Best Horror Books to Read: Top 8 Horror Writers
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- čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
- There are so many great horror authors out there, but what are the best horror books to read? Or actually, let's take it a step further and ask "who are the most influential horror writers of all time?" These authors have been scaring us for centuries, and their ghastly stories haunt us long after we finish reading them.
Please join the discussion as we try to identify the top horror writers who have inspired centuries of the macabre!
Before Stephen King began writing about Castle Rock, etc. Thomas Tryon gave us the haunting rural landscapes of The Other and Harvest Home.
Wow, you have no idea what door you just opened here. I didn't realize Tom Tryon, who I have never read, was an actor (I literally just looked him up on Wikipedia to see if I had heard of any of his work). He had a role in one of my all-time favorite war movies, In Harm's Way (he was one of the more likable Navy officers, as I recall). Thank you so much, because now I absolutely have to read his books.
In the 70s, I think there was a miniseries of Harvest Home. This set my Mother to reading any Thomas Tryon books I could find for her.
The Other was one of the first horror novels I ever read. Very well done and unsettling!
I literally read The Exorcist in less than a day. I was supposed to study for a midterm all day, and I was getting ready to start when I noticed that my roommate had the book in his bookshelf. So I thought, "I wonder what that's like." So I picked it up, meaning to just scan a few pages. The next thing I knew, it was past midnight and I had finished the book. Talk about scary. I don't think I slept well that night (or morning, I guess).
Why does nobody ever mention Robert McCammon's They Thirst. This is perhaps the best vampire book I've ever read in all my 67 years!
I just looked it up, as I wasn't familiar with it. It sounds great! I've added it to my must read list, so thank you!
Yes! WOW you just took me down memory lane this book was fantastic. I read this when I was 12 and was blown away (I'm 54). I loved his writing style and of course when Swan Song came out WOW. One of the best post apocalyptic novels ever💖💖
They Thirst was a crazy ride. I remember one chapter where vampires seized control of the ambulances, all over town, so that they might reach injured accident victims before anyone else and drink their blood! McCammon's Swan Song was another great read, set in post-apocalyptic America.
@@hollyvanwye9294 One of the best parts in a book with many good parts. :)
An underrated 20th-century horror writer was the late, great Michael McDowell. His novel Blackwater is a Southern Gothic masterpiece that was originally published as 6 paperbacks in the '80's. In his story a Lovecraftian monster comes up out of the river in Perdido, Alabama, assumes human form, then marries and breeds with the most eligible bachelor in town! McDowell's writing is absolutely hilarious but also quite creepy.
That sounds wild! I just looked it up and it sounds like a great read. One of our future "best of lists" is going to be "cosmic horror" and this sounds like it may just fit in so thank you for calling it out!
As influenced by Lovecraft, I would recommend Fritz Leiber as consistently readable and crafted. His Conjure Wife and Our Lady of Darkness are top examples. I've read my fair share of King, but now find him impossible to revisit :-)
Just subscribed and it’s great review
Thank you so much! Please let us know if you have any classic horror recommendations! We're getting a lot of great books added to our Must Read List! Thanks again!
Thanks for this list, sir. Well thought. I enjoyed your commentary very much. Always ready to sub to an honest, well thought book channel.
An appropriate honorable mention I think would be Ramsey Campbell, enormously prolific writer of fantastic Horror who's been on the scene for decades even predating King, and while King's been in the spotlight he's been telling us the whole time that Campbell is his superior, if not one of his chief influences. Incredible works of Folk Horror, Weird Horror, Psychological, Occult Horror- I can't spy your shelf too well but, based on your list, we seem to have overlapping tastes. I would very much recommend checking out Ramsey Campbell's work, sir. Even taking a look at his wiki page to see just how much he's done and how much of his fingerprints are on modern/contemporary Horror Lit.
Thanks again for the video, looking forward to more.
Thank you so much for the kind words and especially for suggesting Ramsey Campbell! I have been stunned by the number of authors out there that I've overlooked over the years. I just looked over a list of his novels and they sound amazing so I literally just went and got a Kindle copy of The Parasite. Looking forward to this! And thanks for joining us!
Ramsey Campbell's imagery and setting of mood is more sophisticated and creative than King. Ramsey's short story collections are a good way to start with him. His novels are a bit hit and miss. Rober McCammon is another horror author to check out.
Thanks! And I've heard that I need to add McCammon to my list as well!
Ramsey Campbell is a master of psychological horror. In his fiction the scariest thing of all is what goes on inside our minds! Love his stuff.
'I Am Legend' is a story I keep returning to. The insideous misogyny and the slow realization that devation from the dominant culture is what becomes monstrous. Before I read this as a teen I didn't understand that hatred of the other is fear based and desire and hate can co-exist. Brr.
It is definitely a deep story, with plenty of layers. There's also the observation that social and cultural change can be violent and ugly too. So while Robert's role as the monstrous legend was deep and unsettling, I feel he deserves a little slack, since Matheson makes it clear the new social order is pretty bloody and violent. Put another way, Matheson's horror story shows a lot to be horrified by.
SF and fantasy legend Jack Vance wrote a dozen or more crime and horror books under the name John Holbrook Vance.
I didn't realize. Is there one or two you'd recommend? I'd love to check them out!
I've only read one titled Bad Ronald which is about a serial killer. You can get titles for others under the name by going to Vance's author page at Internet Science Fiction Database, and page searching the name John there.
Robert Bloch should be on this list.
You are no doubt correct. His impact on horror just by way of Psycho is immense, but I've never gotten around to reading his work. I just did some quick research and I have to admit I wasn't familiar with much of it at all (shame on me). So thanks for pointing this out, and we'll have to make sure to update this video in the future!
What about James herbert writer of the fog and the rats