HDC Top 100 Horror Books

[Doc Faustus]

I suggested this soon after getting named HDC president, and although March is looking hectic, my schedule's gonna get worse before it gets better, so I might as well get on this quickly. HDC is not just a site for horror movies. This is not horror movies. com. This is horror.com, and the word means a lot of things. It's a concept that predates cinema. And horror predating cinema means drama, visual arts, poetry and fiction. It's been awhile since HDC has had one of these lists to get excited about and been awhile since HDC has truly been excited about horror fiction. So we're going to change that with a list of the Top 100 Works of Horror in Literature.
To start with, I'd like folks to post 10 books, plays, poems or books of poetry containing horror elements or influencing the genre. Plath's Ariel (the book, not the poem), Shakespeare's Macbeth, Joyce's Ulysses have as much horror to be found in them as Salem's Lot or American Psycho and should not be ignored just because they do not meet some arbitrary standard for the genre. Unlike real politicians, this HDC President is going to hear out your arguments in favor of works that you think might be controversial. Arguments against things are for later in the process. No eyerolls, no "Kafka isn't horror", "The Invisible Man isn't horror", "Haunting of Hill House isn't horror", "The Joy of Sex isn't horror" yet. I will assemble a panel for the purpose of cutting the list down to 100 when we have a substantial amount of entries. I'll start with ten:

1.) The Inferno- Dante Alighieri
2.) Macbeth- William Shakespeare
3.)Salem's Lot-Stephen King
4.) Ariel-Sylvia Plath
5.) Haunting of Hill House- Shirley Jackson
6.) Naked Lunch-William Burroughs
7.) Howl-Allen Ginsberg
8.) Ulysses-James Joyce
9.) Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque- Edgar Allan Poe
10.)Dracula- Bram Stoker

[nightmare_of _death]

Great idea Doc

Here's my list

It - Stephen King
Duncan's Diary: Birth of a Serial Killer - Christopher C. Payne
The Scary Stories Trilogy - Alvin Schwartz
The Raven - Edgar Allen Poe
Wait Until Dark(play) - Frederick Knott
Frankenstein - Mary Shelly
Re-Animator - H.P. Lovecraft
The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty
Relic - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris

[TheWickerFan]

I'm on it.:)

[neverending]

Give me a few days.

[newb]

now you're talking Mr. President.......great idea. :D

will throw some suggestions out soon

[ChronoGrl]

Geez - Admittedly I haven't read a whole lot of horror (sadly) - Will ruminate for a while and see what I come up with...

[Fearonsarms]

1.Imajica-Clive Barker
2.At The Mountains Of Madness (and other stories)-HP Lovecraft
3.The Pit And The Pendulum (or Tales Of Mystery And Imagination)-Edgar Allan Poe
4.Shadowlands-Peter Straub
5.The Vampire Lestadt-Anne Rice
6.The Turn Of The Screw-Henry James
7.War And Peace-Leo Tolstoy
8.Crime And Punishment-Fyodor Dostoevsky
9.The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath
10.Weaveworld-Clive Barker

[The Flayed One]

Here's a few:

The Collector - John Fowles
The Monster at the End of This Book - Jon Stone
The Gashlycrumb Tinies - Edward Gorey
What Was I Scared Of? - Theodore Seuss Geisel
For the Love of Evil - Piers Anthony
Der Struwwelpeter - Heinrich Hoffmann

[Elvis_Christ]

I'll need a bit of time to think!

[TheWickerFan]

Extremely difficult to pick just ten, but here you go:

The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe
The Call Of Cthulhu - HP Lovecraft
The Haunting Of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
The Turn Of The Screw - Henry James
Dracula - Bram Stoker
The Picture Of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Oh Whistle And I'll Come To You My Lad - MR James
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
Salem's Lot - Stephen King

[BookZombie]

*Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
*The Vampyre by John Polidori
*The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
*The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
*The Firestarter by Stephen King
*The Stand by Stephen King
*Varney the Vampire by James Malcolm Rymer (Sometimes attributed to Thomas Preskett Prest)
*Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice
*The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
*Cell Stephen King

[Karl Kopfrkingl]

Ten's tough. Some great picks already and a couple more I've been meaning to get to. Not much eye-rolling yet although I assume Doc included Ulysses because it gave him nightmares in school. It sure gave me some sleepless nights. And I still wake up screaming thinking I'm back at chapter one again. Anyway, here's my ten of the moment.

The Island of Dr Moreau - Wells
Dracula - Stoker
Frankenstein - Shelly
Salem's Lot - King
The Mask of the Red Death - Poe
A Christmas Carol - Dickens
Rebecca - Du Maurier
Moonchild - Crowley
House of Seven Gables - Hawthorne
The Metamorphosis - Kafka

[Ferox13]

Outside of Lovecraft/Mr James ect I'm not a big Horror reader and most of these are short stories but I'll try do a top 10.

[Doc Faustus]

Ten's tough. Some great picks already and a couple more I've been meaning to get to. Not much eye-rolling yet although I assume Doc included Ulysses because it gave him nightmares in school. It sure gave me some sleepless nights. And I still wake up screaming thinking I'm back at chapter one again. Anyway, here's my ten of the moment.


Read the brothel sequence again. And I call a man in a long black coat presaging weird shit about to go down a horror element.

[Ferox13]

Ok in no particular order (and some are Collections/short stories/Novellas) and I bet I missed alot - I also limited one per Author:

1) A Clockwork Orange - Anthoney Burgess
2) Ghost Stories of an Antiquary - MR JAMES
3) The Shadow over Innsmouth - HP Lovecraft
4) Adrift on The Haunted Seas - William Hope Hodgson
5) The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
6) The Anno Dracula Series - Kim Newman
7) Draqcula - Bram Stoker
8) Masque of the Red Death - E.A Poe
9) Books of Blood series - Clive Barker
10) I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
11) Blood Meridian

[Doc Faustus]

Thanks to everyone thus far. I'm seeing some great stuff.

[BookZombie]

I thought we where supposed to mention things that where not already mentioned, if we can mention the same as others then off course both Dracula by Bram Stoker and Frankenstein by Mary Shelly have to be on my list, you can not have a list over the most influential horror books and not mention these two.

[Doc Faustus]

I thought we where supposed to mention things that where not already mentioned, if we can mention the same as others then off course both Dracula by Bram Stoker and Frankenstein by Mary Shelly have to be on my list, you can not have a list over the most influential horror books and not mention these two.

The more stuff the better. It's best to get a large sampling then reduce it to 100.

[neverending]

Trying to spotlight a few things not mentioned by others, as well as mention collections for short story writers.

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
Tales of Terror & Darkness - Algernon Blackwood
Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
H. P. Lovecraft: Tales (Library of America)
The Wolfen - Whitley Strieber
The Turn of the Screw - Henry James
The Other - Tom Tryon
Sheridan Le Fanu - Carmilla
The Hounds of Tindalos - Frank Belknap Long
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

[neverending]

I'll be the first to break the rule and list an 11th:

Moby Dick - Herman Melville

[Fearonsarms]

Ok 11th-The Wasp Factory-Iain Banks

[The Flayed One]

Adding some comic love.

The Preacher series - Garth Ennis
Batman: the Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb

[Angra]

"It" - Stephen King

"Summer of night" - Dan Simmons

"The witch herself" - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

[swiss tony]

At the Mountains of Madness and other Macabre Tales - Dagon and other Macabre Tales - Dunwich Horror and others - The Horror in the Museum and other Revisions - Must be the Arkham House corrected versions.

Bleak House - Charles Dickens

The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole

Jaws - Peter Benchley

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

The Collected Stories of Gogol - any publisher's collection (mine is Folio Society)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Washington Irving

The Devils of Loudon - Aldous Huxley

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

I know I've just picked all the heavy weight, genre defining works but they are my favourites, probably because they're the best. Anyway, it's a Top 100 list we're compiling, not a 'lets impress everyone with my knowledge of lesser known works' list.

[swiss tony]

Almost forgot... The Keep by F. Paul Wilson

[neverending]

Anyway, it's a Top 100 list we're compiling, not a 'lets impress everyone with my knowledge of lesser known works' list.


If we don't expand the list beyond the top 10 most popular books of horror, how are we ever to compile a top 100? As the Prez said in the first post, this is not the time to criticize people's choices, now is the time to brainstorm.

[Ferox13]

The Horror in the Museum and other Revisions.

My edition doesn't have The LOved Dead in it which is one of the weirdest Lovecraft Stories (collaborations) :(

[roshiq]

I've read very few horror books so far:o...but still I'll post a list here later though most of them already got mentioned.

[Ferox13]

Neverending - do you have any info on whether Lovecraft really worked on 'The Loved Dead' or it was all just C. M. Eddy?

[neverending]

Both of the Lovecraft biographies I have are in storage, and that story doesn't ring a bell...

[swiss tony]

If we don't expand the list beyond the top 10 most popular books of horror, how are we ever to compile a top 100? As the Prez said in the first post, this is not the time to criticize people's choices, now is the time to brainstorm.

You've misunderstood. I'm not criticisizing others selections (which have been wonderful thus far), I'm just stating the criteria I've set for myself. There's no point in offering Wayne Simmons' Flu, cause nobody will have read it and I know it's probably not one of the best 100 horror works of all time.

Anyway, I'll vote for...

Flu by Wayne Simmons (a local author; think Dickens writing Romero)

The Island of Dr Moreau, you know who it's by!

The Frankenstein Diaries, edited by Rev Hubert Venables

[neverending]

There's no point in offering Wayne Simmons' Flu, cause nobody will have read it and I know it's probably not one of the best 100 horror works of all time.

Anyway, I'll vote for...

Flu by Wayne Simmons (a local author; think Dickens writing Romero)


I actually own a copy of Flu, and have read it... it has some great atmosphere and local color.

[neverending]

I'm wondering if it might not be a more useful list if we try and come up with the top 100 horror writers, as opposed to single books. That way we could nominate people like Poe, Lovecraft & King for their bodies of work, and other writers for significant works...

What do you think, Prez!

[swiss tony]

My edition doesn't have The LOved Dead in it which is one of the weirdest Lovecraft Stories (collaborations) :(

Here's the one you need to get http://64.227.162.73/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=arkhamhouse&Product_Code=0-87054-040-8&Category_Code=001

The other HP Lovecrafts that I mention are on this site; it's the official Arkham House site. Many believe these are the definitive editions as the publisher was established by several of Lovecraft's inner circle concerned with keeping his work in circulation. They had first hand access to his manuscripts. He wasn't well known when he popped his clogs and they didn't want his work lost.

[swiss tony]

I actually own a copy of Flu, and have read it... it has some great atmosphere and local color.

Excellent! I picked up a signed copy at his book launch in Belfast. I chatted to him for a while and he talked about his love of classic horror and how he hated the dumbing down and 'gorification' of the genre recently. Anyway, glad you liked it.

[TheWickerFan]

I'm wondering if it might not be a more useful list if we try and come up with the top 100 horror writers, as opposed to single books. That way we could nominate people like Poe, Lovecraft & King for their bodies of work, and other writers for significant works...

What do you think, Prez!

I really like this idea. As everyone's picking collections of stories from writers like Poe and Lovecraft anyway (which I personally think is cheating:p) we probably should do this. Maybe write down favorites from each author as well, then you'd have a top 5 to work with in each author's profile.

[neverending]

Here's the one you need to get http://64.227.162.73/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=arkhamhouse&Product_Code=0-87054-040-8&Category_Code=001

The other HP Lovecrafts that I mention are on this site; it's the official Arkham House site. Many believe these are the definitive editions as the publisher was established by several of Lovecraft's inner circle concerned with keeping his work in circulation. They had first hand access to his manuscripts. He wasn't well known when he popped his clogs and they didn't want his work lost.

Opinions are divided. Some believe Derleth put a bit too much of himself in Arkham Houses editions, and that the volumes that Joshi edited and annotated are closer to the original Lovecraft.

This dichotomy is born out in the two different portrayals of Lovecraft presented in the respective biographies they each wrote.

[swiss tony]

Opinions are divided. Some believe Derleth put a bit too much of himself in Arkham Houses editions, and that the volumes that Joshi edited and annotated are closer to the original Lovecraft.

This dichotomy is born out in the two different portrayals of Lovecraft presented in the respective biographies they each wrote.

You're not the first person I've heard saying that. I know that Derleth can be a little self-promoting and some people say he completely ripped off HPL's style. I tried to track down a good used copy of Joshi's biography a while back but it was a fortune. Would you recommend it?

[swiss tony]

I really like this idea. As everyone's picking collections of stories from writers like Poe and Lovecraft anyway (which I personally think is cheating:p) we probably should do this. Maybe write down favorites from each author as well, then you'd have a top 5 to work with in each author's profile.

I second that! If we just go by book, there will be numerous entries for several writers ie. King, Poe, Lovecraft, Herbert etc. But then, it'll be hard to narrow down 100 authors, especially as some only ever write one or two works that can be defined as 'horror'.

Lovecraft wrote mostly novellas and short pieces for popular 'weird fiction' publications during his time. It's not practical to enter numerous short stories in a top 100 but then the top 100 wouldn't be complete without the Call of Cthulu. Perhaps we could cap it at five books/entries per author. Or one entry entitled 'The complete works of...'.

[neverending]

You're not the first person I've heard saying that. I know that Derleth can be a little self-promoting and some people say he completely ripped off HPL's style. I tried to track down a good used copy of Joshi's biography a while back but it was a fortune. Would you recommend it?

Joshi's biography is essential for a Lovecraft fan. The work is exhaustive. In the end, he offers a portrait of a man significantly different than the somewhat pathetic creature Derleth presents in his bio. Though there's no denying Lovecraft felt out of place in the time he lived, socially, he was well liked, had a wide circle of friends who respected and adored him, and he was well traveled.

[FreddyMyers]

Steven King: The Shining, Salems Lot
Richard Matheson: I Am Legend, Hell House, A Stir of Echeos
Shirley James: Haunting of Hill House, The Lottery
H.P. Lovecraft: The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Algernon Blackwood: The Wilows, The Wendigo, The Empty House
Henry James: Turn of the Screw
Peter Straub: Ghost Story
Joe Hill: Heart-Shaped Box

[Doc Faustus]

100 books is a lot easier to come up with than a hundred writers, and the list might therefore include some writers whose entire bodies of work are underdeveloped, not always possessing horror elements or insignificant save one piece. While I feel comfortable saying Heart of Darkness is very significant to the horror canon, I do not think I would be just as comfortable saying Joseph Conrad is one of the 100 greatest horror writers. While Bleak House might be of great joy to a horror fan, I would not recommend the entire Dickens catalog, lest some poor unfortunate pick up Great Expectations and miss out on the good stuff. For a varied and useful list, I think it might be simpler if we stick to books instead of writers.

[TheWickerFan]

I see what you mean. I still think picking a collection of stories is a questionable practice. It's equivalent to saying The Rolling Stones greatest album was their greatest hits collection.

[neverending]

100 books is a lot easier to come up with than a hundred writers, and the list might therefore include some writers whose entire bodies of work are underdeveloped, not always possessing horror elements or insignificant save one piece. While I feel comfortable saying Heart of Darkness is very significant to the horror canon, I do not think I would be just as comfortable saying Joseph Conrad is one of the 100 greatest horror writers. While Bleak House might be of great joy to a horror fan, I would not recommend the entire Dickens catalog, lest some poor unfortunate pick up Great Expectations and miss out on the good stuff. For a varied and useful list, I think it might be simpler if we stick to books instead of writers.

On the other hand, Poe never wrote a single "book." He's certainly one of the greatest horror writers, but how do you choose which anthology is the "best?" Same with Blackwood, Lovecraft and others.

I feel confidant there are 100 authors deserving of being on a list of writing great horror fiction, and whether they get on the list for writing one thing or 500, I think that could all be covered in the blurbs that go along with each author.

I think it's workable, but I'm not married to the idea.

[swiss tony]

Joshi's biography is essential for a Lovecraft fan. The work is exhaustive. In the end, he offers a portrait of a man significantly different than the somewhat pathetic creature Derleth presents in his bio. Though there's no denying Lovecraft felt out of place in the time he lived, socially, he was well liked, had a wide circle of friends who respected and adored him, and he was well traveled.

Sounds like the Joshi bio is the one to go for. Neither is particularly cheap (for a mint used copy) but I'll keep searching for both at the right price.

On the format for the top 100, I think sticking to books is the way to go. It'll make for a better catalogue for those looking for some recommended reading. And it's a very valid point, that 'top 100 authors' will exclude some great works of horror.

[neverending]

Top 100 authors would, de facto, include far more than 100 books.

[Doc Faustus]

On the other hand, Poe never wrote a single "book." He's certainly one of the greatest horror writers, but how do you choose which anthology is the "best?" Same with Blackwood, Lovecraft and others.

I feel confidant there are 100 authors deserving of being on a list of writing great horror fiction, and whether they get on the list for writing one thing or 500, I think that could all be covered in the blurbs that go along with each author.

I think it's workable, but I'm not married to the idea.

I can see your point here and might like to make the author list eventually, though it seems kind of similar to the icons list. I think we can treat novellas and some collected works as books. Technically, Poe did have a collection and a novel published. Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket.

[Doc Faustus]

I see what you mean. I still think picking a collection of stories is a questionable practice. It's equivalent to saying The Rolling Stones greatest album was their greatest hits collection.

This could also be judged on a case by case basis, biased in favor of novelettes, novellas and longer stories. At The Mountains of Madness and Shadow Over Innsmouth are both well over 10,000 words so are at the very least, novelettes, so could have their own entries.

[TheWickerFan]

I think I've misunderstood.:o If something like Poe's Tales Of The Grotesque was how the stories were originally published, then that's fair enough. It's just when someone picks something like The Complete Unannotated Works of someone and calling that one of the greatest books of all time that seems wrong.

[neverending]

Why?



................

[Doc Faustus]

Such a thing is different from a Rolling Stones greatest hits album because you can track down Let it Bleed and recommend someone listen to it. They could acquire it with ease for about 12 bucks. You would not honestly want somebody to track down the works of Algernon Blackwood where they originally appeared or to purchase issues of Weird Tales at auction. The purpose of the list is to inform and help out horror fans, and telling them to try and track down 30s pulp magazines and musty tomes would not be especially helpful.

[swiss tony]

I'm going to lobby for an inclusion of The Book of Wonder, or, for that matter, any Lord Dunsany work that you deem fit. Probably more a writer of fantasy, I feel duty bound, being Irish, to try and get one of the most influential writers of the 20th century included.

[TheWickerFan]

Why?



................

It's cheating.:p Pick your favorite Poe or Lovecraft story, don't just say all of them.

[TheWickerFan]

Such a thing is different from a Rolling Stones greatest hits album because you can track down Let it Bleed and recommend someone listen to it. They could acquire it with ease for about 12 bucks. You would not honestly want somebody to track down the works of Algernon Blackwood where they originally appeared or to purchase issues of Weird Tales at auction. The purpose of the list is to inform and help out horror fans, and telling them to try and track down 30s pulp magazines and musty tomes would not be especially helpful.

I understand. I just think in the case of collections, a spotlight needs to be put on the best stories within.

[neverending]

A story is still not a book.

[Doc Faustus]

I'm going to lobby for an inclusion of The Book of Wonder, or, for that matter, any Lord Dunsany work that you deem fit. Probably more a writer of fantasy, I feel duty bound, being Irish, to try and get one of the most influential writers of the 20th century included.

I'm with you on that one. One of the most important personages in the history of genre fiction. He had a great deal of influence on fantasy, horror and weird fiction as we know them.

[Fearonsarms]

I don't think anyone has mentioned James Herbert yet. I haven't read all his books yet but I'd give an honorary mention to "The Fog" and "Sepuchre" as my faves so far.

[swiss tony]

I don't think anyone has mentioned James Herbert yet. I haven't read all his books yet but I'd give an honorary mention to "The Fog" and "Sepuchre" as my faves so far.

I mentioned him in passing but you're right to champion his cause. The English Stephen King! I'm sure he'll get in there.

I read Baal as a child and liked it but can't really say if it would stand up to an adult reader.

Also, the Child Possessed scared me shitless as an adolescent, is it worthy of a place?

[roshiq]

Though almost all of them already mentioned but here's I try to point out some classics that has a great impact in celluloid media:

And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians -- Agatha Christie
The Body Snatchers -- Jack Finney
Dracula- Bram Stoker
The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty
Frankenstein - Mary Shelly
Haunting of Hill House- Shirley Jackson
I am Legend – Richard Matheson
Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) -- John Ajvide Lindqvist
Ringu -- Koji Suzuki
Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde -- Robert Louis Stevenson
The Turn Of The Screw - Henry James

[BookZombie]

I like the idea of a 100 writers list as well since there is allot of amazing horror authors who have never written a full book only short stories like for example Lovecraft, or who have written books, but their books is not good enough to be on the top 100 list of books but their short stories mean that they should be on the list of top 100 authors.

The more stuff the better. It's best to get a large sampling then reduce it to 100.

Ok great, then I stand for the 10 books I have suggested since others have already mentioned my real top of the peak favorites.

[Doc Faustus]

Keep them coming, guys!

[swiss tony]

I suppose M.R. James has been mentioned. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary was his first collection published.

G.W.M. Reynolds wrote a few corkers.

[TheWickerFan]

I'll stick with my initial top 10, but I'll give more ideas:

The 120 Days Of Sodom - Marquis De Sade
The Crowd - Ray Bradbury
Man From The South - Roald Dahl
The White People - Arthur Machen
The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin
Harvest Home - Thomas Tryon
University - Bentley Little
Fires Of Eden - Dan Simmons
The Talisman - Stephen King and Peter Straub
Coma - Robin Cook
The Ruins - Scott Smith
Mercy - David Lindsey

I assume we'll do a tally, so I'll back up:

It - Stephen King
The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty
The Stand - Stephen King
The Day Of The Triffids - John Wyndham
The Other - Thomas Tryon
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow - Washington Irving
The Shining - Stephen King
Hell House - Richard Matheson
Rosemary's Baby - Ira Levin

[Fearonsarms]

Ok if its going to be a tally I'll backup:

The Shining-Stephen King
Macbeth-William Shakespeare
The Call Of Cthulhu-HP Lovecraft
Oh Whistle and I'll Come To You My Lad-MR James
The Shadow Over Innsmouth-HP Lovecraft

And add:
Frank Herbert-Dune

[swiss tony]

Sorry Wicker but I'd hate to see 120 Days of Sodom feature in one of our Sticky Top 100s. Please don't think I'm trying to undermine your selection:)

I would lobby against the inclusion of anything by de Sade, and not only because of his paedophile practices or sexually abusive attitude towards women in his private life but because his work is almost exclusively philosophy punctuated with pornography. Actually, some of his work is really just pornography punctuated with philosophy.

Whereas I very much admire much of what he stood for, and where and when he stood for it, I ultimately find him extremely unpalateable. I haven't seen Salo, and it may be presented as horror, but I have read Juliette and it's a contrast between wonderful segments of philosophy/social commentary and disgusting sexual 'sadism'.

[TheWickerFan]

Sorry Wicker but I'd hate to see 120 Days of Sodom feature in one of our Sticky Top 100s. Please don't think I'm trying to undermine your selection:)

I would lobby against the inclusion of anything by de Sade, and not only because of his paedophile practices or sexually abusive attitude towards women in his private life but because his work is almost exclusively philosophy punctuated with pornography. Actually, some of his work is really just pornography punctuated with philosophy.

Whereas I very much admire much of what he stood for, and where and when he stood for it, I ultimately find him extremely unpalateable. I haven't seen Salo, and it may be presented as horror, but I have read Juliette and it's a contrast between wonderful segments of philosophy/social commentary and disgusting sexual 'sadism'.

That's a pretty weak argument. We're not going to start judging authors by their actions in life are we? If it's decided that the book isn't a work of horror that's fine, but you can't exclude someone because of your personal feelings towards him.

[swiss tony]

That's a pretty weak argument. We're not going to start judging authors by their actions in life are we? If it's decided that the book isn't a work of horror that's fine, but you can't exclude someone because of your personal feelings towards him.

That's absolutely fair comment but it's really a combination of the two factors that would make me inclined to omit his work.

It is an interesting point about his prose in the context of modern cinema in that, during his own lifetime he sought to distance his work from the horror label (Gothic in particular), yet with the recent trend of torture movies, if his books were made into movies, they'd certainly be classified as such.

I'm just saying that, as books, they aren't horror.

Also, Wicker, I'd be interested to hear your view of Salo. I won't dispute that it falls into horror but is it, as numerous polls and renowned directors alike suggest, an important and historic piece of movie making?

[TheWickerFan]

That's absolutely fair comment but it's really a combination of the two factors that would make me inclined to omit his work.

It is an interesting point about his prose in the context of modern cinema in that, during his own lifetime he sought to distance his work from the horror label (Gothic in particular), yet with the recent trend of torture movies, if his books were made into movies, they'd certainly be classified as such.

I'm just saying that, as books, they aren't horror.

Also, Wicker, I'd be interested to hear your view of Salo. I won't dispute that it falls into horror but is it, as numerous polls and renowned directors alike suggest, an important and historic piece of movie making?

I don't have a problem if it's decided that The 120 Days Of Sodom isn't a work of horror, but I have a serious problem with an author being excluded due to his personal conduct.

As for Salo, I'm not sure how "important" or "historic" it was, but it was not a simple exploitation film. Like the book, it was a social commentary on the wealthy and privileged using and abusing the lower classes (although I think the Marquis De Sade had far more fun writing his story than Pier Paolo Pasolini did making the film). It's very well made, but extremely difficult to sit through the more graphic scenes. My husband, on the other hand, said he was bored to tears by it, so go figure.

[swiss tony]

I guess what I'm building up to asking is, as a horror and cinema fan, do you think this is a 'must-see' movie? In the same way that The Passion of the Christ or Cannibal Holocaust are but not The Men Behind the Sun or August Underground...?

Like I said, I am not opposed to art forms that, while completely disgusting on face value, offer either something educational or morally enriching providing there isn't some sinister back drop to it.

[neverending]

Could I remind you of the guidelines set down by the president in the first post?

To start with, I'd like folks to post 10 books, plays, poems or books of poetry containing horror elements or influencing the genre. Plath's Ariel (the book, not the poem), Shakespeare's Macbeth, Joyce's Ulysses have as much horror to be found in them as Salem's Lot or American Psycho and should not be ignored just because they do not meet some arbitrary standard for the genre. Unlike real politicians, this HDC President is going to hear out your arguments in favor of works that you think might be controversial. Arguments against things are for later in the process. No eyerolls, no "Kafka isn't horror", "The Invisible Man isn't horror", "Haunting of Hill House isn't horror", "The Joy of Sex isn't horror" yet. I will assemble a panel for the purpose of cutting the list down to 100 when we have a substantial amount of entries.

[BookZombie]

Sorry Wicker but I'd hate to see 120 Days of Sodom feature in one of our Sticky Top 100s. Please don't think I'm trying to undermine your selection


My only objection to this book would be that to my mind this is not horror, just like I would not call the Elsa movies horror. Yes there are horrible things happening to people, but then so are there in any action book, most historical romances, war books, you name it. I am not trying to define a genre here, however for me at least something bad happening to people, even allot of bad things happening to people is not enough to make it horror.

Perhaps we should debate what we define as horror. For let me tell you that if it is just something really bad happening to people then I would like to nominate Uncle Tom's Cabin and if we are including bad things happening to animals I will nominate Black Beauty. Both books have horrible, terrible things happening to the main characters and those around them.

Now Macbeth or Ulysses or for that matter Brother's Grim fairytales I can completely see on this list, however can you really see Black Beauty on it? File such a discussion might not be fitting on this thread itself, still should not the question be asked, what is horror? What makes something horror?

but I have read Juliette and it's a contrast between wonderful segments of philosophy/social commentary and disgusting sexual 'sadism'.

What is wrong with sexual sadism, granted the books in questions are far, far on the extreme side, but they have still inspired generations of us who are on the kinky side in the bedroom. :)

[fiend_skull]

I hope it isn't too late for entries haha.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde
"Dracula" by Bram Stoker
"The Creatures of the Pool" by Ramsey Campbell
"The Hellbound Heart" by Clive Barker
"Psycho" by Robert Bloch
"Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin
"Shadows Over Innsmouth" by H.P. Lovecraft
"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
"Desperation" by Stephen King
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury

I know I listed some obvious choice, but in all honesty they got that way for a reason haha.

[TheWickerFan]

I guess what I'm building up to asking is, as a horror and cinema fan, do you think this is a 'must-see' movie? In the same way that The Passion of the Christ or Cannibal Holocaust are but not The Men Behind the Sun or August Underground...?

Like I said, I am not opposed to art forms that, while completely disgusting on face value, offer either something educational or morally enriching providing there isn't some sinister back drop to it.

I would say yes; this is a must see film.

I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from at all in the latter paragraph.:confused:

By the way, neverending pointed out that the first thing the president said regarding this list was not to start arguments about people's choices; it would be decided at a later date by a panel of judges.

[Fearonsarms]

I know this isnt the thread for arguments as to what is horror. I just have to back up wickerfan-I have seen "salo" and would definitely class it as horror! For the simple reason that it scared the hell out of me and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since seeing it. I have not read "120 Days Of Sodom" but as this book influenced the film I think it should definitely be included according to the guidelines set by Doc Faustus.

For the record this isnt a tally post as I haven't read "120 Days Of Sodom" so can't back it up.

[neverending]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo

[TheWickerFan]

The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo

Sorry. If this was a test, I failed.;)

[Straker]

I might be putting myself inline for coping some flack here by getting involved in a subject I'm really not all that familiar with, but from my, very casual, observation of this thread, there doesnt seem to be much from what I always considered to be the pioneers of horror fiction. I'm thinking along the lines of Beckford and . Skimming through the posts I havent even seen Ann Radcliffes name mentioned yet.

Not ment as a criticism and I don't mean for people to defend or justify their picks. I would have enough trouble comming up with 10 horror novels to put a list together. I might be tempted to throw Wuthering Heights on my list too... Then again, I haven't read a Stephen King novel in my life and probably never will. :eek:

[BookZombie]

I might be putting myself inline for coping some flack here by getting involved in a subject I'm really not all that familiar with, but from my, very casual, observation of this thread, there doesnt seem to be much from what I always considered to be the pioneers of horror fiction. I'm thinking along the lines of Beckford and . Skimming through the posts I havent even seen Ann Radcliffes name mentioned yet.

Why do you not mention some books by the authors you mention, everyone have different opinions on who was most influential in shaping the horror genre, I am looking forward to seeing your suggestions on what should be on the top 100 list.

I second the Hunchback Of Notre Dame, it is a great novel, and it definitely belong on a top 100 most influential horror books list in my opinion.

[neverending]

I might be putting myself inline for coping some flack here by getting involved in a subject I'm really not all that familiar with, but from my, very casual, observation of this thread, there doesnt seem to be much from what I always considered to be the pioneers of horror fiction. I'm thinking along the lines of Beckford and . Skimming through the posts I havent even seen Ann Radcliffes name mentioned yet.

Not ment as a criticism and I don't mean for people to defend or justify their picks. I would have enough trouble comming up with 10 horror novels to put a list together. I might be tempted to throw Wuthering Heights on my list too... Then again, I haven't read a Stephen King novel in my life and probably never will. :eek:

So throw a list together. Do the work instead of kibitzing.

[Doc Faustus]

Anybody who has given me a list of ten and feels that the ten did not express your needs well enough, give me ten more. Anybody who hasn't given me a list, give me twenty. Let's get a bigger sampling together. Radcliffe, Sade, Bronte...these are good additions. Good names to bring in. Let's up the tempo. I'd like to see three hundred books listed here by the middle of April.

[Fearonsarms]

Ok I'll back up Wuthering Heights-Emily Bronte
and add:-
James Herbert-The Spear

[Straker]

Melmoth the Wanderer- Charles Robert Maturin
The Mysteries of Udolpho- Ann Radcliffe
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde- Robert Louis Stevenson
Vathek- William Beckford
Inferno- Dante
The Hound of the Baskervilles- Arthur Conan Doyle
The Monk- Matthew Lewis
Dracula- Bram Stoker
Frankenstein- Mary Shelly
The Vampyre- John Polidori
The Old Testament- Various

Not sure how to quantify Poe, but The Cask of Amontillado, The Black Cat & The Fall of the House of Usher are amongst my favourite short stories.

[Fearonsarms]

Melmoth the Wanderer- Charles Robert Maturin
The Mysteries of Udolpho- Ann Radcliffe
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde- Robert Louis Stevenson
Vathek- William Beckford
Inferno- Dante
The Hound of the Baskervilles- Arthur Conan Doyle
The Monk- Matthew Lewis
Dracula- Bram Stoker
Frankenstein- Mary Shelly
The Vampyre- John Polidori
The Old Testament- Various

Not sure how to quantify Poe, but The Cask of Amontillado, The Black Cat & The Fall of the House of Usher are amongst my favourite short stories.

I'll back up The Monk by Matthew Lewis that's one weird book.

[Doc Faustus]

Gotta get ahold of that sometime. And Melmoth. And Vathek. And bury myself under ground for a couple days.

[swiss tony]

I would say yes; this is a must see film.

...

By the way, neverending pointed out that the first thing the president said regarding this list was not to start arguments about people's choices; it would be decided at a later date by a panel of judges.

Sorry it's taken a while to get back to you, been busy all week.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll get round to watching it fairly soon.

Thanks for letting me pick your brains on the book and the movie. I wasn't being argumentative, I just wanted to hear your opinion on both.:)

[TheWickerFan]

Sorry it's taken a while to get back to you, been busy all week.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll get round to watching it fairly soon.

Thanks for letting me pick your brains on the book and the movie. I wasn't being argumentative, I just wanted to hear your opinion on both.:)

That's okay. I don't know what you're going to think of the film though.:eek:

[swiss tony]

That's okay. I don't know what you're going to think of the film though.:eek:

I have a 3 year old and a one year old and you know how it is when you have kids. It makes it that much harder to watch people being horrible to eachother but, I'm sure I'll persevere in the name of art. :D

[TheWickerFan]

I have a 3 year old and a one year old and you know how it is when you have kids. It makes it that much harder to watch people being horrible to eachother but, I'm sure I'll persevere in the name of art. :D

I felt the same way when my children were that age. Now my children are 19 and 16 so I don't feel that insular, protective feeling as much, so hardcore horror bothers me much less than it used to.

P.S. My daughter took that Marquis De Sade book with her to college.:o

[swiss tony]

Just say it, I've turned into a bit of a pussy!:D

I'm still at the stage of trying to convince the kids that eating their greens is a good idea. I have no idea how I'm gonna deal with my daughter reading de Sade. I guess I'll just pass the buck to mum:)

[TheWickerFan]

Just say it, I've turned into a bit of a pussy!:D

I'm still at the stage of trying to convince the kids that eating their greens is a good idea. I have no idea how I'm gonna deal with my daughter reading de Sade. I guess I'll just pass the buck to mum:)

They grow up. One day you're reading Dr. Seuss to them; the next they're teaching you what tentacle hentai is.:eek:

[swiss tony]

As long as they watch horror, listen to guitar based music and follow Liverpool I don't give a shit what they do cause, if they're doing any of those, we're going to get on fine.

I bet they grow up a pair of rom com watching, raver Evertonians!:D

[Doc Faustus]

Let's see some more readers!

[Doc Faustus]

Apologies everyone for having been in as infrequently as I have. Three weeks ago, I found out my mother has lung cancer and will have to undergo chemo. It's been difficult dealing with this and the need to produce more work. I'm with you, HDC and hope to see some more lists and ideas for this project.

[TheWickerFan]

Really sorry to hear that.

[_____V_____]

Apologies everyone for having been in as infrequently as I have. Three weeks ago, I found out my mother has lung cancer and will have to undergo chemo. It's been difficult dealing with this and the need to produce more work. I'm with you, HDC and hope to see some more lists and ideas for this project.

Damn...

Really sorry to hear that, Doc. I hope the chemo works and she responds to it and pulls through. My best wishes to her, you and your family, my friend.

[Doc Faustus]

Thank you, Wickerfan, V. We're all hoping so. My youngest brother is 9 and my sister is 11. I'm doing everything I can to keep my mind off things, so I might end up spending more time on here.

[_____V_____]

Just went through the entire thread...nice project, Mr Prez.

I see that most of the popular stuff has already been mentioned by others, so I ll think of some uncommon ones. Off the top of my head...

The Parasite by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Judge's House by Bram Stoker
The Princess of All Lands by Russell Kirk (more specifically, "There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding")
Prophecy by David Seltzer
World War Z by Max Brooks
The Damned by Algernon Blackwood
Brain by Robin Cook
Fengriffen by David Case
The Third Grave by David Case
Carrie by Stephen King
The Uttermost Farthing by A.C. Benson
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
The Rope in the Rafters by Oliver Onions
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
Black Man With a Horn by T.E.D. Klein
Children of the Kingdom by T.E.D. Klein
Nadelman's God by T.E.D. Klein
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by R.L. Stevenson
The Island of Dr Moreau by H.G. Wells
The Feasting Dead by John Metcalfe
The Rising by Brian Keene

[slysje]

hmm lets see, some of my favs...

1) IT - Stephen King
2) Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3) Dracula - Bram Stoker
4) The fall of the house of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe
5) Darkly dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsey
6) 1984 - George Orwell (not really horror but it did scare me...)
7) Lisey's story - Stephen King
8) Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
9) Prince of Mist - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
10) The yellow wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman

[swiss tony]

I see you mention Carrie there V. Quick question, is it a better book or movie?

I think it's one of the rare occasions when the movie surpasses the book, just. Though both are excellent.

[Doc Faustus]

Nice contribution, V! It's cool that you included Keene. Him and I have the same editor.

[_____V_____]

Now that the Top 100 Writers project is done, let's complete this one.

Anyone else want to share their top 10 books? Here are the guidelines for your list, as posted by Doc Faustus in the opening post :-

To start with, I'd like folks to post 10 books, plays, poems or books of poetry containing horror elements or influencing the genre.

Plath's Ariel (the book, not the poem), Shakespeare's Macbeth, Joyce's Ulysses have as much horror to be found in them as Salem's Lot or American Psycho and should not be ignored just because they do not meet some arbitrary standard for the genre.

Unlike real politicians, this HDC President is going to hear out your arguments in favor of works that you think might be controversial. Arguments against things are for later in the process.

No eyerolls, no "Kafka isn't horror", "The Invisible Man isn't horror", "Haunting of Hill House isn't horror", "The Joy of Sex isn't horror" yet.

Be my guest.

[Dara]

1984~George Orwell
The woman~Jack ketchum
The hunger games~Suzanne Collins
Ron Jeremys autobiography
Catch 22~Joseph Heller
Cabal~Clive Barker
It~Stephen King
Where the wild things are~Maurice Sendak
Eyebrows and other fish~Anthony Scally
Lord of the flies~William Golding

[hammerfan]

In no particular order:

Frankenstein
Dracula
Hell House
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
They Thirst
Salem's Lot
Interview With the Vampire
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Stand

[_____V_____]

Anyone else wishes to share their choices of top 10 horror books?

[_____V_____]

*bump*

One final call for submissions, before we go for compilation work.

[wordsmithjts]

1)Salems Lot
2)Watchers
3)The Girl Next Door
4)The Lost
5)Psycho
6)The Vampire Lestat
7)Vampire Junction
8)Pet Semetary
9)Misery
10)Dracula

[JudgeU]

I Am Legend Richard Matheson
It Stephen King
Dracula Bram Stoker
Hellbound Heart Clive Barker
The Fall of the House of Usher Edgar Allen Poe
Annabel Lee Edgar Allen Poe
Hell House Richard Matheson
'Salem's Lot Stephen King
Macbeth Shakespeare
The Last Wish Andrzej Sapkowski

[sfear]

Just saw this. Will try to get a list ready in a day or two. Hopefully by that time I'll have finished Dracula so I can list it legitimately

[_____V_____]

Thanks, wordsmithjts and JudgeU.

Eagerly waiting to see your choices, sfear.

[sfear]

DRACULA by Bram Stoker
MOON OF THE WOLF by Leslie H. Whitten
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Arthur Conan Doyle
A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens
I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson
THE MIST by Stephen King
"The Father Thing" by Philip K. Dick
"Pidgeons From Hell" by Robert E. Howard
"The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
"The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In case we forgot Doc's original guidlines allowed for individual stories and poems along with books of same.

[Fearonsarms]

Do people like me who posted their top tens earlier in the thread need to choose again? Or are they already counted?

[_____V_____]

Do people like me who posted their top tens earlier in the thread need to choose again? Or are they already counted?

If you want to edit that top 10, feel free. I have already saved the lists from the beginning of the thread.

[_____V_____]

Deadline for submitting entries - December 10th, 2012.

I hope the compilation work is over and we have the 100 with us before New Year's Eve. It should be a fitting New Year gift from the good ol' Doc Faustus to HDC.

[Fearonsarms]

If you want to edit that top 10, feel free. I have already saved the lists from the beginning of the thread.

Thanks-I'll re-edit my original list if that's ok

1.Imajica-Clive Barker
2.At The Mountains Of Madness-HP Lovecraft
3.The Masque Of The Red Death-Edgar Allan Poe
4.The Wasp Factory-Iain Banks
5.Shadowlands-Peter Straub
6.The Turn Of The Screw-Henry James
7.The Monk-Matthew Lewis
8.A Warning To The Curious-MR James
9.The Vampire Lestat-Anne Rice
10.Insomnia-Stephen King

[_____V_____]

Just a reminder that tomorrow will be the last date for submission of entries. So if you are in the process of making a list of your choices, do it before midnight EDT (US) tomorrow.

[The Villain]

1. IT by Stephen King
2. Tommyknockers by Stephen King
3. Ghoul by Brian Keene
4. The Traveling Vampire Show by Richard Laymon
5. Strange Magic by Gord Rollo
6. The Conqueror Worms AKA Earthworm Gods by Brian Keene
7. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
8. Salems Lot by Stephen King
9. In The Dark by Richard Laymon
10. Red by Jack Ketchum

[King_Koontz_KetchumKid]

1)Salems Lot
2)Watchers
3)The Girl Next Door
4)The Lost
5)Psycho
6)The Vampire Lestat
7)Vampire Junction
8)Pet Semetary
9)Misery
10)Dracula

I'm totally going ditto with this one but respect to everyones. They all look pretty good.

[_____V_____]

Thank you for all of your submissions, folks. We have received an overwhelming number of entries.

Compilation work starts from today. Will keep you posted on the progress and developments as they happen, before chiseling out the final top 100.

[_____V_____]

I have completed the first round of compiling. 50 books have made the cut so far.

We need 50 more. And for this, I need your collective help.

As many as 145 entries have ended up being nominated ONCE. I will need you to back up some of these choices, to make it into the final tally.

Since we need 50 out of a possible 145, we will tackle this with batches of 5 - five master lists of 29 nominations in number. You will have to select 10 nominations, out of the 29 posted, to back them up with your support. You may post your choices in this thread, or through PM to me.

If you feel a particular book/short story/poem doesn't deserve to make the cut (out of these lists), feel free to post it along with your reasons. Vice versa, if you feel that a particular book/short story/poem DESERVES to make the cut, post your reasons why. If you get enough people to agree with you, it will be in.

Please don't select a written work just because you nominated it, but look at the overall picture and see if it is a fitting entry to be marked permanently in a Top 100 list. Remember, quality comes first.

Here we go with the first list of 29 nominations. All the best choosing, folks!


The First Batch

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
A Warning To The Curious - M R James
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smith
Adrift on The Haunted Seas - William Hope Hodgson
And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians - Agatha Christie
Annabel Lee - Edgar Allen Poe (poem)
Ariel - Sylvia Plath (poems)
Batman: the Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb (comic book)
Black Man With a Horn - T.E.D. Klein
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
Books of Blood series - Clive Barker (collections)
Brain - Robin Cook
Cabal - Clive Barker
Carrie - Stephen King
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Cell - Stephen King
Children of the Kingdom - T.E.D. Klein
Coma - Robin Cook
Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Dagon and other Macabre Tales - H.P. Lovecraft
Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
Der Struwwelpeter - Heinrich Hoffmann (graphical book)
Desperation - Stephen King
Duncan's Diary: Birth of a Serial Killer - Christopher C. Payne
Dune - Frank Herbert
Eyebrows and Other Fish - Anthony Scally
Fengriffen: A Chilling Tale - David Case

[_____V_____]

No inputs? Come on, gang! I need your help.

[Fearonsarms]

1.A Clockwork Orange-Anthony Burgess
2.Ariel-Sylvia Plath
3.Annabel Lee-Edgar Allan Poe
4.Books Of Blood Series-Clive Barker
5.Coma-Robin Cook
6.Crime and Punishment-Fyodor Dostoyevsky
7.Complete Stories and Poems-Edgar Allan Poe
8.A Warning To The Curious-MR James
9.Dune-Frank Herbert
10.Dagon and Other Macabre Tales-HP Lovecraft

[hammerfan]

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smith
And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians - Agatha Christie
Annabel Lee - Edgar Allen Poe
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Cabal - Clive Barker
Carrie - Stephen King
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe
Dune - Frank Herbert

[_____V_____]

Thanks guys!

Let's see some more, folks.

You have to select 10 from this batch of 29 nominations (reposting from previous page) :-

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess - 2
A Warning To The Curious - M R James - 1
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smith - 1
Adrift on The Haunted Seas - William Hope Hodgson
And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians - Agatha Christie - 1
Annabel Lee - Edgar Allen Poe (poem) - 2
Ariel - Sylvia Plath (poems) - 1
Batman: the Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb (comic book)
Black Man With a Horn - T.E.D. Klein
Bleak House - Charles Dickens - 1
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
Books of Blood series - Clive Barker (collections) - 1
Brain - Robin Cook
Cabal - Clive Barker - 1
Carrie - Stephen King - 1
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller - 1
Cell - Stephen King
Children of the Kingdom - T.E.D. Klein
Coma - Robin Cook - 1
Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe - 2
Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 1
Dagon and other Macabre Tales - H.P. Lovecraft - 1
Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
Der Struwwelpeter - Heinrich Hoffmann (graphical book)
Desperation - Stephen King
Duncan's Diary: Birth of a Serial Killer - Christopher C. Payne
Dune - Frank Herbert - 2
Eyebrows and Other Fish - Anthony Scally
Fengriffen: A Chilling Tale - David Case

[TheSilverBeetle]

Great idea Doc

Here's my list

It - Stephen King
Duncan's Diary: Birth of a Serial Killer - Christopher C. Payne
The Scary Stories Trilogy - Alvin Schwartz
The Raven - Edgar Allen Poe
Wait Until Dark(play) - Frederick Knott
Frankenstein - Mary Shelly
Re-Animator - H.P. Lovecraft
The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty
Relic - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris

Dear lord bless you for putting Alvin Schwartz.

[nightmare_of _death]

Dear lord bless you for putting Alvin Schwartz.

You're welcome. I actually have the whole collection of all 3 books bound together in a nice hardcover editon. I heard recntly they changed some of the artwork in newer releases people claiming it was too scary for children. Same with the original covers of the Goosebumps series. I've seen the new covers and they're awful. I wish I still had all my old goosebump books.

[The Villain]

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Desperation - Stephen King
Carrie - Stephen King
Cell - Stephen King
Dagon and other Macabre Tales - H.P. Lovecraft
And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians - Agatha Christie
Annabel Lee - Edgar Allen Poe (poem)
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy
Books of Blood series - Clive Barker (collections)
Cabal - Clive Barke

[_____V_____]

Thanks, guys. Anyone else willing to chip in?

[swiss tony]

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
A Warning To The Curious - M R James
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Cabal - Clive Barker
Carrie - Stephen King
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Dagon and other Macabre Tales - H.P. Lovecraft
Dune - Frank Herbert

[_____V_____]

Thanks, Tony. Anyone else?

[_____V_____]

A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess - 4
A Warning To The Curious - M R James - 2
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter - Seth Grahame-Smith - 1
Adrift on The Haunted Seas - William Hope Hodgson
And Then There Were None/Ten Little Indians - Agatha Christie - 2
Annabel Lee - Edgar Allen Poe (poem) - 3
Ariel - Sylvia Plath (poems) - 1
Batman: the Long Halloween - Jeph Loeb (comic book)
Black Man With a Horn - T.E.D. Klein
Bleak House - Charles Dickens - 2
Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy - 1
Books of Blood series - Clive Barker (collections) - 2
Brain - Robin Cook
Cabal - Clive Barker - 3
Carrie - Stephen King - 3
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller - 2
Cell - Stephen King - 1
Children of the Kingdom - T.E.D. Klein
Coma - Robin Cook - 1
Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe - 3
Crime And Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - 2
Dagon and other Macabre Tales - H.P. Lovecraft - 3
Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
Der Struwwelpeter - Heinrich Hoffmann (graphical book)
Desperation - Stephen King - 1
Duncan's Diary: Birth of a Serial Killer - Christopher C. Payne
Dune - Frank Herbert - 3
Eyebrows and Other Fish - Anthony Scally
Fengriffen: A Chilling Tale - David Case


7 books look to be finalised from the first batch till now. We still need 3 more.

[Fearonsarms]

Are there any other poetry collections in the other shortlists (besides Poe's poems which have already made the cut?) If not then Ariel is as much a great example of horror poetry (though not all Sylvia Plath's poems in that collection has horror elements) as we are likely to get to Poe to represent poetry so I recommend it for that simple reason. Please nightmare of death or anyone wanna second me???

[roshiq]

Found this interesting list on the net today....10 Deleted Chapters that Transformed Famous Books (http://listverse.com/2013/01/14/deleted-book-chapters/)

[_____V_____]

Are there any other poetry collections in the other shortlists (besides Poe's poems which have already made the cut?)

Two immediately jump out - The Raven & The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

[Fearonsarms]

Two immediately jump out - The Raven & The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Thanks V ok my 3 choices to back for inclusion are:-

Ariel-Sylvia Plath
A Warning To The Curious-MR James
Books Of Blood-Clive Barker

[_____V_____]

Anyone else willing to chip in with their choices?

[MichaelMyers]

Fun read: http://io9.com/5954916/10-novels-that-are-scarier-than-most-horror-movies