I have a tradition of reading a classic horror novel every October and I'm running out of ideas. All the lists I've tried to look at online tend to either be Stephen King heavy or consist of books I've already read. I am interested in branching out of North American & Western European authors. I am only able to read in English.
To give you an idea of what I'm looking for I have already read the following:
Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Phantom of the Opera, Turn of the Screw, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, all of Edgar A. Poe, tried H.P. Lovecraft. I just started Carmilla.
by Lhosseth
5 Comments
While they aren’t quite considered “horror,” given some of the books you’ve mentioned, I’d also suggest certain classics from the mystery or adventure genre. _The Hound of the Baskervilles_ comes to mind. Also _The Count of Monte Cristo_.
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
i liked it more than Frankenstein
The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore from 1933
In a work that strives to do for werewolves what Stoker’s Dracula did for vampires, Endore’s werewolf, an outcast named Bertrand Caillet, travels round seeking to calm the beast within. An episodic tale, the story wanders through 19th Century France and into hotspots like the Franco-Prussian war. Stunning in its sexual frankness and eerie, fog-enshrouded visions, this novel was decidedly influential for the generations of horror and science fiction authors who came after.
*The Haunting of Hill House* by Shirley Jackson. More recent than the books you mentioned, but definitely in the horror classic canon- basically the prototype on which haunted house books and movies are modeled. Edit- I would also add *We Have Always Lived in the Castle,* which I loved even more.
*The Invisible Man* by H.G. Wells, and also *The War of the Worlds,* which is sci fi but personally I think it could stand as a horror classic as well, as it’s very creepy. Also, how could I almost forget *The Island of Dr. Moreau?*
I’ll also add *Rebecca* by Daphne du Maurier- less overt horror like Frankenstein and Dracula, not supernatural or bloody, but just creepy and dark.
I can recommend a few more internationally diverse books, but they’re all recent; no classics I’m aware of.
Blood in the Frontier: When the Dark Comes for You by Johnathan Miller is a classic western horror. I believe it’s a 5-star rated best seller in the western and horror genres.