Sometimes it’s best to just go back to your roots, see where it all began, and get back to basics. It applies to everything, but the roots of the horror genre get a little extra twisted the further you dig. Stories of monsters, sacrifice, cosmic beings, and killer kids lurk in the deepest depths of the oldest horrors, bringing frights long-forgotten from our world.
These thirty classic horror books will give you screams and frights that have lasted for centuries in some cases, while others will seem eerily recent as horror often reflects the reality of the time. For classics, we went with books published fifteen years before the creation of this list, so 2008 will be the cutoff.
These thirty are essential, with lasting impressions on the genre and multiple tributes since their publishing, so brush the dust off an old book, turn the page, and don’t think too much about the wind getting louder outside…
Top 30 Classic Horror Books
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The original, the greatest of all time, the influencer… Frankenstein can be called a lot of things. The story of a mad doctor who decides to play god, resurrecting a monster made from various human parts. While the doctor may be evil though, the monster simply wants to live and see the beauty of the world.
Shelley made both a terrifying sci-fi horror and a somber tragedy about the consequences of playing god, especially on those who are used as playthings.
Carmilla predates Dracula as a vampire story, especially when it comes to using vampires as a metaphor for sexuality. The story follows a young girl named Laura as she grows up, meeting a mysterious girl named Carmilla who is left with them after a carriage accident.
There are equal parts romance, gothic, and mystery as Laura and Carmilla explore their relationship while Laura slowly unravels who her newfound love is. Disappearances of young women in the neighboring village and a decades-old portrait of Carmilla only bring more questions.
While it wasn’t the first to take the possession trope and use it with a child, The Exorcist became the most popular. Blatty’s tale of a young girl seemingly possessed by an ancient demon, and the exorcist investigating her while grappling with his own crisis of faith.
While it takes a little time to get going, once the signs of the possession start it goes full tilt into terror as Reagan becomes a terrifying mouthpiece for evil. The coinciding story of Father Dimmsdale serves to both aid Reagan in overcoming the demon, as well as cast doubt on if there’s a demon at all for most of the story.
Sure, Coraline isn’t the most terrifying book on the list (depending on your opinion on the Other Mother) but it deserves a place for how well it ushers young readers into the horror genre. Gaiman uses his fantastical worldbuilding and great character writing to a character we can love from the start, along with the strange creatures she meets along the way.
Coraline moves into a new home with some very strange housemates and a boarded-up entrance to the neighboring building. When she makes her way through, she finds a frightening parallel home with even stranger versions of her neighbors and family.
Lovecraft’s calling card is the tentacle-bearded eldritch horror of the seas, Cthulhu. While the deity isn’t seen until the final act of the novella, the detective story setup investigating a strange cult with ties to an ancient artifact builds so much tension into the strange happenings that by the time the big bad does show up, it holds even more terror.
While it’s split into three different narratives, each telling of a different brush with the terror of Ry’leh, they all come together through the first story of a man who finds a statue of Cthulhu among family belongings. From there we see the story of a cult worshiping the deity through sacrifice and a full ship of sailors encountering the terror themselves.
Butler’s reinvention of vampires was her last book before her passing, leaving the author with a seminal piece of both African-American horror and vampire horror. The characters are deep and well-fleshed out, and the twisting story rushes by despite how long the book is.
A ten-year-old girl wakes up half-dead in a cave, discovering she can heal herself by drinking blood but with no memory of who she is. Eventually finding out she’s a decades-old vampire experimented on by others of her kind, the book becomes a chase to protect the humans and vampires she’s come to know.
The gothic haunted house novel changed the trope forever, never actually showing the ghosts but only holding on to the psychological terror that something is wrong in the supposedly haunted Hill House. Jackson’s prose is almost as heavy as the gloom settled over the estate, and the characters brought together to investigate are deep and complicated, with their traumas bringing them together.
Following three investigators and the inheritor of Hill House as they stay overnight to try and scientifically prove the paranormal. The horror is sub-level, with the house being a character in and of itself with how it interacts with the humans.
Stories about people who collect cursed items almost invite the reader to cheer on the character’s death. They brought it on themselves, after all, seeking out cursed things. Hill has a ghost story that’s so bloody it looks like a Red Cross donation center after an inventory spill.
After a burnt-out rockstar buys a used funeral suit online he finds out this curse is actually real, and the suit still has the ghost attached to it- a very violent old man who wants to tear everything he loves apart.
Hodgson’s The Night Lands was so far ahead of its time, giving a story about humanity on the brink of extinction after the sun blinks out and millions of humans are left to hide in a massive pyramid to survive. Unfortunately, as time goes and resources dwindle, something, or some things, are lurking out in the dark, waiting on humanity to step out.
It’s bleak, and cosmic horror mixed with sci-fi in the best possible way. The story will still bring a fear of the dark and what lies beyond over a century after it was written.
Ask anyone to name a Stephen King villain and odds are most will say Pennywise. The dancing clown made his debut in Stephen King’s It, terrorizing the small town of Derry, Maine as it feasted on children while adults haplessly moved on, oblivious.
The characters are King’s strong suit as always, with the Losers Club all being lovable but flawed in their own way in both the past and present narratives. Pennywise finds a way to play on every fear possible throughout, almost like it’s seasoning the reader up for its next meal.
There’s an argument to be made that without Koji Suzuki writing Ring the entirety of horror cinema today would be different. The inspiration for the terrifying films, Suzuki’s novel of the cursed videotape housing the killer spirit of Sadako changed the game when it came to techno-horror, and arguably can be considered early analog horror.
A woman investigating the cursed tape ends up in a race against time when her young son accidentally watches the tape. The timer starts as she has seven days to solve the mystery and free Sadako before her son is just the next victim of Sadako’s vengeance.
Tryon gets unfortunately swept aside when discussing horror greats, not being mentioned in the genre’s zeitgeist until more recently, decades after publication. Shame, because Tryon has such a way of creating characters both lovable and chilling in the same mold, quite literally in this case.
The Other focuses on twin thirteen-year-old boys, and though they may look the same they couldn’t be any more different. One is loving and kind, while the other is cold, calculating, and quite possibly evil. The psychological horror on display is massive, and you’ll question everything by the end.
In what feels like Ellis recounting his life as hallucinogenic drugs slowly take effect, the author goes into a sudden meta-narrative where he follows his fictional self through a strange future, musing over the haunted house and family he sees.
There’s a lot of weird going into this, with Ellis playing pretty fast and loose on dream logic and what feels like a waking nightmare as the fictional writer comes face to face with his creations, including famous serial killer Patrick Bateman of American Psycho.
Blood is Barker’s forte, and there’s plenty of it in the novella that introduced his hell priest Pinhead to the world. It’s a short read packed with gore, damned love, and some of the most horrifying demons ever conceived.
After finding a puzzle box along with the remains of a pleasure-seeking serial killer, a woman begins sacrificing unknowing men to bring the serial killer back to life, unknowingly releasing pure evil in the process. Barker’s gruesome descriptions and erotic undertones were game-changing in the horror and LGBT scene at the time of publication, even leading to Barker directing and writing the classic film based on his novella.
Reading I Am Legend completely changed the way apocalypse novels were told for me. Everything else had been bands of survivors teaming up against a world-ending threat to survive and keep humanity going. I Am Legend tosses out all of that.
Robert Neville is the last man alive, losing his family to the plague making its way through humanity and turning everyone into terrifying vampires. As Neville’s isolation grows we begin to wonder along with him if there’s any reason to keep going in a long-dead world.
While I’ll forever have the title of the book associated with the one line from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (“Ben Affleck! You were the bomb in Phantoms, yo!”) the novel still has massive chills in store between the covers and stands as one of Koontz’s scarier points in his bibliography.
Focusing on sisters returning home to find the entire population has vanished, with the only clues being mutilated bodies left behind. While the mystery unfolds to a massive climax that turns everything to a Lovecraftian angle, it’s a thrilling story throughout and a quick page-turner.
Harris’s Hannibal Lecter doesn’t need an introduction, with the character making himself famous through portrayals on the big and small screen. Red Dragon is just the start, bringing Lecter in to help investigate a serial killer with the agents requesting help unknowing of his cannibalistic tendencies.
Harris makes Lecter the same smooth-talking sociopath he’s known as now, but the book brings even more insight into the character and how he functions, showing a terrifying lack of empathy and emotion beyond his cold, calculating demeanor.
Killer kids are terrifying no matter what, and this is no exception but rather proof of the rule. The Adams are just kids in a small family, ready for a night in with the babysitter while their parents go out. This isn’t the typical tale of a babysitter beset by some escaped killer though, instead, the evil is already inside the house from the start.
Barbara thinks she’s getting a regular babysitting gig until she wakes. up bound and gagged by the kids she was babysitting. What follows is brutal, real horror that was way ahead of its time for being published in 1980.
Black Ambrosia is another vampire tale with a feminist slant to it, following young Angelina as she hitchhikes across America in a strange odyssey guided by a voice in her head. Angelina isn’t quite human but isn’t completely a monster either to everyone she comes across.
Engstrom’s prose is gentle, bringing you in peacefully before unleashing hell and terror soaked in blood on the reader much like a vampire luring in fresh prey.
A techno-horror that’s a bit dated today in terms of the tech, but still works with the terror. Following Izzy, a master of the newest invention called “Dreamies” where audiences live a movie in their mind, and the horror movie he beams to millions for their entertainment.
Then things go wrong and Izzy is out of control, spawning every kind of horror monster or villain he can out of his minds and into the real world to terrorize the living. Paperbacks From Hell is one of the best things to happen in horror lit in a long time, reprinting pulpy goodness like Stage Fright for a new, modern audience.
Spirals are everywhere, even in your head. Ito’s magnum opus (so far) circles a small town plagued by the curse of spirals. The art will draw you in, with Ito’s drawings being plain and oddly slice of life before twisting into some of the darkest horror imaginable.
While the story mostly is seen from one girl’s POV as the curse takes hold, it’s more like a series of vignettes as the townspeople slowly succumb in strange ways, including rolling themselves into a suitcase, taking out their inner ear because it’s spiral-shaped, or even spiraling in on themselves into nonexistence. Uzumaki will make fear and paranoia at the slightest curvature in a line.
Moore’s fictional retelling of the Whitechapel murders plays on the legend of Jack the Ripper as a supernatural killer, using graphic, gory art alongside a dark tale of two inspectors trying to find and put a stop to the Ripper before more bodies pile up.
Moore delves into the psychological horror of a fictional Jack the Ripper, giving insight into the madness and evil tearing a man apart who may not be fully complicit in his own doings.
There’s still plenty of doubt as to the validity of the supposed “true story” of the Amityville Horror as told by the book, chronicling the month the Lutz family stayed in the cursed home. While it may not be as real as the Lutz family originally set out for it to seem, the book still packs some chills and made a mark on the haunted house genre.
A family moves into a beautiful new home only to discover the sordid history of a family murdered by one of their own. The haunting escalates with blood dripping from walls, red eyes in windows, and a fly infestation before the family eventually decides it’s time to cut their losses. Real estate is a volatile business, after all.
Danielewski’s most famous work gets recommended everywhere for good reason- it’s a unique experience that nothing has come close to yet. The triple-layered narrative leaves so many things to be explored, and almost every time I’ve reread this book I’ve gleaned some new meaning or tidbits of the story I missed before.
A house that continually changes on the inside while the outside remains the same, a documentary filmmaker determined to record it all, the blind man who leaves behind pages of analysis on the documentary, and a motorcycle mechanic who becomes obsessed with the notes of the seemingly nonexistent\ doc in the present. The story is just as complicated and twisty as the house in question, so try not to get lost.
The way Romero changed zombie cinema, Kirkman changed the genre of zombies in the comic medium when he started The Walking Dead in the early 2000s. Rick Grimes and his found family of survivors are known the world over, becoming almost as popular as any slasher icons from decades before.
When sheriff Rick Grimes is shot in the line of duty and falls into a coma, it’s a surprise to him when he wakes up and finds the world infested with zombies. Now Rick has to reach his wife and son, along with other survivors they’ve picked up along the way, and try to survive in this new world of the undead. The series finished unexpectedly in late 2019, with Kirkman giving the final, unforeseen smack to the emotions Walking Dead fans have felt so many times throughout the series.
Guts, the original badass using a sword bigger than him, is an iconic protagonist in manga, with his story still being told even after the death of creator Miura. Following the long journey of Guts as a soldier of fortune with the Band of the Hawk to the betrayal by their leader and subsequent apocalyptic events, the story has inspired countless fantasy and horror since.
The series isn’t quite finished just yet but will be with Miura’s assistants picking up the rest of his work from completed outlines and series notes planned by the creator. Before long, the tale of Guts will come to rest after so long in the wilderness.
Vampires are ancient immortals, so of course they have more material to pull from in horror lit and lore than most other creatures of the night. Niles changes things from the romanticized vampires of Anne Rice that had become so prevalent in the early 2000s to vicious, savage beasts with insatiable appetites.
Panels of slaughter and blood-soaked snow litter the story of an Alaskan town trying to survive its month-long span of nighttime. Though they’ve done it for years, this time something different will be coming to town, bringing hell along with it.
McCammon’s coming-of-age story in a small Alabama tale that isn’t all that it seems should be required reading and elevated with the likes of The Body by Stephen King. Combining dark horror, southern gothic, and magical realism into one story about a boy coming of age in a fantastical town, Boy’s Life is poignant in the father/son relationship while terrifying in its setting.
Marasco’s haunted house novel is terrifying and visceral on a whole other level than other haunted houses brought up here. While the place is creepy enough with the new family moving in and required to care for the owner’s mother, an ancient woman residing in the attic apartment, the effect the house has on the family varies so wildly that you’ll never guess who will do what next.
Fittingly, another vampire story to close out. These are different than typical bloodsuckers though, instead being psychic vampires that can control others from a distance, making them carry out unspeakable evil.
The book follows the survivor of a concentration camp as he once again comes up against the ancient evil he met there all those decades ago. While he stumbles onto a massive conspiracy involving even more than he ever could have imagined involving political intrigue and world history at large, the horror is eerie and creeps up in the most unexpected places.
Feeling some cold chills from long-forgotten times yet? Maybe hints of an ancient madness creeping in just on the edge of your vision. These things tend to happen when you read old books that have been collecting dust, but these should keep you mostly safe and unhaunted. Should.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a book become a classic?
It’s all about what the book accomplishes, usually. Some will become classics simply because of how well-told the story is, or well-written the characters are. Others, though, will become classics for defining a new genre, something as of yet unheard of in the horror community. Think of someone like Lovecraft, or Shelley, who made themselves major points in the history of horror by creating something nobody had before. That’s what makes a classic.
Who’s considered the most prolific classic horror author?
Mary Shelley, if we’re considering just the sheer effect on the genre she had with Frankenstein could be the most prolific ever. It’s not entirely fair to allow living authors into the club, no matter how long ago they started their career, otherwise, King would quickly take over. Arguments could even be made for dark literature writers like Edgar Allen Poe.
Are there any classic horror writers that have been overshadowed by others?
There will always be writers trying to break out of the shadow of others since it’s such a widespread and fairly cut-throat medium, but that doesn’t mean writing overshadowed is just lost to history. Plenty of writers on this list were overshadowed in their time, only to be regarded as classic writers long after their death.
Lovecraft particularly only had niche fame for quite a while after his death. Poe died in poverty and even more never got to realize their full potential as writers, with authors like JF Gonzalez passing while building massive steam in their style and career.
What is the most influential horror book of all time?
Other than the ones included above, there are plenty of others that just wouldn’t fit the list. Personally, I Am Legend is the most influential book I’ve ever read, but others may feel it’s something more along the lines of The Shining or Pigeons From Hell. Everyone has something different that speaks to them and their sense of horror. So read as much as you can if you haven’t found yours yet!
Which books are essential classics that everyone should read?
Any of the above would be a great start, but for essentials let’s go with a top five just to make things easy. 1. Salem’s Lot by Stephen King 2. Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z Brite 3. Naked Lunch by William S Burroughs 4. Pickman’s Model by HP Lovecraft 5. The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen
What are the most popular classic horror books?
1. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) 2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818) 3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890) 4. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959) 5. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty (1971) 6. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (1898) 7. The Shining by Stephen King (1977) 8. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (1954) 9. The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft (1926) 10. The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells (1896) 11. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886) 12. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (1909) 13. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe (1839) 14. The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore (1933) 15. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (1962) 16. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886) 17. Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin (1967) 18. Psycho by Robert Bloch (1959) 19. Pet Sematary by Stephen King (1983) 20. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (1976) 21. The House on Haunted Hill by Shirley Jackson (1959) 22. The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson (1884) 23. The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe (1842) 24. The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson (1977) 25. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (1820) 26. The Monk by Matthew Lewis (1796) 27. The Wolf Man by Curt Siodmak (1941) 28. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (1983) 29. The Curse of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818) 30. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice (1985)
Ross Tyson is a 29 year old writer and screenwriter from the Southeast swamps of the USA. He enjoys movies, horror fiction, and graphic novels/manga as well as playing video games.
When not furiously typing away he can usually be found with his various dogs and cats or introducing his kids to some new movie or book he loves growing up.
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