Horror is enjoying a colossal boom. The books and movies of writers like Stephen King, Clive Barker and Peter Straub attract huge audiences, and there is a veritable flood of magazines, videos and TV shows catering to this seemingly insatiable appetite. But is this just a matter of blood and guts, or has the genre something more to offer? And how in hell is the general reader to select from this gory spate? Editors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman have tackled the problem by inviting the leading horror writers to nominate their own choices of the best books in the genre. The response has been astonishing: nearly all the leading authors in the field took to the idea with great enthusiasm, and the result is a stunning and fascinating collection of 100 essays by the very top names in horror.
| FOREWORD |
Ramsey Campbell |
| INTRODUCTION: IT SEEMED LIKE A SIMPLE IDEA AT THE TIME . . . |
Stephen Jones and Kim Newman |
| 1. DOCTOR FAUSTUS (c. 1592) |
Clive Barker |
| 2. THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH (1606) |
John Blackburn |
| 3. THE WHITE DEVIL (1612) |
Diana Wynne Jones |
| 4. CALEB WILLIAMS (1794) |
Scott Bradfield |
| 5. THE MONK (1796) |
Les Daniels |
| 6. THE BEST TALES OF HOFFMAN (1814-16) |
John Sladek |
| 7. NORTHANGER ABBEY (1817) |
David Pirie |
| 8. FRANKENSTEIN (1818) |
Jane Yolen |
| 9. MELMOTH THE WANDERER (1820) |
Peter Tremayne |
| 10. THE CONFESSIONS OF A JUSTIFIED SINNER (1824) |
Garry Kilworth |
| 11. TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION |
John M. Ford |
| 12. TWICE-TOLD TALES (1837, expanded 1842) |
Edgar Allan Poe |
| 13. THE BLACK SPIDER (1842) |
Thomas Tessier |
| 14. THE WANDERING JEW (1844-45) |
Thomas M. Disch |
| 15. THE CONFIDENCE MAN (1857) |
Michael McDowell |
| 16. UNCLE SILAS (1864) |
M.R. James |
| 17. DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE (1886) |
Jack Williamson |
| 18. SHE (1887) |
Tim Stout |
| 19. THE KING IN YELLOW (1895) |
H.P. Lovecraft |
| 20. THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU (1896) |
Gene Wolfe |
| 21. DRACULA (1897) |
Colin Wilson |
| 22. THE TURN OF THE SCREW (1898) |
R. Chetwynd-Hayes |
| 23. HEART OF DARKNESS (1902) |
Douglas E. Winter |
| 24. THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS (1903) |
Richard Dalby |
| 25. GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY (1904) |
Geoff Ryman |
| 26. THE HOUSE OF SOULS (1906) |
T.E.D. Klein |
| 27. JOHN SILENCE (1908) |
Hilaire Belloc |
| 28. THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY (1908) |
David Langford |
| 29. THE HOUSE ON THE BORDERLAND (1908) |
Terry Pratchett |
| 30. THE COLLECTED WORKS OF AMBROSE BIERCE (1909) |
Milton Subotsky |
| 31. WIDDERSHINS (1911) |
Mike Ashley |
| 32. THE HORROR HORN (1912-34) |
Basil Copper |
| 33. A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS (1920) |
George Hay |
| 34. THE TRIAL (1925) |
Steve Rasnic Tem |
| 35. SOMETHING ABOUT EVE (1929) |
Robert E. Howard |
| 36. MEDUSA (1929) |
Karl Edward Wagner |
| 37. THE WEREWOLF OF PARIS (1933) |
Marvin Kaye |
| 38. THE LAST BOUQUET (1933) |
Jessica Amanda Salmonson |
| 39. THE CADAVER OF GIDEON WYCK (1934) |
Robert Bloch |
| 40. A SECOND CENTURY OF CREEPY STORIES (1937) |
Hugh Lamb |
| 41. THE DARK TOWER (c. 1938) |
Lionel Fanthorpe |
| 42. JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN (1939) |
Dennis Etchison |
| 43. THE OUTSIDER AND OTHERS (1939) |
Donald A. Wollheim |
| 44. OUT OF SPACE AND TIME (1942) |
Harlan Ellison |
| 45. CONJURE WIFE (1943) |
Gerald W. Page |
| 46. NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES (1943) |
Maxim Jakubowski |
| 47. THE LURKER AT THE THRESHOLD (1945) |
Graham Masterton |
| 48. DELIVER ME FROM EVA (1946) |
Forrest J Ackerman |
| 49. AND THE DARKNESS FALLS (1946) |
David G. Hartwell |
| 50. THE SLEEPING AND THE DEAD (1947) |
Peter Haining |
| 51. TRACK OF THE CAT (1949) |
Robert R. McCammon |
| 52. THE SOUND OF HIS HORN (1952) |
Suzy McKee Charnas |
| 53. LORD OF THE FLIES (1954) |
Joe Haldeman |
| 54. I AM LEGEND (1954) |
Richard Christian Matheson |
| 55. THE OCTOBER COUNTRY (1955) |
Joe R. Lansdale |
| 56. NINE HORRORS AND A DREAM (1958) |
Stephen Gallagher |
| 57. PSYCHO (1959) |
Hugh B. Cave |
| 58. QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1959) |
Stephen Laws |
| 59. CRY HORROR! (1959) |
Michel Parry |
| 60. THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (1959) |
Lisa Tuttle |
| 61. THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH (1964) |
Tad Williams |
| 62. THE PAINTED BIRD (1965) |
Jack Dann |
| 63. THE CRYSTAL WORLD (1966) |
Craig Shaw Gardner |
| 64. SUB ROSA (1968) |
Colin Greenland |
| 65. THE GREEN MAN (1969) |
Brian Aldiss |
| 66. THE COMPLETE WEREWOLF (1969) |
Neil Gaiman |
| 67. GRENDEL (1971) |
Dan Simmons |
| 68. THE EXORCIST (1971) |
F. Paul Wilson |
| 69. THE SHEEP LOOK UP (1972) |
John Skipp |
| 70. WORSE THINGS WAITING (1973) |
Frances Garfield |
| 71. BURNT OFFERINGS (1973) |
Stephen King |
| 72. 'SALEM'S LOT (1975) |
Al Sarrantonio |
| 73. DEATHBIRD STORIES (1975) |
Craig Spector |
| 74. MURGUNSTRUMM AND OTHERS (1977) |
Brian Lumley |
| 75. SWEETHEART, SWEETHEART (1977) |
Charles L. Grant |
| 76. ALL HEADS TURN WHEN THE HUNT GOES BY (1977) |
David J. Schow |
| 77. THE SHINING (1977) |
Peter Straub |
| 78. FALLING ANGEL (1978) |
William F. Nolan |
| 79. THE WOLFEN (1978) |
Charles de Lint |
| 80. THE TOTEM (1979) |
Shaun Hutson |
| 81. GHOST STORY (1979) |
Peter Nicholls |
| 82. THE LAND OF LAUGHS (1980) |
Christopher Evans |
| 83. THE CELLAR (1980) |
David S. Garnett |
| 84. RED DRAGON (1981) |
Chet Williamson |
| 85. THE KEEP (1981) |
J.N. Williamson |
| 86. THE DARK COUNTRY (1982) |
Samantha Lee |
| 87. IN A LONELY PLACE (1983) |
Ramsey Campbell |
| 88. THE ANUBIS GATES (1983) |
John Clute |
| 89. THE ARABIAN NIGHTMARE (1983) |
Brian Stableford |
| 90. THE WASP FACTORY (1984) |
Malcolm Edwards |
| 91. THE CEREMONIES (1984) |
Thomas F. Monteleone |
| 92. MYTHAGO WOOD (1984) |
Michael Moorcock |
| 93. WHO MADE STEVIE CRYE? (1984) |
Ian Watson |
| 94. SONG OF KALI (1985) |
Edward Bryant |
| 95. THE DAMNATION GAME (1985) |
Adrian Cole |
| 96. HAWKSMOOR (1985) |
R.S. Hadji |
| 97. A NEST OF NIGHTMARES (1986) |
Robert Holdstock |
| 98. THE PET (1986) |
Guy N. Smith |
| 99. SWAN SONG (1987) |
Eddy C. Bertin |
| 100. DARK FEASTS (1987) |
Jack Sullivan |
Winner of the 1998 HWA Bram Stoker Award
Reviews
"Each of these essays is a revelation and a delight—which should come as no surprise. After all, that's what happens when you let a hundred authors write about subjects they genuinely love."
—SCI FI ENTERTAINMENT, February 1999
"Every library ought to have this work in both the reference section and the circulating stacks. Not only does it provide a marvelous roadmap for readers venturing into a comprehensive canvassing of the horror field but it also is a splendid read for its own sake."
—Larry W. Prater
KLIATT, January 1999
"Horror: 100 Best Books remains a model of its kind . . . one of the most vital and idiosyncratic guides thus far produced by this most vital and idiosyncratic of genres."
—Bill Sheehan
CEMETERY DANCE, 1998
"When I reviewed Horror: 100 Best Books in 1988, I wrote, 'Quite simply the best book of its type ever published'. Now it's even better."
—Mark Graham
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, July 5, 1998
"This is an excellent guide to the classics of genre fiction from 1592 until today, and a spur to make readers want to read the stories described."
—Anne Billson
THE TIMES SATURDAY REVIEW, November 7, 1992
"For those whose predilection is horror—here is your reading list!"
—Tony Arnold
EAST KENT MESSENGER, August 13, 1992
"This is one of those rare reference works that is also an entertaining read in itself."
—SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE, 1992
"With contributions from virtually everybody who's anybody in horror fiction, the book is by turns enlightening, exasperating, funny, and useful as a reference tool."
—Stan Nicholls
DARK SIDE, August 1992
"An inspired concept well realized . . . Virtually every horror fan will want to own this perpetually browsable aficionado's guide."
—Ray Olsen
ALA BOOKLIST, March 15, 1989
"Its multiple-author format offers a challenging palimpsest of perspectives that is much more rewarding than the single viewpoint on display in recent "best 100" book lists for fantasy and science fiction."
—Stefan Dziemianowicz
SFRA NEWSLETTER #165, March 1989
"It's not often that a book comes along that is a real labour of love and a good read . . . a unique survey of horror and an insight into the creative preferences of many fine writers."
—John Gilbert
FEAR, March/April 1989
"Fascinating and a delight to look through."
—David Howe
STARBURST #126, February 1989
"This is a marvelous gathering, passionate and lively as so few surveys manage to be . . . Highly recommended."
—Faren Miller
LOCUS #335, December 1988
"A book that after two weeks still sends little prickles of delight down my back every time I open it."
—David Kuehis
FANGORIA #85
"Editors Jones and Newman should take a bow."
—Neil Gaiman
TIME OUT, December 7-14, 1988
"The Jones/Newman contributors indicate which, of the welter of seemingly identical horror novels of the early Eighties, are worth reading. When vampires and axe-murderers have become commodities marketed like cornflakes, it is important to know where they are done properly."
—Roz Kaveney
EVENING STANDARD, November 24, 1988
