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Horror Reads

A guide to Horror! From Stephen King to Joe Hill.

Subject Guide

Subgenres of Horror

Apocalypse - The Stand by Stephen King

Cosmic HorrorThe  New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft

Dark FantasyThe Darkest Part of the Woods by Ramsey Campbell

Demonic Possession/InvasionThe Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

GhostsThe Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Haunted HousesThe Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

MonstersRelic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Psychological Horror/Serial KillerThe Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

SplatterpunkBooks of Blood by Clive Barker

VampiresDracula by Bram Stoker

WitchcraftThe Witching Hour by Anne Rice

Zombies - Zombies: the Recent Dead by Brian Keene

Try this Author - James Markert

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What is Horror?

OH, THE HORROR...

In literature, horror is a genre of fiction whose purpose is to create feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in the audience—in other words, it develops an atmosphere of horror. The term’s definition emphasizes the reaction caused by horror, stemming from the Old French orror, meaning “to shudder or to bristle.”

~Horror: Definition and Examples | LiteraryTerms.net

"Horror is not a genre, like the mystery or science fiction or the western. It is not a kind of fiction, meant to be confined to the ghetto of a special shelf in libraries or bookstores. Horror is an emotion."
~Douglas Winter

"Horror is that which cannot be made safe -- evolving, ever-changing -- because it is about our relentless need to confront the unknown, the unknowable, and the emotion we experience when in its thrall."
~Douglas Winter

"Horror fiction upsets apple carts, burns old buildings, and stampedes the horses; it questions and yearns for answers, and it takes nothing for granted. It's not safe, and it probably rots your teeth, too. Horror fiction can be a guide through a nightmare world, entered freely and by the reader's own will. And since horror can be many, many things and go in many, many directions, that guided nightmare ride can shock, educate, illuminate, threaten, shriek, and whisper before it lets the readers loose."
~Robert McCammon

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