The Best Horror Books

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, including writing from the queen of screams Shirley Jackson, and a four-page, pitch-black nightmare that might just be the perfect ghost story.

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

Looking for a scary story this Halloween? Us too. We asked Kylie Whitehead, author of the acclaimed literary body horror Absorbed, to select five of the best haunted house books. Here she discusses her spine-tingling recommendations, which include Anne Rivers Siddons's cult hit The House Next Door and Michael McDowell's Southern Gothic novel The Elementals.

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 zombie books to help you prepare for the apocalypse

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 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.

Adults sometimes worry that horror novels are too scary for children, but children’s author Jennifer Killick is a fan. Here she picks out five fantastic horror books for 9-12 year olds and explains that in addition to the sheer fun of reading a thriller, horror books can help kids develop courage and often appeal to reluctant readers.