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.

Best Horror Stories Ever

Horror stories come in all forms. Many of them are told in the form of a novel, novella, short story, or even a poem. Others are passed along through word-of-mouth as urban myths and legends. These stories are popular because of their ability to shock and chill readers. The stories included below are by various authors, and they are some of the most spine-tingling and popular stories in the genre.

The Lottery

"The Lottery" is a short story written by Shirley Jackson, and it was first published in 1948. It's about a traditional ceremony held by the citizens of a small town every year on June 27. The beginning and middle parts of the story describe an idyllic town with familiar people in it. However, the characters seem to be anxiously awaiting the mysterious lottery ceremony. The tension builds within the story until the end, when the reader realizes that the lottery ceremony is held annually for the purpose of stoning one of the town's citizens to death as a sacrifice.

Carrie

Carrie was written by Stephen King, and it was published in 1974. Today, it remains one of King's best-known novels. Carrie is a teenage girl with telekinetic power. She lives with her mother, who is a religious freak/witch. Carrie is routinely bullied by her classmates, which results in Carrie's revenge on everyone at the end of the story. The movie adaptation is perhaps better-known than the book, and it stars Sissy Spacek and John Travolta.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irving originally published "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in 1820, though it was based on a German folktale previously published by Karl Musaus. The story's protagonist, Ichabod Crane, is in love with Katrina Van Tassel, a young woman whose other possible suitor is Brom Bones. Ichabod rides horseback from Katrina's house one night and meets with the Headless Horseman, a local ghost known for traveling the area in search of his missing head.

The Raven

"The Raven" is probably one of the most anthologized horror stories. The work is actually a narrative poem that was originally published in 1845 by Edgar Allan Poe. The poem's speaker is a man who is mourning the loss of his wife when a raven enters his house. The bird repeatedly says "Nevermore," in answer to the man's inquiries and statements. The physical presence of the bird coupled with the man's grieving eventually drives him mad.

The Tell-Tale Heart

"The Tell-Tale Heart" is another of Edgar Allan Poe's best-known works. The short story is about a man who murders his roommate and continues to hear the victim's beating heart even after the murder. The beating represents the narrator's guilty conscience, and it becomes so loud that the story culminates in the murderer's desperate confession to the policemen who've come to investigate a loud noise reported by a neighbor.