authority Jeff VanderMeer 2014 American English
9330 Acceptance Jeff VanderMeer 2014 American English
9336 Ring Koji Suzuki 2002 Japanese Japanese
9344 Demons And Shadows Robert Westall 1993 British English
9349 Dread And Delights Philippa Pearce 1995 British Unknown
9373 Edgar Huntly Charles Brockden Brown 1799 American English
9373 The Monk Of Udolpho T. J. Horsley Curties 1807 British English
9373 Horrid Mysteries Carl Grosse 1796 German German
9373 The Necromancer Karl Friedrich Kahlert 1794 German German
9373 The Castle Spectre Matthew Lewis 1797 British English
9373 The Castle Of Wolfenbach Eliza Parsons 1793 British English
9373 The Mysterious Warning Eliza Parsons 1796 British English
9373 Checkmate Sheridan Le Fanu 1871 British Unknown
9373 The Five Nights Of St. Albans William Mudford 1829 British English
9373 The Iron Shroud William Mudford 1830 British English
9373 Varney, The Vampire Thomas Prest 1845 British English
9373 Wagner, The Wehr Wolf George William MacArthur Reynolds 1847 British English
9373 Spook Stories E. F. Benson 1928 British English
9373 Can Such Things Be? Ambrose Bierce 1893 American English
9373 Ghost And Horror Stories Of Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Bierce 1904 American English
9373 In The Midst Of Life Ambrose Bierce 1891 American English
9373 Ancient Sorceries And Other Tales Algernon Blackwood 1927 British English
9373 The Dance Of Death And Other Tales Algernon Blackwood 1927 British English
9373 Day And Night Stories Algernon Blackwood 1917 British English
9373 Incredible Adventures Algernon Blackwood 1914 British English
9373 John Silence, Physician Extraordinary Algernon Blackwood 1908 British English
9373 The Lost Valley And Other Stories Algernon Blackwood 1910 British English
9373 Strange Stories Algernon Blackwood 1929 British English
9373 Ten Minute Stories Algernon Blackwood 1914 British English
9373 Tongues Of Fire And Other Sketches Algernon Blackwood 1924 British English
9373 The Willows And Other Queer Tales Algernon Blackwood 1907 British English
9373 The Mystery Of Choice Robert W. Chambers 1897 American English
9373 The Slayer Of Souls Robert W. Chambers 1920 American English
9373 The Spider Hanns Heinz Ewers 1908 German German
9373 The Luck Of The Strong William Hope Hodgson 1916 British Unknown
9373 Men Of Deep Waters William Hope Hodgson 1914 British English
9373 More Ghost Stories Of An Antiquary M. R. James 1911 British English
9373 A Thin Ghost And Others M. R. James 1919 British English
9373 A Warning To The Curious And Other Ghost Stories M. R. James 1925 British English
9373 The Phantom Rickshaw Rudyard Kipling 1888 British English
9373 The Glorious Mystery Arthur Machen 1924 British English
9373 The Shining Pyramid Arthur Machen 1895 British English
9373 The Terror Arthur Machen 1917 British English
9373 The Three Imposters Arthur Machen 1895 British English
9373 Ghosts In Daylight G. Oliver Onions 1924 British Unknown
9373 The Painted Face G. Oliver Onions 1929 British English
9373 Thirty Strange Stories H. G. Wells 1897 British English
9373 Twelve Stories And A Dream H. G. Wells 1903 British English
9373 The Valley Of Spiders H. G. Wells 1903 British English
9373 Tales Of Men And Ghosts Edith Wharton 1910 American English
9373 Fishhead Irvin S. Cobb 1913 British English
9373 The Beast With Five Fingers, And Other Tales W. F. Harvey 1928 British English
9373 Midnight Tales W. F. Harvey 1928 British English
9373 The Hounds Of Tindalos Frank Belknap Long 1929 American English
9373 The Werewolf Of Ponkert H. Warner Munn 1925 American English
9373 At Dead Of Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1931 British English
9373 By Daylight Only Christine Campbell Thomson 1929 British English
9373 Gruesome Cargoes Christine Campbell Thompson 1931 British English
9373 Not At Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1925 British English
9373 More Not At Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1930 British English
9373 The Haunted Hour Margaret Widdemer 1920 American English