With the horror genre’s consistent place in the pantheons of literature and other media, works of horror have striven to disturb and taunt their audiences from as early as the 18th century. Readers have always loved to be titillated and terrified, andclassic horror novelshave offered that opportunityfor centuries.Those who lovemodern horror authors, such as Stephen King, may be interested in exploring the earlier literary works that inspired and presaged modern horror, forming the foundation for what the fans of fright have come to crave.
Topics in the list below range fromhaunted houses, dead bodies, blood-soaked vampires, unholy creations, and otherworldly monsters. From as early asMary Shelley’sFrankenstein, published in 1818, to Ray Bradbury’s 1962 novelSomething Wicked This Way Comes, they have inspired countless retellings, as well as countlesshorror novel-to-movie adaptations. Still, the original novels feature creatures and questions that continue to be explored in today’s most haunting works.
10Carmilla (1872)
Written By Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Written in 1872 by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu,Carmillais one of the earliest works of fiction featuring a vampire.Carmillahas inspired multiple worldwide adaptations into film and TV and has been depicted in numerous plays; in 2022,Carmillaeven got its own Dark Horse comic book adaptation. Le Fanu’s story has also been credited as an inspiration for Bram Stoker’sDraculaand the influences on the latter novel are clear.
Carmillais today considered a classic work of Gothic fiction, but never fully got its due in its era even though it was published a full 25 years before Bram Stoker’sDracula.
For those interested in childhood relationships turned into horrific nighttime visits by a girl in a blood-soaked nightgown,Carmillamay be the novel for them. This story’s villain and title character is Carmilla, an archetype for the lesbian vampire figure, as she slowly preys on other females.The story is told from the perspective of an innocent teenage girl named Laura, who is visited at night by a beautiful guest and punctured in the breasts. Through strange circumstances and declining health, Laura begins to learn some odd things about her new friend Carmilla.
9Dracula (1897)
Written By Bram Stoker
Although not the first book on vampires,Dracula, written in 1897 by Bram Stoker, is the vampire benchmark.Dracula has been included in over 80 filmsand is undoubtedly the most distinguished of all vampires. Despite all the speculation over what historical figure may have inspired Dracula, all that is known is that Stoker chose the name “Dracula” because he thought it meant “Devil” in Romanian.
Draculaisan epistolary novel, meaning that it is a compilation of several fictional lettersauthored by different characters with diverse perspectives. The writing explores dark castles, Dracula’s Brides feeding on infants, illnesses caused by drained blood, vampiric curses, beheadings, and many mortal injuries.
One review ofDraculain 1897 mentions that it had an obsession with dark themes beyond the writings of Mary Shelley or Edgar Allan Poe. The mystery of Dracula and his aversion to all things holy creates a story that truly haunts its readers.
8Edgar Allan Poe: Collected Works (1827-1849)
Written By Edgar Allan Poe
No list of scary stories is complete without the inclusion of Edgar Allan Poe. One of horror’s cultural icons, Poe’s work has been adapted into numerous films, TV shows, and audio dramas. The most recent adaptation ofEdgar Allan Poe is Netflix’sThe Fall of the House of Usher, loosely based on several of his works.
Intensely interested in death and premature burial, many of Poe’s most disturbing writings succeed through their disturbing psychological effects.Poe specialized in short stories and became capable of frightening his readers with only 2,000 words.With titles such asThe Masque of the Red DeathandThe Raven, Poe was a master storyteller with over 60 short tales to his name, and among them are some of the greatest horrors ever composed.
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Most readers are familiar withThe RavenandThe Tell-Tale Heart, but Poe offers much more.The Premature Burialdeals with the fear of being buried alive.The Oval Portraitis about a man who obsessively paints his wife’s portrait until she dies of neglect. And,The Pit and the Pendulumwitnesses the mental state of a tortured prisoner.
7Frankenstein (1818)
Written By Mary Shelley
Frankensteinby Mary Shelley came into being when Shelley, Lord Byron, and a few other author friends decided to have a competition to write a ghost story. Frankenstein’s monster has becomeone of horror’s most dreadful cultural icons, being represented through several adaptations and known by all.
Frankenstein’s monster has become one of horror’s most dreadful cultural icons, being represented through several adaptations and known by all.
But, Frankenstein’s monster was not the green, square-headed beast people often envision. Frankenstein’s monster was a combination of dead body parts stretched too tight over repurposed muscles and veins.Frankensteintells the tale of chemist and scientist Victor Frankenstein.Victor discovers how to reanimate dead matter and applies this to the creation of a large humanoidcomposed of dead body parts and organs.
Terrified by the foulness of his creation, he flees the monster. The creature then wanders, hoping to find his place among ordinary people, only to discover that he frightens them. Frankenstein’s monster then swears revenge on his creator by planning to murder anyone Victor loves. A story exploring acceptance and purpose,Frankensteinexamines the horrors of playing God.
6The Haunting of Hill House (1959)
Written By Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill Houseby Shirley Jacksonis a classic 1959 gothic horror thatinspired the 1963 and 1999 film adaptations and the 2018 chilling Netflix miniseries.Jackson supposedly basedThe Haunting of Hill Houseon the experiences of paranormal researchers from the 19th century who investigated a haunted house.
Jackson was drawn to the researcher’s specific personalities when reading their studious findings. It’s rumored that Jackson’s husband (who read all her works) was too afraid to pick up this novel.The Haunting of Hill Housetakes place ina mansion with a history of horrific deaths, owned by one Dr. John Montague.
Montague, hoping to find proof of the paranormal, invites four individuals with experiences in the supernatural to stay in his home and record their findings. Throughout the story, readers are exposed to the unexplainable as they follow Eleanor and her companions on their stay in Hill House, finding that horror lies not in a building but in its inhabitants.
5The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896)
Written By H.G. Wells
The Island of Dr. Moreauby master science fiction writer H.G. Wells, the author of classics such asThe Invisible ManandThe War of the Worlds, was published in 1896. Even thoughThe Island of Dr. Moreauis considered a science fiction novel, its themes and discoveries push it far into the horrific. The character Monreau inThe Island of Dr. Moreauis a physiologist who experiments with vivisection (surgical investigations on living beings).
Morneau attempts to vivisect creatures with the hopes of transforming them into human beings. The story’s protagonist, Edward Prendick, finds himself trapped on Moreau’s lab-like island, endeavoring to evade the title character while befriending the island’s many created Beast Folk.Exploring painful experimentation, human relationships, and the concept of uplift(the elevation of one race into a more advanced version of itself),The Island of Dr. Moreau’s psychological impact is not for the squeamish.
4H.P. Lovecraft: Collected Works (1916-1936)
Written By Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Writer of some of theweirdest horror stories of all time, H.P. Lovecraft, has createdcreatures as terrifying as the infamous Cthulhu, the Deep Ones, and Azathoth.Lovecraft believed humanity was insignificant compared to the vastness of the cosmos and could be destroyed at any moment, and his short stories make readers believe it.
Lovecraft even has a genre of horror named after him: Lovecraftian Horror, which explores the unknown through cosmic themes and often features terrifying supernatural creatures. Lovecraft’s most notable work,The Call of Cthulhu, unveils a destructive Cthulhu (a huge anthropoid winged beast), a nightmare corpse city, and a cult of Cthulhu worshipers.
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With these ingredients, Lovecraft unfoldsa haunting tale that challenges humanity’s self-importance. The novellaThe Dunwich Horrorreveals an inhuman man, fathered by a monstrous being, and the destruction of a town. Lovecraft often takes the forbidden and occult and crafts worlds meant to bend the psyche of his readers.
3The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890)
Written By Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Grayis Oscar Wilde’s most disturbing and only full-length novel. Wilde was inspired to writeThe Picture of Dorian Graywhen he had his portrait painted and wished the image would age instead of himself.
In Wild’s take on body horror,The Picture of Dorian Grayaddresses the topics of art, beauty, and lust.
Wilde’s novel inspired many films, including the 1945 filmThe Picture of Dorian Gray, the 2009 filmDorian Graystarring Ben Barnes and Colin Firth, and Stuart Townsend’s Dorian Gray character inThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. In Wild’s take on body horror,The Picture of Dorian Grayaddresses the topics of art, beauty, and lust. In the story, Dorian Gray has his portrait painted and wishes it would age instead of him.
The wish is granted, andGray lives a life of cruel and hedonistic immorality, leading to the death and suffering of others. Dorian’s portrait absorbs the age and disfigurement that his cruelty should have inflicted on his person, as he remains flawlessly beautiful. As Dorian’s image becomes more and more disfigured, he questions who he has become and what he wants to be.
2Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962)
Written By Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked This Way Comesis a dark fantasy written by Ray Bradbury in 1962. Bradbury is best known for penningFahrenheit 451andThe Martian Chronicles. The titleSomething Wicked This Way Comesis a vague suggestion of what horrors may come, but the novel’s original title,Dark Carnival, is a little more telling of what the reader is getting themselves into.
Something Wicked This Way Comesgot its title from a Shakespeare line uttered by the witches inMacbeth, “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.”The carnival setting alone will strike fear in many readers’ hearts, but with men riding carousels backward and the presence of balloon-floating witches, even the surest reader will turn the pages squeamishly. One only needs to pick up this novel to experience what evils a dark carnival can hold.
1The Turn of the Screw (1898)
Written By Henry James
The Turn of the Screwis a novella written by Henry James in 1898. This novella uses ambiguity as its tool of horror andalso inspired several adaptations, including Netflix’s second Mike Flanagan horror entry,The Haunting of Bly Manorin 2020 (the first entry beingThe Haunting of Hill Housein 2018). nThe Turn of the Screw, a woman is hired as a governess to care for two young children living in Bly Manor.
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During her stay, the governess sees two anonymous individuals that no one else can spot. She eventually learns that the two people who cared for the children before her had died, and she suspects them to be the ghost-like forms she continues to see. A novella born to investigate the corruption of innocence,The Turn of the Screwdives into insanity and the supernatural.
