Classic horror

Novels that not only define horror but also explore deep psychological and existential themes, making them timeless reads that have left a lasting impact on the genre.

Updated October 21, 2024
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The castle of Otranto : a gothic story
Walpole, Horace 1717-1797
Paper Book
First published pseudonymously in 1764, The Castle of Otranto purported to be a translation of an Italian story of the time of the crusades. In it Walpole attempted, as he declared in the Preface to the second edition, `to blend the two kinds of romance: the ancient and the modern'. He gives us a...
The mysteries of Udolpho /
Radcliffe, Ann Ward,
Paper Book
`Her present life appeared like the dream of a distempered imagination, or like one of those frightful fictions, in which the wild genius of the poets sometimes delighted. Rreflections brought only regret, and anticipation terror.' Such is the state of mind in which Emily St. Aubuert - the orphaned...
Frankenstein /
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft,
Paper Book
Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS'sThe Great American Read At the age of eighteen, Mary Shelley, while staying in the Swiss Alps with her lover Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and others, conceived the tale of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and the monster he...
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde /
Stevenson, Robert Louis,
Paper Book
Robert Louis Stevenson originally wrote Dr. Jekyll And Mr Hyde as a "chilling shocker." He then burned the draft and, upon his wife's advice, rewrote it as the darkly complex tale it is today. Stark, skillfully woven, this fascinating novel explores the curious turnings of human character...
The picture of Dorian Gray /
Wilde, Oscar,
Paper Book
The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and...
Dracula /
Stoker, Bram,
Paper Book
A young Englishman is bound for the remote castle of an obscure count whose estates are folded deep in the mountains of Transylvania. He travels by carriage, staying the nights at rustic inns.It is 100 years ago, and time is frozen in a winter that knows no release. Heavy snows bog the road, slowing...
The phantom of the opera
Leroux, Gaston 1868-1927
Paper Book
A sparkling new translation of the novel that inspired the most popular stage musical of all time. Rumors abound that a ghost stalks the dark passages and cellars of the Paris Opera House. No one has actually seen this Phantom, but Christine Daa , a beautiful and talented young singer,...
The haunting of Hill House /
Jackson, Shirley,
Paper Book
The greatest haunted house story ever written--the inspiration for the hit Netflix horror series! One of The Atlantic's Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been...

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