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50 Scariest Books of All Time

"These books hail from places across the rich spectrum of terrifying literature produced in the last 150 years or so: sometimes a history book can be scarier than a slasher movie. There's truly something here to scare the pants off of anyone and everyone. So if you don't find a particular entry scary, well, thank all the Old Gods and move on to the next one."
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The Great God Pan and Other Horror Stories (Arthur Machen)
The Great God Pan and Other Horror Stories
1
Arthur Machen
The King in Yellow (Robert W. Chambers)
The King in Yellow
2
Robert W. Chambers
Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell)
Nineteen Eighty-Four
3
George Orwell
Night (Elie Wiesel)
Night
4
Elie Wiesel
The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson)
The Haunting of Hill House
5
Shirley Jackson
Burnt Offerings (Robert Marasco)
Burnt Offerings
6
Robert Marasco
The Auctioneer (Joan Samson)
The Auctioneer
7
Joan Samson
The Amityville Horror (Jay Anson)
The Amityville Horror
8
Jay Anson
Flowers in the Attic (Virginia Andrews)
Flowers in the Attic
9
Virginia Andrews
The Stranger Beside Me (Ann Rule)
The Stranger Beside Me
10
Ann Rule
Pet Sematary (Stephen King)
Pet Sematary
11
Stephen King
The Wasp Factory (Iain Banks)
The Wasp Factory
12
Iain Banks
Tomie (Junji Ito)
Tomie
13
Junji Ito
The Cipher (Kathe Koja)
The Cipher
14
Kathe Koja
Parasite Eve (Hideaki Sena)
Parasite Eve
15
Hideaki Sena
The Hot Zone (Richard Preston)
The Hot Zone
16
Richard Preston
Deadrush (Yvonne Navarro)
Deadrush
17
Yvonne Navarro
Exquisite Corpse (Poppy Z. Brite)
Exquisite Corpse
18
Poppy Z. Brite
Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster (Svetlana Alexievich)
Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster
19
Svetlana Alexievich
The Rape of Nanking (Iris Chang)
The Rape of Nanking
20
Iris Chang
Audition (Ryu Murakami)
Audition
21
Ryu Murakami
House of Leaves (Mark Danielewski)
House of Leaves
22
Mark Danielewski
Yalo (Elias Khoury)
Yalo
23
Elias Khoury
Come Closer (Sara Gran)
Come Closer
24
Sara Gran
Confessions (Kanae Minato)
Confessions
25
Kanae Minato
The Resurrectionist (Wrath James White)
The Resurrectionist
26
Wrath James White
Amatka (Karin Tidbeck)
Amatka
27
Karin Tidbeck
You (Caroline Kepnes)
You
28
Caroline Kepnes
Perfect Days (Raphael Montes)
Perfect Days
29
Raphael Montes
Wonderland (Jennifer Hillier)
Wonderland
30
Jennifer Hillier
Tender Is the Flesh (Agustina Bazterrica)
Tender Is the Flesh
31
Agustina Bazterrica
The Vegetarian (Han Kang)
The Vegetarian
32
Han Kang
Fever Dream (Samanta Schweblin)
Fever Dream
33
Samanta Schweblin
The Fisherman (John Langan)
The Fisherman
34
John Langan
The Silent Companions (Laura Purcell)
The Silent Companions
35
Laura Purcell
The Hunger (Alma Katsu)
The Hunger
36
Alma Katsu
The Rust Maidens (Gwendolyn Kiste)
The Rust Maidens
37
Gwendolyn Kiste
The Chestnut Man (Soren Sveistrup)
The Chestnut Man
38
Soren Sveistrup
Little Eve (Catriona Ward)
Little Eve
39
Catriona Ward
In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado)
In the Dream House
40
Carmen Maria Machado
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