People have been telling scary stories as far back as we can remember, but the horror genre really came into its own over the last two centuries. First, 18th-century Gothic fiction laid the groundwork, followed by innovators like Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe. In the mid-20th century, Shirley Jackson gave these ideas a more elegant modern treatment, paving the way for the blockbusters of Stephen King and his contemporaries.
With all that in mind, this list looks back at some of the most impactful horror books ever, the ones that inspired subsequent storytellers and left a permanent mark on the genre. All are masterpieces in their own way.
10
‘Rosemary’s Baby’ (1967)
“All of them witches.” Although best remembered now for the movie adaptation, the original Rosemary’s Baby novel was part of a wave of horror books in the late 1960s and ‘early ’70s and caused the genre to explode in popularity. It’s about a young woman who moves into a prestigious New York apartment building with her husband, only to become increasingly convinced that her eccentric elderly neighbors are part of a conspiracy surrounding her pregnancy.
Rather than relying on traditional Gothic settings or overt displays of the supernatural, author Ira Levin builds suspense through psychology and character development. The terror here comes from Rosemary’s growing isolation and her inability to trust those closest to her. The book also stays ambiguous and unpredictable until the final act, so we’re not entirely certain whether Rosemary is experiencing genuine persecution or if she’s just going mad.
9
‘The Exorcist’ (1971)
“The power of Christ compels you!” Here we have another book that is now overshadowed by its film adaptation, but which remains an important part of horror history. William Peter Blatty (who also wrote the script for Friedkin‘s movie) creates one of the genre’s most iconic characters: the young Regan, who appears to be tormented by an evil force. After doctors exhaust every scientific possibility, two Catholic priests are called upon to confront what may be a genuine case of demonic possession.
Although The Exorcist features many gross and horrifying scenes, it’s also very rich thematically, with a lot to say about faith and skepticism. For instance, the priests grapple with tough questions around suffering, mortality, and doubt. Structure-wise, much of the novel unfolds like a medical mystery, and this more measured approach makes the eventual horror feel all the more convincing.
8
‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ (1962)
“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.” This is one of the very best books by genre legend Ray Bradbury, who also wrote the dystopian classic Fahrenheit 451. In Something Wicked This Way Comes, thirteen-year-old friends Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway pay a visit to the mysterious Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show after it arrives in their small Midwestern town. However, beneath the carnival’s dazzling attractions lurks an ancient evil capable of granting people’s deepest desires… at a cost.
The tale that follows is a creepy fantasy-horror, as well as a genuinely moving coming-of-age story. Crucially, the horror here emerges not only from monsters but from the weaknesses and desires within ordinary people. This approach was deeply influential; subsequent writers like Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, R.L. Stine, and Clive Barker have also cited this novel as an influence.
7
‘Ghost Story’ (1979)
“We all have our ghosts.” In the 1970s, the most important horror writer after Stephen King was Peter Straub, and Ghost Story is his magnum opus. It follows four elderly men in the small town of Milburn, New York, who gather regularly to exchange supernatural tales. Their storytelling gradually uncovers a shared secret involving a mysterious woman whose death decades earlier continues to haunt both the men themselves and the town around them.
Here, Straub layers multiple narratives, weaving together folklore, trauma, and supernatural terror into an intricate mystery. The setting is modern, but the vibe is distinctly Gothic, very much concerned with guilt, memory, aging, and, of course, restless spirits. On release, this was an unusually ambitious take on horror, serving up richly developed characters alongside genuinely frightening set pieces. In the process, Straub helped usher in a new era of sophisticated horror writing.
6
‘The Turn of the Screw’ (1898)
“I was giving pleasure, if he ever thought of it!” The Turn of the Screw revolves around a young governess hired to care for two orphaned children at an isolated English estate, where she becomes convinced that spirits are attempting to corrupt her innocent charges. However, writer Henry James refuses to give us any clear answers. Are the ghosts genuine supernatural entities, or are they projections of the governess’s increasingly unstable mind? Every event supports multiple interpretations, and people still debate exactly what it all means.
Even with that uncertainty, The Turn of the Screw is frequently ranked among the greatest ghost stories ever, and its DNA lives on in countless books and movies that followed. The aforementioned Ghost Story borrows from it, as does the book Affinity by Sarah Waters. The novel has also been adapted several times for the screen, including the film The Innocents and the series The Haunting of Bly Manor.
5
‘Salem’s Lot’ (1975)
“The town knew darkness.” While Carrie came first, it was ‘Salem’s Lot that really crystallized Stephen King’s formula for taking traditional horror elements and turning them into a distinctly modern American nightmare. He has described this book as “Peyton Place meets Dracula“, and that’s exactly. It’s a small-town drama with vampires. In it, writer Ben Mears returns to his hometown, where he discovers that an ancient bloodsucker has quietly established itself in the community.
The town slowly succumbs to darkness, as the vampire turns neighbor against neighbor. Rather than focusing solely on a single monster, King examines how evil spreads through an entire community. In the process, he paints a portrait of a large ensemble of characters, using them to comment on the ways evil can spread through a community. This was a major innovation for the vampire genre, and countless novels and movies wouldn’t exist without it.
4
‘Tales of Mystery and Imagination’ (1908)
“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” This collection brings together some of Edgar Allan Poe’s defining works, making it an essential part of the horror canon. It includes classics like ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,’ ‘The Tell-Tale Heart,’ ‘The Pit and the Pendulum,’ and ‘The Masque of the Red Death’. Together, these stories helped establish techniques that remain central to psychological horror more than 175 years later.
Perhaps most of all, Poe fundamentally changed horror by shifting attention inward. Rather than relying solely on the usual ghouls and ghosties, he explored the terrifying landscapes of the human mind, showing us narrators riven by paranoia, madness, and guilt. The best of these tales have a dark, palpable atmosphere and an impressive amount of psychological complexity, all of which influenced the likes of H.P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, and Stephen King.
3
‘Frankenstein’ (1818)
“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” On top of being a Gothic masterpiece, many consider Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to be the first true science fiction novel. In it, ambitious scientist Victor Frankenstein succeeds in creating artificial life only to recoil in horror from his own creation. Rejected by his creator and society alike, the lonely Creature embarks upon a tragic journey that will scar both himself and Victor.
The biggest leap forward here was the fact that Shelley abandoned the typical supernatural evil and replaced it with humanity’s own scientific ambition. Frankenstein is a Promethean figure who messes with forces that are best left alone, becoming an enduring symbol for man’s tendency to create technologies it cannot truly handle. Likewise, the book was groundbreaking in the way it portrayed the Creature not as a simple monster, but as someone also sympathetic.
2
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ (1959)
“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.” The best haunted house story ever, hands down. The Haunting of Hill House (quite different in plot to the TV adaptation) follows Dr. John Montague, who invites several individuals with supposed paranormal experiences to spend time investigating the infamous Hill House. Among them is Eleanor Vance, a lonely, vulnerable woman who soon finds herself becoming increasingly connected to the house’s disturbing presence.
Paying homage to earlier classics, author Shirley Jackson refuses to distinguish clearly between supernatural forces and psychological deterioration. In addition, she succeeds in making the house itself feel alive, fully a character in its own right, with a distinctly dark atmosphere. It’s impressive that, despite not much supernatural stuff actually happening, the book feels incredibly tense and scary the whole way through.
1
‘Dracula’ (1897)
“The blood is the life!” This is modern horror’s center of gravity. Told through letters, diary entries, newspaper articles, and journal excerpts, Dracula follows solicitor Jonathan Harker after he travels to Transylvania to assist the mysterious Count Dracula with a property purchase in England. As Dracula brings his evil to Victorian Britain, a small group led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing bands together to stop him.
The novel is one of the most perfect expressions of the Gothic sensibility, as well as a genuinely sharp statement on the clash between tradition and modernity. Most importantly, though, Bram Stoker synthesized centuries of vampire folklore into one definitive story, establishing many of the tropes we now take for granted. Indeed, Dracula is the basis for the entire vampire subgenre. Pretty much every story about bloodsuckers either imitates it (Nosferatu, Underworld) or rejects it (Twilight, What We Do in the Shadows).
Dracula
- Release Date
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February 14, 1931
- Runtime
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74 minutes
- Director
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Tod Browning
- Writers
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Frederick Stephani, Garrett Fort, Louis Bromfield, Louis Stevens, Tod Browning, Bram Stoker
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Bela Lugosi
Count Dracula
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