The Top 30 Best Horror Books You Need to Read Before You Die
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- čas přidán 11. 06. 2024
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My pick of the 30 greatest horror novels or short story collections across 15 categories which I made up.
Books discussed:
The Books of Blood by Clive Barker
Complete Works of HP Lovecraft
Moon Dance by SP Somtow
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Let's Go Play at the Adams' by Mendal Johnson
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
By Reason of Insanity by Shane Stevens
The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
Summer of Night by Dan Simmons
IT by Stephen King
The Stand by Stephen King
Swan Song by Robert R McCammon
Slugs by Shaun Hutson
The Rats by James Herbert
The Fog by James Herbert
One Rainy Night by Richard Laymon
The Cipher by Kathe Koja
House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski
The Shining by Stephen King
Ghost Story by Peter Straub
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Blackwater by Michael McDowell
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
The Case Against Satan by Ray Russell
Ring by Koji Suzuki
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
John Dies at the End by David Wong
The Coming Thing by Anne Billson
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Currently accepting crime, pulp and horror books for review. Email CriminOlly (at) gmail.com
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Music: Who's Afraid of Halloween by Alfred Grupstra from Pixabay
I'm taking the unusual step of commenting on my own video.
For some reason lots of people seem to be upset by a comment I make near the start. I say that I am conscious that this list is made up largely of white male authors (which is true, it is). Apparently this is a controversial thing to say. "The author's colour shouldn't matter!" people type (interestingly, no one seems to care about the gender part of my statement).
Let me explain why I think the colour (and gender, and sexuality) of authors DOES matter. We live in a society where culture has been dominated by white male voice for centuries. Millions of our fellow citizens have struggled their entire lives to find voices in genres like horror who they felt represented their existence. The fact that such authors are now appearing is fantastic, both for the people who haven't been represented in the past, and for people like me. I read to experience and understand things I don't see in my everyday life. Much as I love many white male authors, I don't only want to read about an existence I'm already familiar with.
So from now on rather than individually replying to loudly offended people I will just direct them to this statement.
And if you're one of the people who does get why it matters, thank you for watching my videos and supporting my channel.
Very well said.
I'm not upset by anything. If that is your opinion that's fine. The thing is though, someone's color doesn't, in reality, matter. Yeah for a long time color and race was an issue, but it isn't now. Someone's race doesn't make them better, worse, or have more value to contribute to something. Their character does.
I don't want to see us go backwards on MLKJ's achievements.
@@09RetsamEdalb What? In a perfect world yes, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, etc wouldn’t decide someone’s popularity as a writer, for example. Your comment seems to imply that MLKJ’s achievements were to make race unimportant or something. The issues he and many others fought against are still prevalent.
@@09RetsamEdalb for me the reality is that colour SHOULDN’T matter but it still very much does.
@@indecipherable22 👏🏻👏🏻
No time to die with such a big and evergrowing TBR. Thanks for the recs!! I must say that the covers for these are astonishing. Pity they don't make them like that anymore.
Ha! My pleasure! Hope you enjoy them. And yes, I totally agree about the covers.
Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in a Castle. What an incredible writer she was.
Agreed - she was so so great. I think I like her short stories most
Most indeedy !
@@CriminOllyBlog Imagine only having read The Lottery, and discovering that Jackson had written at least a dozen stories almost or just as good as The Lottery, all these masterpieces of minimalist dread and unsettling precision. Amazingly good writer.
@@Melancthon7332 She really is wonderful
Forces to read it in school ngl
I have been "beating the drum" of Summer of Night for years. Thank you for including it here. A masterpiece in my opinion!
Song of Kali and Children of the Night were good too. I like his sci-fi stuff too
I happened to come across your video tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have read many of the books mentioned. Of course, being 71 I’ve had a lot of years to spend reading. I was glad to see Blackwater mentioned, as I don’t think many people are aware of this book.
I’ve subscribed and looking forward to catching up on your other videos.
Thanks Mary, really glad you enjoyed it. I think Michael McDowell is starting to get more recognition now, thanks to the renewed interest in vintage horror.
Hope you find more videos to enjoy on the channel!
Usually my suggested videos are not great, but this is perfectly up my alley. Amazing video, have a ton of new books to buy and an awesome new CZcams channel to watch!!
Thanks Abby! Really glad you enjoyed it. 😊
That anyone could take offense to any of your statements is unfortunate, and proof that many people these days are quite literally looking for opportunities to take offense. Well done video👍
Thank you - I completely agree. I think there are people (on both sides of any argument) who actively seek out confrontation
I always appreciate videos like this, especially in a genre that I've not had too much exposure to. Good stuff.
Cheers, Nathan! Glad you enjoyed it.
I am 72 years old and have read all but 5 in your list. I just ordered Night Film. Looking forward to reading it.
Hope you enjoy it!
Scott Smith's The Ruins is probably the creepiest I've read. I guess you could call this a type of Mother Nature Horror. Another great, classic horror is Richard Matheson's Hell House. I would bring my family for holiday at the Overlook before I'd take one foot in Hell House.
Yeah, The Ruins is excellent! I haven’t read Hell House but I really need to.
Oh yeah, Hell House was amazing!! SO much fun! If anyone has recommendations for haunted house type books, I would be very interested. I would add in The Girl in the Swing by Richard Adams, not necessarily a horror, but extremely tense with a rising sense of unease, very cool.
@@skengels I’d not heard of Girl in the Swing - it sounds intriguing!
@@CriminOllyBlog Same guy that wrote Watership Down! My old roommate had a panic attack while reading it and couldn't finish so you know it's good.
@@skengels yeah I thought that must be him! That’s nuts
The Woman in Black is brilliantly done, atmospheric and chilling. I've read the book, watched the terrifying BBC film adaptation (not to be confused with the terrible Daniel Radcliffe remake) and experienced the fabulous Shaftsbury Theatre stage production - minimalist and truly astonishing.
I saw the play years ago and remember it being incredibly effective
I didn’t like the movie, it had a few spooky bits, but it didn’t do much for me. Going to read the novel soon, so many people, like you, say it’s so much better.
Just found your videos via your Stephen King ranking and I'm now addicted! I'm glad you have so much content! I'm excited to keep up with your new videos!
Brilliant video! This was an ambitious one and it was really great. Of course, I’ve read many of these. The others I will definitely read before I die.
Thanks Michael!
I can't believe I've just found your channel. Really interesting and helpful stuff. Plus revolving watches, what's not to like? Keep up the good work and all that. 😀
Ha! Thanks Stephen! Glad you enjoyed the video (and the watches!).
Great list - loved your video and explanation of each. Two books of horror short stories that I really enjoyed are: Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison, and The October Country by Ray Bradbury - - maybe more just unsettling than horror in some stories, but once you read them, they stay with you. That is the type of writing that I love.
I’ve not read those. Will check them out. Thank you!
Been watching for a bit finally subbing today. Thanks for the great content!
Thank you! Glad you're enjoying it
Just discovered your channel this week. Really enjoying your videos and book recommendations!
Fantastic! So glad you're enjoying it
What an awesome video! I am new to the genre, so it was exiting for me. Great idea with different themes and sub genres
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
That was fantastic! My TBR just grew by about ten books. Thank you!
My pleasure! Thanks so much for watching :)
Loved this recommendations! I added some to my infinite TBR, thanks.
Fantastic! Really glad you found the video useful
Thank you so much!! So many great book recommendations!!
Thank you! Glad you found it helpful!
Gosh, what a great list! It's so hard to pick 30 best horror books! So many of these I love! Like Silence of the Lambs (whether it is more horror or thriller) is an incredibly and chilling book, with Hannibal Lector being one of the greatest fictional killers. The Haunting of Hill House is another truly disturbing one! Jackson creates this creepy atmosphere like no other author!
Thanks, Anne. And yes, Jackson really was fantastically good at atmosphere
Starting off with lovecraft and barker i immediately knew this would be a good list. Ty🙏
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it
Well done! Definitely added a few more to my TBR
Excellent!
I only saw your thumbnail and for a good few seconds. I thought you were dennis quaid.
I will watch this whole video on that basis alone.
I can confirm I am definitely not Dennis Quaid, but am very flattered by the comparison. His performance in The Big Easy is one of my favourite things!
I’ve read Dracul and My Best Friend’s Exorcism this spooky season. Both are so good! I’m really impressed by the quality and care that went into Dracul, it really surprised, and MBFE made me cry hehe. Grady Hendrix is probably my favorite modern horror author. I enjoyed this vid, thanks 👍🏻
I’ve heard really good things about Dracul. MBFE is great, really glad you enjoyed it. And the video! Thanks for watching 😊
Great list! I've read King, McCammon, Straub and Jackson. I enjoyed them all. I have Night Film and House of Leaves but haven't read them yet. I think I'm intimidated by House of Leaves. I added several to my TBR. Thanks for the recommendations.
House of Leaves is a big, weird book, but it’s very readable when you get into it. Don’t let it intimidate you!
Was pleasantly surprised that I had read more of these than I thought I would have and many of my blindspot have been gathering dust on a shelf...time to give them a read. Great video!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it
I'm glad to see you grouped together the stand with swan song. I love both these books and also grouped them together too. Enjoyed them both equally.
Yeah, both are excellent
Great video, I'm glad to have found your channel! Southern Gothic is probably my favorite of the subgenres you mentioned. We Have Always Lived in the Castle was so strange...I think I need to re-read it as I'm still not sure I got everything. :) Blackwater also sounds good, though I haven't read it yet.
Good video! I’m pretty new to horror and have been mostly just listening to audiobooks of Stephen King short stories - I really loved The Road Virus Heads North, so I’m excited to check out your ‘haunted artwork’ recommendations :)
I love your videos! So glad you included The Girl Next Door and Let’s Go Play. Both are extremely good studies in empathy and brutality. I agree that Let’s Go Play may actually be the stronger work - the elegance of the writing juxtaposes its absolute brutality. I’ve never been more unsettled by a book.
Thank you so much! And yeah it’s really a troubling work
Traveling for work right now -- thanks for giving me some great flight-delay vids!
Thank you! Hope the delay wasn't too bad!
I'm fairly new to horror but of the ones you listed I've read Books of Blood, all the SKs, Swan Song and The Rats and I'd agree with all of them, so I'll definitely try get to all the others at some point. Great video, subscribed :)
Thanks, Tim, glad you enjoyed it! For someone who is new to horror you're doing pretty well so far!
Great list! I'll add some to my TBR.
Thanks Martin! Hope you enjoy them!
New to the Genre, thanks for taking the time to share.
It makes me so happy Richard Laymon made this list. Him and Koontz got me into horror
Lovecraft and King were my first, but Laymon and Koontz followed not long after! Thanks for watching!
I love your channel. Thanks for so many excellent book recommendations! Have you done 'House of Leaves' yet? I'll go dig through your video list because you probably have.
Thank you so much! And yes I have!
Great channel, and several good suggestions to read. I would add to the comedy horror category Joe Lansdale’s Drive-In.
Great book! I did a review of that on the channel somewhere!
I’m so glad I found your channel. I can’t put Summer of Night down!
Ah brilliant! So glad you're enjoying it
Good to see Swan Song in there. I actually found the first half of the book pretty funny in areas. Granted I have a pretty twisted sense of humor at times, but I think it's intentionally so.
Yeah I know what you mean, there's definitely an element of satire there
I liked it more than The Stand. It's wonderfully pulpy.
Very nice. I'm planning on getting my hands on a few of these.
Enjoy!
Spectacular list! Read most of the old school ones back in the 80s as a teen swimming in the horror novel renaissance.
Glad you enjoyed it!
The Shining, hands down, scariest book I read as a young person. I had to sleep with the closet light on. Neither movie did it service, but Jack Nicholson, chefs kiss!
Yeah, that really is an iconic performance from Nicholson!
_Ghost Story_ scared me the most of any novel.
What was the scariest part of _The Shining_ ? I thought the description of the fire hose nozzle was pretty scary.
Awesome list! Many of them I've read, but a lot that I haven't. Interesting categories too! Your cursed film category brought two novels to mind: Experimental Film by Gemma Files and Flicker by Theodore Roszak - although the latter isn't horror, but conspiracy on the same level as an Umberto Eco novel.
Thank you! I’ve heard great things about Experimental Film!
Oh and thank you for acknowledging McDowell. I love his books, have you read The Elementals? that's my favorite of his novels.
I have, and actually I didn't love it. I think I might just have not been in the right mood for it
I LOVE Clive Barker! "In the Hills, the Cities" is probably my favorite of his short stories. 💜
That is a really great one
@@CriminOllyBlog You're the 1st person to whom I've mentioned it that has read it. I'm currently laid up again with a bad ahem "cold" so as I can't sleep I'll be binging your channel 💜
@@violetfemme411 hope you feel better soon! My videos will definitely help you drop off 😂
@@CriminOllyBlog Not at all! I'm so ramped up right now, hearing you mention so many of my favorite reads. Actually I was just thinking, if you and I were discussing books one on one, we'd be laughing hard at how many times we said the exact same things at the same time. 🤣 btw...are you familiar with the book "A Confederacy of Dunces?" You've probably discussed the book and the interesting yet tragic backstory on it. So far I'm binging on the horror and most disturbing lists. But I intend on catching up on all your videos. I'm over the moon, having found you and your channel. 💜
Dread in volume 2 is one of my all time fav. Pig Blood Blues (Vol 1) is great too.
Hi Olly, random question but do you typically keep books you’ve read but didn’t like in your collection?
Hi Harvey - I tend to do a clear out once a year or so and pass on anything I really hated to a charity shop
Fantastic list, a number of new names I want to order and read. What do you think about Ramsey Campbell?
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I haven’t read a huge amount of Campbell, but what I have read I really liked. The Doll Who Ate His Mother in particular I thought was great
Oh Iain Banks loved his work and so glad I found your site🇨🇦💜🇨🇦
Thanks Emily! So glad you're enjoying it
I'm very glad to have found your channel. What a wealth of horror I never knew existed!
Thank you! Really glad you're enjoying it
Thank you for making this video! I’m a huge fan of the horror book and film genre. With the new film coming out next month, I decided to finally read The Exorcist. Because if your video, I just purchased A Case Against Satan from Amazon.
Cool! Hope you enjoy it!
Great list, I've read about half of these. I KNEW you were going to mention Swan Song, The Rats, and Summer of Night (which really surprised me, I'd always thought Dan Simmons wrote trashy novels, but SoN was very literate--it made me think of Dandelion Wine, but minus all the fond nostalgia and cozy family values; highly recommended). For haunted people, I would add Peter Straub's Julia; for Southern Gothic, I would add Michael McDowell's The Elementals; and for cursed art (in this case, blueprints), I would add Anne Rivers Siddons' The House NeXt Door (the horrors are a bit on the aww, first-world problems side, but the build-up, dread, climax, and the The End? ending still give me the creeps 40 years after my first reading). Love coming across your videos, Olly, keep 'em coming!
Thanks Eric, really glad you're enjoying the channel. I'd not heard of The House Next Door but will check it out!
Dan Simmons is definitely not a trashy novelist, he is one of the most intelligent writers around. He ran a program for gifted children when he was a teacher.
I've read many of these books and I loved the majority of them. I believe Laird Barron's The Imago Sequence is a short story collection worthy of being beside H. P. Lovecraft's work and Clive Barker's The Books of Blood. I'm definitely checking out the rest of your videos since this was such a great list
Really glad you enjoyed the video, thank you! I’ve not read Laird Barron but will check him out.
Not a Barker fan really, but Lovecraft is great and Barron is the best/closest thing to a modern successor. I love the Barron mythos and unconventional meld of hard boiled & weird in much of his work. Also for a first novel The Croning was excellent, albeit perhaps slightly opaque for those unfamiliar with his short story corpus. _All hail Old Leech!_
*If you're new to Barron I recommend starting with his best short story, The Men From Porlock.* It's brilliantly creepy, central to his mythos, a great introduction for a newcomer, and functions as a sort of historical prequel to his first novel. My highest possible recommendation; if you are a Lovecraft fan this is absolutely for you -- and if you like that story you'll love the rest of his stuff.
I should have read your comment before writing mine. You have outstanding taste! (lol)
Part of what I enjoy about Barron's work is the cosmology that underlines much of his short stories - like Lovecraft. How we (humans) are no more than insects to the powerful entities we call God(s). The Gods don't hate us, we're simply not worthy of their attention.
Unless you foolishly manage to make them aware. Then it's similar to our relationship with insects. They might discover we're tasty, amusing to torture or a pest best exterminated.
Sometimes I imagine what would go through the 'minds' of ants while their nests are sprayed with pesticide or stomped on by some child. Something like, "Dear God(s)! What have we done to deserve this horrible fate?"
That's the horror of Lovecraft. It isn't that God doesn't exist. He/She does exist, but we're beneath their attention. We are meaningless. (And that's the best case scenario!).
I've read Laird Barron's first three short story collections as well as The Croning. I plan on reading Swift To Chase sometime this year. I love his Children of Old Leech stories and eventually I want to read his crime books. Other authors of Weird horror shirt stories that I love are Nadia Bulkin, Nathan Ballingrud, Philip Fracassi, and if course Thomas Ligotti.
Nathan's "North American Lake Monsters " is a fantastic ss collecion. Found out about his work from one of Datlow's "Years Best Horror Series" - fid0i Sunbleached. In a later volume she selected 'An Atlas of Hell" and "The Maw".
Just read Fracassi's newest: "A Child Alone with Strangers". Not his best, but better than 90% of what's out their.
His ss/novella "Mother" still creeps me. The clueless, self-absorbed, husband deser punishment for his selfish, contemptible treatment of his family. Still, divorce court would have been a better path than black magic/spider/Alien path she choose.
Still, the husband was such a selfish POS, I didn't feel too badly when he was his child's first solid meal
Since you brought Thomas Harris what would you recommend for fans of his books? I’ve been chasing this high for 10 years without success. Basically if google recommends it under books like silence of the lambs I’ve read it. Any suggestions? Ps love your content!
I do think Harris does it particularly well. Have you tried The Killing Lessons by Saul Black? I thought that was a really effective thriller.
@@CriminOllyBlog I will give it a go! Ty!
Recently read a reprint of “Fingers of Fear” from the late 1930s and found it to be shockingly creepy and insightful. Also glad you included straubs “Ghost Story” as that book left me shook! That book felt frighteningly familiar and homey
I'll have to seek that one out
I have enjoyed watching several of your videos and even though I don't always agree you definitely know your stuff! For me King is one of the leading short story writers and arguably word for word it is his best stuff. (and I am a big fan of most of his books) I'm not a big Lovecraft fan although I definitely respect his contribution to the genre and realize I wouldn't have some of my favorite stories without the groundwork he laid. Regarding the original horror writers Poe is probably more of a favorite for me personally. Love Books of Blood and while not every story works equally all of them are so memorable. I need to read more of his long fiction and have several of them in my TBR pile.
I love that Clive Barker is one of the first authors you mentioned. I read a lot of his work in the 1980s and 90s. For Lovecraft, I've only read a few of his stories, so far. I really enjoyed the Watcher in the Dark.
Amazing book recs love it new sub❤
Yay! Thank you!
Great video. I love a good horror book (thought I'd read most most of them, until I saw this) I have since written down about 5 of your recommendations! Although I would have included M R James in the short story section (but like you say.....every one has their own opinion)
Thank you! Glad enjoyed it
I had not read five, including both comedy horror books. I ordered the Shane Steven's novel. Never heard of it.
I thought you made a fantastic list and you're comments were spot on and inciteful.
Thank you! Really glad you found the list interesting. Shane Stevens is really great.
Absolutely agree about Richard Laymon, pretty terrible as a writer but 'the traveling vampire show' and 'endless night' are two of my all time favourite horror books. Endless night rivals 'intensity' by Koontz for a kid escapes murderer book, and 'the traveling vampire show' has one of the best pay offs/twists in the genre
Great list. I don't read a lot of horror but like to dip my toe in occasionally. I have only read 6 of these - two Shirley Jackson, two Stephen King, Night Film and House of Leaves. I am hoping to read Dracula later this year.
Hope you enjoy Dracula when you get to it!
WELL DONE! I just found you on YT and I think your reviews and explanations are excellent. Consider me a subscriber anxious to see more of your work. Your comment on this video, with your explanation, is understandable to me, so please do not let that impact your message or your great videos.
Thank you, Christopher! Really glad you enjoyed the video
Thank you for including Shirley Jackson and Michael McDowell.
Did you read Michael McDowell's unfinished book completed after his passing his by Tabitha King ?
Have you read The Other by Tom Tryon?
The only books on this list that I've read so far are House of Leaves and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Thanks for all these recommendations!!
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!
Brilliant video! Chuck Jones meets Rosemary’s Baby! I’m in!
LOL - hope you like it! Her other books are great too
I loved this video. So many great recommendations! I have owned a copy of Moon Dance for over 25 years and for whatever reason have never read it. I will someday…
Hope you enjoy it!
Great list. I had fun anticipating what I guessed would be the entries for each category. I pleasantly often guessed correctly except for the handful I haven't read. Happy to see such lesser known entries such as Blackwater, One Rainy Night, and A Case Against Satan. On other books, I'd throw out a bit of caution to potential readers. Let's Go Play at the Adams' wasn't exactly an enjoyable subect matter, and it's in the same vein of The Girl Next Door. Neither are my cup of tea, but I'm sure they'll have some redeeming qualities for some. I love lists like this on the chance that I'll discover some new books to check out. Just ordered The Cypher, for example, so thank you for that!
Yeah Let's Go Play at the Adams' is a very hard read.
Glad you enjoyed the list, hope you like The Cipher!
Ordered the RATS trilogy ! I have read some of these and the way you describe the books make we want to dive into horror again. I was also a steven king kid ~
Excellent! I hope you enjoy them! 🐀
The Rats is a great book!
Is there a scene in the book where they fight animals in a zoo? I want to say a lion but I read it a long time ok!
@@spencergregory8049 Guess you are going to have to read it again. to find out ~ :)
@@ms_taree7335 Ha ha 😂 Please tell me.... Seriously though I remember that bit because I think the Lion puts up a good fight but one of the animals does a runner!
So many great options to add to my tbr!! I'm currently reading House of Leaves, and boy!! What a ride!!
It's great isn't it
@@CriminOllyBlog It sure is!!!
Another great list with crazy interesting titles👏🏻 - 📚MJ
Thanks MJ!
Great video! I have read the Stephen King books, The Girl Next Door, and The Exorcist. I will look into all of the others. The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson is another great one. Read that one if you haven't already. 👍
Thank you! I have read The Amityville Horror!
Great list! The Woman in Black is my absolute favourite ghost story - it just does not miss a beat. Fantastically unnerving.
‘Ghost Story’ has been on my to-read list for too too long. Time to dive into it.
Thanks Chris! Hope you enjoy Ghost Story!
The Woman in Black is the pinnacle and apotheosis of the classic British ghost story. In fact I highly recommend all Hill's supernatural work (haven't read her other stuff). Ghost Story is also top notch, although with a bunch of old men as heroes and rather cerebral, deliberate pacing it's not for folks who like fast-moving action and gore. Still one of the seminal works of the genre, and the novel that made Straub's career -- sadly he just passed on Sept 4th...
Read another book of his that he wrote afterward called _Shadowland._ It was amazing! My fifth favourite novel of all time.
Truly ambitious Olly. Good selection of books. I've only read 17 of them - and I'm quite a bit older than you 😁. I'll have to add the other 13 to the (ever growing) list of books to be read. BTW did Clive Barker ever publish any other volumes of short stories after the Books of Blood?
Thank you! No, I don't think he went back to short stories once he started writing huge novels
Lots of good stuff on your list! Summer of Night is a very underrated classic that I find much better than IT, within the Roman-a-clef, coming-of-age subgenre. Simmons' Song of Kali and The Terror are also top notch stuff. Also a vote for several Straub's earlier works of which Ghost Story is the best (RIP Peter Straub Sept 4/22). Lovecraft goes without saying, and Hill's The Woman in Black, is _the apotheosis_ of the classic British ghost story. However, I'm upset that you left out The Elementals by Michael McDowell. It's one of the best "haunted house" (but not really) novels ever, and McDowell in general is a criminally unknown but excellent author... I just can't believe you chose Blackwater over The Elementals! Also that you left out Ellis' American Psycho -- although it's not straight up horror it wouldn't be out of place here, and is one of the greatest novels of the modern era *period.* I would've also added Robert Chambers' The King in Yellow and anything by Robert Aickman as absolutely top notch essentials of weird/horror.
Otherwise a great list! I wouldn't vote for anything to be taken off I guess, but personally I don't much care for Robert McCammon. Boy's Life was good, but most of his novels just didn't do anything for me. Also I've grown to be much less of a fan of Stephen King as I grew out of my teens decades ago. His earlier stuff was far better than his output of the last several years, but The Stand and The Shining do at least fit within his prime era. I've been more or less disappointed wit him since Under The Dome, and even before then felt most of his output becoming derivative; rehashing the same themes and characters ad nauseum (the 'magical negro' for example is a perennial inclusion). He cannot write an ending to save his life since The Stand, and I'm not at all a fan of his leftist, anti-gun politics which have crept more and more into his work. It's like since the '90s his best aspects have stagnated while the worst have grown. Rant over 💤
I really need to read The King in Yellow and some Aickman too. I do like American Psycho, but like you said it’s kind of not really horror in a way.
Wow Moon Dance! I totally forgot about reading that book. Definitely a great read.
It's so good!
Swan Song is excellent! I have recommended it to friends and they have all loved it.
It really is great!
Fantastic video! I will track down Blackwater come hell or high water! For coming of age novels I would suggest Something Wicked this Way Comes by Ray Bradbury and Shadowland by Peter Straub, which I feel is a hugely under-rated novel. I love Clive Barker, especially Weaveworld. He himself classifies this as fantasy, What do you think?
Thanks, Cliff! Agree that the Bradbury is excellent! I need to read more Straub as I think I’ve only read 2 or 3 of his.
I agree with Barker that is longer work is fantasy. The Books of Blood are definitely horror though!
@@CriminOllyBlog To be honest, I am not convinced. Weaveworld, Imajica and The great and secret show have so many horror elements. Lets call it fantasy/horror. I have the same issues with Intensity by Koontz. I am not a Koontz fan but found some of this content dark and disturbing, which is missing in his other books.
When I eventually get down to making videos, I will have to decide on including cross-genre books on my list. I adore Clive Barker, but Coldheart Canyon (which is amazing) and The Damnation Game are his only "true" horror novels. Question, What do you think of Michael Slade, and in particular Ghoul and
Headhunter? Crime? Horror?
@@CliffsDarkGems I would call the Slade books horror, but they do have very strong crime (and especially police procedural) elements
A great idea Olly!!
Thanks Pax!
I love John Dies at the End. Have you read Rant by Chuck Palahinuk? I don't know how to categorize it. It's like Sci-fi and a kind of horror. I wish they would make it into a movie.
Of these, I've read
The Shining
Lovecraft (almost everything he wrote)
Dracula
Both Shirley Jackson novels
and The Rats
I definitely will look into Moon Dance a bit more, I've been searching for a good werewolf novel and have yet to find one that was really satisfying
Moon Dance is great! You should definitely check it out
Fantastic list! I’m surprised that I’ve read a good number of these, though I suppose I shouldn’t be. I really should reread Swan Song… I DNF’d The Fog, though I didn’t mean to. I’ll have to pick that back up as well.
How do you DNF a book accidentally? :D
I know they're not horror, but I saw in the background you have a couple of Mo Hayder books. I have Poppet by her and also A Time Of Torment by John Connolly. So I was pleased to me have similar tastes In books. I've read a couple of books you recommended but the ones I haven't I'll certainly be looking in to
Yeah I haven't got to those yet, but hope to soon. John Connolly (from what I've read if him) is really good
Fantastic video and fantastic books
Thanks, Leon!
Might I suggest an additional category: alien horror? Possibly Blindsight by Peter Watts, and Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell... Your thoughts?
A few people have asked about SF horror so it might well be something I look at in the future.
Great list, interesting channel😊
Thank you so much!
Props for including Shane Stevens. Another very similar one is actually an early work by James Elroy before he lost himself in three word sentences. I think it was called blood on the moon
Aside from the some of the Stephen King, I’ve not read any of these… BUT Lovecraft is on my short list. I live quite near his old stomping grounds so intend to read and explore to immerse myself more. I think I’d like to read Silence of the Lambs as well. I feel like I may have read this when I was young, but my mind is turning into a sieve these days.
That sounds like a very good reason to read Lovecraft! My mind is pretty similar these days!
I took a drive (and got lost) in Providence, RI one night. All i could think of was HPL, especially when i passed a graveyard!
@@tomflynn2912 we have some good graveyards here for sure!!
How u like Reacher books? I read one, it starts out too good, midway it became horriblem are they same formulaic?
I like them quite a bit, but they're definitely formulaic
Which contemporary edition of Dracula would you recommend…Modern Library, Signet, Barnes and Noble? Other? I would appreciate any advice you could give me…Thank You 😊 Big fan of Dan Simmons actually started with his Hyperion SciFi books and went into his horror books with Carrion Comfort which is SciFi/Horror at its highest caliber…Something Stephen King would write when he was in top form perhaps maybe with better prose definitely another of his books I would recommend highly for anyone who enjoys Simmons or horror stories…Summer of night is also the first in a four book series Seasons of Horror
I’m really not an expert on that kind of thing. I have the Penguin cloth bound which is nice and also the Penguin classics paperback.
@@CriminOllyBlog Thank You for your reply
I appreciate it very much also would recommend for a future list American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis Excellent horror novel…
I am new to your channel and this is the first video I watched of yours and found it chock full of information and great book recommendations…I was directed to your channel from the proprietor of the stately Vaughan Manor…I am now subscribed to your channel and look forward to watching your videos new and archived…Thank you again for your assistance and keep up the good works
@@UncleMonk23 Thanks Bob! I've read American Psycho and enjoyed it a lot!
Really loved The Stand. Still creeped out by storm drains since reading “It”. Swan Song - couldn’t put that one down. Loving this channel and review of books. Always been a fan of the horror genre. Great to have more recommendations for late night reading.
Fantastic! Really glad you're enjoying the channel. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
The Stand was so boring lol. And that deus ex machina ending. So cringe with the telepathic nonsense.
Swing song was so much better than The Stand❤
Took me a while to get to this video, I downloaded it the day you published it, wow a big list added to my reading. On the posession Genre; last year I read Come Closer by Sara Gran, I loved how she describes her possession, it was quite frightening as I started thinking man there are lots of these people out there if thats how posession starts. Can recommend it for when you get that window of opportuniy :)
I love that you mentioned Slugs.. I really enjoyed that book 😂
Great list and video. I really like your concise and spoiler free presentation! I loved NIGHT FILM. You should check out FLICKER by Theodore Roszak
Thank you! I try to give just enough info to let viewers get a sense of whether the book is right for them or not.
I’ve been meaning to read Flicker for ages! Must get to it.
Great list. I’ve read some and haven’t read some of course. I love The Cipher so much. weird horror is my kinda thing. Night Film is great. Love the mixed media in that one too. We Have Always Lived in a Castle is my favorite Jackson book that I’ve read so far. Like you said, it’s so unsettling. Merricat is such a great character. Of things haven’t read yet from the list, I most want to get to Swan Song, Summer of Night and Blackwater.
Yeah Merricat is really wonderful. I think you will absolutely love Blackwater
I'll vouch for Summer of Night. Phenomenal! I've read it 3 times, always in the heat of a midsummer, & it does not disappoint.
@@angelicablue Oh awesome! Thanks.
@@angelicablue I’m looking forward to rereading it soon
@@CriminOllyBlog I took your advice regarding Blackwater, & I am solidly entranced! Only about 1/3 of the way through (my copy arrived Friday, & I started it the next day), but WOW. What an EPIC story!! Thanks for recommending!
Great list! I would love to see your suggestions for Folk Horror!
I’ve actually not read that much! It’s definitely an area I need to explore more
Dear Sir, "The Lord of the Flies". I read it when very young and thought as I began that it was a nice children book. By the end, I was chilled and disturbed totally. The epileptic episode of Simon with the Lord of the Flies (the pig's head) - Simple and yet terrible. Masterpiece in my opinion by William Golding.
Yes, that is a truly great book
There should be a category for the illustrated humorous horror of Charles Addams and Edward Gorey.
Have you read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski? Love these recommendations !
I have! In fact I did a video review of it. Thanks for watching, May!