Best Ghost Novels of All TimeLike this list

25 items

• The Haunting of Hill House

  Jackson, Shirley, 1916-1965

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  This book has unnerved readers since its publication in 1959. It is a tale of subtle, psychological terror, and is considered one of the greatest haunted house stories ever written.

• The Turn of the Screw

  James, Henry, 1843-1916

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  This ghost story, published in 1898, invites debate on the ambiguity of reality, where the reader must consider whether the governess is mad or whether the ghosts are real.

• Hell House

  Matheson, Richard, 1926-2013

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  According to the master of horror himself, Stephen King, this book is "the scariest haunted house book ever written."

• Ghost Story

  Straub, Peter, 1943-2022

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  In the town of Milburn, New York, four old men gather to tell frightening stories as a hobby to divert themselves from their lives. But one story returns to haunt them. A wicked mistake. A horrifying accident. And they are about to learn that no one…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Shining

  King, Stephen, 1947-

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  Inspired by the real Stanley Hotel, this chilling tale starts with a troubled family trying to heal and pull itself back together, but as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote and more sinister. The only one…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Amityville Horror

  Anson, Jay, 1921-1980

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  One year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in the house. In December 1975, the Lutz family moved in. Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror. This is their spellbinding, shocking tale of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Heart-shaped Box

  Hill, Joe

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  A surprisingly moving spine-tingler wherein the hero has to face himself and his past to discover his true self in order to confront the evil terrorizing him.

• Wait Till Helen Comes

  a Ghost Story

  Hahn, Mary Downing

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  What happens when an insufferable brat befriends a malevolent ghost who died in a mysterious fire more than a hundred years ago? So begins this spine-chillling tale, with the unsettling threat, “Wait till Helen comes,” becoming a grim reality.

• The Woman in Black

  Hill, Susan, 1942-

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  A chilling tale of the gothic tradition about a terrifying spectre in a small English town.

• Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

  Schwartz, Alvin, 1927-1992

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  Welcome to the macabre world of Scary Stories, where folklorist Alvin Schwartz offers up the most alarming collection of horror, dark revenge, and supernatural events of all time.

• The Complete Stories

  Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849

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  This classic American author is known best for his Gothic tales of mystery and macabre. Many of his works appear on "best horror stories" lists.

• The Little Stranger

  Waters, Sarah, 1966-

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  A gothic tale in the tradition of Henry James and Edgar Allan Poe, wherein a doctor is confronted with the secrets of an ancient noble family, not knowing how close their secrets align to his own life.

• Anna Dressed in Blood

  Blake, Kendare

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  It's the old boy-meets-girl story, if the boy is a wry, self-destructive ghost-hunter bent on avenging his father and the girl is a homicidal ghost trapped in a house full of everyone she's ever murdered in a smooth combination of gore and romance.

• The Monkey's Paw

  Jacobs, W. W. (William Wymark), 1863-1943,

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  This supernatural short story has been frightening readers for generations. Three wishes are granted to the owner of the monkey's paw, but the wishes come with a monstrous price for interfering with fate.

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories

  [The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.]

  Irving, Washington, 1783-1859,

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  This classic tale is set in a mysterious town deep in an eerie forest. The new schoolteacher falls in love with a wealthy farmer's daughter and has a chilling encounter with the town's most frightening legend.

• This House Is Haunted

  Boyne, John, 1971-

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  Filled with horrifying circumstances, peculiar characters, and an enigmatic history, this novel, set in 1867, slowly unravels a tragic tale of love, sacrifice, and the supernatural.

• The Yellow Wallpaper

  and Other Writings

  Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 1860-1935

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  Narrated in the first person, this story is a collection of journal entries written by an unnamed woman, who has been diagnosed with a "temporary nervous depression and a slight hysterical tendency" . The couple moves into the upstairs nursery of an…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Séance

  a Victorian Mystery

  Harwood, John, 1946-

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  A haunting tale of apparitions, a cursed manor house, and two generations of women determined to discover the truth.

• The Canterville Ghost

  Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900,

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  The story is about a family who moves to a castle haunted by the ghost of a dead nobleman, who killed his wife and was starved to death by his wife's brothers. Unfortunately, when the new family moves in, they have no respect for the permanent…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ghost Stories of An Antiquary

  James, M. R. (Montague Rhodes), 1862-1936

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  Keeping listeners' stomachs twisted in suspense and horror, this collection spooks with the tales of a haunted book; a murder-revealing picture; and a very real meeting with a dead author.