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
9377 The Haunted Hour Margaret Widdemer 1920 American English
9590 A Choir Of Ill Children Tom Piccirilli 2004 American English
9598 Night Things Michael Talbot 1988 Unknown English
9631 More Spook Stories E. F. Benson 1934 British English
9631 Dagon, And Other Macabre Tales H. P. Lovecraft 1934 American English
9631 Terror By Night Christine Campbell Thomson 1934 British English
9638 The Playboy Book Of Horror And The Supernatural Ray Russell 1967 American English
9673 Frozen Moment Camilla Ceder 2010 Swedish Swedish
9721 Tales of H. P. Lovecraft H. P. Lovecraft 1997 American English
9735 The Grimoire And Other Supernatural Stories Montague Summers 1936 British English
9735 Victorian Ghost Stories Montague Summers 1936 British English
9735 The Children Of The Pool And Other Stories Arthur Machen 1936 British English
9735 The Cosy Room Arthur Machen 1936 British English
9735 Grim Death Christine Campbell Thomson 1936 British English
9743 The Fire Starters Jan Carson 2019 Irish English
9771 Blackwater Kerstin Ekman 1993 Swedish Swedish
9799 Minion L. A. Banks 2003 American English
9800 Ghosts Edith Wharton 1937 American Unknown
9816 The Panic Hand Jonathan Carroll 1995 American English
9816 The Well Jack Cady 1995 American English
9824 The Frozen Dead Bernard Minier 2011 French French
9831 Darkness Weaves Karl Edward Wagner 1970 American English
9848 The Tales Of Algernon Blackwood Algernon Blackwood 1938 British English
9860 The Delicate Prey Paul Bowles 1950 American English
9907 Keep On The Light Christine Campbell Thomson 1939 British English
9917 The Lost Jonathan Aycliffe 1996 British English
9971 The Silence Of The Sea Yrsa Sigurdardottir 2012 Icelandic Icelandic
9984 The Atrocity Archives Charles Stross 2004 British English
9995 Nestlings Of A Dark God Michael R. Collings 1996 American English
10009 Someone In The Dark August Derleth 1941 American English
10008 Lone Women Victor LaValle 2023 American English
10020 The Night Stalker Jeff Rice 1973 American English
10021 Mending Bodies Hon Lai-Chu 2010 Chinese Chinese
10078 Nightmare By Daylight Christine Campbell Thomson 1942 British English
10118 Revelations Douglas Winter 1997 American English
10121 Through The Woods Emily Carroll 2014 Canadian English
10123 The Invisible Guardian Dolores Redondo 2013 Spanish Spanish
10131 Nine Ghosts R. H. Malden 1943 British English
10167 The Devils Joe Abercrombie 2025 British English
10178 The Haunted Wood Sam Leith 2024 Unknown English
10198 The Other Passenger John Keir Cross 1944 British English
10205 From Hell Alan Moore 1991 British English
10220 Underworld Reginald Hill 1988 British English
10224 Great Granny Webster Caroline Blackwood 1977 English English
10229 The Trees Percival Everett 2021 American English
10297 The Jumbies Tracey Baptiste 2015 Trinidadian English
10299 Whalefall Daniel Kraus 2023 American English
10304 Death Notice Zhou Haohui 2014 Chinese Chinese
10304 The Weight Of Blood Laura McHugh 2014 American English
10359 Wylding Hall Elizabeth Hand 2015 American English
10374 The Doll And One Other Algernon Blackwood 1946 British English
10374 West India Lights Henry S. Whitehead 1946 American English
10374 Who Knocks? August Derleth 1946 American English
10430 This Mortal Coil Cynthia Asquith 1947 British English
10430 Revelations In Black Carl Jacobi 1947 American English
10430 The Night Side August Derleth 1947 American English
10436 Finishing Touches Thomas Tessier 1978 American English
10454 The North Water Ian McGuire 2016 British English
10510 Skin Kathe Koja 1993 American English
10531 Genius Loci, And Other Tales Clark Ashton Smith 1948 American English
10539 A Sunny Place For Shady People Mariana Enríquez 2024 Unknown Unknown
10544 Sweeney Todd Stephen Sondheim 1979 American English
10544 The Face That Must Die Ramsey Campbell 1979 British English
10596 Shocks Algernon Blackwood 1949 British English
10596 The Alabaster Hand, And Other Ghost Stories A. N. L. Munby 1949 British English
10673 The Hounding Xenobe Purvis 2025 Unknown English
10687 The Bewitching Silvia Moreno-Garcia 2025 Mexican English
10703 Ghostroots 'Pemi Aguda 2024 Nigerian English
10718 Cursed Daughters Oyinkan Braithwaite 2025 Nigerian English
10742 The Fifth Child Doris May Lessing 1988 British English
10780 Tales From The Nightside Charles L. Grant 1981 American English
10780 They Thirst Robert R. McCammon 1981 American English
10804 Shades Of Darkness Robert Westall 1999 British English
10853 The Second Ghost Book Cynthia Asquith 1952 British English
10866 A Century Of Ghost Stories Richard Sugg 2017 British English
10870 Mr. Splitfoot Samantha Hunt 2016 American English
10884 Somebody Is Walking On Your Grave Mariana Enriquez 2013 Argentine Spanish
10919 The Shining Girls Lauren Beukes 2013 South African English
10938 The Bone Key Sarah Monette 2024 American English
10962 The Bird's Nest Shirley Jackson 1954 American English
10964 Gideon The Ninth Tamsyn Muir 2019 New Zealand English
10966 Rotters Daniel Kraus 2011 American English
10971 The Hunger Alma Katsu 2018 American English
11034 The Weird Ann VanderMeer 2011 American English
11060 Coin Locker Babies Ryū Murakami 1980 Japanese Japanese
11168 Ghost Wall Sarah Moss 2018 British English
11225 Malpertuis Jean Ray 1943 Belgian French
11238 The Horla Guy de Maupassant 1887 French French
11327 By Bizarre Hands Joe R. Lansdale 1989 American English
11331 Heart Shaped Box Joe Hill 2007 American English
11332 The Abominations Of Yondo Clark Ashton Smith 1960 American English
11390 The Devil In America Kai Ashante Wilson 2014 American English
11404 The Living and the Rest José Eduardo Agualusa 2020 Angolan Portuguese
11419 When No One Is Watching Alyssa Cole 2020 American English
11433 The Troop Nick Cutter 2014 Canadian English
11442 Il Colombre Dino Buzzati 1966 Italian Italian
11443 Teatro Grottesco Thomas Ligotti 2006 American English
11470 Furnace Livia Llewellyn 2016 American English
11472 Please, Momma Chesya Burke 2015 American Unknown
11473 Lonesome Places August Derleth 1962 American English
11473 The Surly Sullen Bell Russell Kirk 1962 American English
11473 Dark Mind, Dark Heart August Derleth 1962 American English
11489 Mary Reilly Valerie Martin 1990 American English
11530 Mr. George, And Other Odd Persons August Derleth 1963 American English
11540 Perdido Street Station China Miéville 2000 British English
11547 Old St Paul's William Harrison Ainsworth 1841 British English
11608 Forget The Sleepless Shores Sonya Taaffe 2018 American English
11625 Dark Entries Robert Aickman 1964 British English
11625 Tales Of Science And Sorcery Clark Ashton Smith 1964 American English
11625 The Third Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1964 British English
11625 Weird Tales Leo Marguiles 1964 American English
11638 Little Star John Ajvide Lindqvist 2010 Swedish Swedish
11802 The Ballad Of Black Tom Victor LaValle 2016 American English
11806 The Doll Who Ate His Mother Ramsey Campbell 1976 British English
11826 The Wax Child Olga Ravn, Martin Aitken 2023 Danish English
11830 Phantoms And Fantasies Rudyard Kipling 1965 British Unknown
11830 The Sixth Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1965 British English
11830 Worlds Of Weird Leo Marguiles 1965 American English
11837 I Gave You Eyes And You Looked Toward Darkness Irene Solà 2023 Unknown Catalan
11871 Throat Sprockets Tim Lucas 1994 American English