List of horror fiction writers

This is a navigational list of notable writers who have published significant work in the horror fiction genre, who also have stand-alone articles on Wikipedia. All items must have a reference to demonstrate that they have produced significant work in the horror genre.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

## A

[edit]

* Ania Ahlborn[1]
* Jay Anson[2]
* Margaret Atwood[3] (born 1939, Canada)
* Dathan Auerbach[3][4]
* Mona Awad[1]

## B

[edit]

* Iain Banks[4] (1954–2013, Scotland)
* L. A. Banks[3][2]
* Tracey Baptiste[3]
* Clive Barker[3][4][5][6] (born 1952, England)
* Laird Barron[3] (born 1970, US)
* Agustina Bazterrica[4][2][1]
* John Bellairs[3] (1938–1991, US)
* E. F. Benson[7] (1867–1940, England)
* Lauren Beukes[5]
* Ambrose Bierce[8] (1842 – c. 1914, US)
* Jerome Bixby[3] (1923–1998, US)
* Algernon Blackwood[3][6][7] (1869–1951, England)
* William Peter Blatty[3][4][2][9][5] (1928–2017, US)
* Robert Bloch[9] (1917–1994, US)
* Ray Bradbury[3][4][2][10][5] (1920–2012, US)
* Poppy Z. Brite[3][4] (born 1967, US)
* Max Brooks[3][4][5]
* Christopher Buehlman[3][2]
* Chesya Burke[3]
* Octavia E. Butler[3][4][2]

## C

[edit]

* Rachel Caine[2]
* Ramsey Campbell[3][6] (born 1946, England)
* M. R. Carey[3]
* Emily Carroll[3]
* Angela Carter[3][2]
* Robert W. Chambers[3][7] (1865–1933, US)
* Stephen Chbosky[2]
* Joey Comeau[5]
* Justin Cronin[9]
* Nick Cutter[3][1]

## D

[edit]

* Roald Dahl[2] (1916–1990, Wales/England)
* Mark Z. Danielewski[3][4][5]
* Walter de la Mare[7] (1873–1956, England)
* Joe Donnelly[4]
* Daphne du Maurier[3][2][5] (1907–1989, England)
* Tananarive Due[4] (born 1966, US)
* Lois Duncan[3]
* Katherine Dunn[4][2][5]
* Lord Dunsany[7] (1878–1957, England/Ireland)

## E

[edit]

* Bret Easton Ellis[3][4][2][5] (born 1964, US)
* Harlan Ellison[3] (1934–2018, US)
* Guy Endore[3] (1901–1970, US)
* Mariana Enriquez[3][10][11]

## F

[edit]

* Gemma Files[3][4] (born 1968, Canada)
* John Fowles[3]

## G

[edit]

* Neil Gaiman[2][10][5] (born 1960, England)
* Charlotte Perkins Gilman[3] (1860–1935, US)
* William Golding[3][2]
* Sara Gran[3][4][2]
* Mira Grant[3] (born 1978, US)

## H

[edit]

* Elizabeth Hand[3]
* Thomas Harris[9][5] (born 1940, US)
* Zakiya Dalila Harris[4]
* Rachel Harrison[4]
* Nathaniel Hawthorne[3] (1804–1864, US)
* Grady Hendrix[2][5]
* James Herbert[6] (1943–2013, England)
* Thomas Olde Heuvelt[1]
* Joe Hill[3][9][5][1]
* Susan Hill[3][2][5]
* Jennifer Hillier[2]
* William Hope Hodgson[7] (1877–1918, England/Belgium)
* Nalo Hopkinson[3] (born 1960, Jamaica/Canada)
* Andrew Michael Hurley[1]
* Shaun Hutson[6] (born 1958, England)

## I

[edit]

* Junji Ito[3][10][1] (born 1963, Japan)

## J

[edit]

* Shirley Jackson[3][4][2][10][11][5][1] (1916–1965, US)
* W. W. Jacobs[3] (1863–1943, England)
* Henry James[3][11][5][1] (1843–1916, US/England)
* Simone St. James[2]
* M. R. James[6][7] (1862–1936, England)
* Daisy Johnson[11]
* Stephen Graham Jones[4][2] (born 1972, US)

## K

[edit]

Stephen King

* Alma Katsu[3][4][2]
* Jack Ketchum[3][5] (1946–2018, US)
* Cassandra Khaw[10]
* Caitlin R. Kiernan[3][4]
* Stephen King[3][4][2][10][9][5][1] (born 1947, US)
* T. E. D. Klein[5] (born 1947, US)
* Kathe Koja[3] (born 1960, US)
* Dean R. Koontz[3] (born 1945, US)
* Daniel Kraus[3]
* R.F. Kuang[1]

## L

[edit]

* John Langan[3][4] (born 1969, US)
* Joe R. Lansdale[3] (born 1951, US)
* Victor LaValle[4][11][5][3] (born 1972, US)
* Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu[3]
* Ira Levin[3][5] (1929–2007, US)
* Matthew Lewis[4]
* John Ajvide Lindqvist[3][4][5][1] (born 1968, Sweden)
* Livia Llewellyn[3]
* H. P. Lovecraft[3][5][1] (1890–1937, US)
* Brian Lumley[1] (born 1937, England)

## M

[edit]

* Carmen Maria Machado[3]
* Arthur Machen[3][7] (1863–1947, Wales)
* Josh Malerman[3][4][2][5][1]
* Robert Marasco[3][5]
* William March[2]
* George R. R. Martin[4] (born 1948, US)
* Richard Matheson[3][4][5] (1926–2013, US)
* Robert R. McCammon[5][3] (born 1952, US)
* Michael McDowell[3][5]
* Jennifer McMahon[2]
* Sarah Monette[3]
* David Moody[6]
* Silvia Moreno-Garcia[2] (born 1981, Mexico)
* Toni Morrison[3][4][2] (1931–2019, US)
* Ottessa Moshfegh[2]
* Ryu Murakami[5]

## N

[edit]

* Adam Nevill[4][6] (born 1969, England)

## O

[edit]

* Joyce Carol Oates[3] (born 1938, US)
* Ellen Oh[3]
* Helen Oyeyemi[3][2][10]

## P

[edit]

* Chuck Palahniuk[4] (born 1962, US)
* Michelle Paver[1]
* Tom Piccirilli[5]
* Edgar Allan Poe[3] (1809–1849, US)
* Laura Purcell[10]

## R

[edit]

* Ava Reid[2]
* Anne Rice[3][4][5] (1941–2021, US)
* Christina Georgina Rossetti[3]

## S

[edit]

Mary Shelley

* Riley Sager[2]
* Joan Samson[4] (1937–1976)
* Mary Shelley[3][4][2][5][6] (1797–1851, England)
* Lionel Shriver[2]
* Anne Rivers Siddons[3][4] (1936–2019, US)
* Dan Simmons[3][4][2][5] (born 1948, US)
* Scott Smith[3][2]
* Clark Ashton Smith[7] (1893–1961, US)
* R. L. Stine[3] (born 1943, US)
* Bram Stoker[3][4][2][5][1][12] (1847–1912, Ireland/England)
* Peter Straub[3][4][2][5] (1943–2022, US)
* Whitley Strieber[3] (born 1945, US)
* Charles Stross[3]
* Koji Suzuki[4][2][9][5]
* Søren Sveistrup[2]

## T

[edit]

* Sonya Taaffe[3]
* Michael Talbot[5]
* James Tiptree Jr. (pseudonym of Alice Bradley Sheldon)[3]
* Paul Tremblay[3][4][5][1]
* Thomas Tryon[3][4][2][5][1]

## W

[edit]

* Sarai Walker[2]
* Catriona Ward[4]
* Sarah Waters[4]
* Edith Wharton[2] (1862–1937, US)
* Oscar Wilde[10][9]
* Kai Ashante Wilson[3]
* David Wong (pseudonym of Jason Pargin)[3][5]
* John Wyndham[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Kemsley, Saskia (2 October 2024). "Best horror novels that are must-reads, from classic spooky tales to modern scares". The Standard. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at Beabout, Leandra (3 October 2024). "61 Best Horror Books of All Time to Scare You Silly". Reader's Digest. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck Mayer, Petra (16 August 2018). "Click If You Dare: 100 Favorite Horror Stories". NPR. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as McRobert, Neil (9 May 2022). "The 50 Best Horror Books of All Time Will Scare You Sh*tless". Esquire. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao Foxe, Steve (30 August 2018). "The 50 Best Horror Novels of All Time". Paste Magazine.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i WILSON, MICHAEL; MARSHALL-JONES, SIMON (23 April 2012). "10 English Authors That Helped Shape Horror Fiction". This Is Horror. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pridham, Matthew (6 January 2022). "10 Early 20th Century Authors of the Fantastic and the Ghastly: The Birth of the Weird". Archive Horrifica. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
8. ^ Aycock, Anthony (18 March 2024). "The Weirdness of Ambrose Bierce: From "Owl Creek Bridge" to Horror and Satire". Reactor. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Bergmoser, Gabriel (28 October 2020). "Top 10 horror novels". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "13 best horror books that will send a chill up your spine". The Independent. 4 June 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
11. ^ a b c d e Foley-Cox, Tess (30 October 2024). "Best horror books to read this Halloween". theweek. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
12. ^ O'Rourke, Evelyn (19 October 2024). "Long-lost Bram Stoker story discovered in Dublin". RTÉ.ie.

## See also

[edit]

* Lists of writers
* List of fantasy authors
* List of notable 20th-century writers
* List of science fiction authors

* v
* t
* e

Horror fiction

* Speculative fiction

Media|

* Anime
* Comics
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* History
* Magazines
* Podcasts
* Television programs
* Video games
* list

Types|

* Art
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* Creepypasta
* Cosmic
* Dark fantasy
* Dark Romanticism
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* Grimdark
* Splatterpunk
* Erotic
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* Zombie pornography
* Folk
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* List of films
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* Zombie apocalypse

Monsters|

* Demons
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* Fire-breathing monsters
* Chimera
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* Kaiju
* Killer toy
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* Therianthropes
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* Death
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* Zombies
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Related genres|

* Black comedy
* Fantastique
* Fantasy fiction
* Mystery
* Paranormal
* Science fiction
* Shenmo
* Supernatural
* Thriller
* Tokusatsu
* Urban legend

Other|

* Grand Guignol
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* LGBT themes
* characters
* Macabre
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* Vulgar auteurism

Related|

* Pulp magazine
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