The Best Horror Books of All Time TOP 5

The Best Horror Books of All Time

Horror books are a part of the literary world for years, but it looks like horror altogether its mediums has been on the upswing in recent times. Maybe people are realizing just how satisfying it's to settle into a scary story, feel the push of adrenaline, then close the book, close up the movie, or walk off from that haunted house at the top . to assist you on your own hair-raising journey, we’ve put together an inventory of the simplest horror books of all time. What was our criteria? The staffers here at all free books  House loved these books, and that we think they deserve an area on the list that’s just about it. you'd think with numerous picks, we might hit all of your favorites, but it seems that there are tons of excellent horror stories out there. So, we hope you discover a number of faves here, but that you simply also discover some new-to-you books to feature to your list. Now get reading for free!

1) At the Mountains of Madness  

by H.P. Lovecraft

It’s virtually impossible to debate modern horror without mention of H.P. Lovecraft. The brand of cosmic horror he created one premised on the inconsequentiality of man within the face of otherworldly beings of unimaginable power has influenced countless authors who follow in his considerable wake. At the Mountains of Madness is ground zero for much of the mythos Lovecraft created and centers around an arctic expedition gone horribly wrong after the invention of a lost extraterrestrial race referred to as Elder Things. Unfortunately, no discussion of Lovecraft should be had without acknowledging his particularly virulent xenophobia, racism, and adherence to racism .

2)The Exorcist

Novel by William Peter Blatty

Originally published in 1971, The Exorcist is now a serious television series on FOX. It remains one among the foremost controversial novels ever written and went on to become a literary phenomenon: It spent fifty-seven weeks on the ny Times bestseller list, seventeen consecutively at favorite . Inspired by a real story of a child’s demonic possession within the 1940s, William Peter Blatty created an iconic novel that focuses on Regan, the eleven-year-old daughter of a movie actress residing in Washington, D.C. alittle group of overwhelmed yet determined individuals must rescue Regan from her unspeakable fate, and therefore the drama that ensues is gripping and unfailingly terrifying.

Two years after its publication, The Exorcist was, of course, became a wildly popular movie , garnering ten Academy Award nominations. On opening day of the film, lines of the novel’s fans stretched around city blocks. In Chicago, frustrated moviegoers used a ram to realize entry through the double side doors of a theater. In Kansas City, police used tear gas to disperse an impatient crowd who tried to force their way into a cinema. The three major television networks carried footage of those events; CBS’s Walter Cronkite devoted almost ten minutes to the story. The Exorcist was, and is, quite just a completely unique and a film: it's a real landmark.

Purposefully raw and profane, The Exorcist still has the extraordinary ability to disturb readers and cause them to forget that it's “just a story.” Published here during this beautiful fortieth anniversary edition, it remains an unforgettable reading experience and can still shock and frighten a replacement generation of readers.

3) The Haunting of Hill House

Novel by Shirley Jackson

The greatest haunted house story ever written, the inspiration for a 10-part Netflix series directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Michiel Huisman, Carla Gugino, and Timothy Hutton

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as an ideal work of unnerving terror. it's the story of 4 seekers who reach a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar trying to find solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile girl well familiar with poltergeists; and Luke, the longer term heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill home is gathering its powers—and soon it'll choose one among them to form its own.

For quite seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature within the English-speaking world. With quite 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a worldwide bookshelf of the simplest works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to supply authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, also as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

4)Let the Right One In

Novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist

n 1981 Blackeberg, Stockholm, Oskar may be a 12-year-old boy who lives together with his mother, who is loving and with whom he initially seems to possess an in depth connection. His father, whom Oskar visits occasionally, is an  alcoholic living within the countryside. Because the boy is that the victim of merciless bullying, Oskar has gained morbid interests, which include crime and forensics, and he keeps a scrapbook crammed with newspaper articles about murders.

One day, he befriends Eli, a woman of about an equivalent age, who just moved in nearby . She lives with an older man named Håkan, a former teacher who was fired when caught in possession of kid pornography. She's revealed to be a vampire who was turned as a toddler and is therefore stuck forever during a young body and mind. Oskar and Eli develop an in depth relationship, and she or he helps him fight back against his tormentors. Throughout the book their relationship gradually becomes closer, and that they reveal more of themselves, including fragments of Eli's human life. Among the small print revealed is that Eli may be a boy named Elias who was castrated when she was became a vampire over 200 years ago. However, she dresses in female clothing and is perceived by outsiders as a lass .

Håkan serves Eli, whom he loves, by procuring blood from the living, fighting against his conscience and selecting victims whom he can physically trap, but who aren't too young. Eli gives him money for doing this, though Håkan makes it clear he would roll in the hay for nothing if she allowed them to be physically intimate. Håkan offers to travel out one last time under the condition that he spends an evening with Eli after she gets the blood, but with the caveat that he may only touch Eli.

Håkan's last plan to get blood fails and he's caught. Just before capture, however, he intentionally disfigures himself with acid in order that the police won't be ready to trace Eli through him. When Eli finds him within the hospital, Håkan offers his blood and is drunk dry while sitting on the window ledge, but a guard interrupts them and Eli fails to kill him. in order that he won't also find yourself becoming a vampire, Håkan throws himself out of the window to the bottom below. Despite this, he reanimates as a mindless vampire driven only by his desire for Eli. Håkan then relentlessly pursues Eli, managing to trap her during a basement before trying to rape her, but she fights him off and escapes. Later, the wounded Håkan is destroyed by Tommy who accidentally gets locked within the basement with him.

Meanwhile, Blackeberg local alcoholic Lacke suspects a toddler is liable for the murder of his ally , Jocke (whom Eli has killed for blood). Later, Lacke witnesses Eli attack on his sometime-girlfriend, Virginia. She attempts to drink her blood, but is fought off by Lacke. Virginia survives, but starts turning into a vampire. She doesn't realize her "infection" until she tries to prolong her life by drinking her own blood, and finds that exposure to the sun causes boils on her skin. Upon being hospitalized, Virginia realizes what she has became and kills herself in her bed by deliberately exposing herself to sunlight . Lacke, while attempting to avenge Virginia, is thwarted by Oskar and Eli.

Oskar eventually fights back and injures his tormentor, Jonny, that the boy's older brother Jimmy hunts down and attempts to harm Oskar in retaliation. Oskar further incurs their wrath when he sets fire to their desks, destroying a treasured photo album belonging to their father. They corner Oskar in the dark at the local swimming bath and plan to drown him. However, Eli rescues Oskar and decapitates the 2 brothers; together they flee the town with Eli's money and possessions.

5)The Silence of the Lambs

Novel by Thomas Harris

written by Thomas Harris, is that the second novel in his series about the psychopathic cannibal Hannibal Lector, a genius mastermind psychiatrist with  incredible powers of deduction. The novel centers around rookie G-man Clarice Starling and her attempts to prevent the sadistic serial murderer Cody , a madman who abducts overweight women and starves them before skinning them with the intent of wearing their skin.
Starling is shipped to hunt assistance from Lector, who is locked away during a heavily guarded mental hospital , for the murders he has committed. Lector offers to trade his criminal profiling skills in exchange for details about Starling's troubled childhood. within the meantime, information obtained from Buffalo Bill's most up-to-date victim suggests that he's increasing the frequency of his kills.The stakes are further raised when the daughter of a prominent senator is kidnapped. Under immense pressure from her commandant , Starling further delves into her unusual relationship with Lector and offers him a transfer from his current asylum to an establishment with more relaxed security if he provides her with truth identity of Cody .Lector uses the offer to his advantage and agrees as long as he's ready to personally present the knowledge to the senator. Once at their meeting, Lector toys with the senator before providing her with a alias that leads the FBI nowhere. Convinced that Lector knows the killer's true identity, Starling is forced to trade her worst lingering childhood memory, the screaming of lambs before their slaughter, for information that ultimately leads her to Cody .Shortly after, Lector murders his guards and escapes the asylum, leaving Starling to continue her investigation on her own. during a final confrontation, Starling is forced to kill Cody , but saves the senator's daughter and earns a promotion with the FBI. Lector writes to congratulate Starling and assures her that, while he will kill again, he won't pursue her