Introduction
On this page, we will provide an overview of some of the most famous works of horror literature from the past couple of centuries, as well as some examples of influential horror movies. Note that most of the older stories are in the public domain, which typically means that the full text is freely available online - in those cases, we have included direct links to the text.
We do not currently have study guides for the texts listed below, but you can find some of our guides for short stories or poems by Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King on their dedicated author pages.
Horror stories from the 18th century
Horror stories from the 19th century
Horror stories from the 20th century
Barker, Clive - Books of Blood (1984-1985)
Bloch, Robert - Psycho (1959)
Ellis, Brett Easton - American Psycho (1991)
Harris, Thomas - The Silence of the Lambs (1988)
Jackson, Shirley - The Haunting of Hill House (1959)
King, Stephen - Carrie (1974)
Lovecraft, H.P. - The Call of Cthulhu (1928)
Rice, Anne - Interview with the Vampire (1976)
Horror stories from the 21st century
Brooks, Max - World War Z (2006)
Danielewsky, Mark Z. - House of Leaves (2000)
Duncan, Glen - The Last Werewolf (2011), Talulla Rising (2012), By Blood We Live (2014).
Hill, Joe - Heart-Shaped Box (2007)
Malerman, Josh - Bird Box (2014)
Wong, David - John Dies at the End (2007)
Horror movies
Carpenter, John – Halloween (1978)
Craven, Wes – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Craven, Wes – Scream (1996)
Cunningham, Sean S. – Friday the 13th (1980)
Hitchcock, Alfred – The Birds (1963)
Hooper, Tobe – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Myrick, Daniel & Sánchez, Eduardo – The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Peli, Oren – Paranormal Activity (2007)
Romero, George A. – Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Wan, James – Saw (2004)
