The 50 Scariest Books Of All Time

IT by Stephen King Piercing by Ryu Murakami The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty Ghost Story by Peter Straub American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis Hell House by Richard Matheson Dracula by Bram Stoker The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood The Best of H. P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft The Turn of the Screw by Henry James House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson The Trial by Franz Kafka Books of Blood by Clive Barker Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons The Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe Dawn by Octavia Butler We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks The Cipher by Kathe Koja Lord of the Flies by William Golding The Ruins by Scott Smith Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James Naomi’s Room by Jonathan Aycliffe The Ritual by Adam Nevill Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo Incarnate by Ramsey Campbell The Woman in Black by Susan Hill The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz The October Country by Ray Bradbury White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison The Collector by John Fowles The Store by Bentley Little Penpal by Dathan Auerbach In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon The Wolfen by Whitley Strieber The Hot Zone by Richard Preston The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson 1984 by George Orwell

I am utterly shocked at how little I have read this year. For someone who usually reads three books a week, I’ve plummeted to a mere 11... for the entire year. I actually feel a bit sick. I’m a disgrace.

I discovered Flavorwire’s list of the fifty scariest books and since I’m an absolute fool for lists (particularly literature and cinema related), and because I traditionally devote the entire month of October to books that keep you awake at night; this list has reignited my passion for reading.

I’ve listed each of the fifty books Flavorwire thinks you should read, striking out the ones I’ve already read, and highlighting the ones I really want to read as soon as possible. I’ve already picked up a copy of Clive Barker’s Book of Blood and read through Dathan Auerbach’s Penpal and Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.