The best horror novels of all time
The top 3 according to 2 votes from people: Dracula · The Shining · Frankenstein. (Updated Sep 27, 2026.)
From 19th-century Gothic to Stephen King: the scary novels that appear on every must-read list.
Automatically translated (original in Español). See the original
Top 18
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1
Dracula
Bram Stoker, 1897. The vampire told through letters and diaries.
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2
The Shining
Stephen King, 1977. An isolated hotel in winter.
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3
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley, 1818. The creature and its creator.
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4
It
Stephen King, 1986. A clown and the town of Derry.
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5
The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson, 1959. For many, the best ghost story ever.
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6
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886. The double within us all.
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7
The Exorcist
William Peter Blatty, 1971. A possessed girl in Washington.
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8
The Turn of the Screw
Henry James, 1898. A governess and two very strange children.
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9
Carrie
Stephen King, 1974. His debut: revenge at the prom.
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10
Misery
Stephen King, 1987. A writer at the mercy of his number one fan.
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11
Rosemary's Baby
Ira Levin, 1967. A pregnancy in a New York building with strange neighbours.
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12
I Am Legend
Richard Matheson, 1954. The last man in a world of vampires.
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13
At the Mountains of Madness
H. P. Lovecraft, 1936. An Antarctic expedition and ancient horrors.
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14
Pet Sematary
Stephen King, 1983. What's buried there doesn't come back the same.
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15
Interview with the Vampire
Anne Rice, 1976. A vampire tells his life story to a reporter.
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16
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde, 1890. A portrait that ages in its owner's place.
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17
'Salem's Lot
Stephen King, 1975. Vampires in a small Maine town.
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18
The Silence of the Lambs
Thomas Harris, 1988. Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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