Staff Picks
#BroaderBookshelf 2022 - Classic Horror
- Sara M.
- Thursday, January 06, 2022
Collection
If you want to understand where any genre is going, you have to understand where it's been. This list of classic horror novels (arbitrary cutoff: pre-Stephen King) includes a little bit of everything: psychological thrillers, sexy vampires, cosmic horror, haunted houses, and of course g-g-g-ghosts!
Learn more about the Broader Bookshelf challenge and see more lists here.
The Exorcist
Published in 2011
A young girl becomes possessed by the devil and causes several violent deaths before she can be cured.
Psycho
Published in 2010
Mary Crane believes she has found shelter from the storm when she checks into the Bates Motel, but the knife-wielding owner, Norman Bates, soon rips her piece of mind to shreds and the nightmare begins.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
Published in 1999
The Turn of the Screw, and Other Short Novels
And Other Short Novels
Published in 2007
A collection of short novels includes the title work, a chilling classic of psychological terror, as well as "Daisy Miller," "The Aspern Papers," "An International Episode," "The Altar of the Dead," and "The Beast of the Jungle."
Carmilla
Published in 2019
Isolated in a remote mansion in a central European forest, Laura longs for companionship until a carriage accident brings another young woman into her life: the secretive and sometimes erratic Carmilla. As Carmillas actions become more puzzling and volatile, Laura develops bizarre symptoms, and as her health goes into decline, Laura and her father discover something monstrous.
Rosemary's Baby
Published in 2010
Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor husband Guy move into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and mostly elderly residents. Neighbors Roman and Minnie Castavet soon come nosing around to welcome the Woodhouses to the building, and despite Rosemary's reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises that she keeps hearing, her husband takes a special shine to them. Shortly after Guy lands a plum Broadway role, Rosemary becomes pregnant, and the Castavets start taking a special interest in her welfare. As the sickened Rosemary becomes increasingly isolated, she begins to suspect that the Castavets' circle is not what it seems.
At the Mountains of Madness
The Definitive Edition
Published in 2005
The barren, windwept interior of the Antarctic plateau was lifeless--or so the expedition from Miskatonic University thought. Then they found the strange fossils of unheard-of creatures and the carved stones millions of year old and finally, the mind-blasting terror of the City of the Old Ones
The Great God Pan and Other Horror Stories
Published in 2018
Something pushed out from the body there on the floor, and stretched forth a slimy, wavering tentacle... Perhaps no figure better embodies the transition from the Gothic tradition to modern horror than Arthur Machen. In the final decade of the nineteenth century, the Welsh writer produced a seminal body of tales of occult horror, spiritual and physical corruption, and malignant survivals from the primeval past which horrified and scandalized-late-Victorian readers. Machen's 'weird fiction' has influenced generations of storytellers, from H. P. Lovecraft to Guillermo Del Toro-and it remains no less unsettling today. This new collection, which includes the complete novel The Three Impostors as well as such celebrated tales as The Great God Pan and The White People, constitutes the most comprehensive critical edition of Machen yet to appear. In addition to the core late-Victorian horror classics, a selection of lesser-known prose poems and later tales helps to present a fuller picture of the development of Machen's weird vision. The edition's introduction and notes contextualize the life and work of this foundational figure in the history of horror.
The Bad Seed
Published in 2015
"The bestselling inspiration for the chilling movie starring Patty McCormack and Nancy Kelly. What happens to ordinary families into whose midst a child serial killer is born? This spine-tingling tale investigates a mother's concerned suspicion surrounding several mysterious accidental deaths that all connect back to her eight-year-old daughter, Rhoda. Tremendously impacting the thriller genre, this masterpiece of suspense generated a whole crop of creepy kids, and it's as chilling, intelligent, and timely as ever before. Originally published in 1954, this National Book Award-nominated classic was adapted into film in 1956. With a new foreword. Vintage Movie Classics spotlights classic films that have stood the test of time, now rediscovered through the publication of the novels on which they were based."-- Provided by publisher.
I Am Legend
Published in 1995
"Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth ... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman, and child on Earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood"--Publisher's description, I am legend.
Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus
Published in 2020
The epic battle between man and monster reaches its greatest pitch in the famous story of Frankenstein. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor himself to the very brink. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship...and horror.
Dracula
Published in 2020
"Jonathan Harker is travelling to Castle Dracula to see the Transylvanian noble, Count Dracula. He is begged by locals not to go there, because on the eve of St. George's Day, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will come full sway. But business must be done, so Jonathan makes his way to the Castle - and then his nightmare begins. His beloved wife Meena and other lost souls have fallen under the Count's horrifying spell. Dracula must be destroyed."--Publisher's description.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Published in 1998
The author's classic novel about the Faust myth, in which a young dandy trades his soul for eternal youth.