30 Best Horror Short Story Books

I love horror short stories. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit of a baby. I love horror, but I am usually too scared to watch a full-length horror movie. Yep, short stories are my favorite form of the horror genre. And in this article, I’ve compiled a list of the 30 best horror short story books. First, we’ll dive into the best horror short story collections by a single author, and then we’ll move on to the best horror short story anthologies by more than one author.

This list was made possible in part by researching what other people’s favorite horror short story books so I could compare notes. Special shoutout to Reddit’s r/horrorlit sub, in particular these posts with horror short fiction recommendations.

Also be sure to check out the other short story collections lists here on Broke by Books:

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The 19 Best Horror Short Story Books by a Single Author

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

We kick off this list of the best horror short story collections with Joe Hill’s 20th Century Ghosts. One of the most influential horror writers of his generation, Joe Hill launched onto the scene with his debut short story anthology, 20th Century Ghosts. This book won the 2005 Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection, aka the Pulitzer Prize of horror writing. I personally love the titular short story, which stayed with me long after I finished it.

How to read it: Purchase 20th Century Ghosts on Amazon

After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones

Both a Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award Nominee for Best Fiction Collection, Stephen Graham Jones’ After the People Lights Have Gone Off is a first-rate book of horror short stories. Among the fifteen published here, Jones includes several new tales in this compilation along with some that are already anthologized and hard-to-find stories that are out of print. Additionally, artist Luke Spooner supplies fifteen original illustrations.

How to read it: Purchase After the People Lights Have Gone Off on Amazon

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron

If you’re not familiar with rising horror star Laird Barron, start with The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us, his third collection of short horror stories. Barron is a genre-bender, melding noir with dark fantasy with science fiction. In this book, Barron interlocks several shorts in a story cycle that’s guaranteed to freak you out.

How to read it: Purchase The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All

The Best of Richard Matheson edited by Victor LaValle

Richard Matheson dominated as a twentieth-century horror author who penned The Twilight Zone episodes and wrote I Am Legend, earning praise for his work by Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, and Stephen Spielberg. But the truth is, Matheson really excelled as a writer of some of the best horror short stories the genre has ever seen. Dive into Matheson’s work with this anthology, among the best horror short story books, edited by Victor LaValle.

How to read it: Purchase The Best of Richard Matheson on Amazon

Books of Blood by Clive Barker

Horror wouldn’t be the genre it is without Clive Barker. Experience the chilling physical landscapes and terrifying psychological scares in his Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three, winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Collection (1985). The Washington Post praised Books of Blood as a work that “offer[s] a strikingly bold vision, and some of the most provocative tales of terror ever published.” Start with Books of Blood and get up to speed with Barker’s singular horrifying deconstruction of fear as we know it.

How to read it: Purchase Books of Blood on Amazon

Collapse of Horses by Brad Everson

See why The Believer called Brian Evenson “One of the most provocative, inventive, and talented writers we have working today” with A Collapse of Horses, among the most viscerally intense collections of horror short stories. A prolific short fiction writer who blends genres, Evenson expertly finds ways to push the limits of fear in tales that find the scary underside of the ordinary. Get your fear on with A Collapse of Horses.

How to read it Purchase A Collapse of Horses on Amazon

Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories by M. R. James edited by S. T. Joshi

Medievalist and scholar M. R. James (1862-1936) was well known for his contribution to literary scholarship, but today we read him for his ghost stories. Prolific author James penned some of the best horror short stories within the subgenre of ghost fiction and is notable for setting his tales in modern settings, as opposed to ghost story writers who were still tied to the Gothic tradition. As a lover of the “antiquarian,”—meaning an affection for the past—James incorporated his interest in antiquities into his horror writing, which lands him the title of being the first author of “antiquarian ghost story.” The bottom line? James was and continues to be enormously influential in horror, and you won’t want to miss out on his acclaimed ghost stories.

How to read it: Purchase Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories on Amazon

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson

I absolutely adore American writer Shirley Jackson, known primarily for The Haunting of Hill House—easily the scariest haunted house novel ever—and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, a neo-Gothic story with an unforgettable narrator. But Jackson also penned short horror stories. One of which that is taught often in school settings is “The Lottery,” which was published in 1948 (you can read for free here) and immediately revolutionized short fiction as we know it. In the collection Dark Tales, you’ll find 17 more essential Jackson horror short stories. Get to know this iconic author with Dark Tales.

How to read it: Purchase Dark Tales on Amazon

Growing Things by Paul Tremblay

I read Paul Tremblay’s “Note from the Dog Walkers,” included here in his horror short story collection Growing Things, for my Long Short Story Project (tl; dr: I read a short story a day for a month—see what I read on the Tumblr blog). It was delightfully odd, increasingly more disturbing, and wholly unforgettable. And I’m not alone in thinking Paul Tremblay is a genius (I loved his novel A Head Full of Ghosts). Growing Things won the 2019 Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection, and the book was one of the New York Times‘ 100 notable books for 2019.

How to read it: Purchase Growing Things on Amazon

The Merry Spinster by Daniel M. Lavery

If you love retellings, you’ll love Daniel M. Lavery’s The Merry Spinster. The inspired, wicked, and freaky retellings in The Merry Spinster offer fresh horror takes on famous tales like The Velveteen Rabbit, “The Little Mermaid,” Frog and Toad, and “The Frog Princess.” Laced with dark humor, the short stories in The Merry Spinster are scary each in their own way.

How to read it: Purchase The Merry Spinster on Amazon

The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft by H.P. Lovecraft – edited by Leslie S. Klinger

The grandfather of “cosmic horror,” H.P. Lovecraft might be the single most influential horror writer of all time. No, seriously. And certainly, Lovecraft was and remains problematic. But no list of the best horror short story books would be complete without including Lovecraft. If you’re wondering where to begin, jump in with The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft, which includes all the top Lovecraft stories with thoughtful and revealing annotations by literary scholar Leslie S. Klinger that situate each tale within historical, cultural, and literary context.

How to read it: Purchase The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft on Amazon

Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King

Of course we’re going to include Stephen King in this guide to the best horror short story collections. Where would horror be without King? I love King, and my favorite book he’s penned is The Shining. But King has also published a steady stream of short stories over his long career. The one you’ll want to read first is his masterpiece, Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Horror short story books don’t get much better than the 23 short horror stories anthologized here.

How to read it: Purchase Nightmares and Dreamscapes on Amazon

North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud

Nathan Ballingrud’s debut short story collection North American Lake Monsters won the Shirley Jackson Award for Single-Author Collection, announcing Ballingrud as an emerging voice in horror fiction. If that’s not enough of a reason to add the book to your TBR, you’ll want to read the book before you see the Hulu adaptation of the book, Monsterland.

How to read it: Purchase North American Lake Monsters on Amazon

The Raven: Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

Horror wouldn’t be the genre it is without Edgar Allan Poe’s significant contribution in its earliest days. Poe’s influence is felt even today. For a copy that compiles all the essential spooky stories and poems, get the Penguin Horror edition, which includes an introduction from the Penguin Horror series editor Guillermo Del Toro. Any personal library would benefit from housing one of the best horror short story books like this one.

How to read it: Purchase The Raven: Tales and Poems on Amazon

Some Will Not Sleep by Adam Nevill

Adam Nevill’s Some Will Not Sleep won the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection, and it’s easy to see why: the frightening tales in Some Will Not Sleep will make you want to leave the light on at night. Reading Some Will Not Sleep is a mindf**k of an experience all horror fans will appreciate from the author of the novel The Ritual, which was adapted as a Netflix film.

How to read it: Purchase Some Will Not Sleep on Amazon

Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe by Thomas Ligotti

The Washington Post once called Thomas Ligotti “the best-kept secret in contemporary horror fiction” who has “….create[d] a canon of short stories so idiosyncratic as to defy almost any description save demented.” If that’s not a ringing endorsement of a horror writer, I don’t know what is. To get started, check out Songs of a Dreamer and Grimscribe, which compiles the first two of Ligotti’s short story collections in a single volume with an introduction by Jeff VanderMeer. Ligotti is required reading, and this edition is one of the best horror short story books you’ll want on your home library’s shelves.

How to read it: Purchase Songs of a Dreamer and Grimscribe on Amazon

Spontaneous Human Combustion by Richard Thomas

Genre-bending author Richard Thomas is out with his latest collection of short stories. See why Chuck Palahniuk praised Thomas as: “In range alone, Richard Thomas is boundless. He is Lovecraft. He is Bradbury. He is Gaiman.” A prolific short fiction writer, Thomas has published more than 165 stories in a wide array of outlets. Thomas’ work has received nomination for the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, Thriller, and Audie awards and six times been long-listed for Best Horror of the Year. In Spontaneous Human Combustion, Thomas brings us fourteen fresh stories to make you look over your shoulder and shine a flashlight into the shadows…afraid of what you might find but too afraid not to try.

How to read it: Purchase Spontaneous Human Combustion on Amazon

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

I’ve previously written a review of Emily Carroll’s graphic novel Through the Woods here on the blog. And I’m recommending now in this roundup of the best horror short story books because, well, the five fairy tale-inspired tale in Through the Woods are memorably, phenomenally creeptastic.

Check out a sample spread from Carroll’s Through the Woods here:

There’s something singularly fitting to combine art with horror. So much of horror fiction is describing the frightening, the chilling, the terrifying. When you read horror comics or horror graphic novels, that terror is visualized, leading to a powerful one-two punch of scary words and scary art. Trust me, Through the Woods is the best of both horror mediums, one of the best horror short story books period, and you don’t want to skip it.

How to read it: Purchase Through the Woods on Amazon

The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies by John Langan

Get to know horror fiction master John Langan with this anthology of nine of his best tales. Langan won the Bram Stoker Award for his 2016 novel The Fisherman and was a nominee for the same award in the short story collection category in 2008. An esteemed writer and legend in the genre, Langan now sits on the board of directors for the Shirley Jackson Awards, judging the best of the best in horror. There’s no better way to get to know Langan than with this collection of horror short stories.

How to read it: Purchase The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and other Monstrous Geographies on Amazon

The 11 Best Horror Short Story Books by Multiple Authors

American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny Volume 1: From Poe to the Pulps edited by Peter Straub

This outstanding two-volume collection from the Library of America is among the best horror stories anthologies. Edited by horror master Peter Straub, American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny is a comprehensive survey of American writers of horror and the supernatural. The first volume covers a time span of Edgar Allan Poe to the pulps, including Washington Irving, Edith Wharton, Ambrose Bierce, and H.P. Lovecraft. At 750 pages, Volume 1 is a steal when you consider how many shorts you get in just one book.

How to read it: Purchase American Fantastic Tales: Volume 1 on Amazon

The Best Horror of the Year edited by Ellen Datlow

This long-running and prestigious series that now stretches to thirteen installments is edited by Ellen Datlow, a veteran anthologizers of the best horror short story collections. Each year, the premier short horror stories published in the year are reprinted among the other crème de la crème of the genre’s short fiction. In the most recent installment, Volume Thirteen includes stories by Catriona Ward, Stephen Graham Jones, and Gemma Files, among others. If you want to stay up-to-date and up all night with the best horror being published today, you need this series of horror short story books in your life.

How to read it: Purchase The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Thirteen on Amazon

The Creepypasta Collection edited by MrCreepyPasta

Creepypasta is here to stay. And what exactly is “creepypasta”? Wikipedia gives a good definition: “Creepypastas are horror-related legends that have been shared around the Internet.Creepypasta has since become a catch-all term for any horror content posted onto the Internet. These Internet entries are often brief, user-generated, paranormal stories intended to scare readers.” You might have come across creepypasta before if you’ve ever heard of “The Slender Man.” Get familiar with the genre with The Creepypasta Collection.

How to read it: Purchase The Creepypasta Collection on Amazon

The Dark Descent (No. 1) edited by David G. Hartwell

The Dark Descent (No. 1) was originally published in 1997, yet it remains influential and in print. It’s not hard to see why this is considered among the best horror short story collections of all time and why it won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. In The Dark Descent, editor David G. Hartwell attempts to trace horror literature to its origins in short stories. The book is divided into three parts: 1) “The Color of Evil,” which includes stories by Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and H.P. Lovecraft; 2) “The Medusa in the Shield,” which includes stories by Clive Barker and Edgar Allan Poe; and 3) “A Fabulous, Formless Darkness,” which includes stories by Joyce Carol Oates, Robert W. Chambers, and Algernon Blackwood. If you’re looking to move beyond just a surface understanding of horror literature and really explore the genre’s origins, lineage, and theory, pick up The Dark Descent (Vol. 1).

How to read it: Purchase The Dark Descent (Vol. 1) on Amazon

Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror edited by John F.D. Taff

Whereas the last horror short story collection we just talked about (The Dark Descent) was all about the origins of the horror genre, Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror is all about featuring a diverse slate of the best horror writers working today, including Alma Katsu, Stephen Graham Jones, Caroline Kepnes, and Josh Malerman. If you want to know where horror is going, you need to pick up Dark Stars and devour the twelve uniquely terrifying tales inside.

How to read it: Purchase Dark Stars on Amazon

Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories edited by Ellen Datlow

Love a good ghost story? Meet Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghosts. The second anthology edited by Ellen Datlow included on this list of the best horror stories anthologies (the first was for The Best Horror of the Year), Echoes is all about ghost stories. Who doesn’t want to get thrilled and chilled by a ghost tale every once in a while? Datlow has assembled an all-star team of horror author who have offered their take on short fiction in this subgenre, including Alice Hoffman, Joyce Carol Oates, Paul Tremblay, and Seanan McGuire.

How to read it: Purchase Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories on Amazon

Flight or Fright: 17 Turbulent Tales edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent

The premise behind these “turbulent tales” is each of the seventeen short horror stories takes place in flight. You might think that would be a limiting constraint, but, in fact, the authors anthologized here break the premise wide open to create seventeen wholly original short stories on a theme. Edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent, Flight or Fright includes contributions from horror celebs like Joe Hill, Richard Matheson, Ambrose Bierce, and Dan Simmons. Just don’t read it when you’re on a plane…

How to read it: Purchase Flight or Fright on Amazon

Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural by Phyllis Cerf Wagner and Herbert Wise

Although the Modern Library Classic’s Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural was first published in 1944, it remains in print today. Literary critic Edmund Wilson would be happy to know that; he sung its praises in The New Yorker. Take a look at the lineup of all-star horror authors and classic supernatural stories and you’ll see why this is considered one of the best horror short story collections of all time. All the greats are here: Poe, Wilkie Collins, Ambrose Bierce, H. G. Wells, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, and William James, among others. If you can only afford one horror anthology, it should be Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural because it offers its best bang for your buck at 1,056 pages.

How to read it: Purchase Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural on Amazon

The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories by Alan Ryan

As Kirkus Reviews says on the cover of this book “The Count himself would be well pleased.” I agree! Edited by Alan Ryan, The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories is packed with the best horror short stories in the paranormal vampire subgenre. What’s so interesting about this horror anthology is how far back it goes way back to the origins of the vampire character. You’ll read early sketches by Lord Byron’s fragments on a vampire story, the infamous “Vampyre” short story by John Polidori, and an excerpt of the novel Varney the Vampyre by James Malcolm Ryder. This collection of stories about vampires through the ages takes a bite out of readers and won’t let go.

How to read it: Purchase The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories on Amazon

Slasher Girls & Monster Boys edited by April Genevieve Tucholke

I actually plugged Slasher Girls & Monster Boys in my “Best YA Short Story Collections” article here on the blog. But it’s such a fun anthology that I couldn’t resist giving it an encore in this article about the best horror short story collections. Designed for teens, Slasher Girls & Monster Boys explores horror from the eyes of young adults but is still great horror in its own right. With authors like Nova Ren Suma, Leigh Bardugo, Kendare Blake, and more, this is a book full of spooky gifts.

How to read it: Purchase Slasher Girls & Monster Boys on Amazon

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer

“Weird” horror is a distinct subgenre, one that some of the best writers of horror have tried their hand at once or twice. To define it, I’m excerpting from an article from Ransom Center magazine: “Weird fiction is a subgenre of fiction that utilizes aspects of fantasy, horror, and supernatural fiction, while often featuring nontraditional alien monsters. Well-known weird fiction authors include H. P. Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, and M. R. James, while Edgar Allan Poe is often considered a pioneer.” You can learn even more about on the Wikipedia page for “Weird fiction.” And if you’re ready to dive into weird fiction, you’ll definitely want to try The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, edited by Jeff and Ann VanderMeer. Among the authors anthologized in The Weird are M. R. James, Franz Kafka, H. P. Lovecraft, Jorge Luis Borges, Octavia E. Butler, Kelly Link, and China Miéville. The 110 tales you’ll find in this collection reflect the diverse iterations of weird fiction.