The Ultimate Classic Horror Must Read List

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

I think it's clear when we read vintage writing how antiquated in their ideas and bigoted society was. Even with the mindset that this was the way of things back then, it can still be offensive to read of blatant racism, sexism, and bigotry in older works.

[Deanne]

Bought a collection of stories by M.R.James, and I have a week off work.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

Love MR James, Deanne. Haven't read a bad one by him yet. Enjoy!

[Jon Recluse]

I'm a huge M.R. James fan.

[Katie]

Leah wrote: "Martha,

I couldn't agree more! In fact, I couldn't put it down and read it straight through. Unfortunately, that meant I was up reading all night, by myself, with my house's darkness peeking under..."

If you like Shirley Jackson, I highly recommend
Just an Ordinary Day: The Uncollected Stories Of Shirley Jackson, and if you're a huge fan, and interested in where her writing came from, and her intense life read:Private Demons: The Life of Shirley Jackson. Her biography is incredibly interesting.
I've read all of her work. I wish I had known her. She was a powerhouse, really funny, wonderfully creepy, and like a lot of brilliant artists, and *regular* people: off her nut at times.

[Leah]

Katie wrote: "Leah wrote: "Martha,

I couldn't agree more! In fact, I couldn't put it down and read it straight through. Unfortunately, that meant I was up reading all night, by myself, with my house's darkness ..."

Thank you, Katie! I've added those to my wishlist. Would you also recommend / have you read Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons? They both sound funny and interesting.

[Cathy]

I just love both of those books -- but don't expect The Haunting of Hill House! They're like a more intellectual take on Erma Bombeck's territory, very well-written and funny and full of "how times have changed" moments -- like Jackson lighting up a cigarette on her way to the hospital in early labor, or her driving around the countryside with her four-year-old daughter standing on her head in the back seat.

[Leah]

Cathy wrote: "I just love both of those books -- but don't expect The Haunting of Hill House! They're like a more intellectual take on Erma Bombeck's territory, very well-written and funny and full of "how times..."

Cathy, that's what I was hoping for (from those two), actually. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[Sandy]

Hi, all. I'm a newbie to this group, and happy to find others who are into classic horror lit from the period pre-1960. I would like to add to this list "The Edge of Running Water" by William Sloane
, which I read a number of years ago but have never forgotten. A terrific piece of horror from this almost-forgotten author....

[Ben]

Sandy wrote: "Hi, all. I'm a newbie to this group, and happy to find others who are into classic horror lit from the period pre-1960. I would like to add to this list "The Edge of Running Water" by William Sloan..."

William Sloane's two novels are both high quality. The one you mentioned probably slightly outdoes his first, , but they both should be read by more fans of vintage chills.

Also, I nominate for this ongoing list. A weird classic from 1951 that's short, beautifully written, and very unsettling.

[Sandy]

Sounds good, Ben. I have fond memories of Sarban's "The Sound of His Horn"....

[Martha]

I've had The Edge of Running Water on my to-read list for a long time. Sounds really good, time to bump it up my list!

[Ellie]

This is an excellent list and I'm definitely going to try it out. I'm also going to add The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole and Witch Wood by John Buchan. The list could go on on on!

[Ellie]

This is an excellent list and I'm definitely going to try it out. I'm also going to add The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole and Witch Wood by John Buchan. The list could go on on on!

[Ellie]

Oooooh and The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen!

[Ellie]

Oooooh and The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen!

[David]

There are some really great books mentioned in this thread.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

Ellie wrote: "Oooooh and The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen!"

We read this as a group and that's quite a story. Wonderful atmosphere.

[Lamprini]

Danielle The Book Huntress (Self-Proclaimed Book Ninja) wrote: "The goal is to compile a list of classic horror must reads, and the intrepid can use this as a guide. Read them and cross them off their list.

I will create a master list based on your suggestions..."

PHLEGON OF TRALLES Book of Marvels : 117-138 AD Philinium/The Bride from Amphipolis

AUGUSTUS HARE( is accounted as a real vampire story1680/1690) :The Vampire of Croglin Hal l

PU SONGLING : publication date 1740. publication in English 1880. GEORGE SULIE : 1913 The Corpse The Blood Drinker (Strange stories from the Lodge of Leisures)

HEINRICH AUGUST OSSENFELDER : 1748 Der Vampir

ΒURGER’S German ballad : 1773 Lenore

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE : 1797 "The Bride of Corinth"

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE : 1797 Cristabel

JOHANN LUDWIG TIECK : 1800 Wake not the dead

ALEXANTRE DUMAS :1800 A visit to the theatre

IGNATZ FERDINAND ARNOLD : 1801 Der Vampyr

ROBERT SOUTHEY : 1801 Τhalaba the Destroyer

JOHN STAGG : 1810 The Vampyre

GEORGE GORDON (LORD BYRON) : 1813 The Giaour, June 17

E.T.A HOFFMAN :1814 Aurellia

GEORGE GORDON (LORD BYRON) : 1816 A Fragment of a Novel

J.W.POLIDORI : 1819 The Vampire

CYPRIEN BERARD : 1820 Lord Ruthven ou les Vampires

Anonymous, but falsely ascribed to Lord Byron. Taken from J. R. Plancke’s play of the same name, which in its turn was taken from Polypore’s The Vampire. Published by J. Charles of Mary Street, Dublin, c. : 1820 The Bride of the Isles
JOHN KEATS :1820 "La Belle Dame sans Marci"

CHARLES NOSIER : 1821 Smarra ou Les Demons de la nuit, 1820 Il Vampiro

ETIENNE-LEON de LAMOTHE-LANGON : 1825 La Vampire

E. CAROLINE GREY : 1828 The skeleton Count, or The vampire Mistress

THEOPHILE GAUTHIER : 1830 Clarimonde {La Morte Amoureuse}

HENRY THOMAS LIDDELL : 1833 The Vampire Bride

NIKOLAI GOGOL : 1835 Viy

ALEXEI TOLSTOY : 1840 The Curse of the Vourdalak

THOMAS PRESET PREST : 1845 Varney the Vampire or The feast of Blood

SMYTH UPTON : 1845 The Last of the Vampire

JAMES CLERK MAXWELL : 1845 The Vampyre

ALEXANTRE DUMAS : 1849 The pale faced lady,

ALEXANTRE DUMAS : 1851 Le Vampire

THEOPHILE GAUTHIER : 1852 Aria Marcella, souvenir de Pompeii

P. –A. PONSON DU TERRAIL (adapted by BRIAN STABLEFORD) : 1853 la Baronet Trespasser

PAUL FERAL (adapted by BRIAN STABLEFORD ) : 1856 The Vampire Countess

CHARLES BAUDELAIRE : 1857 The Fountain of Blood, The Vampire, Metamorphoses of the Vampire

{ANONYMOUS } : 1860 The Mysterious Stranger

MARY ELIZABETH BRANDON :1860 The cold embrace

PAUL FEVAL : 1860 Nightshade, ( The Vampire Brothers )

IVAN TURGENEV : 1861 Phantoms

ΑRΙSTOTELIS VΑLΑORITIS : 1867 The Vrikolakas

WILLIAM GILBERT : 1867 The last lords of Gardonal

PAUL FEVAL : 1867 The Vampire City

JULES DORNAY ( stage play adapted by FRANK MORLOCK ) : 1868 Lord Ruthven Begins

MARY ELIZABETH BRANDON : 1869 Good Lady Ducayne

SERINTAN LE FANU : 1872 Carmilla

HENRIK JOHAN IBSEN : 1881 Vampires

OWEN MEREDITH (Robert lord Lytton) : 1882 The Vampire

JULIAN HAWTHORNE : 1883 The Grave of Ethelind Fionguala

JOHN KEATS :1884 Lamia, The raven

KARL HEINRICH ULRICH : 1884 Manor

VASILE ALECSANDRI : 1886 Vampire (Strigoiul)

ANN CRAWFORD : 1887 A mystery of the Campagna

ΕΜΙΛΥ GERARD : 1888 The Land Beyond the Forest

NISBET HUME : 1890 The Vampire Maid, The Old Portait

F.G.LORING : 1890 The Tomb of Sarah

RICHARD BURTON : 1893 Vikram and the Vampire

ERIC STENBOCK : 1894 The true story of a Vampire

GARETH P. JONES : 1895 The Pobratim, A Slav Novel

GEORGE MAC DONALD :1895 Lilith

MADISON JULIUS CAWEIN : 1896 The Vampire

BRAM STOKER : 1897 Dracula

H. B. MARRIOTT WATSON : 1899 The stone chamber

R. CAMPBELL THOMPSON : 1903 The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia {The Seven Demons of Sumerians }

C. BRYSON TAYLOR : 1904 In the dwellings of the wilderness

LUIGI CAPUANO : 1907 A Case of alleged Vampirism

FRANZ HARTMANN : 1909 An Authenticated Vampire Story

ALGERNON BLACKWOOD : 1910 The singular death of Morton

SCOTT’S “Minstrelsy of Scottish Border” ,volume 2nd : 1910 The Vampire Bride

Ε.F.BENSON : 1912 The Room in the Tower

F. MARION CRAWFORD : 1912 For the Blood Is the Life

ASKEW, ALICE, and CLAUDE ASKEW : 1914 Aylmer Vance and the Vampire

CONRAD AIKEN : 1914 The Vampire

JAN NERUDA : 1920 The Vampire

Ε.F.BENSON : 1920 Mrs. Amworth

VICTOR ROMAN : 1925 Four Wooden Stakes

EDITH WHARTON : 1925 Bewitched

DION FORTUNE{ pseudonym for VIOLET MARY FIRTH} : 1926 Blood-Lust

DERLETH AUGUST : 1926 Bat’ s Belfry

Mrs EVERIL WORRELL MURPHY : 1927 The Canal

SEABURY QUINN: 1927 The man who cast no shadow

BASSET MORGAN :1927 The wolf woman

CLARK ASHTON SMITH : 1930 The end of the story

SYDNEY HENRY HORLER : 1930 The Vampire

HORLER SYDNEY : 1930 The Believer

M.R.JAMES : 1931 An Episode of Cathedral History

KIRK MASHBURN : 1931 Placide’s wife

MARION BRANDON : 1931 The dark castle

ROBERT E. HOWARD : 1932 The horror from the mound

EDMOND HAMILTON (HUGH DAVIDSON): 1932 Vampire village, The Vampire Master

HUGH BARNETT CAVE : 1932 Stragella

CARL JACOBI : 1933 Revelations in Black

WALTER FITZWILLIAM STARKIE : 1933 The old man’ s story

RAYMOND WETSTONE : 1935 The thirsty dead

ARTHUR J. BURKS : 1935 Murder brides

EARL PEIRCE, Jr. : 1936 Doom of the house of Duryea

LLOYD ARTHUR ESHBACH : 1936 Isle of the Undead

CLARK ASHTON SMITH : 1937 The death of Ilalotha

HENRY KUTTNER : 1937 I, The Vampire

FREDERICK IGNATIUS COWLES : 1938 The Vampire of Kaldenstein

ROBERT BARBOUR JOHNSON: 1939 The silver coffin

LESTER DEL REY : 1939 Cross of fire

ROBERT BLOCH : 1939 The cloak

MANLY WADE WELLMAN : 1940 When it was Moonlight

MILLER P. SCHUYLER : 1941 Over the River

CLARK ASHTON SMITH : 1942 Rendezvous in Averoigne,

FRANK BELKNAPLONG and OTIS ADELBERT KLINE : 1943 Return of the undead

D.SCOTT.MONCRIEF: 1948 Schloss Wappenbourg

GREYE LA SPINA : 1949 The Antimacassar

[Lamprini]

oh god what a question.i will start from the very ancient begining.have a nice reading friends:

PHLEGON OF TRALLES Book of Marvels : 117-138 AD Philinium/The Bride from Amphipolis

AUGUSTUS HARE( is accounted as a real vampire story1680/1690) :The Vampire of Croglin Hal l

PU SONGLING : publication date 1740. publication in English 1880. GEORGE SULIE : 1913 The Corpse The Blood Drinker (Strange stories from the Lodge of Leisures)

HEINRICH AUGUST OSSENFELDER : 1748 Der Vampir

ΒURGER’S German ballad : 1773 Lenore

JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE : 1797 "The Bride of Corinth"

SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE : 1797 Cristabel

JOHANN LUDWIG TIECK : 1800 Wake not the dead

ALEXANTRE DUMAS :1800 A visit to the theatre

IGNATZ FERDINAND ARNOLD : 1801 Der Vampyr

ROBERT SOUTHEY : 1801 Τhalaba the Destroyer

JOHN STAGG : 1810 The Vampyre

GEORGE GORDON (LORD BYRON) : 1813 The Giaour, June 17

E.T.A HOFFMAN :1814 Aurellia

GEORGE GORDON (LORD BYRON) : 1816 A Fragment of a Novel

J.W.POLIDORI : 1819 The Vampire

CYPRIEN BERARD : 1820 Lord Ruthven ou les Vampires

Anonymous, but falsely ascribed to Lord Byron. Taken from J. R. Plancke’s play of the same name, which in its turn was taken from Polypore’s The Vampire. Published by J. Charles of Mary Street, Dublin, c. : 1820 The Bride of the Isles
JOHN KEATS :1820 "La Belle Dame sans Marci"

CHARLES NOSIER : 1821 Smarra ou Les Demons de la nuit, 1820 Il Vampiro

ETIENNE-LEON de LAMOTHE-LANGON : 1825 La Vampire

E. CAROLINE GREY : 1828 The skeleton Count, or The vampire Mistress

THEOPHILE GAUTHIER : 1830 Clarimonde {La Morte Amoureuse}

HENRY THOMAS LIDDELL : 1833 The Vampire Bride

NIKOLAI GOGOL : 1835 Viy

ALEXEI TOLSTOY : 1840 The Curse of the Vourdalak

THOMAS PRESET PREST : 1845 Varney the Vampire or The feast of Blood

SMYTH UPTON : 1845 The Last of the Vampire

JAMES CLERK MAXWELL : 1845 The Vampyre

ALEXANTRE DUMAS : 1849 The pale faced lady,

ALEXANTRE DUMAS : 1851 Le Vampire

THEOPHILE GAUTHIER : 1852 Aria Marcella, souvenir de Pompeii

P. –A. PONSON DU TERRAIL (adapted by BRIAN STABLEFORD) : 1853 la Baronet Trespasser

PAUL FERAL (adapted by BRIAN STABLEFORD ) : 1856 The Vampire Countess

CHARLES BAUDELAIRE : 1857 The Fountain of Blood, The Vampire, Metamorphoses of the Vampire

{ANONYMOUS } : 1860 The Mysterious Stranger

MARY ELIZABETH BRANDON :1860 The cold embrace

PAUL FEVAL : 1860 Nightshade, ( The Vampire Brothers )

IVAN TURGENEV : 1861 Phantoms

ΑRΙSTOTELIS VΑLΑORITIS : 1867 The Vrikolakas

WILLIAM GILBERT : 1867 The last lords of Gardonal

PAUL FEVAL : 1867 The Vampire City

JULES DORNAY ( stage play adapted by FRANK MORLOCK ) : 1868 Lord Ruthven Begins

MARY ELIZABETH BRANDON : 1869 Good Lady Ducayne

SERINTAN LE FANU : 1872 Carmilla

HENRIK JOHAN IBSEN : 1881 Vampires

OWEN MEREDITH (Robert lord Lytton) : 1882 The Vampire

JULIAN HAWTHORNE : 1883 The Grave of Ethelind Fionguala

JOHN KEATS :1884 Lamia, The raven

KARL HEINRICH ULRICH : 1884 Manor

VASILE ALECSANDRI : 1886 Vampire (Strigoiul)

ANN CRAWFORD : 1887 A mystery of the Campagna

ΕΜΙΛΥ GERARD : 1888 The Land Beyond the Forest

NISBET HUME : 1890 The Vampire Maid, The Old Portait

F.G.LORING : 1890 The Tomb of Sarah

RICHARD BURTON : 1893 Vikram and the Vampire

ERIC STENBOCK : 1894 The true story of a Vampire

GARETH P. JONES : 1895 The Pobratim, A Slav Novel

GEORGE MAC DONALD :1895 Lilith

MADISON JULIUS CAWEIN : 1896 The Vampire

BRAM STOKER : 1897 Dracula

H. B. MARRIOTT WATSON : 1899 The stone chamber

R. CAMPBELL THOMPSON : 1903 The Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia {The Seven Demons of Sumerians }

C. BRYSON TAYLOR : 1904 In the dwellings of the wilderness

LUIGI CAPUANO : 1907 A Case of alleged Vampirism

FRANZ HARTMANN : 1909 An Authenticated Vampire Story

ALGERNON BLACKWOOD : 1910 The singular death of Morton

SCOTT’S “Minstrelsy of Scottish Border” ,volume 2nd : 1910 The Vampire Bride

Ε.F.BENSON : 1912 The Room in the Tower

F. MARION CRAWFORD : 1912 For the Blood Is the Life

ASKEW, ALICE, and CLAUDE ASKEW : 1914 Aylmer Vance and the Vampire

CONRAD AIKEN : 1914 The Vampire

JAN NERUDA : 1920 The Vampire

Ε.F.BENSON : 1920 Mrs. Amworth

VICTOR ROMAN : 1925 Four Wooden Stakes

EDITH WHARTON : 1925 Bewitched

DION FORTUNE{ pseudonym for VIOLET MARY FIRTH} : 1926 Blood-Lust

DERLETH AUGUST : 1926 Bat’ s Belfry

Mrs EVERIL WORRELL MURPHY : 1927 The Canal

SEABURY QUINN: 1927 The man who cast no shadow

BASSET MORGAN :1927 The wolf woman

CLARK ASHTON SMITH : 1930 The end of the story

SYDNEY HENRY HORLER : 1930 The Vampire

HORLER SYDNEY : 1930 The Believer

M.R.JAMES : 1931 An Episode of Cathedral History

KIRK MASHBURN : 1931 Placide’s wife

MARION BRANDON : 1931 The dark castle

ROBERT E. HOWARD : 1932 The horror from the mound

EDMOND HAMILTON (HUGH DAVIDSON): 1932 Vampire village, The Vampire Master

HUGH BARNETT CAVE : 1932 Stragella

CARL JACOBI : 1933 Revelations in Black

WALTER FITZWILLIAM STARKIE : 1933 The old man’ s story

RAYMOND WETSTONE : 1935 The thirsty dead

ARTHUR J. BURKS : 1935 Murder brides

EARL PEIRCE, Jr. : 1936 Doom of the house of Duryea

LLOYD ARTHUR ESHBACH : 1936 Isle of the Undead

CLARK ASHTON SMITH : 1937 The death of Ilalotha

HENRY KUTTNER : 1937 I, The Vampire

FREDERICK IGNATIUS COWLES : 1938 The Vampire of Kaldenstein

ROBERT BARBOUR JOHNSON: 1939 The silver coffin

LESTER DEL REY : 1939 Cross of fire

ROBERT BLOCH : 1939 The cloak

MANLY WADE WELLMAN : 1940 When it was Moonlight

MILLER P. SCHUYLER : 1941 Over the River

CLARK ASHTON SMITH : 1942 Rendezvous in Averoigne,

FRANK BELKNAPLONG and OTIS ADELBERT KLINE : 1943 Return of the undead

D.SCOTT.MONCRIEF: 1948 Schloss Wappenbourg

GREYE LA SPINA : 1949 The Antimacassar

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

Thanks for all the contributions, Lamprini. I would not be able to add them to the list because of the maximum character limits, but here they are!

[Allan]

Did I miss Arthur Machen, especially The Great God Pan?

[Allan]

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier