Reading horror books is not for everyone but it still has a big audience. Many people like being scared or love the thrill of it. That is why we will be listing the five best horror books of all time to see which books are the best of the best. Keep reading to find out which five we chose.
There are a lot of different types of horror novels. Most things can be scary when the right author is holding the pen. For this list, we won’t be choosing the scariest books but some of these are pretty intense. Instead, we will be choosing them based on a lot of things. Choosing only five is going to leave a lot of great books out but that is a sacrifice that we are willing to make.
The Five Best Horror Books of All Time
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- The Shining by Stephen King
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- It by Stephen King
- The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
Best of the Best
Dracula by Bram Stroker is a must because of the impact of the novel. Vampires are part of the mainstream culture and that novel is a big reason why. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is also an amazing horror novel and it has played a big part in making horror novels a thing.
If you have watched The Silence of the Lambs movie, then you know how scary it can get. The novel is an amazing work of fiction that gave us one of the best villains of all time in Hannibal Lector. Just like Dracula, Hannibal has become a mainstay over the decades.
The last two books to make the list are The Shining and It by Stephen King. He is the king of horror and rightfully so. He has a bunch of books that could have made this list and he could make a top ten that would rival any top ten horror list. These two are the ones that stood out to me the most and I am sure that many people will have their own favorites.
Conclusion
That is all for our five best horror books of all-time list. What did you think of the list? What books should have been included in the list? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy reading!
Wow. Such outside the box picks.
Take out It and replace it with Dorothy Jackson, The Legend of Hell House.
It’s The Haunting by Shirley Jackson (The Legend of Hell House was written by Richard Matheson.) As much as I like the first 90% of King’s IT (except for the, you know, adolescent orgy scene) the final 10% is a slog and the novel just doesn’t belong on this list or any other list of best ever.
Well since this list showed up in my feed again it also should be noted how culturally biased this list is. It’s a bunch of white people and they’re all English language novels. It’s a pretty absurd list for a bunch of reasons.
We have always lived in the castle, The haunting of Hill House: Shirley Jackson.
THE STAND by Stephen King is the only book that I would add to the list! But he has many, MANY short stories that scared the crap out of me!!
There are some great novels in here, but this list is appalling. All white people and all English language novels? Do better.
There are some great novels in here, and this list is rather bad. But it’s a list in English… and most English-speaking peoples are white… and read English. So maybe, just maybe, you should check your programming Eric. Diversity for the sake of diversity improves nothing.
There are some great novels in here, but the list is appalling. All white people, all in the English language. Really? Do better.
It’s The Haunting by Shirley Jackson (The Legend of Hell House was written by Richard Matheson.) As much as I like the first 90% of King’s IT (except for the, you know, adolescent orgy scene) the final 10% is a slog and the novel just doesn’t belong on this list or any other list of best ever.
The Invisible Man by H.G. WELLS and The Phantom of the Opera by GASTON LEROUX
The Stand should have been your Stephen King pick. My two cents
Silence of the Lambs was scarey but the only book that really got to me was Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Interesting peek into an insane mind.
Remove “IT” replace with “THE EXORCIST”
I might substitute Ghost Story by Peter Straub for It. and 6 would be Salem’s Lot. Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco would be next.
I totally agree with all of these minus Frankenstein. I read it years ago in school, so I don’t remember a lot about it. I think it’s time to do a reread though!
That is a pitiful list