These are the horror books that have stood the test of time, scared multiple generations of readers and have made the genre what it is today. We've got all the big names here: Henry James, Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King and of course, Mary Shelley with a wealth of other hair-raising authors. You have probably seen a lot of these films but these are the books that continue to shock and scare - they are the ultimate horror classics.
This classic contains elements of monster horror, science fiction and gothic romance. It is a foreboding tale of a science experiment gone awry - having crafted a creature from stolen body parts, Frankenstein is horrified by the hideousness of what…
Bram Stoker’s classic novel conjures the inimitable Count Dracula in all his horror and throws in all the staple ingredients of a good gothic horror; ancient stone castles, terrorized young maidens, supernatural beings and an eerie, mystical…
If you prefer to get your thrills from tales of ghosts and possessions, Amityville style, this will be up your alley, it is THE classic haunted house story. Set in an isolated mansion, the terror lies in the paranormal occurrences experienced by the…
Full of tales revolving around the concept that humans exist, blissfully unaware, in a universe swarming with ancient extra-terrestrial and supernatural life, and stories that are delightfully teeming with such monsters. H.P. Lovecraft is a leading…
A horror of the psychologically disturbing variety and a nightmare waiting to happen! We begin with a newly-wed couple moving in to a Gothic-revival style apartment in New York with a suitably creepy past, and it ends with all sorts of horrors…
One of Stephen King’s defining works and a classic of the modern horror genre. Taking place in a haunted hotel with a dark history, there are plenty of supernatural chills in 'The Shining', which is definitely a slow-burning horror. Themes of…
This book will get your imagination humming and your skin crawling! Something's amiss when a young family discovers that their new house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside... all is definitely not as it seems . A modern horror with a…
A tragic and disturbing gothic horror with a hint of romance too. This is Louis's story about his journey through an immortal life. It is a tale of loneliness and isolation, along with the other trials and tribulations one could imagine are…
A perfect classic with all the tropes needed for a spine tingling read - it all starts with a young girl and a Ouija board and the rest is pretty much history! A gripping read about demonic possession with crafted writing, fleshed out characters and…
This classic is a perfect marriage of sci-fi and horror - when a scientist creates a serum of invisibility, it's not just his body that disappears but his grasp on what makes him human. Griffin, our protagonist, is struggling to reverse the effects…
Complex and with a sinister undertone, this is the story of the young man who would be young forever. Written in Wilde's trademark witty and biting style, he perfectly outlines the vanity of youth, the hypocrisy of society, and of self-perception. A…
A truly terror-inducing tale from the king of all things gothic - Edgar Allan Poe. There's a decaying old house, a pervasive sense of sorrow, a seemingly cursed family and unrelenting stormy weather which combine perfectly to tell the story of the…
We all know the basic premise of this one - a classic tale of duality and of good versus evil. This thrilling Victorian novella traces the lives of Dr Jekyll, a respectable doctor, and Mr. Hyde, the embodiment of evil, and the secret that connects…
A truly spooky ghost story - 'The Turn of the Screw' blends gothic and supernatural horror and is a must for lovers of classic horror. Amidst a lot of old, mysterious buildings and ghostly sightings, there is a hapless governess who is determined to…
Delve into the Birds and you'll become familiar with the nightmare of suddenly and desperately needing to protect your eyeballs from being violently snuffed out by swarms of missile seagulls. This is the terror of Daphne Du Maurier's classic tale,…
