Bestselling Horror Story Anthologies

Looking for horror stories and horror story collections? The 10 horror anthologies below are the best current collections of horror stories available on Amazon, and they're bound to please.

  1. The New Dead: A Zombie AnthologyThe New Dead: A Zombie Anthology by Christopher Golden - If horror stories about the living dead tickle your fancy, then this collection from Christopher Golden would be a great purchase. 19 stories are included, from authors as diverse as Joe Hill, Rick Hautala, and Joe Lansdale.
  2. The Best of HP LovecraftThe Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre by H.P. Lovecraft - An affordable introduction to H.P. Lovecraft, who is considered by most people to be Poe's successor as master of the horror story. Lovecraft has been a huge influence on every horror writer since.
  3. The Empty House and Other Ghost StoriesThe Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood - This is one of only two single-author anthologies of horror stories included on this list. Blackwood is a master of the craft, and his stories were a huge influence on H.P. Lovecraft.
  4. Poe's ChildrenPoe's Children: The New Horror by Peter Straub - Over 600 pages of horror stories selected by one of the master horror novelists writing today, Peter Straub. Authors included in the collection include John Crowley, Thomas Tessier, and Thomas Ligotti.
  5. Darkness: Two Decades of Modern HorrorDarkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror by Ellen Datlow - Darkness presents 25 horror stories from a diverse group of writers including Clive Barker, Peter Straub, and Stephen King.
  6. Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of HorrorVile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror by Cheryl Mullenax - British horror writers Graham Masterton and Ramsey Campbell both have stories included in this anthology of horror stories, and other authors include Tim Curran and Randy Chandler.
  7. Hellbound HeartsHellbound Hearts by Paul Kane and Marie O'Regan - This is an anthology of stories set in the same universe as Clive Barker's novel The Hellbound Heart. (That book was the source material for the Hellraiser movies.) Includes stories from Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.
  8. Dark Delicacies III: HauntedDark Delicacies III: Haunted by Del Howison and Jeff Gelb - The editor, Del Howison, owns and operates one of only two all-horror bookstores in the USA, Dark Delicacies. This anthology includes a novella from Chuck Palahniuk, as well as short stories from notable horror authors like David Morrell and Clive Barker.
  9. The Mammoth Book of the Best New HorrorThe Mammoth Book of the Best New Horror by Stephen Jones - Presents short horror stories from 1989 to 2008 from authors like Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Tim Lebbon, Joe Hill, Clive Barker, and Stephen King.
  10. Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry DeadZombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead by John Skipp - Features 32 zombie stories from notable horror authors like Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Robert R. McCammon, and Joe Lansdale.

Horror Stories Based on True Events

There are many horror film fans: the screamers, the jokers, and the obnoxious popcorn crunchers. But after the film ends and the lights go out, and there are no hands nearby to hold, there is only sort of person, the one who tentatively wonders, “Could it happen to me?”

The following sinister stories say, “Believe it.”

Forty-One Years

The Zodiac killer is an elusive enigma masked in morbid mystery. Known to operate in 1968 and 1969, the Zodiac killer is guilty of seven confirmed murders; the perpetrator claimed thirty-seven. Fascinated with dark and fanciful facades, the Zodiac killer often played mind games with his victims and law enforcement.

On August 1, 1969, the Vallejo Police Department received three nearly identical letters, each with a cryptogram that the Zodiac killer demanded be published in the Vallejo Chronicle. More letters followed with other cryptograms and the Zodiac’s signature, an exaggerated cross imposed on a circle, drawn in blood. Several cryptograms remain unsolved, as does the identity of the Zodiac killer.

The Zodiac killer has inspired many movies, including the 1972 film, “The Zodiac Killer,” and recent productions by Lions Gate and ThinkFILM. Films such as “Dirty Harry” and “The Exorcist III” also draw on the Zodiac story.

Real Paranormal Activity

Films such as “The Amityville Horror,” “Paranormal Activity,” and “The Entity” are based on legends about demonic spirits in homes, while blockbuster hits such as “The Exorcist,” “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” and “The Haunting in Connecticut” are based on the story of demon-possessed Robbie.

After experimenting with an Ouija Board, 13-year Robbie started to experience strange phenomena. Furniture randomly moved and odd sounds creaked. After Robbie’s aunt died, the phenomena intensified. Robbie’s mother recruited a priest to exorcise an alleged demon. The priest tried to draw out the spirit, but Robbie alternatively went into an unresponsive trance or a violent fit.

As the ordeal continued, the spirits inside Robbie began to communicate by scratching sadistic messages into Robbie’s skin. On Easter Sunday, Robbie dreamed of a great battle between the Archangel Michael and a horde of demons. He woke up normal and unable to remember a thing.

Home Decor

Ed Gein is a hall-of-famer in the realms of horror. Classic horror films such as Hitchcock’s “Pyscho,” along with the “Silence of the Lambs,” “Deranged,” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” draw from Gein’s gruesome example.

Gein was a psychopathic murderer and corpse snatcher who disembodied his victims and crafted personal trophies from their bones and skin. He stole corpses from cemeteries and used them for decoration about his house, such as bowls made from human heads, human skin for chair coverings and organs stored in a refrigerator. After police found his stash in 1957, Gein related his incidents and explained his desire to become female, and thus his creation of a “woman suit” from the cadavers of middle-aged women resembling his mother. Found guilty of murder, Gein was sentenced for life in an institution for the insane.

Yes, it could happen to you.