Horroris an underappreciated genre of literature. Despite the fact that the most popular writer currently alive, Stephen King, primarily writes horror, there are comparatively few ultrasuccessful horror novels, especially outside his work. That’s a shame, because horror literature can be a lot of fun. Likehorror in other mediums, it gives us a safe way to experience the world’s darkness, and, unlike in other mediums, horror literature is forced to rely entirely on genuine tension and conceptual horror, and unable to resort to cheap tricks like jump scares and CGI.
If you’re a fan of this genre, you’re in luck today, because we’ve compiled a list of some of the best horror novels currently available, including well-recognized classics and relatively recent releases.
It: A Novel
Evil clown (but also so much more)
This smash-hit novel follows the ordeals of seven (though they don’t remain seven for long) adults who have returned to their childhood hometown to confront and overcome a vast evil they barely survived in their youth.
There are a few obligatory entries here that we can’t, in good conscience, fail to include, and the first of them is this. The fact that something as legendary as Itisn’t even Stephen King’s most successful novelgoes to show the breadth of this career, as does the importance this novel has to the broader cosmology of the single multiverse he mostly writes in.
It is a story of nostalgia and trauma, of fear and bravery, featuring one of the most iconic monsters on this list. The sinister monster referred to by the novel’s title is so much more than it appears to be, and that’s the most we should say about it here, in case some of you aren’t aware of its true nature.
Stephen King’s The Shining
One of horror’s creepiest locations
A serious candidate for the best horror novel of all time, The Shining is the most popular book by the most popular writer currently writing, and has been adapted multiple times into iconic films.
Remember a second ago when we said It wasn’t Stephen King’s most popular novel? That’s because this one is, and, while Stanley Kubric’s excellent film adaptation certainly played a role in that, this novel is still excellent in its own right. One of the best haunted house stories out there, The Shining is also foundational to Stephen King’s universe, as its model of how psychic powers work will recur in several of his other novels.
The Haunting Of Hill House
Possibly the best opening paragraph in any novel
Published in 1959, this classic work of horror is immensely influential and beloved, and contains some of the most beautiful descriptive prose in the genre, and possibly in the entirity of English literature.
Another influential giant of the horror genre, The Haunting of Hill House is perhaps the definitive haunted house story, responsible for codifying much of what we now associate with the genre. Such influential novels sometimes become a victim of their own influence, as the sheer number of imitators they have makes us tire of certain aspects of them, but The Haunting of Hill House is just too good to fall victim to that.
This novel has amazing prose. Its opening paragraph is one of the most hauntingly beautiful things ever written, and our souls ache that we cannot quote it in its entirety here. You’re just going to have to check the book out for yourself.
House Of Leaves
Was that door always there? (No.)
A modern classic that reinvented an enormous amount of what makes horror literature great, House of Leaves is one of the most mind-meltingly strange books ever written, and must be seen to be believed.
Though House of Leaves did not invent the idea that the house itself, rather than the ghosts in it, is the monster, it certainly took that idea to the next level. House of Leaves has an incredible sense of creeping tension and escalation, as the strangeness of its bizarre, malevolent house slowly unveils itself. It also has moments of beautiful prose rivaling Shirley Jackson.
However, the most remarkable thing about it is its formatting. Just as its titular house contains impossible geometry, so does the geometry of the book itself, the physical words on the page, come undone as the book proceeds. It’s an incredible and unique experience, and one that can only exist in print. You want the full-color edition, by the way. Anything less will be missing some of the book’s formatting tricks, which are its main draw.
Something Wicked This Way Comes: A Novel
A horrifying adventure
This excellent novel blurs away the line between horror and urban fantasy adventure, weaving a fun but genuinely dark (not to mention incredibly influential) tale about a creepy circus with a secret, sinister purpose.
Another immensely influential classic, Something Wicked This Way Comes is a fantastic, creepy, andincredibly fun work of Urban Fantasyabout two children who go on a genuinely horrifying adventure. Despite the youth of its protagonists, and the fact that it’s perfectly appropriate for older children, Something Wicked is nevertheless a very mature and thoughtful novel about nostalgia, growing up, and growing old. It really is as good as the breadth of its influence suggests.
Coraline
Font of childhood nightmares
From legendary writer Neil Gaiman, Coraline is a short but thrilling novel in the underpopulated genre of children’s horror. Its status as the basis for an excellent adaptation is just the beginning of its own excellence.
Though this novel is most famous for its excellent adaptation, Coraline was an amazing story long before it was reproduced in stop-motion. This story of duality, temptation, indulgence, and trickery begins creepily sweet, and evolves into something that is just overwhelmingly creepy. It’s a gleefully dark parable about indulgence and manipulation, sure to delight and terrify every child, or adult, who reads it.
H.P. Lovecraft Book Collection
The inventor of an indifferent universe
This handy collection contains several of legendary horror writer H. P. Lovecraft’s longest works, including his longest and possibly his best story, At the Mountains of Madness. His influence cannot be overstated.
By this point in the list, we’ve probably worn out the word “influential.” It’s a compliment we’ve bestowed upon a lot of these works, but, while it fits each of them well,it doesn’t fit any of them quite as well as it fits the works of H.P. Lovecraft.From his twisted (in many different ways) mind comes a vision of the universe as vast and malevolent that has defined much of the genre ever since. In his cosmos, beings of incomprehensible power and horror loom over, and doom, all things, their immensity at once awful and humiliating.
At the Mountains of Madness is the star of this collection, being one of his longest works, with an amazingly chilling ending. This collection also includes a few of his other most famous works, and a biography of the man himself, whose life story, well… he was certainly one heck of a character.
Thirteen Storeys
The real monster is capitalism
From the master of horror storytelling responsible for The Magnus Archives comes a small collection of horrifying tales about a mysterious billionaire and the enormous building whose penthouse he lives in.
If you don’t know who Johnathan Sims is, then we feel sorry for you, because that means you don’t have The Magnus Archives in your life. The Magnus Archives is a horror anthology podcast by British podcast publisher Rusty Quill. It’s a work that excels at both horror and mystery, and, going into a horror novel written by the same writer, we have every right to expect greatness.
Indeed, greatness is delivered, with a little over a dozen stories that stand on their own but are joined by an intricate and increasingly unsettling web of connections. Though hardcore fans might be disappointed that no characters or entities from Archives appear in this novel, it shares the same command of build-up, tension, and payoff in both the individual stories and the united narrative they form.
FAQ
Who is the most popular horror book writer?
Stephen King is the most popular writer currently alive, and he writes mostly horror.
What is the oldest horror book?
This isn’t as simple or easy a question as we might wish, but one decent candidate for this title is The Castle of Otranto, written by Horace Walpole in 1764. This book is the origin of the term “gothic.” It’s noteworthy that this is around the time the novel, as we know it, was being invented, so there have been horror novels for about as long as there have been novels at all.
What is the scariest classic book?
Some might think that asking what books are the scariest is the same as asking what books are the best, but this isn’t quite true. Many of the novels on this list deserve credit for other aspects of their storytelling or presentation. Which book on this list is the scariest is a matter of opinion, but House of Leaves and At the Mountains of Madness are two strong candidates for that title.
