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.

True Horror Stories

Many of the most frightening stories told in books and movies are based on true horror stories. One such film everyone is sure to recognize is Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror film, Psycho (1960). Psycho was actually based on the true story of Ed Gein, a Wisconsin man arrested in 1957 for the murders of two women.

Though Ed Gein does not meet the textbook definition of a serial killer. his true story is nothing short of horrific. He was found guilty of the murder of Bernice Worden, owner of a hardware store in Gein's home town of Plainsfield. Expenses kept officials from bringing him to trial for the murder of Mary Hogan, another Plainsfield woman.

Speculators also believe that Ed Gein's first victim may have been his own flesh and blood, brother Henry Gein. Though Henry's death was ruled an accident and charges were never brought against Ed Gein, the circumstances surrounding his death were suspicious. Had Henry's death been confirmed as a kill for Ed Gein, he would have met the minimum three murders for classification as a serial killer.

The true horror of Ed Gein's story lies not in his body count, but in what investigators found when he was arrested. Not only had Gein murdered Worden and Hogan, he dismembered their bodies and the bodies of corpses he exhumed from the graveyard and kept gruesome souvenirs on display in his home. His targets were women who reminded him of his dead mother.

Investigators found the heads of Hogan and Worden stored in bags in Gein's home, the skulls of other women fashioned into bowls and decorating the posts on his bed. Lips dangled from pull chains on shades. Organs were stored in his refrigerator. He'd even fashioned himself a skin suit from the tanned hides of women because he wanted to be a woman himself.

Ed Gein's true horror story has been the inspiration for many films and books, with Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) following his life story most closely. Other films that have been inspired by Ed Gein acts include The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and Deranged (1974). Though many may prefer to believe that these terrifying films were born in the minds of Hollywood writers and directors, the stunning truth is that these and many more have been inspired by true horror stories like Ed Gein's.

Other famous films that have been inspired by true horror stories include The Hills Have Eyes (1977), Jaws (1975), and The Amityville Horror (1979). Bolt all the doors, turn on the lights and stay out of the water! It's true! The films that give us chills and make the tiny hairs on the nape of our neck stand on end are often based on true horror stories.