The 25 Must Read Horror Books of All Time

If you are like us, then you also love a good horror novel. With so many great horror books out there, choosing which one to read isn’t always easy.  That is why we curated this list of the 25 must read horror books of all time. Keep reading to see what books made our list!

This list is only going to include 25 must read horror books. Unfortunately, many amazing books won’t make the list. We hope this list encourages you to seek out even more horror books. You can see the full list below!

The 25 Must Read Horror Books of All Time

1. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. The Shining by Stephen King
4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5. It by Stephen King
6. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
7. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
8. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
9. Ring by Koji Suzuki
10. Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
11. Pet Sematary by Stephen King
12. Carrie by Stephen King 
13. Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler
14. The Stand by Stephen King
15. At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft
16. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
17. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
18. Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
19. The Terror by Dan Simmons
20. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft
21. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
22. The Bad Seed by William March
23. At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft
24. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
25. Beloved by Toni Morrison

Dracula

A classic horror novel that has become mainstream is Dracula by Bram Stoker. First published in 1897, the novel was considered the best vampire novel written in its time and labeled as too frightening for many readers. While Stoker didn’t invent vampires, his take on the creatures is the one that has come to define them.

Frankenstein

If you like horror novels, then you will love Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It is a classic that has aged well over the past 2 centuries. Read the novel that many consider the first sci-fi novel and a novel that asks philosophical questions that readers are still thinking about. I enjoyed Shelley’s direction and the structure of the novel, making it feel like an adventure novel as well as a horror novel.

Carrion Comfort

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. Few novels have kept me as entertained and hooked as this one.

Mexican Gothic

This is a novel that I have seen on many BookTok lists and finally got around to reading and I loved every second of it. Mexican Gothic is a horror novel about a haunted house with a fun new spin on the genre. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an amazing author and her writing style is unique and her attention to detail make her novels feel like a trip to another time period.

Conclusion

That wraps up this list of the 25 must read horror books of all time. How many of these novels have you read? Let us know in the comments bleow which other books should have made the list. Happy reading!

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