It sounds like we have near identical taste in horror! I'm gonna get the couple that I haven't read immediately My favorite horror is Bird Box by Josh Malerman, but anyone who saw the movie kinda had it ruined for them. I love love love No Exit by Taylor Adams, but that's a thriller just creeping into horror territory
Lovely list! Definitely found a couple I now need to track down. Have you read Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger? I feel like it would be right at home amongst these others. X
Jean, thank you for some of the most cogent, trenchant, and enjoyable commentary I've seen; just an excellent presentation concerning these books. Brava. Maugham's The Magician is a thinly-veiled swipe at Aleister Crowley. There is a small group of such books, each interesting in its own way.
Thanks! I loved Mexican Gothic and can't wait to read it again. I love Neil Gaiman for horror too, and The Shining by King. I put some of your suggestions on my list!
I've been meaning to read some Helen Oyeyemi but I haven't heard much about White is for Witching! I also appreciate the dissection of the horror genre here - I've been enjoying books with suspenseful/thrilling elements more and more, but I still have a hard time with gore and body horror stuff 😅
I loved The Girl with all the gifts and I would not have even read it if I had known. It was about zombies. I went into it blind. I'm reading The Haunting of Hill House right now and absolutely loving it! Have you read The Elementals by Michael McDowell? It's very atmospheric like some of yours, but I recommend reading this one in the summer. It's set in the US South in the summer and you just feel the heat....it's suffocating!
I just read Ring Shout today and it was soo good! Have you read any Nathan Balingrud? You might like his stories, my favorite collection by him is Wounds: Six Stories from the Borders of Hell
Have you read The restorer by Amanda Stevens? It's about a restorer who works at a cemetery and there's some mystery around something that happened years ago, oh and she happens to be able to see ghosts, of course haha. Its simple but I found it quite eerie and enjoyed the mystery..
Liked the sound of The Girl with all the Gifts and White is for Witching and my library has both! Will have to go and pick them up next week. Love the library, saves me so much money!
This is the list I needed omg!! Mexican Gothic is right up there on my TBR but my personal recommendation author-wise is Joe Hill. I read Heart Shaped Box last year and just finished NOS4R2 and both were brilliant - he writes so beautifully but his stories, no matter how horrific/paranormal/thriller-y the subject matter, are so undeniably HUMAN and his characters are so richly flawed and stunningly realised. HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend him - Horns is the next one I want to read from his body of work
What about The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore, Burn, Witch, Burn! by Abraham Merritt and A Warning to the Curious ( series of short stories) by M.R.James?
Fantastic recommendations. Are you into Visual Novels? If yes, there are many good psychological horror titles out there. Also, I highly recommend Junji Ito's works, especially UZUMAKI.
Memetic is an apocalyptic horror graphic novel which I loved. I also think the Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic series are both really good.
finished Haunting of Hill House just recently and loooooved it - but i wasn't such a fan of the Lottery. do you have any rec for where to go next with Shirley Jackson? (if you want to stick with comic-book horror then Ito Junji is a must! incredible imagination and surreal images galore✨)
Great list! I read White is for Witching last year at your behest, and loved it! It's perfect for October. Although, I don't think I'd put it in my top horror, but that's more about what I consider "best horror" which is something that elicits fear and an intense unnerving. Not to say white is for Witching isn't unnerving; it's just more disturbing than it is scary which is what I want in a perfect horror book.
I really need to read Ring Shout by the look of things. I'm kind of fascinated by Birth of a Nation, which is a pernicious and vile film but it's also a major film that's well made and was a game changer for the industry, and I'm fascinated by how it remains iconic over a hundred years later when so many other films and books and so forth of that period (and, well, a lot later too) were also pretty backwards in terms of racist content don't hold the same degree of cultural importance. I can totally envisage someone writing a book like this about Birth of a Nation, whereas I can't imagine someone doing the same thing about the Fu Manchu books, for example. Anyway, Ring Shout is now on the ever-expanding to-read list. The Magician is a really interesting choice, haven't read it (though it is on the list) but I do like the 1920s film version of it, which I think is an underappreciated early example of the horror film. Apparently Maugham himself had pretty much completely forgotten the book himself by the time he was writing his autobiography in the mid-50s, and he reread it and called it "turgid".
I definitely enjoyed the Netflix show of Locke and Key and I'm so pumped to read the graphic novels! (I didn't actually realized it was based on graphic novels when I started watching but hey hahaha). Thanks for the recommendations!
I feel like you must have a real fear of fungi at this point. Mexican Gothic is one of my recent favorites as well, and I really wish that they would make a movie out of it! It was so atmospheric and I loved the descriptions of the clothes. Also Locke and Key is amazing, I haven't read the novels yet - but I really want to!!
The only horror books I read was years ago rats by james herbert I think & interview with the vampire keep meaning to read some S king but idk heard his good & heard not so good...hahah.goodvids thanks.
The Locke & Key TV series is toned down from the comics (my 11 & 13yo daughters watched it!) but is excellent. The first series covers maybe the first two books IIRC. Locke & Key is written by King Jnr - he's written several horror novels too. MR Carey is also the author of the Lucifer graphic novel series (which the Lucifer TV series is an in name only adaptation of). Lucifer is a 75-comics long series so about 10 bind ups (5 larger bind ups) and you don't need DC universe knowledge to read.
I will definitely check out Ring Shout and Taaqtumi. They sound so intriguing. Watching this video and seeing your love for lyrical, biological horror I'd recommend the Southern Reach trilogy. I personally didn't like it because I'm not a fan of biological horror, e.g. I could never read "sealed" like never. But since you seem to like this genre, I think you'll enjoy this trilogy. It's basically weird biological sci-fi horror. By the way, I love your background setup in this video!
On the one hand, I was so mad that I got roped into a Zombie book because I am not a fan. And "The Girl with All the Gifts"--I figured she has powers of some kind, right? This book was so so good.
I’m not a fan of genre fiction for the most part. There’s just usually such a huge divide in quality between real literary fiction and “horror”. That said, I do come across some truly horrific novels sometimes that aren’t found in the horror section. The Wasp Factory, American Psycho, the classics from Shelly and Stoker, Blindness, The Road. I’d recommend all of these to people who kind of groan at the prose offered in your typical horror novel.
I also like the eerie and the Gothic, more suspense than horror per se. I do not think you can beat Dracula. It's a classic but stands the test of time.
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Really enjoyed your recommendations, although you don’t I do have a soft spot for Stephen King, although some are obviously disappointing. I don’t want to be a pedant, although I clearly can’t resist, but the term is tenterhooks not tenderhooks.
hi, our taste in horror seems very similar. I am much more into eerie prose and gothic settings than scarejumps or gore. I am collector of ghosts stories and haunted houses books. Based on your comments (specially Haunting of Hill House) I'd recommend "The turn of the Screw" (Henry James), the ghost stories by M. R. James or "House of Leaves" for evil house
I don't understand how this is a list of all time best horror. Especially without any of the cornerstones. No King. No Barker. No Koontz. I don't understand at all. Is this new horror or just best all time horror you have read. I'm so confused. ???
@@RandomThoughtsFromEll Not saying they can't.. Of course they can.. Guess I was just surprised neither of the three popular authors were represented.. Even still I like some of the picks.. lol.
Sorry about that but my poor wee female brain can’t handle the depth and richness of male horror writers’ work. Of course, it having been a male dominated genre for centuries couldn’t possibly be a self fulfilling prophecy - it must reflect the subpar quality of women writing horror. After all, what do women know about horror.
@@JeansThoughts dont paint me as the gender biased one when that would clearly be yourself.. women have been free to write for a long time.. it would be like a "top 10 inventions" list with one male inventor on it.. lame. Imagine listing 9 women inventors on that list and then suggesting others are biased for pointing out how silly it is.. ouch!
Seriously am I meant to take you seriously. Women were free to write but they were not published, or had to hide their identity for centuries. Those that could write, when female education was for long time secondary to mens. So those biases haven’t disappeared from an industry over night. What gets publishing and wins prizes is perfectly susceptible to sexism. And on top of all that these are MY top 10 horror novels. This isn’t, here is a portion of horror from throughout time with an equal reflection of which genders have been published. You ask why there are more women in this video when more men have published? Well why have so many more men been lauded by the literary community over time when they only make up half the population. There’s your gender bias because it isn’t a result of women being bad at writing horror. If you don’t believe me read these books (as I assume you haven’t read them all even though you’re comfortable commenting on their caliber) and you will discover some wonderful women writing horror that might make you wonder why they aren’t getting more credit.
I dont care one iota if you take me seriously or not. Adult fantasy novels.. same thing. Am I supposed to take you seriously when all of your top tens are 90% plus female writers? I dont! Entertaining though.
When you said Arctic horror tales, I thought of Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. It's a ghost story, quite a creepy one. The main character goes on an Arctic expedition to Svalbard, and ends up having to stay there alone during the Polar night... oh, it was a good one, very atmospheric, too. I think it also has a bit of LGBT rep, if I remember correctly. Definitely want to reread it.
I picked Dark Matter up in a charity shop earlier this year knowing nothing about it other than it being a ghost story but having really enjoyed Wakenhyrst. I don't think I've even read the blurb but what you've said about it makes me really want to pick it up and start reading!
I want to read every single one of these books right this minute - especially Ring Shout, it sounds awesome!!!
DO IT!
Absolutely love your book recs, I haven’t heard of most any of these! Thank you
ahhh nothing better than one of your videos after hours doing uni work!! what perfect timing honestly
Aw glad to be of service!
It sounds like we have near identical taste in horror! I'm gonna get the couple that I haven't read immediately
My favorite horror is Bird Box by Josh Malerman, but anyone who saw the movie kinda had it ruined for them. I love love love No Exit by Taylor Adams, but that's a thriller just creeping into horror territory
No Exit was great! I also read Taylor Adams: “Eyeshot”, which was just as great! Now reading his book: “Our Last Night”.
Love this! It’s so nice seeing what really scares people, especially in the lead up to Halloween 🍂 hope you and your mum are keeping safe! Xx
Thank you! Some interesting titles that I haven't heard of before and looking forward to read.
I loved The Haunting of Hill House.
Lovely list! Definitely found a couple I now need to track down. Have you read Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger? I feel like it would be right at home amongst these others. X
Thanks! I just love a horror story and appreciate any recommendations for these! Only one i've read on this list is the haunting of Hill House!
Jean, thank you for some of the most cogent, trenchant, and enjoyable commentary I've seen; just an excellent presentation concerning these books. Brava.
Maugham's The Magician is a thinly-veiled swipe at Aleister Crowley. There is a small group of such books, each interesting in its own way.
I've been wanting to read Ring Shout since I first heard you mention it! Can't wait for it to finally come out!!
Thanks! I loved Mexican Gothic and can't wait to read it again. I love Neil Gaiman for horror too, and The Shining by King. I put some of your suggestions on my list!
I've been meaning to read some Helen Oyeyemi but I haven't heard much about White is for Witching! I also appreciate the dissection of the horror genre here - I've been enjoying books with suspenseful/thrilling elements more and more, but I still have a hard time with gore and body horror stuff 😅
I loved The Girl with all the gifts and I would not have even read it if I had known. It was about zombies. I went into it blind. I'm reading The Haunting of Hill House right now and absolutely loving it! Have you read The Elementals by Michael McDowell? It's very atmospheric like some of yours, but I recommend reading this one in the summer. It's set in the US South in the summer and you just feel the heat....it's suffocating!
I just read Ring Shout today and it was soo good! Have you read any Nathan Balingrud? You might like his stories, my favorite collection by him is Wounds: Six Stories from the Borders of Hell
Have you read The restorer by Amanda Stevens? It's about a restorer who works at a cemetery and there's some mystery around something that happened years ago, oh and she happens to be able to see ghosts, of course haha. Its simple but I found it quite eerie and enjoyed the mystery..
Liked the sound of The Girl with all the Gifts and White is for Witching and my library has both! Will have to go and pick them up next week. Love the library, saves me so much money!
Some recommendations in the direction of "mountains of madness"?
This is the list I needed omg!! Mexican Gothic is right up there on my TBR but my personal recommendation author-wise is Joe Hill. I read Heart Shaped Box last year and just finished NOS4R2 and both were brilliant - he writes so beautifully but his stories, no matter how horrific/paranormal/thriller-y the subject matter, are so undeniably HUMAN and his characters are so richly flawed and stunningly realised. HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend him - Horns is the next one I want to read from his body of work
What about The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore, Burn, Witch, Burn! by Abraham Merritt and A Warning to the Curious ( series of short stories) by M.R.James?
Fantastic recommendations. Are you into Visual Novels? If yes, there are many good psychological horror titles out there. Also, I highly recommend Junji Ito's works, especially UZUMAKI.
Yes! 🌀
Sister would you review NORTH SUNSET by TENDOLLOR available from amazon
I just finished thornhill which blended illustration and text - not a graphic novel per say but amazing!!
Oooh I really like this concept though!
Jean Bookishthoughts I hope you get to read it! Easy to read in a single sitting!!!
I feel like our taste in horror books is very similar, i am definitely going to look into reading all of these at some point!
Memetic is an apocalyptic horror graphic novel which I loved. I also think the Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comic series are both really good.
Ohhh mushrooms! There was a story in one of those Pan anthologies, I think it was called Amanda Excresens, used to freak me out
finished Haunting of Hill House just recently and loooooved it - but i wasn't such a fan of the Lottery. do you have any rec for where to go next with Shirley Jackson? (if you want to stick with comic-book horror then Ito Junji is a must! incredible imagination and surreal images galore✨)
Great list! I read White is for Witching last year at your behest, and loved it! It's perfect for October.
Although, I don't think I'd put it in my top horror, but that's more about what I consider "best horror" which is something that elicits fear and an intense unnerving.
Not to say white is for Witching isn't unnerving; it's just more disturbing than it is scary which is what I want in a perfect horror book.
I absolutely love Rules for Vanishing, I thought it was just the right amount of creepy.
Yes!! Totally agree :)
Mexican Gothic is my most anticipated read this month
Eeh I hope you enjoy it!
I really need to read Ring Shout by the look of things. I'm kind of fascinated by Birth of a Nation, which is a pernicious and vile film but it's also a major film that's well made and was a game changer for the industry, and I'm fascinated by how it remains iconic over a hundred years later when so many other films and books and so forth of that period (and, well, a lot later too) were also pretty backwards in terms of racist content don't hold the same degree of cultural importance. I can totally envisage someone writing a book like this about Birth of a Nation, whereas I can't imagine someone doing the same thing about the Fu Manchu books, for example. Anyway, Ring Shout is now on the ever-expanding to-read list.
The Magician is a really interesting choice, haven't read it (though it is on the list) but I do like the 1920s film version of it, which I think is an underappreciated early example of the horror film. Apparently Maugham himself had pretty much completely forgotten the book himself by the time he was writing his autobiography in the mid-50s, and he reread it and called it "turgid".
I definitely enjoyed the Netflix show of Locke and Key and I'm so pumped to read the graphic novels! (I didn't actually realized it was based on graphic novels when I started watching but hey hahaha). Thanks for the recommendations!
I feel like you must have a real fear of fungi at this point. Mexican Gothic is one of my recent favorites as well, and I really wish that they would make a movie out of it! It was so atmospheric and I loved the descriptions of the clothes.
Also Locke and Key is amazing, I haven't read the novels yet - but I really want to!!
Honestly they’re one of my favourite foods... and I don’t know what that says about me 🤣
It’s being turned into a TV series 💃
The locke and key adaptation was fab. Definitely worth a watch and a great cast!❤️
Maybe I'll make it my Halloween watching!
The Beauty sounds so intriguing, kind of giving me Annihilation vibes?
so many good recs, thank you!
The only horror books I read was years ago rats by james herbert I think & interview with the vampire keep meaning to read some S king but idk heard his good & heard not so good...hahah.goodvids thanks.
The Locke & Key TV series is toned down from the comics (my 11 & 13yo daughters watched it!) but is excellent. The first series covers maybe the first two books IIRC. Locke & Key is written by King Jnr - he's written several horror novels too. MR Carey is also the author of the Lucifer graphic novel series (which the Lucifer TV series is an in name only adaptation of). Lucifer is a 75-comics long series so about 10 bind ups (5 larger bind ups) and you don't need DC universe knowledge to read.
Loved ‘White is for Witching’
I will definitely check out Ring Shout and Taaqtumi. They sound so intriguing. Watching this video and seeing your love for lyrical, biological horror I'd recommend the Southern Reach trilogy. I personally didn't like it because I'm not a fan of biological horror, e.g. I could never read "sealed" like never. But since you seem to like this genre, I think you'll enjoy this trilogy. It's basically weird biological sci-fi horror. By the way, I love your background setup in this video!
You definitely need to check out The Good House by Tananarive Due if you love beautifully written spooky house stories. I think you would love it!
I've wanted to read The Haunting of Hill House since watching the netflix series, I've heard so many people loving it!
I loved the girl with all the gifts, definitely going to have to give a few of these a go :)
I love how you call graphic novels what they really are ... comic books. Lol. I love the honesty and lack of pretention. Thank you.
I really liked the Lock & Key show, it was good fun. Haven't read the comics though.
Hi, love the videos. I just read an ARC of a book you might like: Taxidermist's Lover. Comes out in Dec.
Graphic novel series- Harrow County is good. I've only read the first two. Zombie books- the Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant. First book is Feed.
On the one hand, I was so mad that I got roped into a Zombie book because I am not a fan. And "The Girl with All the Gifts"--I figured she has powers of some kind, right? This book was so so good.
I’m not a fan of genre fiction for the most part. There’s just usually such a huge divide in quality between real literary fiction and “horror”.
That said, I do come across some truly horrific novels sometimes that aren’t found in the horror section.
The Wasp Factory, American Psycho, the classics from Shelly and Stoker, Blindness, The Road.
I’d recommend all of these to people who kind of groan at the prose offered in your typical horror novel.
You should read The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell it's gothic literature with horror
I also like the eerie and the Gothic, more suspense than horror per se. I do not think you can beat Dracula. It's a classic but stands the test of time.
Excellent recommendations!!!! Mexican Gothic is so good!! 👍
I think we're going to need to make King cough an inside joke in the comments section from now on.
I’m here for this ahahaha
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I definitely am going to buy The beauty your intro made my eyes open. But please, Horror without Lovecraft it pains me a lot.
A graphic novel that I love and is quite creepy and horrible is Die Vol. 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker
I loved the tv show for Locke and Key
Love the Netflix adaptation of Locke and key!!
I just finished The Beauty 🍄 in one sitting!!! it was sooo good and so gross at points.. Thanks so much for the recommendation!!!!
Really enjoyed your recommendations, although you don’t I do have a soft spot for Stephen King, although some are obviously disappointing. I don’t want to be a pedant, although I clearly can’t resist, but the term is tenterhooks not tenderhooks.
Ahaha that’s ok I know - my accent just really doesn’t do well with Ts in the middle of words - a lot of Scottish people drop them.
It's prime time horror 💀🏰
I liked the tv series a lot,was really good 👍🏻📚🎃🍁 in my opinion
hi, our taste in horror seems very similar. I am much more into eerie prose and gothic settings than scarejumps or gore. I am collector of ghosts stories and haunted houses books. Based on your comments (specially Haunting of Hill House) I'd recommend "The turn of the Screw" (Henry James), the ghost stories by M. R. James or "House of Leaves" for evil house
yea i cant take you seriously you didn't mention any of the classics
That’s fine by me 😊
I'm glad there wasn't any *cough* king
Woah! No Stephen King books? That's a disappointment!🙃
Is Joe Hill the son of Stephen King?
Cute hair
Thanks :)
I don't understand how this is a list of all time best horror. Especially without any of the cornerstones. No King. No Barker. No Koontz. I don't understand at all. Is this new horror or just best all time horror you have read. I'm so confused. ???
It’s MY FAVOURITE horror novels of all time….
@Robskitlz people can have different tastes in books, you muppet.
@@RandomThoughtsFromEll Not saying they can't.. Of course they can.. Guess I was just surprised neither of the three popular authors were represented.. Even still I like some of the picks.. lol.
I thought you had quit booktube but haven't. =)
Almost all female even though the vast majority of horror writers and award winners are male.. eyeroll.
Sorry about that but my poor wee female brain can’t handle the depth and richness of male horror writers’ work. Of course, it having been a male dominated genre for centuries couldn’t possibly be a self fulfilling prophecy - it must reflect the subpar quality of women writing horror. After all, what do women know about horror.
@@JeansThoughts dont paint me as the gender biased one when that would clearly be yourself.. women have been free to write for a long time.. it would be like a "top 10 inventions" list with one male inventor on it.. lame. Imagine listing 9 women inventors on that list and then suggesting others are biased for pointing out how silly it is.. ouch!
@@JeansThoughts just had a look at your top ten historical fiction.. seems like a pattern.. lol.
Seriously am I meant to take you seriously. Women were free to write but they were not published, or had to hide their identity for centuries. Those that could write, when female education was for long time secondary to mens. So those biases haven’t disappeared from an industry over night. What gets publishing and wins prizes is perfectly susceptible to sexism. And on top of all that these are MY top 10 horror novels. This isn’t, here is a portion of horror from throughout time with an equal reflection of which genders have been published.
You ask why there are more women in this video when more men have published? Well why have so many more men been lauded by the literary community over time when they only make up half the population. There’s your gender bias because it isn’t a result of women being bad at writing horror. If you don’t believe me read these books (as I assume you haven’t read them all even though you’re comfortable commenting on their caliber) and you will discover some wonderful women writing horror that might make you wonder why they aren’t getting more credit.
I dont care one iota if you take me seriously or not. Adult fantasy novels.. same thing. Am I supposed to take you seriously when all of your top tens are 90% plus female writers? I dont! Entertaining though.
When you said Arctic horror tales, I thought of Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. It's a ghost story, quite a creepy one. The main character goes on an Arctic expedition to Svalbard, and ends up having to stay there alone during the Polar night... oh, it was a good one, very atmospheric, too. I think it also has a bit of LGBT rep, if I remember correctly. Definitely want to reread it.
I picked Dark Matter up in a charity shop earlier this year knowing nothing about it other than it being a ghost story but having really enjoyed Wakenhyrst. I don't think I've even read the blurb but what you've said about it makes me really want to pick it up and start reading!