The Greatest Horror Books Since 1927

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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
215 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American English
274 The Stand Stephen King 1978 American English
400 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American 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
661 Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice 1976 American English
710 At the Mountains of Madness H. P. Lovecraft 1936 American English
777 I Am Legend Richard Matheson 1954 American English
841 Crash J. G. Ballard 1973 British English
861 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson 1962 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
1338 Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury 1962 American English
1348 Sandman Neil Gaiman 1989 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
1757 Books of Blood Clive Barker 1984 British 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
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 Cadaver Of Gideon Wyck Alexander Laing 1934 American English
1948 The Second Century Of Creepy Stories Hugh Walpole 1937 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
2104 Someone Like You Roald Dahl 1953 British English
2156 The Green Man Kingsley Amis 1969 British English
2209 Sub Rosa Robert Aickman 1968 British English
2323 The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward H. P. Lovecraft 1941 American English
2357 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Jack Finney 1955 American 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
2629 Our Lady Of Darkness Fritz Leiber 1977 American English
2646 Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor 2017 Mexican Spanish
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
2811 The Haunted Omnibus Alexander Laing 1937 American English
2818 On The Edge Walter de la Mare 1930 British English
2821 The Damnation Game Clive Barker 1985 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
2915 The Woman In Black Susan Hill 1983 British English
2933 Dolly City Orly Castel-Bloom 1992 Israeli Hebrew
2937 The Supernatural Omnibus Montague Summers 1931 British English
2953 The Dark Country Dennis Etchison 1981 American English
2970 Collected Ghost Stories G. Oliver Onions 1935 British English
2983 The Vampire Lestat Anne Rice 1985 American English
3014 The House With A Clock In Its Walls John Bellairs 1973 American English
3016 Dark Of The Moon August Derleth 1947 American English
3046 Fever Dream Samanta Schweblin 2014 Argentinian Spanish
3069 Fearful Pleasures A. E. Coppard 1946 British English
3069 Kecksies And Other Twilight Tales Marjorie Bowen 1946 British English
3081 Under the Skin Michel Faber 2000 British English
3092 The Travelling Grave L. P. Hartley 1948 British English
3136 The Keep F. Paul Wilson 1981 American English
3141 The Shrinking Man Richard Matheson 1956 American English
3146 Carrion Comfort Dan Simmons 1989 American English
3152 Dark Forces Kirby McCauley 1980 American English
3153 We Are For The Dark Robert Aickman 1951 British English
3159 Who Made Stevie Crye? Michael Bishop 1984 American English
3256 Goosebumps R. L. Stine 1992 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
3439 The House Next Door Anne Rivers Siddons 1978 American English
3448 Falling Angel William Hjortsberg 1978 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
3827 Shadows Charles L. Grant 1978 American English
3854 The Girl Next Door Jack Ketchum 1989 American English
3857 Closer Dennis Cooper 1989 American English
3884 The Cellar Richard Laymon 1980 American English
3887 Lunar Park Bret Easton Ellis 2005 American English
3906 Fontana Book Of Great Ghost Stories Robert Aickman 1964 British English
4103 Selected Poems Of Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith 1971 American English
4105 Wolfskin Hans Lebert 1960 Austrian German
4147 The Dark Descent David Hartwell 1987 American English
4160 The Burning Court John Dickson Carr 1937 American English