The 13 Most Terrifying Novels Of All Time--Period!

Written by Stephen King in 1977, The Shining went on to become one of the greatest horror movies of all time. While many are familiar with the movie, only when you read the book can one understand why it was adapted in the first place. Never has such a story been told in such a way, the horror one feels from this novel is not just from the horrors without, but most terrifyingly, from the horrors within.

The definitive vampire novel was written by Bram Stoker in 1898. It relates the tale of Count Dracula, an undead vampire as he attempts to find new blood and a new brood in England, only to be battled by Doctor Abraham Van Helsing. In the years since its publication, countless movies and novels have taken Bram Stoker's classic tale of the vampire and built upon it. From Nosferatu to Dracula Untold, all of these take their content from the same terrifying source.

This horror classic is said to have spawned the modern horror novel as well as birthed the genre of science fiction. Written in 1818, Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus, follows Victor Frankenstein in his attempts to reanimate the dead, born of his own tragic life's events. Throughout the years, Frankenstein has become a classic staple of the horror genre; in fact, even non-horror fans are more than aware of this famous monster's name and classic features!

One of the scariest reads of all time, Richard Matheson's 1971 classic tale, Hell House, follows the account of four researchers attempting to uncover the truth behind life after death. The means by which they do this is by investigating what is recognized in the novel as the most haunted house in the world. As the subtle supernatural influence of Hell House bends the minds and tests the sanity of the researchers, will they be able to escape with any answers, or even their lives?

It is no wonder that this novel has been adapted to one of the most famous scary movies of all time. However, those who have read the novel can only the describe the film as "timid." Written by William Peter Blatty and published in 1971, this novel has stood the test of time as a horror to behold. We can only watch as pure evil terrorizes an innocent girl, as the attempts to free her from it only seem to be in vain.

Written in 1954 by William Golding, Lord of the Flies is one of those books that you do not even realize is a horror novel. Following a plane crash, a group of boys are stranded on an island in the pacific. As they struggle to survive on the island, hierarchies emerge, leading to alienation, cult formation, and death. A gruesome insight into the true nature of humanity, each page finds one holding their breath and hoping these children are found safe and sound.

Written by Jay Anderson in 1977, it is based on the true story of the Lutz family who had to vacate the famed Amityville house after just twenty-eight days. A year earlier, the Defeo murders ravaged the house and community, with the perpetrator himself claiming voices coming from the house influenced him to commit them. It is said that the scariest stories turn out to be true, and this is indeed one of those cases!

Written by the horror master himself in 1986, this Stephen King novel has gone down into legend as one of the most terrifying novels of all time. Two timelines are followed with the same group of characters, one as they were kids, the other as adults. In both times, they face the same evil: a shapeshifting creature known only as It, that lives in the sewers of Derry, Maine. Every thirty years, it awakens in order to feed, until the Losers' Club decide to fight back...twice.

Originally published in Weird Tales Magazine in 1928, this classic story by H.P. Lovecraft helped set the stage for the bizarre, the macabre, and horror novels and films alike. Allegedly inspired by Tennyson's sonnet, The Kraken, this story is incredibly dense to the point where one wonders whether they are actually reading fact, for the story comes through such real characters. Even to this day, few have reached the same level of creativity and horror interwoven so beautifully and maniacally together.

This tale of terror by Peter Straub, follows four men who share a diabolical secret. After a night of sharing ghost stories, one dies suddenly and mysteriously. Shortly thereafter, the remaining three begin to experience terrifying nightmares depicting their own deaths. What is the meaning of this? What could their secret possibly be, and how might it be connected with these incredibly strange dreams they are experiencing? Read the novel to find out; or, you can check out the 1981 film adaptation of the same name!

This chilling gothic novel comes down to us from Henry James in the final years of the 19th century. It recounts the tale of a governess and her struggle to understands the mysterious goings on of the children she has been recently hired to care for. Her predecessors deeply cared for the children as well; however, they died in an unknown and mysterious manner. Their spirits haunt the grounds of Bly as the governess attempts to protect the children from their horror, but in vain.

This classic vampire gothic thriller is brought to us through the great mind of Anne Rice, published in 1973. In this tale, we are introduced to our own world; only, there are vampires hiding themselves within it. When a reporter meets someone claiming this exact legacy, he is granted the opportunity of an interview to recount his extraordinary life. Sprawling from the late 18th century until the present day, this was the first novel where the vampire was the protagonist, as the lines of good and evil can be drawn from any perspective, who are we to decide the character of anyone?

This classic novel by Ira Levin was so widely popular that it was quickly adapted to the screen just a year after publication, in 1968. As is usually the case, it is difficult to capture the sheer horror and terror presented in the book itself, but the film did a fantastic job, earning itself a place as one of the most preeminent horror films of all time. Recounting the tale of a married couple moving into a new building and quickly after become pregnant. In this scary realization that perhaps we are living in the end of days, not everyone is on the side of good; some are looking to win the era not for God, but for the devil himself.