Faraday as our window on this era of social upheaval. Rather than her usual LGBTQ perspectives, Waters adopts the straight, male Dr. The Little Stranger is a very British ghost story set in the decaying Hundred’s Hall at the post-war end of ‘big houses’ and the gentry. It is a violent tragedy that can still stir the soul to pity two hundred years later. In truth, it’s the story of a neglected child and a cruel father. There are few revelations in all of horror that match Frankenstein’s reaction, “when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open,” or the monster’s chill promise that “I will be with you on your wedding night.” Of course, those who have not read the novel may think Frankenstein is about man versus monster. That’s true, but it doesn’t do to overlook the raw horror at work in the miscreation, malformation, and murderous loneliness of Frankenstein’s monster. Much is made of Frankenstein as the first modern work of science fiction. Even its origins have become iconic-the result of a ghost story competition between bored poets in the ‘year without a summer’ of 1816. Is there any more pivotal story in the English-speaking world than Frankenstein? The Iliad and Hamlet might make their claim, but neither of those are still read as often, or remain as readable, as Mary Shelley’s immortal novel. Here, then, is our ranking of the best horror novels of all time. But perhaps, in the end, that’s the secret of horror: it’s personal. Equally, some of these choices may cause horror fans’ eyes to wrinkle in confusion. Certain big names are missing because their greatest contributions are in short form, or because their books tread ground better travelled by others. You will see some unexpected inclusions in this list, and some surprising absences. Short horror fiction has a parallel but distinct history that would require a survey all of its own. It’s worth noting that we have confined our choices to novels.
We have, however, tried to celebrate the breadth of horror-to highlight those books that establish something about the genre or push it forward into new realms. With such a weight of contention, any attempt at a list of ‘best’ horror novels is doomed to disagreement. It was an era dominated by brand-name authors, with epic sales and matching page-lengths. Contemporary readers may look no further than the horror ‘boom’ of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. Jekyll–these figures emerged from a culture in crisis, when twin anxieties about masculinity and modernity birthed urban nightmares. Others locate the genre’s origins in a slate of late-Victorian novels and their roster of horror icons. Scholars trace the legacy of literary horror back to the British Gothic fictions of the eighteenth century, when castles were haunted, monks were evil, and anywhere beyond the edges of Protestant England was tinged sinister. This is before we even attempt a historical context. For others it hinges on atmosphere and tone. Definitions abound.įor some, horror is a genre founded on trope and convention: a checklist of blighted houses and monstrous secrets, men in masks and women in white nightgowns.
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