Horror novels can be the best or worst book you read depending on the author. Some authors know how to write an amazing novel while others include too many tropes. That is why we decided to list the 20 best horror novels of all time. Keep reading to see what made our list.
Choosing only 20 horror novels was not easy. Or enough. Stephen King can dominate this list with his bestsellers and it would be hard to argue that. But he isn’t the only author that excels at writing horror. You can see the full list below.
The 20 Best Horror Novels 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 Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
- 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
- The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
- 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
Scary Hour
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.
Other novels that are worth checkout on the list are Ring by Koji Suzuki, Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons, and The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. All three are well written and two of them have had mainstream success. Carrion Comfort is a long but amazing read that I enjoyed more than I thought I would!
Conclusion
That is all for our list of the 20 best horror novels of all time. Let us know in the comments which books should have made our list. Happy reading!
Fixed!
What about James Herbert’s “The Rats”?
Yes, The Rats
The f**king Steven King show, don’t you guys read anything else? No Ramsey Campbell?
What about Moon by James Herbert
What about Necroscope by Brian Lumley. I see Clive Barker has no mention. Or AA Milne.
Totally agree, Brian lumley’s entire bibliography is amazing, as is Clive barker’s. Two of the most descriptive and inventive authors I’ve ever read
Yes, the Rats
To much king. You are missing some of the other “kings” of horror.
No dean kuntz
No F Paul Wilson
No Edgar Allen Poe
Where is “I am legend”?
“Who goes there?”
I request a re-release with a limit of one book per author.
The Tomb by F. Paul Wilson is terrific. Dean Koontz’s Strangers or The Bad Place.
Another book I picked up and which scared the hell out of me is The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. I found it in the horror section of Indigo once and when I returned to buy its sequel, found that they had all been moved to the young adult section. It is a dark, terrifying novel that has no business in the YA section other than the fact that the main character is 13 years old.
I love Stephen King but damn spread the love six titles out of twenty is just ridiculous.
How about The Woman In Black by Susan Hill? It’s a great horror book that gives you goosebumps
I saw the Channel 4 production of Woman in Black with Adrian Rawlings in the part of the young Solicitor. Much better than the later film. Read the book, seen the stage production too. As for the list, my personal all time favourite which should have been no. 1 is The Stand. Prophetic too. (Covid?)
Silence of the Lambs is not a horror.
At least, all the Stephen King on this list were written before he became a gigantic douchebag!! He’s not as talented as he used to be, for sure. He should retire or…die.
As he is a month younger than me, I really hope you are wrong 😂😂😂; having said that I have rather enjoyed the Finders Keepers/ Holly Gibney series.
Turn of the Screw by Henry James?
Mexican Gothic does not belong on this list.