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50 Most Popular Horror Novels on Goodreads
-Clive Barker
Hear the scratching on the wall? Feel a chill run down your spine? The frightening thrills of our favorite horror novels have a way of reaching out from beyond the page—casting shadows, whispering in our ear, haunting us long after the story is done.
For Horror Week, Goodreads set out to reveal the most popular horror stories. To create our list, we focused on the books that have been added the most to Goodreads members' shelves.
From literal monsters to purely psychological terrors, these are tales of madness and pandemonium, retribution and absolution. Long heralded as the "Master of Horror," Stephen King reigns supreme, with five books on our list, but his son Joe Hill is not far behind, nabbing four spots. And along with classics from Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Kirkman's end-of-the-world comic, The Walking Dead, made the cut as well as an award-winning children's ghost story, The Graveyard Book, from Neil Gaiman.
And now we present the top horror books on Goodreads in alphabetical order. Proceed at your own risk—and then tell us how many you've read in the comments.
How many have you read? Tell us in the comments!
Comments Showing 1-50 of 756 (756 new)
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Oct 01, 2018 05:07AM
Where is Lovecraft?
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I have read 17 of the titles.BWAHAHAHA!!
I know a ton of these, but I've never read any of them. I have read The Raven in Edgar Allen Poe, though.
Disappointed that none of J. Sheridan Le Fanu's stories are here, considering he's cited as a major influence on modern horror stories, and suspense stories.
Flowers in the Attic is definitely not horror... O _ O
I've read 11 and there was another 10 that was already on my TBR. That number just went up. :-D
Read sixteen of them, a couple are on my to-read list, and one was abandoned. A couple I wouldn't consider horror: Jaws and The Historian
Michael McDowell missing. His influence on horror was remarkable, find him, read him!
I've read 23 and some of them more than once. I must be getting old!
I've read 3 and only 1 on my To Read list. Got some scary work to do. I have watched 11 as movies though.
I've read 13 and the rest are in my long-term TBR. None of the King books listed are in my TBR for this October aka KINGtober.
13. I just recently discovered how much I love horror, thanks to joining a "scary book" club, so I am passionate about reading more of it.
I've read 13 which is quite a few concidering that I do not read Hirror.
Morgan wrote: "Where is Lovecraft?"They don't like him on this site anymore because he doesn't meet their progressive ideals and isn't pure enough by today's standards of morality.
Warm Bodies and Coldest Girl will NOT be going on the list.Everything else is already read or on the list.
Goodreads should ask me about the top 50! LOL
I've only read 7, but quite a few are on my TBR.
17 and almost halfway thru World War Z...so that will make 18!Yay me!
11 read for me :) Added a couple to the tbr shelf:)
Dave wrote: "Morgan wrote: "Where is Lovecraft?"Lovecraft is right there next to Edgar Allan Poe
I've read 12 of those.
I have read only 14 of these horror classics. Still have quite a few to go. sigh
Morgan wrote: "Where is Lovecraft?"The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
DraculaMisery
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
I've read six, with a couple more on my tbr list. Horror isn't really my thing, so it has to be really good to make me want to read it.
I read Twelve plus some of the featured authors' other works
Dave wrote: "Morgan wrote: "Where is Lovecraft?"They don't like him on this site anymore because he doesn't meet their progressive ideals and isn't pure enough by today's standards of morality."
There's a Lovecraft book on the list, right next to Poe where you'd expect. Talk about the blind leading the blind...This is literally just the top 50 most popular horror books on the site, there's no editorializing here, it's just cold, hard data. Take your political rants somewhere else.
I can't believe Pet Sematary isn't on this list. It's so scary!
I have read very few of these, but I admire the list. I can't consider The Shining or Misery as horror though. That's just Stephen King being creepy and cruel to writers. I do adore both books though. The Call of Cthulhu isn't horror! At the most it's a brilliantly written creature thriller! Or maybe I just like Lovecraft.😊
Amazed I have read 16 of them, with 4 or 5 on the TBR pile
I've read 25 - yay!
Dave wrote: "Morgan wrote: "Where is Lovecraft?"They don't like him on this site anymore because he doesn't meet their progressive ideals and isn't pure enough by today's standards of morality."
He is there. Look again.
I've read 17 of these and 7 are on my TBR! Can't say all of this is horror though, but close enough haha
Have read 24 and have several waiting to be read.
I'm ashamed to say that the only one I've read doesn't really count as horror (The Historian). Where should I start?? What's your favorite on this list?
Morgan wrote: "Where is Lovecraft?"The Call of Cthulhu is 29th on the list. You must have missed it.
I've read 9 so far but I want to read ALL of them!
I've read 25, with most of the rest on my to-read list :)'Salem's Lot should definitely be on this list though!
Read 10, have seen 13 and added to my TBR list. I do read Something Wicked This Way Comes every October along with The Halloween Tree also by Bradbury.
