Who is the best horror writer of all time?

The 8 Best Horror Authors of All Time (Our Rankings)
  1. Stephen King.
  2. Edgar Allan Poe.
  3. H.P. Lovecraft.
  4. Dean Koontz.
  5. Clive Barker.
  6. Anne Rice.
  7. Bram Stoker.
  8. Shirley Jackson.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on hookedtobooks.com


What is considered the scariest book ever written?

Horror – 13 Most Terrifying Books of All Time
  • 1Pet Sematary. by Stephen King. ...
  • 2The Island of Doctor Moreau. by H. G. Wells. ...
  • 3The Cask of Amontillado. by Edgar Allan Poe. ...
  • 4The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. ...
  • 5The Turn of the Screw. by Henry James. ...
  • 6Frankenstein. by Mary Shelley. ...
  • 7The Exorcist. ...
  • 8Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on hwpl.org


Who is the famous writer of scary books?

In short, the best horror authors are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice, Mylo Carbia, Peter Straub, Jonathan Maberry, Clive Barker and Ramsey Campbell to name a few. Read on to learn who else made our 2020 list.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on booklaunch.io


Who is the best selling author of horror books?

Best-Selling Horror Books of All Time
  1. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. ...
  2. Dracula, by Bram Stoker. ...
  3. Flower in the Attic, by V.C. ...
  4. The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty. ...
  5. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. ...
  6. The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. ...
  7. Ring, by Kōji Suzuki. ...
  8. The Shining, by Stephen King.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on webuybooks.co.uk


Who is famous writer today known for writing scary stories?

Stephen King

Stephen King is arguably one of the best horror writers on this list and one of the most popular among horror fans. His first professional content sale was in 1967 for a short story published in Startling Mystery Stories.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on becomeawritertoday.com


Top 5 Scariest Horror Fiction Writers



Who is the best thriller author?

If you are ready to delve into a great crime thriller, here are some writers that should be on your list:
  1. Agatha Christie. ...
  2. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ...
  3. Louise Penny. ...
  4. Ann Cleeves. ...
  5. David Baldacci. ...
  6. Gillian Flynn. ...
  7. Stephen King. ...
  8. Harlan Coben.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on becomeawritertoday.com


What is the oldest horror story?

The best known of these early supernatural-based works is the 3-minute short film Le Manoir du Diable (1896), known in English as both "The Haunted Castle" or "The House of the Devil". The film is sometimes credited as being the first ever horror film.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on viterbi-web.usc.edu


Who writes like Stephen King?

Novels from Authors Like Stephen King
  • Alma Katsu.
  • Edgar Cantero.
  • Kristi DeMeester.
  • Amy Lukavics.
  • Lauren Beukes.
  • Josh Malerman.
  • Kanae Minato.
  • Scott Thomas.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on bookriot.com


Who started horror books?

The genre was invented by Horace Walpole, whose Castle of Otranto (1765) may be said to have founded the horror story as a legitimate literary form.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on britannica.com


Why is Stephen King so popular?

He has written suspense, westerns, thrillers, and dramas. One of the most successful is his short story, 'Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,' from the book Different Seasons. It also featured 'The Body,' which would later become the hit film Stand By Me.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on theboar.org


What is the best horror story ever?

Grab a blanket and a hot drink and dive into these deliciously spooky stories, and hope a monster doesn't grab your feet!
  1. Two sentence horror story. ...
  2. Mom averts danger. ...
  3. Ouija board knocks back. ...
  4. Forgotten memory. ...
  5. A Clockwork Orange-style break in. ...
  6. Phantom alarms. ...
  7. Mom's scary boyfriend. ...
  8. She heard it through the wall.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on mashable.com


Which is the best horror story?

  • Frankenstein. by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. ...
  • Dracula. by Bram Stoker. ...
  • 'Young Goodman Brown' by Nathaniel Hawthorne. ...
  • 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. ...
  • 'Carmilla' by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. ...
  • 'The Turn Of The Screw' by Henry James. ...
  • 'The Great God Pan' by Arthur Machen. ...
  • 'The Monkey's Paw' by W. W. Jacobs.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on npr.org


What is the scariest book you have read?

20 of the Scariest Books You'll Ever Read
  • The Shining by Stephen King (1977) ...
  • The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (1898) ...
  • The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (1959) ...
  • The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (1983) ...
  • Salem's Lot by Stephen King (1975) ...
  • A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay (2015)
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on aarp.org


What is the number 1 scariest movie?

Read on to find out what our fans determined were the 10 Scariest Horror Movies Ever.
  • The Exorcist (1973)
  • Hereditary (2018)
  • The Conjuring (2013)
  • The Shining (1980)
  • The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
  • The Ring (2002)
  • Halloween (1978)
  • Sinister (2012)
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on editorial.rottentomatoes.com


Why is horror called horror?

The Horror Genre Definition

The term actually came from the Old French word "orror," which meant “to shudder or to bristle.” Horror filmmaking has roots in religions across the world, local folktales, and history. It's a universal genre. Every culture has its scary stories and fears.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on nofilmschool.com


Who was America's first horror writer?

Richard Matheson's 1954 I Am Legend was the first modern vampire novel, and Shirley Jackson's 1959 The House on Haunted Hill remains one of the most critically acclaimed genre novels of the past sixty years. Also in 1957 was another seminal event in the modern history of the horror genre itself.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on blog.bookstellyouwhy.com


What are the 4 elements of horror?

frightening setting. relatable protagonist who makes dreadful decisions. villain single-mindedly focused on devastation. suspense-driven pace.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on storyempirecom.wordpress.com


How long does it take to read a Stephen King book?

The average reader, reading at a speed of 300 WPM, would take 22 hours and 26 minutes to read It by Stephen King.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on howlongtoread.com


What are Stephen King's favorite books he wrote?

As for the novels, King shared that Misery, The Stand, and Lisey's Story are among his favorites. The latter he even adapted into the Apple TV+ limited series starring Julianne Moore. And, of course, his newly published Billy Summers. I am very easily spooked.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on nerdist.com


How often does Stephen King read?

And even with all of these obligations, Stephen King is also an avid reader (he reads about 80 books per year), and as he famously says in his memoir On Writing, “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on bookriot.com


Who was the first horror character?

Examples of early horror icons began with the Werewolf or Lycanthrope introduced in the 1500s, the Frankenstein monster as introduced by Mary Shelley in 1818, and Dracula introduced into literature in 1897 by Bram Stoker.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


Who started horror movies?

Though the film industry began in the early 1800s, the horror genre officially got its start with Georges Méliès in the 1890s.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on acplwy.org


What was the first horror comedy?

The "pioneering" comedy horror film was One Exciting Night (1922), written, directed and produced by D. W. Griffith, who noticed the stage success of the genre and foresaw a cinematic translation.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org


What is the best thriller book ever written?

Read on for a list of our top 16 thrillers from the 21st century and beyond.
  • Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. ...
  • The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. ...
  • Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha. ...
  • The Guest List by Lucy Foley. ...
  • You, Volume 1 by Caroline Kepnes. ...
  • The Talented Mr. ...
  • Black Water Rising by Attica Locke.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on harpersbazaar.com
Previous question
How long do cloned dogs live?
Next question
Is Syrian rue edible?