My Top 10 Horror Books of All Time (as of 2023)
Vložit
- čas přidán 13. 06. 2024
- Mike talks about 10 books that he'd call his favorite of the horror genre and why.
Purchase books mentioned in this video:
Pet Sematary amzn.to/3FEUopc
Salem's Lot amzn.to/3MlNJnA
IT amzn.to/3SlFifR
The Shining amzn.to/3MoTuB4
Heart-Shaped Box amzn.to/3tZrnlk
The Troop amzn.to/45TvcWw
JAWS amzn.to/3tU4nUY
The Haunting of Hill House amzn.to/49eeZy2
Something Wicked This Way Comes amzn.to/49gRzs8
The Colour Out of Space amzn.to/3QgXsge
Dracula amzn.to/3smq67s
Interview With the Vampire amzn.to/47cBWjC
I Am Legend amzn.to/3tVt8QL
The Willows amzn.to/3QCZFE5
The Exorcist amzn.to/3QEhaE7
Want to send Mike something? You can do so to the below address:
Mike K.
15201 Mason Rd
Suite 169
Cypress, TX 77433
Support Mike on Patreon: / mikesbookreviews
Join Mike's server on Discord / discord
Visit Mike's Amazon Wishlist: amzn.to/2zpHooW
Follow Mike on Goodreads: / mikesbookreviews
Follow Mike on Twitter: / zepp1978
Like Mike's Book Reviews on Facebook / mikesbookreviews
Follow Mike on Instagram / zepp1978
Follow Mike on TikTok / zepp1978
Microphone used in these videos: amzn.to/3IpFSAX
Camera used in these videos: amzn.to/3IqqdBv
0:00 Introduction and background
1:32 Honorable Mentions
2:29 Top 10
21:18 Final Thoughts
------------------------------------------------------
Theme music provided by Infraction
/ @infraction
Music used: Epic (No Copyright Music)
infractionroyaltyfreemusic.ba...
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0(CC BY 3.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
------------------------------------------------------
#MikesBookReviews #Top10 #Horror - Zábava
I struggle with Top 10 lists. So, I have a top 5:
1 - Swan Song - McCammon
2 - IT - King
3 - Salem's Lot - King
4 - The Exorcist - Blatty
5 - The Witching Hour - Rice
Swan Song 🤔 I did not know this was horror 🤓 bumping it up my list 🙌🏼
@@ithrahmunchswallow468 It's officially listed as horror even though it fits across multiple genres. So, it sits in my horror section on my bookshelf. LOL
@@Michael_L_Morrison All of my favorite books are difficult to classify 🙌🏼🤓
I’m currently reading Dracula for the first time. It was a slight slow burn at first, but I’m loving it now.
Really? I just read it the first time and I think it comes out pretty hot with Harker in Dracula's castle. Then it goes to a slow burn when it goes back to England with Lucy and Mina. It def has ups and downs afterwards. A classic for sure, but by today's standards it's a pretty okay book. The prose isn't the best due to it being a 19th century Irish author and a 21st century American reader
@@douggieharrison6913 tried reading this years ago and stopped when Lucy started writing letters. I would love to revisit now that I’m a lot more patient, but I do think it starts of very strongly
I haven't read many horror books but a good one would be The Terror by Dan Simmons. 😊
That's on my list since I saw that there was a TV show 🙌🏼
Excellent book
Especially for history buffs
@@Gruso57 Absolutely 🙏
Dan Simmons is a master of the craft. if you want to be a writer Dan Simmons is definitely one to learn from.
I have the 3 story collection by Blackwood, the Willows, the Wendigo, and the Listener. All 3 are so good the Listener is one of the scariest stories I've ever read. Highly recommend for horror lovers. Great list Mike, I love them all!
Hay Mike, it has been awhile since i caught a video and you thoroughly deserve your 100K plus subscribers. You still have a wonderful way to communicate books to us readers.
Great list and The Exorcist and Dracula really are amazing reads. I have always loved the idea of interviewing a Vampire a truly great spin on a subject that everybody thinks they could find something new to write about the legend. Many have tried, and failed. Anne Rice could never better it...
If your reviews and style of communication doesn't encourage more people to read... they can't be reached.
All power to you and your channel going forward.
Such an awesome, awesome list! A couple on here would make my own top 10 like IT and Exorcist.
A few of my own top favorites:
*Carrion Comfort- Dan Simmons
* Bad Moon Rising - Jonathan Maberry (although the whole Pine Deep trilogy was amazing! I'm surprised how this isn't talked about more in horror community)
*Swan Song - McCammon (because technically, it's a horror story)
* C.A. With Strangers- Fracassi (may be recency bias, but I don't think so. This left an impression)
I'm so happy to hear you will be reading more horror! Great list! 🧡👻🖤🎃
I’m very excited for the horror to be more prevalent on ur channel! Let’s go!
You should list the books in your description so we can screenshot for a future library trip 😊
I meant to! Thanks for reminding me. I'll update that now.
I subscribed to your channel about 3 years ago because of that last video. Glad to see an updated version! I’ll definitely be diving into some of these soon! Thanks Mike 🎃
Happy to hear it!
Solid list 🤙🏻 Taking some recommendations away as well 🙏🏻
Love your reviews man. I've been basing my decisions on what books to buy every paycheck off your videos. Keep up the good work, I look forward to these.
The Exorcist is my all-time favorite novel, period. And the movie is definitely a top ten.
If I can be bold, the book is just as good as the movie. Good on William Peter Blatty for keeping his screenplay faithful to the book.
Good recommendations, Mike! In the hour I watched this, I pulled up a pdf of The Colour Out Of Space short story and really enjoyed it - It's one I'll be buying. First time reading Lovecraft
I've read many horror novels that were scary for the characters in it. But "It" was the first one that actually made me scared while reading it. Good top choice.
The shining was my first. I had to stay up all night to finish cause I was too scared to sleep till I was done.
I read I Am Legend because of your review Mike! I absolutely loved it!!! What a twist!
It's so good!
You should read James Herbert. Fantastic writer. Very gothic and scary in parts. The rats trilogy, The Fog, Shrine, Nobody True, the Secret of Crickley Hall, the Ash trilogy
Great list. I'm new to the channel. I would like to add a couple of my favorites. Swan Song has been mentioned a few times. I am also a fan of Pitch Dark by Steven Sidor. But one of my absolute favorites is a short zombie story compilation called Book of the Dead. Edited by John Skipp and Craig Spector, it features tales by Steven King, Ramsay Campbell, Robert McCammon and more.
I’ve just starting reading Salems Lot, my first King book, it’s so good.
This is a great list, can't really argue with anything lol except I thought maybe Swan Song would've made it, you made a great video on that one
Reading Necroscope by Brian Lumley at the moment. Passed me on the bookshelves since the 90s and never really bothered. Found the entire series in a 2nd half bookstore for €5!!
Pet Sematary will always be the best!!!!
Necroscope is great! It's as if the vampires from Anne Rice's books had a complete psychotic break. I also love the tie ins with mythology for the background of the vamps in Necroscope.
Necroscope is a brilliant series. I'm glad you discovered it and hope you enjoy it.
@@littleaussierippa Totally agree...& love your CZcams tag! 🤙
Duuude, the 2nd and third Necroscope books are such a wild ride, especially the third.
I really didn't care for Necroscope. I wanted to like it, but it just wondered around too much for my tastes. When he's watching his gym coaches make out on the beach I gave up on it. Everyone said it gets better, but why slog through something you don't dig when there are plenty of books that are good all the way through?
Thanks very much for sharing. Ray Bradbury sounds interesting. Will be on my list of reading after your description. Keep up the good work!
I love the update! Thanks for the warning of animal abuse in The Troop
I can never re read Lord of the Flies.
An interesting list. I have read them all. Some might be included if I ever made my own list.
I've never read something wicked this way comes but I'm gonna have to read it now. I have seen the movie several times and it used to freak me out as a kid. I am right there with you on your top favorite books. The Exorcist is awesome. and I've read it several times. I love how deep it goes into the psych stuff as well as the posession. I have a couple of Joe Hill's books on my TBR so I'm excited to read those. It is another of my all time favorite books. I try and read it every year because I love how Stephen King writes for the kids and the adults too. I first read this when I was an adult and I was still scared bye a lot of the scenes. Great video and I can't wait to see what other horror books you're reading
Good list, Mike! IT would take my top spot as well. And I couldn't agree with you more about Heart Shaped Box. I think about that scene you described all the time. It's one of the creepiest scenes I've read in horror. Joe Hill is great at setting and atmosphere. He puts you right there in the room with those characters like few others can. What a talented writer. Supposedly, he's got a new novel coming in 2024. Fingers crossed.
In my opinion IT is the scariest SK novel. The Shining would be a close 2nd.
exactly my top 2 as well Mike. Where would you rank Swan Song?
I love Joe Hill. I wasn't even aware of him until I saw the movie "Horns" on Netflix one night. That movie blew me away and I immediately re-watched it. Then I started looking it up things about it online and found out it was based on a book by Joe Hill (who I had never heard of before). Then I found out he was one of Stephen King's sons. Because I liked the movie so much, I immediately ordered the book and was not disappointed. That was it, I was hooked. No, he cannot fill his father's shoes, but that's fine - he is his own writer and a very talented one at that. And, yes, the spooky apple didn't fall far from the spooky tree. I have read all of his books with the exception of "The Fireman", "Strange Weather", and "Full Throttle" (I own them but they are on my TBR list). I love his writing and can't wait to see what he does next. Always fun to get updated Top 10 lists! Loved this for spooky season.
I'm reading Strange weather, only finished the first story right now but I really liked it! Fireman has been on my tbr forever!
Still haven't seen or read it
Great list. I have too many horror books on my favourite books list to name them all, but some of my faves are Frankenstein, I'm Thinking Of Ending Things, the first 3 books in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Head Full Of Ghosts, No One Gets Out Alive, The Ritual, & The Woman In Black.
Some great picks!
Great top 10!! 😊 I still have a TON of horror books to read, but my current top 10 is:
1. The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty
2. Dracula - Bram Stoker
3. The Elementals - Michael McDowell
4. Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
5. Heart-shaped Box - Joe Hill
6. Misery - Stephen King
7. Beware the Night - Ralph Sarchie
8. Dark Water - Koji Suzuki
9. Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris
10. The House - Frank Peretti & Ted Dekker
My list will definitely change the more books I read, but I'm pretty happy with it so far. Happy Halloween!! 🎃
Great picks!
great list we do share some picks!
Yo just wanted to come in here and tell you thank you for recommending the troop. I agree with your sentiment in this, it is now on my top 10. I loved every aspect of this book, the word play was amazing in the setting was creepy. The kids were relatable and what happens throughout the story is just terrifying.
I love all these that I've read (most of them), and I'll read the ones I haven't. Love your channel, Mike!
Great video as always, Mike. I read The Troop as my first spooky ready for this month. Great book. And when I finished it I wasn’t hungry, ha. Currently reading The Haunting of Hill House. Looking forward to more videos, cheers!
I just wanted to find a turtle and give it a hug. Also, great to see you! Hope things are going well.
@@mikesbookreviews ❤️🐢❤️. Doing great, thanks. Hope you’re doing well too!
Will you continue the into the multiverse series I’ve just started watching your horror reviews
IT is my favorite horror novel, too. And just so everyone knows, IT isn’t just a horror novel. It (IT) is much much more.
A great example of his greatness at the way kids talk to each other is The Institute. Great list!!
Haven't read 8, 9 or 10. Bumping them up my list.
Christopher Buhelman's Between Two Fires is my favorite and i read a new Bently Little every six months 🤪
Great list! I'm still working on developing mine by reading more horror authors.
I don't have a formal Top 10 list, but if I did it would include The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice, Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon, Dracula by Bram Stoker and Rosemarys Baby by Ira Levin.
Strong.
Most of the horror that I do right now is on audio because it feels like someone telling you a story around a campfire and horror tends to have less characters to keep track of, which is why I can't do fantasy on audio.
The problem is that it's so narrator dependent.
Bird Box and Interview with a Vampire were both a star or two lower than they should have been if I'd read them.
Pet Sematary (Michael C Hall from Dexter), The Exorcist (William Peter Blatty), and Between Two Fires (Steve West) were the opposite and were hugely elevated by the performances
I am legend will always be my number one. Not only is it just great, but it was one of the most formative reads of my life. When people ask the style of writing i like or my favortie authors i always reference that book and the way Richard Matheson writes it.
i loved heart shaped box, read it so quick. amazing.
Great list! I'd also give the novel The Omen a go. The movie was good but I always find the books creepier because your imagination adds a heap of detail.
Your comment about your transition from sci fi / fantasy to horror resonated with me. I was never a big horror fan but at some stage my mind made the connection of fantasy = horror and that made horror a lot more attractive to me.
Books are almost always better than the movie, at least in my experience
Absolutely! You get a much deeper look at the characters - inner thoughts, personality, motivations. I also like the immersion from having to use my own imagination to picture the characters and scenes.
Great to see you'll be giving horror more love on your channel Mike. Will you be continuing into the multiverse anytime soon? It's been too long.
I wanted to take a step back on the re-reads but I imagine I'll get back to it next year.
In no particular order
IT - Stephen King
Salems Lot - Stephen King
Boys in the Valley - Philip Fracassi
Summer of Night - Dan Simmons
My Heart is a Chainsaw - Stephen Graham Jones
The Return - Rachel Harrison
Beneath - Kristi DeMeester
Swan Song - Robert McCammon
Come With Me - Ronald Malfi
Wanderers - Chuck Wendig
LISEY story has been my favourite Stephen King book in a very long time but thank you so much for this. I am a new subscriber and enjoying it a lot.
Welcome aboard!
A vow the borealis on our wrist.
We blink the way the headless horseman rides;
how pounds the heart! his gallop on the bridge.
Commitments tame the dreadful course of Time.
A bower parodies the guillotine.
There, couples smile while cheating Death
with bowed foreheads and lips about to meet
where in Love’s kiss eternity is fetched.
This bond assists the newlywed’s escape,
and laughing at the hooves behind their backs.
The horseman’s tricked to stop at thrown bouquets,
and at the graveyard groove they hide at last.
With quiet giggling behind tombstones
two hands between two stones are still eloped
That one part was necessary for the formation of the Katet and its mystical powers. IT.
That one part is necessary for the formation of the katet and its mystical powers. IT
It is my number 1 as well. Such a perfect book. Dint know they I've read much horror besides King and Bou:s Life.
Thanks 'Ive been reading horror since my teens. That's a nice copy of Heart Shaped Box.
Mike did you read Duma Key? Or did you miss that one? If not, I would love for you to read that very scary King novel!
Did you watch the new TV show of Interview with the Vampire? What did you think? There's a lot of changes but I feel it somehow still manages to capture the spirit of the book and personally I love it more than the movie.
Nah, I'm tired of "adaptations" that aren't made as the author described. I'm glad others enjoy them and I'd never take that away from them. I just choose not to watch.
I found your channel because of the last top ten horror video of all time list you made. I feel alone with not liking The Troop by Cutter but Pet Sematary by King will always be my fave horror book because of its darkness. But a lot of good books on this list, especially Dracula. ❤
Horror is a very divisive genre. There are plenty others love that didn't click for me.
@@mikesbookreviews yeah I always tend to like the ones that other people doesn't like. 😅 And don't mean to spam your comment section...
Dipped my toe into the horror genre this year. I read Seed, How to sell a haunted house, and pet Sematary.
How was Seed?
@@ithrahmunchswallow468 I enjoyed it. Maybe a little slower for my taste but I think it’s worth a look for sure.
@@danielhartley9343 cool thanks. I'm finishing up Our Share of the Night now and it I slow burn brilliance.
Love the horror content.
Great list! I have never read The Exorcist either and never read HP Lovecraft….I have The Exorcist in physical form and during your video downloaded the Kindle Unlimited of all of HP Lovecraft, so I am ready to give them a try. I read the whole Mr Mercedes trilogy and then Holly and loved it! Stephen King is fantastic. I try to read 1-2 of his per year and tried Mr Mercedes previously and it didn’t hook me the first go but this time, I flew through the series and Holly! Wow, not a horror in the same way but OMG, dark and messed up!
I am in the last 100 pages of Nevill’s No One Gets Out Alive and loving it. And reading the early arc of Distant Sons by Tim Johnston. It’s a little slow at the beginning but picking up. I decided to embrace the dark and creepy for Halloween this year and don’t regret it at all. So many great books!
Lovecraft can be a little jarring at first due to the act people spoke differently 100+ years ago. But once you get used to it his stories will stick with you.
@@mikesbookreviews Thanks for the warning! I’m willing to overlook language from so long ago. It’s the stories that I’m interested in checking out.
Listening to IT right now. About 10% in and it’s great so far.
The movie Something wicked scared me so much as a child, but I loved scary movies so I loved it! I didn't even realize the movie was based off a book. I have to read that!
What is the black mark in IT?
A friend and I were watching movies that terrified us as kids and his was Something Wicked this Way Comes. After I finished making fun of him for being scared by that, I ended up reading the book which I absolutely fell in love with. I need to read it again. My movie was Lady in White *shudders*. It and The Stand are 2 of my favs from SK. Loved the Dark Tower series too.
It is very good, but it isn’t my top horror book because I think it’s a little long. But I totally get how it’s considered King’s best or second best book.
I think Pet Sematary is the best horror book I’ve read. It’s suspenseful, atmospheric, thought-provoking and emotional, and it hits even harder if you’re a parent.
Anyone that picks Pet Sematary over IT I wouldn't argue much. Both are amazing reads.
I’d highly recommend Shraders Chord by Scott Leeds. Incredible debut
I'll check it out!
I liked The Ruins by Scott Smith. But I will be reading your Ray Bradbury pick. I loved his short stories but haven't read this one.
Looking forward to you picking up The Rats by James Herbert. Surely just an evenings reading for you that but could open up some amazing British horror. The Fog is another by him that really deals with setting the creepy and inevitable tone throughout. Hopefully he might make the 2025 list!
That's one of the new authors I'm most excited about.
I remember sneaking the exorcist from the library when I was 10 it scared me so bad, I watched the movie on my 8th birthday and the book scared me so much more, I lied to my mother to let me wait outside the Akron city library the day legion came out and I lied to her and said it’s just a detective novel i loved it also. And I waited at boarders books when exorcist the beginning came out and I hate that book with all my heart lol
IT is the only book that has scared me but i was living by a remote swamp with no bathroom in my trailer. The night walks to the bathroom were exciting 🤪
😂😂😂😂😂
I’ve been reading King since the early 80s and IT has been one of the only books that scared the hell outta me. (The scene where the balloon suddenly pops in the library still makes me shiver.)
@@Alex-sr3ez um impossible to scare. Best any book does is make me uncomfortable this is why I love Bentley Little 🤪
@@ithrahmunchswallow468 wait a second. You said in your original comment: “IT is the only book that has scared me…”
And now you’re saying it’s impossible for a book to scare you.
So which is it?
@@Alex-sr3ez that was the last one. I was 19. 🤷♀️
Good horror book list ,Mike. I heard so much good things about Nick Cutter and The Troop, I look out for his books. You left James Herbert out of your list, which is a shame because he was a brilliant horror writer and he written some gory books.
My biggest challenge with Horror is that I can’t do much body horror/gore because it icks me out, but it doesn’t scare me… I’m really hard to scare in books. I want to be terrified not grossed out.
then read Stephen King lol, or even H. P. Lovecraft
I’ve read It and The Shining… they didn’t do much for me. I read Fairy Tale and knew it wasn’t going to be scary, but I enjoyed that one.
There is a part in SK's IT that nobody ever wants to talk about. It's the elephant in the room every time someone brings up IT. Will it ever be addressed?
Always wanted to do this...first!
Thomas Ligotti's short stories are also well worth reading. Very lovecraftian.
I'll look some up!
I just read The Exorcist for the first time and was blown away. Still an absolutely riveting read after all these years.
100 percent
I can't decide on 10, so here's my top 15. I can't sort them. The order here is arbitrary:
North American Lake Monsters
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
The Terror
The Hellbound Heart
Rosemary's Baby
Entropy in Bloom
Let the Right One In
Experimental Film
The Shadow Over Innsmouth (if I had to choose one Lovecraft work . . .)
The Wasp Factory
House of Leaves
Uzumaki
The Exorcist
The Cipher
Blood Music
May I suggest Darkest heart by Eddie Evans
I know its not horror related, have you watched the expanse show?
Great choices !
Mike, I dont know if you read your comments, but given your love of The Willows, The Color Out of Space, and The Haunting of Hill House, I think you would *really* love Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer.
I do read them! The movie was a big disappointment for me and that it turned me off the book.
@@mikesbookreviews That's too bad! I liked the movie and thought it captured the tone and aesthetics of the book pretty well, but the plot was completely different (other than the basic idea of an all-female expedition into a mysterious zone), and the movie obviously can't replicate the writing style. I think the director has said he used the book as inspiration and was never even attempting a faithful adaptation. Depending on what you didn't like about the movie, you might like the book, or it might just not be your thing.
Great list. Waiting for more horror content. 🙂
yay! New books i never knew about. Thanks
Hope you like some!
You should read Horns by Joe Hill next. I guarantee you will like it and probably blow through it quickly. The Fireman kind of dragged for me. Strange Weather was good too.
I've heard that from many in the comments now
Joe Hill *Horns* it's a dark dark love story with an amazing ending!
Just bought The Willows based on your recommendation. Well...bought, it's free on Kindle right now. ;)
Enjoy!
Great you have The Willows on your list. I love Algernon Blackwood. I don't find Joe Hill's novels scary at all, i prefer from him Horns which is more weird and magic realism fiction and his collection of stories Twenty Century Ghosts which is excellent. Good list
The Willows is creepy as hell.
Hockstedder’s Fridge
Ugghhhhhhhhh creeps me out just thinking out it
I believe a good number of us who love fantasy and science fiction also love horror. Honestly they bleed together quite often. I love your videos and please keep making all the goodness!
My favourite horror books are history texts
Mine are math books. 😂
guys have you read the bible? its a great horror book
I have read the Bible, but not sure which books you’re referencing. There’s nothing I’d call horror in there, maybe some of Judges?
@@nikkivenable73 they are comparable i guess
@@lockdowntechie3122 lol, yes!
Mike, I think you underestimate the number of horror fans who watch your channel. I think it’s reasonable to cover horror throughout the year and double down during spooky season.
Try some Clive barker. The great and secret show is brilliant
If you like coming of age & stories with a vibe that gives Stephen King back in the day, you should check out Summer of Night by Dan Simmons
Currently reading Pet Sematary, this will probably be my top one, together with Carrie, I am Legend and some otherndark books I've read
Great picks
Everybody watching top 10🫥
Meanwhile me skipping to top 1💀
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson!
I hate when ppl criticize that one little part of IT. It’s not that big of a deal people It is an amazing book
Never understood why people thought Salems Lot was scary. It was kind of spooky until the vampire actually reveals itself. Then it got cartoony. The vampires just seemed...cliche. Like the anticipation to see an alien and how they look like. Then they finally come down and reveal themselves and they end up looking exactly how you expect. 👽. It's like...bro. I'm not scared no more.
I see sandman and preacher back thr.. my top 2 favorite comics
I have plenty to read still, but so far, Salem’s Lot gave me the creeps the most.
43 years old and I still double check every drain, because reasons
He scarred a generation.
Please read The Works of Arthur Machen. Scared the beejesus out of me!
First I've heard the name. I'll look them up.
I’ve only read IT as a horror book, I really enjoyed it, but I think it was more the literary genius of King rather than actually enjoying horror, reading IT before bed = some weird dreams lol