Here you will get acquainted with the 10 best horror books of all time that you should definitely read.
Sometimes people want to do something unique. For this, they often go to scary places, mountains, or forests where they see something extraordinary. Sometimes it is interesting, sometimes, it is scary and sometimes it is captivating.
If we talk about ‘Horror’, what does it mean? Horror is pleasurable to many people because it lets us play with negative emotions and develop coping strategies.
In this article, we have discussed the best horror books of all time that you should read for experience without going to those places.
So, Let’s start-
List of Top 10 Horror Books
- Beloved
- The Whisper Man: A Novel
- Hell House
- Pretty Girls
- The Bloody Chamber
- Devoted
- The Haunting of Hill House
- Pet Sematary
- The Exorcist
- All the Missing Girls
1.Beloved
| Author | Toni Morrison |
| Publication | September 1987 |
| Rating | 4.5 out of 5 |
About-
It is one of the best horror books of all time. Basically, it is a novel under magical realism and historical fiction.
Sethe is the protagonist of this story. She lived with Denver, her daughter, baby Suggs, and her mother-in-law in a sweet home working as a slave.
Seth murdered her eldest daughter in an attempt to save her from being taken back into slavery. After her daughter’s death, they remained in the house alone.
Her daughter’s ghost continuously haunted them. They felt regret so much for her deeds that were done in the past.
2.The Whisper Man: A Novel
| Author | Alex North |
| Publication | June 13, 2019 |
| Rating | 4.4 out of 5 |
About-
Generally, it is filled with suspense, psychological fiction, police procedural, mystery, and also thriller story. This scary book is Brilliantly written with so many twists and turns.
The characters were believable and interesting and frightening which is very engaging from the perspective of readers.
Tom Kennedy, the protagonist of this story decided to move to another place to live after the death of his wife with his son Jake. They moved into a village called Featherbank.
Featherbank has a mysterious past where a serial killer kidnapped and murdered five young boys. Those young boys’ ghosts wondered that places and sacred people.
3.Hell House
| Author | Richard Matheson, |
| Publication | 1971 |
| Rating | out of 5 |
About-
This scary book is a novel under horror fiction. The characters are well-drawn out, and their interaction is both central to the plot but also well written, well thought out and the story is so mysterious.
The novel combines supernatural horror with mystery as the researchers attempt to investigate the haunting of the house while their purity of hearts is undermined by its terrible supernatural influence.
4.Pretty Girls
| Author | Karin Slaughter |
| Publication | 2015 |
| Rating | 4.2 out of 5 |
About-
The book Pretty Girls is considered one of the best horror novels of all time. This novel is filled with mystery, suspense, and thriller stories.
This story described how the Carroll family’s strong bond was torn apart by kidnap, rape, murder. When one of their family members goes missing it creates a painful memory for their family and the story automatically fills with pain, curiosity, and courage.
5.The Bloody Chamber
| Author | Angela Carter |
| Publication | 1979 |
| Rating | out of 5 |
About-
The genres of this scary book are novel, horror fiction, and also magical realism. It is the story of a teenage girl and a talented pianist who marries an older French Marquis who was barbarian by nature. He used to marry a young girl for sexual acts and later he used to left them.
She does not be interested in Marquis. Once Marquis goes to America for business purpose and leave her alone in his house. There is a private room in the house that Marquis had forbidden her from entering but when she enters that room she finds a collection of dead bodies of the girls whom he murdered after completing his sexual actions.
6.Devoted
| Author | Dean Koontz |
| Publication | March 31, 2020 |
| Rating | 4.5 out of 5 |
About-
This is counted as one of the top horror books of all time. It is basically based on mystery, thriller, fantasy, and also paranormal fiction.
Mr. Koontz has drawn every character so beautifully that it seemed to be real. In this story, the author describes how a good man ultimately conquers evil.
No matter how much he was suffered but he defeats the evil by his purity and trust in himself.
7.The Haunting of Hill House
| Author | Shirley Jackson |
| Publication | 1959 |
| Rating | 4.3 out of 5 |
About-
This scariest book is under gothic fiction and psychological horror. It is a good book for scary readers.
In this story, there are 4 people who are decided to go to a house named Hill House where all villagers avoid going. The main purpose of their visits to the hill house is that they wanted to observe the paranormal phenomena.
8.Pet Sematary
| Author | Stephen King |
| Publication | November 14, 1983 |
| Rating | 4.7 out of 5 |
About-
This spooky book is all about the thriller, mystery, and also supernatural story saga. King himself considers this book the most frightening he has ever written.
The story starts when a family loses their loved cat to a busy road that gets run over by a truck. The local children made a pet ‘Sematary where the protagonist buries the family cat there while his wife and children are away.
Which problems will he face in the coming days? The author described it in a very insightful manner.
The author commented on the book stating that it is the best horror book for teenagers.
9.The Exorcist
| Author | William Peter Blatty |
| Publication | 1971 |
| Rating | 4.6 out of 5 |
About-
The spooky book ‘The Exorcist’ is filled with thrillers, mystery, and also a supernatural saga.
It is the story of a young girl named Regan MacNeil. She lived with her mother Chris MacNeil and an elderly Swiss couple named Willie and Karl who were her housekeepers.
Once her mother saw her talking to an invisible friend named Captain Howdy. Seeing it Chris found herself that she was feared for her daughter’s behavior.
Chris took the help of the father of the church and she told everything about her daughter. Then father told her that there was a supernatural power who hypnotized her daughter.
10.All the Missing Girls
| Author | Megan Miranda |
| Publication | June 18, 2016 |
| Rating | 4.2 out of 5 |
About-
The genres of this greatest horror book are novel, mystery, thriller, suspense, and also fiction.
It tells the story of Nic Farrell who is the protagonist of this story. She lives in Philadelphia with her fiancé, Everett. Once she received a call from her brother and her brother told her that their father was ill and she should come home and take care of their father.
When she came home she was forced to think about old memories. How did she leave home, How did her mother die? How did her best friend disappear? All these things hearted her most.
Conclusion
These are the best horror books of all time that have unique stories. Every story has its own tone. The authors did their best in creating such types of stories. Let me know in the comment box what books you are going to read.
Hope you read it.
Thank you.
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