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Fiction » Horror

Most Recommended Books

Collected Ghost Stories by MR James

” I can barely read these stories myself. It’s the only literature that gives me nightmares. This collection was read to me by a teacher at school when I was eight years old, on dark autumnal Friday afternoons. I re-read them as an undergraduate, and was absolutely terrified once again.”

Nick Groom, Literary Scholar

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I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

“The monsters in the book are more like vampires. But the interesting thing about I Am Legend is that it is an apocalyptic survival story. The main character thinks that he is the last human being left on earth.”

Greg Garrett,

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

“One of the scariest things is that you don’t know whether Eleanor was in fact possessed or not. It’s as much a story about physical haunting as it is about psychological haunting.”

Xavier Aldana Reyes,

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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein (Book) by Mary Shelley

“Frankenstein can be seen as an experiment—or almost a laboratory—that brings together science and literature…Frankenstein is very much a novel for the twenty-first century. Mary Shelley was trying to push the boundaries of science and technology. The details of the science have changed, but the big questions remain as important for us today as they were for her. “

Nick Groom, Literary Scholar

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Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula by Bram Stoker

“Dracula is very explicit. That’s what’s so surprising about it.”

Claire Jarvis,

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Browse book recommendations:

Fiction

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Looking for some horror books? Browse through our expert recommendations to find the best grisly thrillers and scary stories, even the best books on zombies. We have several competing lists for the five best horror books—Darryl Jones, Kim Newman and Ramsay Campbell have all recommended the five best horror stories. We also have an interview with best-selling novelist Sarah Perry on Gothic fiction.

 

    The Best Ghost Stories, recommended by Will Maclean

  • Read
    The Best Ghost Stories - 'The Same Dog' in Cold Hand in Mine by Robert Aickman

    1

    'The Same Dog' in Cold Hand in Mine
    by Robert Aickman

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    The Best Ghost Stories - 'Home' in Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson

    2

    'Home' in Dark Tales
    by Shirley Jackson

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    The Best Ghost Stories - 'Animals' in You Should Come With Me Now by M. John Harrison

    3

    'Animals' in You Should Come With Me Now
    by M. John Harrison

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    The Best Ghost Stories - 'The Book' in The Virago Book of Ghost Stories by Margaret Irwin

    4

    'The Book' in The Virago Book of Ghost Stories
    by Margaret Irwin

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    The Best Ghost Stories - 'Blind Man's Buff' in The Oxford Book of 20th-Century Ghost Stories by H. Russell Wakefield

    5

    'Blind Man's Buff' in The Oxford Book of 20th-Century Ghost Stories
    by H. Russell Wakefield

The Best Ghost Stories, recommended by Will Maclean

If you love to get scared silly then we have reading recommendations for you. Will Maclean, author of the unsettling new novel The Apparition Phase, selects the best ghost stories to read at Halloween, including writing from the queen of screams Shirley Jackson, and a four-page, pitch-black nightmare that might just be the perfect ghost story.

    The Scariest Books, recommended by Xavier Aldana Reyes

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    The Scariest Books - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

    1

    The Haunting of Hill House
    by Shirley Jackson

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    The Scariest Books - It by Stephen King

    2

    It
    by Stephen King

  • Read
    The Scariest Books - Tales by H. P. Lovecraft

    3

    Tales
    by H. P. Lovecraft

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    The Scariest Books - Books of Blood (Vols. 1-3) by Clive Barker

    4

    Books of Blood (Vols. 1-3)
    by Clive Barker

  • Read
    The Scariest Books - The Cipher by Kathe Koja

    5

    The Cipher
    by Kathe Koja

The Scariest Books, recommended by Xavier Aldana Reyes

Whether you’re scared most by graphic body horror, the uncategorisable, or the blurring of boundaries between supernatural menace and psychological unraveling, this list will have something for you. Reflecting on the complex nature of fear, Xavier Aldana Reyes surveys the best modern horror and explores whether the genre might offer consolation as well as terror.

    The best books on Zombies, recommended by Greg Garrett

  • Read
    The best books on Zombies - I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

    1

    I Am Legend
    by Richard Matheson

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    The best books on Zombies - The Road by Cormac McCarthy

    2

    The Road
    by Cormac McCarthy

  • Read
    The best books on Zombies - The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman

    3

    The Walking Dead
    by Robert Kirkman

  • Read
    The best books on Zombies - World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

    4

    World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
    by Max Brooks

  • Read
    The best books on Zombies - The Miniature Wife: And Other Stories by Manuel Gonzales

    5

    The Miniature Wife: And Other Stories
    by Manuel Gonzales

The best books on Zombies, recommended by Greg Garrett

Zombies have returned with a vengeance in recent years, the secret to their undying popularity lying in their ability to embody many different kinds of menace, from social unrest to pandemics, financial insecurity to international terrorism. Greg Garrett, author of Living with the Living Dead, recommends five books to help you prepare for the zombie apocalypse

    The Best Horror Stories, recommended by Darryl Jones

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    The Best Horror Stories - The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen

    1

    The Great God Pan
    by Arthur Machen

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    The Best Horror Stories - The Island of Doctor Moreau by H G Wells

    2

    The Island of Doctor Moreau
    by H G Wells

  • Read
    The Best Horror Stories - Collected Ghost Stories by MR James

    3

    Collected Ghost Stories
    by MR James

  • Read
    The Best Horror Stories - Dracula by Bram Stoker

    4

    Dracula
    by Bram Stoker

  • Read
    The Best Horror Stories - The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers

    5

    The King in Yellow
    by Robert W Chambers

The Best Horror Stories, recommended by Darryl Jones

Why was 1897 such a great year for horror? How did Charles Darwin’s discoveries impact the genre? Trinity College, Dublin professor Darryl Jones selects some of the best of the genre—and discusses why we find these stories so fascinating.

    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction

  • Read
    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - Frankenstein (Book) by Mary Shelley

    1

    Frankenstein (Book)
    by Mary Shelley

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    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin

    2

    Melmoth the Wanderer
    by Charles Maturin

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    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

    3

    Jane Eyre
    by Charlotte Brontë

  • Read
    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

    4

    We Have Always Lived in the Castle
    by Shirley Jackson

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    Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction - Fludd by Hilary Mantel

    5

    Fludd
    by Hilary Mantel

Sarah Perry recommends the best Gothic Fiction

The Gothic puts flesh on the bones of our darkest fears, novelist Sarah Perry tells Five Books. Here, she chooses five favourite novels in this ‘irresistible’ genre.

    The best books on Horror Stories, recommended by Ramsey Campbell

  • Read
    The best books on Horror Stories - The White People and Other Weird Stories by Arthur Machen

    1

    The White People and Other Weird Stories
    by Arthur Machen

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    The best books on Horror Stories - Collected Ghost Stories by MR James

    2

    Collected Ghost Stories
    by MR James

  • Read
    The best books on Horror Stories - The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

    3

    The Haunting of Hill House
    by Shirley Jackson

  • Read
    The best books on Horror Stories - The Dark Descent by David G Hartwell (editor)

    4

    The Dark Descent
    by David G Hartwell (editor)

  • Read
    The best books on Horror Stories - The Mammoth Book of the Best of Best New Horror by Stephen Jones (editor)

    5

    The Mammoth Book of the Best of Best New Horror
    by Stephen Jones (editor)

The best books on Horror Stories, recommended by Ramsey Campbell

From the psychological terror of a haunted house to the spectral dread of an indescribable colour, the British horror writer recommends five disturbing tales to get you in the mood for Halloween

    The best books on Horror, recommended by Kim Newman

  • Read
    The best books on Horror - Dracula by Bram Stoker

    1

    Dracula
    by Bram Stoker

  • Read
    The best books on Horror - I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

    2

    I Am Legend
    by Richard Matheson

  • Read
    The best books on Horror - Misery by Stephen King

    3

    Misery
    by Stephen King

  • Read
    The best books on Horror - Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe

    4

    Tales of Mystery and Imagination
    by Edgar Allan Poe

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    The best books on Horror - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

    5

    The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
    by Robert Louis Stevenson

The best books on Horror, recommended by Kim Newman

Which are the best horror books ever written? Novelist and horror expert Kim Newman, author of Anno Dracula, talks us through his top five and reveals which of the classics is, for him, the greatest of them all.

    The best books on The Gothic, recommended by Nick Groom

  • Read
    The best books on The Gothic - Zofloya; Or The Moor by Charlotte Dacre

    1

    Zofloya; Or The Moor
    by Charlotte Dacre

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    The best books on The Gothic - Frankenstein (Book) by Mary Shelley

    2

    Frankenstein (Book)
    by Mary Shelley

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    The best books on The Gothic - Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey

    3

    Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
    by Thomas De Quincey

  • Read
    The best books on The Gothic - Collected Ghost Stories by MR James

    4

    Collected Ghost Stories
    by MR James

  • Read
    The best books on The Gothic - Black Roses by Simon Armitage

    5

    Black Roses
    by Simon Armitage

The best books on The Gothic, recommended by Nick Groom

‘The Gothic’ can refer to ecclesiastical architecture, supernatural fiction, cult horror films and a recent subculture. Here, Nick Groom—who is professor in English at the University of Exeter and is also known as the ‘Prof. of Goth’—recommends five of the best books on the Gothic, showing how this term remains central to the way we think of our identities today.

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We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

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