Although some readers might tremble at the idea of picking up ahorrorbook, fromThe ShiningtoRosemary’s Baby, these 11 novels are unmissable for casual readers and genre fans alike. As anyone who has attempted to readStephen King’s 66 bookscan attest, horror literature is a mixed bag.Like any genre, horror books have their all-time greats and their duds.
However, the horror genre sometimes gets a bad reputation thanks to its association with trashier fare. This is an unfair assessment since horror has given readers many iconic classics with significant literary merit as well as a lot of contemporary masterpieces.
Even readers who hate the experience of feeling creeping dread when they pick up a book will find something to enjoy in the following ten titles. From pivotal landmark classics likeFrankensteinto modern hits likeMexican Gothic, these eleven horror books are essential reading for everyone, even if this might leaving the light on afterward.
11The Shining By Stephen King
Stephen King’s Haunted Hotel Novel Is Still His Masterpiece
One of the main challenges in assembling any list of essential horror novels is deciding which Stephen King book to include. King’s prolific output includes a dozen novels that could reasonably be called all-time great horror books, from the generation-spanning small-town horror ofItto the unconventional vampire storySalem’s Lot, to the post-apocalyptic dystopia ofThe Stand.
However, no single work epitomizes the appeal of King’s output as well asThe Shining.Stanley Kubrick’s movie adaptation ofThe Shiningmight be as famous as the novel itself by now, but the book is a warmer and, paradoxically, more intimately creepy reading experience.
King’s prose imbuesThe Shiningwith a sense of mounting dread, and Jack’s surprisingly sympathetic portrayal only makes the ending more tragic.
The Shiningchronicles the gradual breakdown of an alcoholic caretaker, Jack, as he spends a lonely, isolated winter in a shut-down hotel with his family.Jack’s descent into madness at the Overlook makes for a terrifying read, even for readers who know where the story is heading before it begins. King’s prose imbues the tale with a sense of mounting dread, and Jack’s surprisingly sympathetic portrayal only makes the ending more tragic.
10Mexican Gothic By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
This Modern Classic Is A Twisted Gothic Horror Story
Silvia Moreno-Garcia’sMexican Gothicfollows Noemi, a beautiful socialite who is sent to investigate her cousin’s claims that her husband is trying to kill her. In the isolated, remote estate that the couple share, Noemi finds she is unsure what to believe and who to trust as a creepy, ambiguously supernatural mystery unfolds around her.
Garnering comparisons to bothDaphne du Maurier’sRebeccaand Guillermo del Toro’sCrimson Peak,Mexican Gothicis a feverish nightmare of a novel. Moreno-Garcia’s prose style borrows from classic authors like Charlotte Bronte and Bram Stoker, but the twisty plot owes as much to del Toro’s love of ‘50s sci-fi horror, and the result is an utterly unique, unpredictable story.
9The Haunting of Hill House By Shirley Jackson
Jackson’s Psychological Horror Is Her Most Influential Work
Shirley Jackson’s influence looms large over the psychological horror genre, as she was one of the earliest authors to interrogate the crumbling mind of a protagonist from a first-person perspective. Building on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’sThe Yellow Wallpaper,The Haunting of Hill Housefollows Eleanor, a troubled young woman who partakes in an experiment at a supposedly haunted house.
A vital work of genre fiction, Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is essential reading for horror fans.
As her stay grows longer, Eleanor becomes more attached to the house, feeling a link between herself and the historic home. Before long, her mind has started to unravel and readers can’t be sure how much of her narration they should trust. A vital work of genre fiction, Jackson’sThe Haunting of Hill Houseis essential reading for horror fans.
8The Only Good Indians By Stephen Graham Jones
Jones’ Indigenous Horror Story Is Both Terrifying and Heartbreaking
WhileJackson’sThe Haunting of Hill Househas receiveda trio of screen adaptations, the writing of Stephen Graham Jones has not yet made the jump to the big screen. This is ironic as, betweenMy Heart is a ChainsawandThe Last Final Girl,Stephen Graham Jones might have the most cinematic writing voice on this list.
That said, the author’s masterpiece isn’t one of his many slasher novels. Instead, 2020’s indigenous horror storyThe Only Good Indiansis Jones’ best work to date, and one of the twenty-first century’s most exciting horror novels as well. Following a group of Native American friends in the years after a regrettable hunting trip,The Only Good Indiansinterrogates questions of masculinity, heritage, and generational trauma.
An unmissable horror novel,The Only Good Indiansis a moving, brilliant read and a pivotal recent entry into the genre.
If that all sounds heavy and academic, readers should be warned thatThe Only Good Indiansis also bracingly brutal, shockingly funny, and achingly tragic. An unmissable horror novel, Jones’ book is a moving, brilliant read and a pivotal recent entry into the genre.
7Frankenstein By Mary Shelley
Shelley’s Landmark Novel Is A Pivotal Piece of Horror History
Mary Shelley’sFrankensteinneeds no introduction, although the original novel may well shock some readers who wereonly familiar with its adaptations. An iconic tale of science, hubris, and tragic ambition,Frankensteinis more poignant than its reputation as a horror novel may suggest.
Although Frankenstein and his infamous monster are central to the story, Shelley’s masterpiece is more concerned with the ethics of the doctor’s experiments than the chaos that follows them. As a result,Frankensteinis a deeply human story, despite the artificial origins of its most famous character.
6American Psycho By Bret Easton Ellis
Ellis’s Grim Satire Retains Its Impact Decades Later
Soon to receive a second movie adaptation,American Pychois author Bret Easton Ellis’s most famous novel and the greatest distillation of his disaffected, darkly sardonic style. Ellis’s tale follows Patrick Bateman, a New York stockbroker and card-carrying yuppie who moonlights as a sadistic serial killer between mergers and acquisitions.
American Psychois chiefly a scathing satire of ‘80s Reaganomics, but its brutal horror ensures that readers will be left retching as often as they are laughing. Pitilessly violent,American Psychois also unexpectedly tender at times as Ellis searches for soul in the grim, unfeeling concrete jungle of corporate America.
5Beloved By Toni Morrison
Morrison’s Legendary Horror Tackles Intergenerational Trauma
Toni Morrison’sBelovedfollows a family of former slaves haunted by a terrifying ghostly presence that is tied to their Cincinnati home. A Pulitzer Prize winner,Belovedwas adapted to the screen in 1998 with Oprah Winfrey playing the lead role. Despite these mainstream accolades, readers should be prepared for an upsetting story when picking up Morrison’s novel.
Morrison’sBelovedsomehow manages to find hope beneath the trauma endured by its protagonists.
Belovedturns the real-life horrors of slavery into a terrifying ghost story, metabolizing unimaginable trauma as fiction. Although this makes for a tragic, intense reading experience, Morrison’s book somehow manages to find hope beneath the trauma endured by its protagonists.
4The Turn of the Screw By Henry James
James’s Unsettling Ghost Story Is A Gripping Read
WhileNetflix’sThe Haunting of Bly Manorwas a loose adaptation of Henry James’sThe Turn of the Screw, 1961’s acclaimedThe Innocentsoffered a more faithful take on the 1898 gothic horror novel. Following a governess’s recollections of a strange pair of children she once cared for,The Turn of the Screwis a masterclass in slow-burn tension.
The governess’s reliability as a narrator is never entirely clear, meaningThe Turn of the Screwnever quite clarifies what it is. Is the novella a ghost story, or the tragic story of a protagonist losing their mind? This is left intentionally, hauntingly ambiguous by the novella’s infamous ending.
3House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewsk
Danielewski’s Experimental Horror Novel Is Utterly Unique
Effectively a found footage horror novel,Mark Z. Danielewsk’sHouse of Leavesis tough to describe as a reading experience. An epistolary novel about a fictional, possibly haunted documentary,House of Leavesfollows the narrator’s descent into insanity as he attempts to unearth the truth behind this movie.
Although its story is labyrinthine,House of Leavesis mostly known for its experimental execution. The novel’s prose itself bends and twists, forcing the reader to flip the book upside down, follow footnotes within footnotes, and keep multiple pages bookmarked to follow the story. In the process, it is hard for readers not to find their thoughts haunted by Danielewski’s surreal novel.
2Carmilla By Sheridan le Fanu
The Original Lesbian Vampire Story Helped Define The Genre
AlthoughBram Stoker’sDraculamight be the most famous Irish horror novel about a vampire from the late 1800s, Sheridan le Fanu’sCarmillapredates the book and introduced many tropes of vampire fiction earlier than Stoker’s novel. The story of a young woman preyed upon by a female vampire,Carmillais also notable for its early depiction of implied lesbianism.
Carmillais a surprisingly accessible novella despite its age, and the impact of Le Fanu’s writing on future depictions of vampires is immediately obvious from the opening scenes onward.Carmillahas been loosely adapted to film countless times and many books, songs, and albums have explored its themes since Le Fanu pioneered the concept.
