Historically, horror novels have been integral to literature, but it appears that horror as a genre is witnessing a medium-independent, renewed interested in consumers across the globe these days.
With 2021 proudly harbingering the two-hundredth and second birth anniversary of one of the ten best horror books, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we’ve prepared a curated list of the greatest hair-raising tales.
The Very Best Horror Books of All-Time: 1818 – 2018
The meaning of horror differs from one individual to another. For some, it could be serial murderers, while for others, it might be haunted mansions and apparitions. What unifies all admirers of horror around the world is the steroidal dosage of breathtaking thrill that the horror literature provides to its readers.
Read: Why we love reading horror books
Here’s a brief introduction to the best horror books of all time in alphabetical order.
1. Absolute Anger, Brian T. Seifrit
Absolute Anger is a teen horror fiction by Brian T. Seifrit that centers on a sleuth named Tyler O’ Brien. The investigator and his associates have finally arrested the person accountable for a series of ghastly homicides and sent him for trial, which they thought to have ceased the killing spree. However, it was merely the preface of one of the ten best horror books !
2. At the Mountains of Madness, H.P. Lovecraft
Any discussion about contemporary horror is incomplete without referring to the literary work of H.P. Lovecraft. At the Mountains of Madness offers a generous backdrop to several of the mythologies introduced by the author and revolves around the terrifying tale of a scientific expedition that went disgustingly wrong after an off-course extraterrestrial species known as the Elder Things were discovered.
3. Dracula, Bram Stoker
It’s been more than a century since the first copy of this Gothic horror fiction was made into publication, but Count Dracula hasn’t lost a bit of his blood-curdling appeal. Being a tale of primal superstition versus modern technology, Victorian praxis versus almost wild sexuality, and many more extreme contradictions, the archetypical vampire story from Bram Stoker is a lot more than what it seems on the surface.
4. Penpal, Dathan Auerbach
Penpal by Dathan Auerbach is one of the best horror books of all time that harps on the notion that people are often preoccupied with the details they can see and fail to conjure up the bigger perspective. The episodic-format story commences with a young Auerbach sending a pen pal request on a balloon and continues to unfold as a series of mysterious and unfortunate events affecting him and all the people he’s familiar with.
5. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is an epic tale of Gothic suspense offering an eclectic combination of obsession, romance, and of course, subtle horror. Admittedly, it’s a puzzling clockwork of narratives that keeps the reader hooked until the chilling finale.
6. Red Rock Canyon, Brian T. Seifrit
Red Rock Canyon by Brian T. Seifrit narrates an intriguing anecdote of a man named Tyrell Sloan, who becomes the sole owner of a dilapidated cabin by inheritance. During his travel through the famous Red Rock Canyon in the British Columbia Rocky Mountains, he comes across a number of enigmatic souls.
7. The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty revolves around a young girl and her single mother. Things started taking a nasty turn when the daughter became possessed. If you’ve watched the movie but didn’t get an opportunity to go through the original book, now’s a great time to start reading it.
8. The Shining, Stephen King
What happens when you put together an old ramshackle motel and a frustrated novelist along with a blinding blizzard that makes every guest stay inside?! One of the best horror books of all time featuring a triathlon of freaking twists and gripping tension, such as The Shining by Stephen King, which centers on a family battling to save their lives, yet not precisely sure of what or who they’re confronting.
9. White is for Witching, Helen Oyeyemi
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi tells the tale of a teenager named Miranda Silver, who’s plagued with an insatiable liking for non-edible articles, such as plastic and chalk. Inexplicable hauntings and cravings, packed with twins, sorcerous and intense, Oyeyemi does an excellent job of creating a cornucopia of harrowing horror.
10. World War Z, Max Brooks
Based on extensive verbal anecdotes of the Second World War, World War Z is an apocalyptical tale by Max Brooks that chronicles a dystopian future when the earth is on the verge of collapse caused by an incurable pandemic as an army of zombies rise to form the new world order.
So, this was a brief introduction to the ten best horror books. If you believe that we’ve missed something, let us know by commenting below.