It’s difficult to imagine a book to be terrifying, but the great horror novels have the ability to make you sleep with the light on. A great horror novel is difficult to read, while at the same time being difficult to put down. These books have been written by some of the greatest authors of all time and they are a great representative of the greatest horror books of all time.
Best Horror Books
1. Misery – Stephen King
When you start to read Misery, you’ll be hooked from the very first page. This is a book that will haunt yours days and nights long after you’ve finished it.
2. Red Dragon – Thomas Harris
This novel by Thomas Harris is the best of the “Hannibal” books. Will Graham is a profiler who is brought on the case of the Tooth Fairy, a serial murderer killing entire families. This book lets you into the head of the killer, giving the book a deeper and more frightening edge.
3. In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
On November 15th 1959, in Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were dragged from their beds in the early hours of the morning and tied up. All four were shot in the head with a shotgun at close range. Truman Capote, traveled to Holcomb in late 1959 to investigate the killings for an article which then turned into this terrifyingly chilling book.
4. Johnny Got His Gun – Dalton Trumbo
Johnny tells the story of Joe Bonham, an American soldier who is horrifically wounded in World War I. The book is told from Joe’s perspective as he struggles to understand and cope with his situation. His mind wanders back and forth between his past and present, including his war experiences and his immediate condition.
5. Flowers in the Attic – V.C. Andrews
This book is a bizarre horror story about maturing physically as a teenager and yet being powerless before adult authority. It is a shockingly true book, a great example of greed and selfishness.
6. Intensity – Dean Koontz
This is a horror novel which is set within a 24 hour time span, revolving around one character as she battles one of the most insidious and psychotic villains in literature.
7. Haunted – Chuck Palahniuk
This book is a collection of short stories, written by characters who are on a writer’s retreat. They all responded to an ad to “give up three months of your life and create the masterpiece you have always said you would”. When they show up, they’re locked into an old ornate theater house. They have food, shelter, and facilities, yet all the doors are locked, all the windows bricked over and there is no way out.
