There are many amazing horror books to read. But choosing which ones to read is not easy. That is why we have made a list of the 20 must read horror books of all time. Keep reading to see what books made our list!
Choosing only 20 horror books for this list was not an easy task. But we chose the 20 book that we believe are the best of the best. With a lot of subgenres, the horror genre has a lot of great options. From author such as Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft, there is something for everyone. You can see the full list below!
The 20 Must Read Horror Books of All Time
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
- 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
- Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
- Ghost Story by Peter Straub
- Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
- Ring by Koji Suzuki
- Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
- Pet Sematary by Stephen King
- Carrie by Stephen King
- Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
- The Stand by Stephen King
- At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
- The Terror by Dan Simmons
The Best Horror Books
Our list includes some classics because leaving them off would be a crime. Novels like Dracula and Frankenstein are the face of the genre. If you like horror, then those are worth reading and seeing how many novels have been inspired by them. They may be old but are still some of the best horror novels written.
Other novels that are worth checkout on the list are Ring by Koji Suzuki, and It by Stephen King and The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. All three are well written and two of them have had mainstream success. This list could have included a bunch of novels by King and still have been a solid list.
A horror novel that I loved was Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. It is a story about vampires and Nazis and reads like a thriller. Simmons is a talented writer and this book is detailed and well thought out. It is a different take on vampires that will have you hooked until the last page.
Conclusion
That is all for our list of the 20 must read horror books of all time. Let us know in the comments which books should have made our list. Happy reading!
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I honestly feel there should be segregation as to type of horror stories before you announce it as a must read compilation. hence:
1) supernatural/paranormal horror
Dracula, The Exorcist (not on your list), Pet Sematary, and all the rest with tired vampires and ghosts in it
2) scifi/supernatural/fantasy horror
Frankenstein, Stange Case of Dr.J&Mr. H, Ring, and all the rest that has a tinge of lab works in it
3) crime/thriller horror
Silence of the Lambs, and all the suspense thrillers with gore in it
Just a thought:
The Stand
Interview with the V
It
or The Shining did not rank high in my list.
More power!
The fact that Clive Barker isn’t on this list, and Peter Straub is only on it once, shows a complete and utter ignorance, in horror.
The fact that Clive Barker didn’t even make the list says a lot about the list. Kinda weak.
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No Richard Laymon? Best horror writer I’ve read! He’s easily on par with Stephen King.
Would you include D. DuMaurier’s “Don’t Look Now”?
Swan Song by Robert McCammon should be on this list
Swam Song is my #1 for me
There is a couple of British horror writer James Herbert’s books that should’ve made the list
THE FOG and THE SURVIVOR
Oh my… You left out Salem’s Lot!!! Was that really intentional???
No, he didn’t. 🤦
I think you could cut one of the King novels in favor of Joan Samson’s The Auctioneer. It’s an absolutely chilling novel and, if Samson hadn’t passed away shortly after writing it, we’d be speaking of her in the same breath as King.
The Descent by Sandy Delicate. The most disturbing horror book I’ve ever written. Quite brilliant. Imagine if the feral woman from The Last House on The Left wrote a novel.
Did you MEAN to say that you wrote it? Does that mean you’re Sandy Delicate? 😄
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty? Hell House by Richard Matheson?
The list is pretty good, Swam Song by Peter Straub is definitely a top 3 for me. The Exorcist is also a top 10 for me.
Woof. Should just be the top 20 Stephen King novels.
Off Season by Ketchum
The Girl Next Door by Ketchum
The Rising by Keene
The Light at the End by Skipp and Spector
Survivor by Gonzalez
The Bighead by Lee
The Deep by Cutter
Head Full of Ghosts by Tremblay
The Hollower by Sangiovanni
The Elementals by McDowell
I am Legend by Matheson
There’s 11 books and 10 authors to know and read.
Silence of the Lambs is not horror. Other than that I thought the list was just OK and then I saw Mexican Gothic on it and the list lost all credibility.
Sorry to be critical. 🙂
OF COURSE The Silence of the Lambs is horror. It’s about serial killers. Have you never seen a slasher movie? 😳
Sorry to be critical 😉
This list is rediculous. 5 out of 20 are by Stephen King. This is supposed to be most must read horror books of ALL time. You don’t have a single book by H. G. Wells, Daphne du Maurier, Richard Matheson, or Robert Bloch.
Label this list honestly: “Best Stephen King Novels”, then make a REAL 20 must read horror books list. 🤦
Really, of all the Stephen King books his two best, in my opinion, the stand and Salem’s lot are at the bottom of the list?!?!
I’ve only read a few books by Dean Koontz but I am surprised to see no books by him on the list. Of the few books by Koontz I’ve read, Phantoms is my favorite. Certainly on the same level or better than the books on this list that I have read.
Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon
I scolled down the list searching for Swan Song by Robert McCammon. 20 years later this horror story is climatic! I’m glad several others have already mentioned this book n author. Anyone who reads it will agree.
Where the hell is the pioneer the legend the inventor of the horror genre in writing. Edgar Allen Poe. Sorry this is unacceptable.
It may not count but want to add Narrative of the Life of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allen Poe.
Two horror authors that should have made the list would be Brian Lumley – Necroscope and Clive Barker – The Great and Secret Show/ Everville ( two book story) both fantastic horror novels I couldn’t help but mention.