I bid you welcome turn the lights down
low light some candles and prepare for
some chills what have you done to it
what have you done to it sighs welcome
to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
horror novels
what as if some model leprosy were
eating moving away for this list we’re
looking at the most terrifying books
ever written we’re excluding short
novellas like The Strange Case of dr.
Jekyll and mr. Hyde as well as short
story writers like Edgar Allen Poe or HP
Lovecraft we’ve also left out
spine-chilling war and dystopian stories
if they have no horror elements good
stuff
I see mighty dark duction number 10
interview with the vampire and rice
white coward of a vampire who prowls the
night killing rats and poodles you could
have finished us both you condemned me
to hell I don’t know any hell although
it initially divided critics and Rice’s
debut novel has since become a cult
phenomenon they read high school junior
high whatever and they felt alone until
they found the books and the vampires
became their friends and it helped them
get through school and I I’m sorry again
I’m so grateful welcoming readers into a
more eroticized and romanticized world
of vampires she offers up the most
eloquent and memorable prose on the
subject since Dracula himself
the gothic horror story revolves around
a tortured 200 year old vampire who’s
telling a young reporter about his
traumatic and lonely life living with
this curse when I finally wrote a short
story interview with the vampire I
discovered what I was good at and that
was fantasy that if I went with fantasy
and stepped into this alternative
reality I could talk about what was real
to me the visceral violence of vampirism
in the American South
turns the reader on as much as the
reporter and to no one’s surprise
interview with the vampire spawned 10
sequels referred to as The Vampire
Chronicles as well as Hollywood
adaptations what if I could give it back
to you pluck out the pain and give you
another life one you could never imagine
and it would be for all the time
and sickness and death could never touch
you again
number nine American Psycho Bret Easton
Ellis look at that subtle off-white
coloring a tasteful thickness Abed oh my
god it even has a watermark
something wrong Patrick Bateman is your
typical Wall Street yuppie in the 80s
handsome put together shallow and
consumed with murderous rage Bret Easton
Ellis provides his scathing indictment
of consumerist culture through this
unreliable narrator who by day is a
Manhattan stockbroker and by night is a
vicious serial killer many people got on
the anti American Psycho bandwagon and
made quite a big names for themselves
people became famous people that radio
per shows because if we’re protesting
the book so so uh someone’s with gory
imagery disturbing language and violence
against both sexes American Psycho was
controversial to the point where its
sale was limited in some countries
however many critics enthusiastically
support the novel hate that job anyway
see if I should stop quit because I want
to fit in in fact Patrick Bateman story
proved so timeless it was adapted into
both a film and a musical the thing that
I do resent about it however I do resent
that the fact that it is the book that I
shall forever be connected with I will
never be able to write a book that will
have that kind of impact number 9 the
haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson this is so twisted
seriously twisted most people would
ignore an invitation to spend a summer
in a haunted mansion but our
protagonists jumped at the chance
in Jackson’s the haunting of Hill House
we follow a paranormal investigator and
his small group of companions as they
lock themselves up in the eponymous
mansion as simple as that sounds
and as restrained as the horrors are in
these pages no haunted house story has
ever chilled readers to the bone quite
like this Oh what with the real haunting
happening mostly behind closed doors the
terror our characters feel losses off
the page just like the blood left on the
walls of Hill House no one must go in
that house again what Evers them I’ll be
all right the house has what it wants
for a while number seven The Shining
Stephen King here’s Johnny one of
Stephen King’s earliest successes but
sadly overlooked today due to the
popularity of the Stanley Kubrick
adaptation with which King himself was
not impressed
for instance in Kubrick’s movie the
Overlook Hotel freezes and in Stephen
King’s book the Overlook Hotel burns but
that was the difference in temperament
he was cold and I was warm the shining
represents the birth of modern horror
literature and established King as an
icon in the genre
and
blending a classic horror setting in
this case an immense isolated hotel with
the modern terrors of abuse alcoholism
parental neglect and insanity King
weaves a tale far more complex and
disturbing than anything Kubrick ever
put on screen
although the ghosts take a back seat in
this one don’t let that fool you into
thinking it’s safe to turn the page or
to roam the Overlook on your own why do
you have a copy of The Shining in your
freezer
oh I’ve reading it last night and I got
scared but you’re safe from it if it’s
in the freezer
well safer number six Hell House Richard
Matheson hideous we’re not even inside
yet miss Donna although his earlier
novel I am Legend has gained more
popularity and helped create the modern
zombie and the idea of a zombie
apocalypse
Matheson’s Hell House takes the prize
for terrifying imagery similar to
Shirley Jackson’s Hill House the action
is confined mainly to a haunted mansion
where a group of mediums and
parapsychology enthusiasts tries to
discover whether there is a great beyond
and whether death truly is the end leave
a sample in the jaw please
they decide to do this by visiting the
appropriately nicknamed Hell house where
everything goes wrong as the evil forces
of the house start influencing the
guests in extremely horrible ways drug
addiction alcoholism sadism bestiality
mutilation murder vampirism necrophilia
cannibalism not to mention a gamut of
sexual goodies bitch shall I go on
no spoilers here she tricked me number 5
The Exorcist William Peter Blatty not a
psychiatrist needs a priest she’s
already seen every fucking psychiatrist
in the world and they sent me to you now
you’re gonna send me back to them it’s
too bad that what’s considered one of
the scariest movies of all time was
derived from relatively unknown and
overshadowed source material following
Jesuit priest father Merrin from Iraq to
Georgetown as he tries to rid poor Regan
MacNeil of the evil demonic presence
inside her what is it based on a
real-life possession the novel takes
time explaining the surroundings and
circumstances of Reagan’s unforeseen
possession by the sign of the Holy Cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and
reigns with a father and the Holy Spirit
Davian most people wouldn’t believe that
the book could be asked terrifying as
the movie but those who know blad ease
novel need courage if they decide to
pick it up a second time the power of
prey
you that the power of Christ compels you
the power of Christ compels you
the power of Christ compels you number
four the Silence of the Lambs Thomas
Harris dr. Lecter my name is Clarice
Starling that speak with you although
the first novel in the series red dragon
introduced the world to dr. Hannibal the
cannibal Lecter The Silence of the Lambs
shot Lecter and Thomas Harris to
worldwide superstardom helped of course
by Jonathan Demi’s 1991 film adaptation
it rubs the lotion on its skin or else
it gets the hose again readers were
shocked when they picked up what seemed
like a detective thriller and ended up
squirming in their seats looking over
their shoulders and questioning what’s
in their stake
initially a minor character Lecter was
so popular that Harris decided to write
about no one else assuring in a trend of
dark horrific detective procedurals and
suspenseful thrillers at the lamb stop
screaming
Catalan number three
Dracula Bram Stoker welcome I hope it’s
freely of your own will and leave some
of the happiness you bring an urban
legend come to life an allegory for
diseased and lustful danger leaving the
old country and entering today’s modern
cities Dracula is true horror put into a
narrative vampirism although not a new
concept had never been so eloquently and
disturbingly personified and in fact the
author is credited with pioneering the
modern idea of the vampire
Oh
bram stoker was no stranger to morbid
and gothic settings but this count
became the face of evil for generations
to come
that you know what sweet music thuggery
this was no fairy tale the blending of a
realistic setting and supernatural
elements is something audiences were not
prepared for number two Frankenstein or
the modern prometheus Mary Shelley we’re
on the verge of undreamt of discoveries
if we only have the courage to ask the
right questions that you must help me
here’s another famous 19th century
creature that took over film stage and
radio in the 20th century get away with
a cold but unlike his counterpart Count
Dracula Frankenstein’s monster has been
ironically misunderstood and
misrepresented for generations I
abandoned my other research as many
years ago
why because they’ve resulted in
abomination the source material follows
the insane dr. Frankenstein who
successfully reanimates a corpse
they love God I know what it feels like
to be gone steeped in romantic themes
and scientific intrigue Mary Shelley’s
horror novel remains relevant even two
centuries after its initial publication
the question of scientific intervention
and whether or not humans should be
messing with nature are perhaps even
more significant in the 21st century you
gave me these motion but you didn’t tell
me how to use before we crack the spine
on our top pick here are some honorable
mentions
he tells you what of all the world of
the below the women the whole world he
tells you here anguish things cuz he
want you to be the mother of his only
living son when the knife pierced the
heart of the portrait an extraordinary
thing happened I can hear it from the
one of you or I can hear it from the
other you just think about number one it
Stephen King aren’t you gonna say hello
oh come on Paco don’t you lose to some
this is the king of whores epic
masterpiece an immense novel whose theme
is fear itself
although Stephen King has given us
nightmares for decades and many of his
works almost made the cut such as Pet
Sematary there is something about
Pennywise the clown a creature that uses
the fears of its victims against them
that will never let you go but it was
the killer and we stopped we thought we
did in a decade saturated with terrible
over-the-top horror films Kings stripped
horror down to its basics and turned a
brick of a complex narrative into the
best-selling book of the year
you lose your little mind and my dead
do you agree with our list which books
gave you nightmares
how do you like it for more chilling top
10s published every day be sure to
subscribe to watchmojo.com you fly back
to school now a little starting
low light some candles and prepare for
some chills what have you done to it
what have you done to it sighs welcome
to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
horror novels
what as if some model leprosy were
eating moving away for this list we’re
looking at the most terrifying books
ever written we’re excluding short
novellas like The Strange Case of dr.
Jekyll and mr. Hyde as well as short
story writers like Edgar Allen Poe or HP
Lovecraft we’ve also left out
spine-chilling war and dystopian stories
if they have no horror elements good
stuff
I see mighty dark duction number 10
interview with the vampire and rice
white coward of a vampire who prowls the
night killing rats and poodles you could
have finished us both you condemned me
to hell I don’t know any hell although
it initially divided critics and Rice’s
debut novel has since become a cult
phenomenon they read high school junior
high whatever and they felt alone until
they found the books and the vampires
became their friends and it helped them
get through school and I I’m sorry again
I’m so grateful welcoming readers into a
more eroticized and romanticized world
of vampires she offers up the most
eloquent and memorable prose on the
subject since Dracula himself
the gothic horror story revolves around
a tortured 200 year old vampire who’s
telling a young reporter about his
traumatic and lonely life living with
this curse when I finally wrote a short
story interview with the vampire I
discovered what I was good at and that
was fantasy that if I went with fantasy
and stepped into this alternative
reality I could talk about what was real
to me the visceral violence of vampirism
in the American South
turns the reader on as much as the
reporter and to no one’s surprise
interview with the vampire spawned 10
sequels referred to as The Vampire
Chronicles as well as Hollywood
adaptations what if I could give it back
to you pluck out the pain and give you
another life one you could never imagine
and it would be for all the time
and sickness and death could never touch
you again
number nine American Psycho Bret Easton
Ellis look at that subtle off-white
coloring a tasteful thickness Abed oh my
god it even has a watermark
something wrong Patrick Bateman is your
typical Wall Street yuppie in the 80s
handsome put together shallow and
consumed with murderous rage Bret Easton
Ellis provides his scathing indictment
of consumerist culture through this
unreliable narrator who by day is a
Manhattan stockbroker and by night is a
vicious serial killer many people got on
the anti American Psycho bandwagon and
made quite a big names for themselves
people became famous people that radio
per shows because if we’re protesting
the book so so uh someone’s with gory
imagery disturbing language and violence
against both sexes American Psycho was
controversial to the point where its
sale was limited in some countries
however many critics enthusiastically
support the novel hate that job anyway
see if I should stop quit because I want
to fit in in fact Patrick Bateman story
proved so timeless it was adapted into
both a film and a musical the thing that
I do resent about it however I do resent
that the fact that it is the book that I
shall forever be connected with I will
never be able to write a book that will
have that kind of impact number 9 the
haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson this is so twisted
seriously twisted most people would
ignore an invitation to spend a summer
in a haunted mansion but our
protagonists jumped at the chance
in Jackson’s the haunting of Hill House
we follow a paranormal investigator and
his small group of companions as they
lock themselves up in the eponymous
mansion as simple as that sounds
and as restrained as the horrors are in
these pages no haunted house story has
ever chilled readers to the bone quite
like this Oh what with the real haunting
happening mostly behind closed doors the
terror our characters feel losses off
the page just like the blood left on the
walls of Hill House no one must go in
that house again what Evers them I’ll be
all right the house has what it wants
for a while number seven The Shining
Stephen King here’s Johnny one of
Stephen King’s earliest successes but
sadly overlooked today due to the
popularity of the Stanley Kubrick
adaptation with which King himself was
not impressed
for instance in Kubrick’s movie the
Overlook Hotel freezes and in Stephen
King’s book the Overlook Hotel burns but
that was the difference in temperament
he was cold and I was warm the shining
represents the birth of modern horror
literature and established King as an
icon in the genre
and
blending a classic horror setting in
this case an immense isolated hotel with
the modern terrors of abuse alcoholism
parental neglect and insanity King
weaves a tale far more complex and
disturbing than anything Kubrick ever
put on screen
although the ghosts take a back seat in
this one don’t let that fool you into
thinking it’s safe to turn the page or
to roam the Overlook on your own why do
you have a copy of The Shining in your
freezer
oh I’ve reading it last night and I got
scared but you’re safe from it if it’s
in the freezer
well safer number six Hell House Richard
Matheson hideous we’re not even inside
yet miss Donna although his earlier
novel I am Legend has gained more
popularity and helped create the modern
zombie and the idea of a zombie
apocalypse
Matheson’s Hell House takes the prize
for terrifying imagery similar to
Shirley Jackson’s Hill House the action
is confined mainly to a haunted mansion
where a group of mediums and
parapsychology enthusiasts tries to
discover whether there is a great beyond
and whether death truly is the end leave
a sample in the jaw please
they decide to do this by visiting the
appropriately nicknamed Hell house where
everything goes wrong as the evil forces
of the house start influencing the
guests in extremely horrible ways drug
addiction alcoholism sadism bestiality
mutilation murder vampirism necrophilia
cannibalism not to mention a gamut of
sexual goodies bitch shall I go on
no spoilers here she tricked me number 5
The Exorcist William Peter Blatty not a
psychiatrist needs a priest she’s
already seen every fucking psychiatrist
in the world and they sent me to you now
you’re gonna send me back to them it’s
too bad that what’s considered one of
the scariest movies of all time was
derived from relatively unknown and
overshadowed source material following
Jesuit priest father Merrin from Iraq to
Georgetown as he tries to rid poor Regan
MacNeil of the evil demonic presence
inside her what is it based on a
real-life possession the novel takes
time explaining the surroundings and
circumstances of Reagan’s unforeseen
possession by the sign of the Holy Cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and
reigns with a father and the Holy Spirit
Davian most people wouldn’t believe that
the book could be asked terrifying as
the movie but those who know blad ease
novel need courage if they decide to
pick it up a second time the power of
prey
you that the power of Christ compels you
the power of Christ compels you
the power of Christ compels you number
four the Silence of the Lambs Thomas
Harris dr. Lecter my name is Clarice
Starling that speak with you although
the first novel in the series red dragon
introduced the world to dr. Hannibal the
cannibal Lecter The Silence of the Lambs
shot Lecter and Thomas Harris to
worldwide superstardom helped of course
by Jonathan Demi’s 1991 film adaptation
it rubs the lotion on its skin or else
it gets the hose again readers were
shocked when they picked up what seemed
like a detective thriller and ended up
squirming in their seats looking over
their shoulders and questioning what’s
in their stake
initially a minor character Lecter was
so popular that Harris decided to write
about no one else assuring in a trend of
dark horrific detective procedurals and
suspenseful thrillers at the lamb stop
screaming
Catalan number three
Dracula Bram Stoker welcome I hope it’s
freely of your own will and leave some
of the happiness you bring an urban
legend come to life an allegory for
diseased and lustful danger leaving the
old country and entering today’s modern
cities Dracula is true horror put into a
narrative vampirism although not a new
concept had never been so eloquently and
disturbingly personified and in fact the
author is credited with pioneering the
modern idea of the vampire
Oh
bram stoker was no stranger to morbid
and gothic settings but this count
became the face of evil for generations
to come
that you know what sweet music thuggery
this was no fairy tale the blending of a
realistic setting and supernatural
elements is something audiences were not
prepared for number two Frankenstein or
the modern prometheus Mary Shelley we’re
on the verge of undreamt of discoveries
if we only have the courage to ask the
right questions that you must help me
here’s another famous 19th century
creature that took over film stage and
radio in the 20th century get away with
a cold but unlike his counterpart Count
Dracula Frankenstein’s monster has been
ironically misunderstood and
misrepresented for generations I
abandoned my other research as many
years ago
why because they’ve resulted in
abomination the source material follows
the insane dr. Frankenstein who
successfully reanimates a corpse
they love God I know what it feels like
to be gone steeped in romantic themes
and scientific intrigue Mary Shelley’s
horror novel remains relevant even two
centuries after its initial publication
the question of scientific intervention
and whether or not humans should be
messing with nature are perhaps even
more significant in the 21st century you
gave me these motion but you didn’t tell
me how to use before we crack the spine
on our top pick here are some honorable
mentions
he tells you what of all the world of
the below the women the whole world he
tells you here anguish things cuz he
want you to be the mother of his only
living son when the knife pierced the
heart of the portrait an extraordinary
thing happened I can hear it from the
one of you or I can hear it from the
other you just think about number one it
Stephen King aren’t you gonna say hello
oh come on Paco don’t you lose to some
this is the king of whores epic
masterpiece an immense novel whose theme
is fear itself
although Stephen King has given us
nightmares for decades and many of his
works almost made the cut such as Pet
Sematary there is something about
Pennywise the clown a creature that uses
the fears of its victims against them
that will never let you go but it was
the killer and we stopped we thought we
did in a decade saturated with terrible
over-the-top horror films Kings stripped
horror down to its basics and turned a
brick of a complex narrative into the
best-selling book of the year
you lose your little mind and my dead
do you agree with our list which books
gave you nightmares
how do you like it for more chilling top
10s published every day be sure to
subscribe to watchmojo.com you fly back
to school now a little starting
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