10 best fantasy horror books of all time

Are you tired of regular Horror and looking for some extra flavor? Then it’s perhaps time you give Fantasy Horror a try, the genre that imbues all things nasty with all things magical — but only to make it all even scarier — and sometimes a bit sexier.

Let’s look at the best Fantasy Horror books you can read to get into the genre.

The King in Yellow (Robert W. Chambers)

The King In Yellow is one of the best introductions to the world of horror fantasy that anyone can ask for. It tells not one story, but nine which were highly influential to most other Fantasy and Non-Fantasy Horror writers that came after.

While not every single story contained in this book fits in the horror genre, most really do, and the one that does not will actually feel like a nice palate cleanser at the end of a very sour road.

Chambers’ work predates even that of Lovecraft, so if you want to dive even deeper into the origins of the kind of horror that Lovecraft made popular, this is the way to go.

Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

Though Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein already gets a lot of love for basically starting the Science Fiction genre, it also deserves a lot of love for its competency as a Fantasy Horror novel.

The fact that there’s a popular meme about how the creature is actually called Frankenstein’s Monster, and not Frankenstein, indicates that a lot of people only know of both the monster and the mad scientist that created it through ideas diluted throughout other media. If you’ve ever had any interest in either of these characters, let me remind you that the original book is still the best — and most horrifying — way of getting to know their story.

Dracula (Bram Stoker)

And if you want an equally classic horror tale that replaces Frankenstein’s body horror elements with doomed love and sexiness, then you should still give Bram Stoker’s Dracula a go.

This is the book that inspired every single vampire tale you know now — good, bad, and shiny alike — as well as the one that turned the horrifying Vlad Tepes into the most iconic villain in the history of fiction. You really cannot leave this one in your backlog if you aspire to become a true old horror connoisseur.

The House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski)

And if you want to go for something with a fresher flavor, you can do no better than Mark Z. Danielewski’s The House Of Leaves. Not only does Danielewski hit you with one of the most original tales of horror of all time, he also does it in a way that you’ve never seen before. Expecting regular prose? Forget about that. Expect to find words scattered around the pages in circles, squares, and even in ways that will almost feel like random at times. Every page of The House Of Leaves reads less like a book and more like a puzzle — one straight out of Hellraiser.

You can gauge the weirdness of this beautiful work of art by seeing the legacy it has been leaving behind, such as, I kid you not, the best DOOM mod ever made.

The Hellbound Heart (Clive Barker)

And now that I’ve mentioned Clive Barker’s puzzles, I cannot go without mentioning The Hellbound Heart. Want a very dark love story where all supernatural elements come straight out of hell? Then this is the one for you.

The Hellbound Heart tells the story of a man whose insatiable quest for lust had him messing with powers beyond his comprehension and is now attempting to flee demons by doing things that will turn him into the most monstrous being in this story.

Hellbound Heart is the story that gave birth to the Hellraiser series of films and pulls even less gut punches than its cinematographic counterpart.

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery (Brom)

Though it feels like an old text that you probably shouldn’t be reading, Slewfoot is one of the best Fantasy Horror novels to come out in recent times. Do you like the old England setting and are scared of the worst villains of witches’ tales: the common folk? Then don’t sleep on this one.

Brom began his career in the arts as an illustrator for Magic The Gathering, and even though he’s just as good of a writer, he was kind enough to include a bunch of his own artwork in his book. Slewfoot can’t help but feel like a great book that you can only buy in the most premium of formats but for a relatively low price.

The Thief Of Always (Clive Barker)

And if many things can scare adults in a Fantasy Horror landscape, then most things can scare kids. The Thief Of Always features the most innocent and defenseless protagonists as they face off against an entity who, much like the Cenobytes from Hellraiser, promises something really great but delivers nothing of the like.

Mr. Hood, the villain, is actually an immortal being who gets his longevity not out of his genetics or great diet but because he steals the youth out of the children he invites into his home. This is one of Clive Barker’s least viscerally revolting novels, but don’t let that trick you into thinking it’s not one of his creepiest.

Necronomicon (H.P. Lovecraft)

Ok, I must admit right away that I am cheating. First off, Howard Phillips Lovecraft didn’t write novels. Also, the Necronomicon is a book that shows up in some of his stories (and in the Evil Dead films), not an actual book you can read in real life. The reason why I’m choosing this book that you can get here, in particular, is that it’s an amazing collection of the best stories from the greatest master of horror who’s ever lived.

And, in case you’re worried about reading something by a very bigoted author, then let me reassure you that he’s dead and thus won’t get to bathe in all the money he makes from the sales of all of his royalty and copyright-free work. Also, reports say that the older Lovecraft wasn’t the same man who’d written such vilely bigoted prose. By the end of his life, Lovecraft had seemingly grown out of his bigotry and felt ashamed of his originally narrow vision of the world.

Dark Harvest (Norman Partridge)

Dark Harvest tells the story of a town where, every year, people go on a very specific kind of hunt so that the winner of the competition can also win a very specific kind of prize. I’d say that things naturally go awry at some point, but that’s not even it. Things go bad, yes, but it’s not by accident. It’s by design. Is Dark Harvest a critique of tradition or perhaps even of American ideals? Maybe, but the most important part is that it’s a story that also works on its own.

I don’t want to spoil it because this is a rather straightforward story, but Dark Harvest is proof that you get a lot out of a simple premise.

The Library at Mount Char (Scott Hawkins)

What if God is gone, and some people are looking to take their seat? The Library at Mount Char tries to answer this question by weaving a tale about knowledge as power and family. The best thing about this already very solid piece of writing, in my opinion, is how it manages to avoid many religious clichés and does a great job of telling a story about people who want more than they can handle.

This is the one for you if you are into dark mystery fantasy that’s deeply rooted in messed-up family dynamics.