My 10 Favorite Horror Books

[@bookfantastic]

T.E.D. Klein was the editor of The Twilight Zone Magazine, which was great. A bit more towards the moral Twilight Zone twist ending stories than horror in this mag, but very well done.

[@carolynmorgan6033]

Counting IS hard!! We are literature/word people, not numbers people 😂 Great list, thanks for sharing! I love reading horror in the fall. Frankenstein is on my list for October; I am excited to read it...but I also have Pet Semetary so maybe I'll try to sneak that in, too. 🐱

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I envy you your first reading of Frankenstein.

[@Carlo-V.]

Ah ah! Me too! Dracula was the first horror novel I ever read and it started the ball rolling! Great video!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks! I appreciate you watching!

[@sgriffin9960]

I’m reading The Fisherman as part of a horror challenge this year! It sounds fantastic!

[@BiographiaLiteraria]

Cool list, several i hadn't even heard of here, and wow you weren't kidding about the prices on used copies of Dark Gods. I picked up that same Machen edition recently after you recommended it, so that will be part of my halloween for sure. My wife and I have tried to make a tradition of lighting candles and reading horror out loud to each other. Last year we did Ligotti and Lovecraft; perhaps this year we'll do Machen and Ashton Smith. Bought Fisherman based on SFF180's review, but have yet to read it. Now I have even more reason to! Thanks for another terrific video

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

You are very welcome! Thanks for watching it!

[@hollyvanwye9294]

I'm 100% in agreement with you about Michael McDowell. I loved The Elementals, a book that left me terrified and induced insomnia while I was reading it! I also loved his epic Blackwater,. which has been reissued in hardcover since his death.

[@sterlingreads547]

Great List! Yes, Pet Sematary ! I was surprised how different I Am Legend, the book, was from the movie. I don’t know why they changed what they did. Yes, that Dracula scene with the women 😁

[@Mystique753]

Loved your list found myself nodding my head in agreement . I had never heard of Dark Gods before so i looked it up on Amazon and wow paperback is $77.00 and hardback is from $807.00 .Will be looking for this one at my thrift stores ! thank you again .

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I’m really happy to have my old hardcover. I sure wouldn’t want to spend 807 dollars for another one!

[@farhad_s]

Dracula quite possibly my favourite as well. My list would have IT (I've not read Pet Sematary yet), and some Edgar Allan Poe. Enjoyed the video, as always

[@petefeigal8118]

Mr. Vaughn, great list, and I like your style!! And remember in 'The Great God Pan,' much of the story revolves around a woman named...Helen Vaughan!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Great list. I agree with you in the ones I have read so will make sure I check out the others

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks! I’m pretty sure you will like them.

[@mediumjohnsilver]

You are getting quite stylish with your thumbnails. Very cool. Great video.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks. It took some doing to duplicate Griffin’s formula for invisibility without driving myself mad but I managed. Now the world will be MINE!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA Ha Ha Ha…Ha ha ha…heh….

[@dj-kq4fz]

You do a really nice job with these lists, and I guess I'm always a bit gratified to see I've read a few of them as well. Thanks, keep sharing!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks! I appreciate the kind words. I’ll keep on with my nonsense.

[@BookBlather]

Great list, Mike! I was really glad to see the Fisherman on here. It’s been on my TBR for about 2 years now… I’ll stop putting it off now. I read Head Full of Ghosts last year, and I actually thought it was a masterpiece. So many good things about it, and it was a lot of fun with all the old horror references. But what was really amazing was all the many different types of perspective he kept contrasting… I was amazed at how many layers of perspective Tremblay explored in the book

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I really think it’s Tremblay’s best book so far. Very disturbing in all the right ways.

[@AhmedAliNizamani]

Very very nice Sharing my dear respected friend full support & Big Likes from Ahmed Ali Nizamani...,..

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks!

[@AnneEWilliamson]

I love The Great God Pan! I read it as an ebook a few years ago and it's so good! I haven't read any of his other short stories though. Pet Cemetery, Frankenstein, and Dracula are also amazing! I'll be adding a few of these I haven't heard of to my TBR, like The Fisherman. Really interesting, horrific list.

[@jeremyfee]

Amazing list! I told myself to stop buying books for a while, to try to maintain some sort of book buying budget, but I'm going to have to get several of these because I highly value your opinion and recommendations.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Well, you have demolished my book buying budget enough times that I should return the favor.

[@nicholaslabriola2260]

First of all, I want to say I absolutely adore your enthusiasm for literature and your channel is very underrated. And how have I not heard of Dark Gods? Hmmm... I'll have to see if I can aquire a copy for myself.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks! I hope you manage to track down Dark Gods.

[@sugarsneeze]

I found your channel yesterday while looking for creepy fall reads and I have to say I love your videos. The books your read are quite different from the ones I'd usually turn to and I think that's part of the appeal. I'm really looking forward to checking out some of the books you've mentioned here!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thank you so much. I’m so glad you found my channel!

[@WorkingManReads]

Loved hearing your Top Ten 🔥 we all know I love the dark fiction genre. You had some in here I've never heard my friend 👍

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I’m pretty sure you would like all these.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Glad Matheson made it on here! Those first few were titles I haven’t heard of, so thanks for sharing them, Michael! I might sneak out a favorite horror list in a few weeks, though most of my favorite horror works are stories rather than full novels. Hope your week starts well! Best, Jack

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I would love to see that video!

[@AliceandtheGiantBookshelf]

Great list! I love I Am Legend and Dracula! Really want to start reading some Lovecraft.

[@Summalogicae]

John Langan is probably my favorite horror author. After reading two of his short story collections, I was hooked.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

@@Summalogicae he’s really good.

[@ABFrank.]

The Fisherman sounds tremendous 👌I'm really loving Frankenstein as well! Dracula is probably my favourite novel, my only issues are Van Helsing has too much page time and it is quite dense.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I agree completely about Van Helsing.

[@Monsterblood]

Awesome top ten list sir!!! I can't wait to reread Dracula, which I will be doing very soon. And I will argue that R.L. Stine can make cats creepier than King 😂 I have I Am Legend but haven't gotten to it yet. I have Hell House lined up for a fall / halloween read. I was also a bit surprised to see a couple of modern books on here. Great job I love seeing "favorites" and ranking videos and lists and all that good stuff lol

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I’m sort of bummed that I was already an adult when I heard about R. L. Stine. I missed out.

[@Monsterblood]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 It's never too late to enjoy his books! Though without the nostalgia factor I will admit the experience won't be quite the same

[@DitaSka]

Clicked on the video as soon as I saw it :D I have never ever heard of Fisherman and Dark Gods! All in all the books that you showed were either the books that I have read or that are on my TBR. This video makes me want to go and read the TBR ones like Head full of ghosts, The Elementals, Great God Pan and most of Lovecraft :)

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

You should read them all! Of course, I might have to make a deal with some actual Dark Gods to get you a copy of Dark Gods.

[@DitaSka]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 haha, you better don't 😁

[@MichaelRomeoTalksBooks]

A good list. I've added several to my want-to- read list.

[@RodneyAllanPoe]

Incredible list. Of the titles I've read, I agree 100% with your comments. ⭐

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks! I appreciate that.

[@peterpuleo2904]

I have a hard back copy of "Dark Gods" in excellent condition. Did not know it might be a "collector's item". The four stories are "Children of the Kingdom", "Petey", Black Man with a Horn" and "Nadelman's God". All were excellent. Do you remember which of the four you liked best? BTW, Klein is quoted as saying that he really "hates to write".

[@gunsmokeandghouls]

Uh, okay. Weird quote.

[@ItsTooLatetoApologize]

I loved I am Legend. So good. I really Have to read Dracula. He's been sitting on my shelf for way too long. Great video.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yes, read Dracula! Then you can do a video on it! Actually I still have to do one about Dracula. How have I not done a Dracula video?

[@paladin1254]

Just sending a tip off. Try reading the relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln child. Then maybe a relinquary cabinet of curiosities and brimstone. Very good books. Pendagast is an amazing character and although he only cameos in relic he later takes over the series and it becomes a sherlock Holmes homage.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I read Relic when it came out in 95 and really liked it. For some reason I never read the rest of the books. I should do that. Thanks for reminding me!

[@LadyJaneBooks]

FANTASTIC! The Elementals has been on my tbr for a long time! So glad to see Pet Sematary made the list, that is one of my all time favoriates. AWESOME picks!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks!

[@zombieprincess82]

Great list! Some here to add to my wishlist. I loved A Headful of Ghosts, very unsettling. Pet Semetary is most definitely some of King's finest. You know I love my classics and I Am Legend. Suspect my list would be very similar to yours.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Well, it is the Halloween season if you want to do one!

[@DDB168]

Some interesting and compelling choices. Good to see our man Matheson on here. Mainly because 'I am Legend' is the only book on the list I've read 🤣 I see Michael McDowell (as Mike McCray) wrote the Black Beret series. I love this pulpy, trashy, war type stuff. I dont suppose you've (or anyone here) read them ? I have Dracula on my TBR shelf. I was saving it for this top 10 list !! 🤣

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I didn’t know he wrote the Black Beret series but I’m not surprised. I’ve never even seen copies of those anywhere.

[@UncleMonk23]

Is there a certain edition of Dracula that you would recommend as you did with Frankenstein and the 1818 text…I want to get a good reprint version as close to the real original book as possible…Thank You

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Fortunately, with Dracula, the version commonly printed by most good publishers is the original text. You will be fine with the Penguin, Oxford or most others.

[@UncleMonk23]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Thank You for responding to my question I appreciate it…I do myself usually prefer the Penguin editions but also the Oxford editions are very well done also…I just recently found your channel and I am currently going through your library of videos…I am enjoying your content so far and I am now a new subscriber to your channel…Good Luck with the channel and keep up the good works 👍🏻…Looking forward to your future videos…

[@MsReadsAlot]

Thank you for sharing your top 10! It gives me a place to start if I ever want to dive into horror. I am legend and pet sematary are the most appealing! I have only read Dracula and Frankenstein! Great video as always! 🧛‍♂️

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks! They can’t be any more disturbing than some you have read from your gigantic list!

[@revenantreads]

Terrific list. I’ve actually read most of these! Before COVID ruined everything we had a local brewery that had a monthly horror book club, and one time they got John Langan to come and talk about The Fisherman. It was a great conversation in a boozy intimate setting.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

That must have been awesome.

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

Some new authors to me in there. The Fisherman sounds intriguing. Have you read Ghost Story by Peter Straub?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I remember not being all that impressed by Ghost Story. I was sixteen years old though so I really should give it another chance.

[@reggiereads5989]

My favorite movie based on I Am Legend is The Omega Man. Nice list!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

The Omega Man was awesome in its own, bizarre 1970s way.

[@CestKevvie]

I tried to get into Frankenstein and I just couldn't. DNFd it twice now... I'm going to read Shadow of Innsmouth soon! Super excited for that. I think I may have read, or at least started to read Dracula in middle school, around the same time I DNFd Frankenstein the first time. Idk if I ever finished it.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Frankenstein’s Monster is weeping in the corner now! Hasn’t he been through enough? Well…I guess you wouldn’t know…but trust me he totally has! And now his favorite KZbinr can’t finish his story. Sigh…Shadow Over Insmouth is awesome.

[@bookfantastic]

I am glad you picked The Elementals. Very scary book. McDowell was great. I think I liked Blackwater best, which was more a fantasy. Everything he wrote was worth reading. Toplin was amazing.

[@stews9]

Ted Klein was obsessive-compulsive and afflicted by depression. We knew each other via correspondence and telephone when he was editor of the TZ Mag. Later, he contributed a signed copy of The Ceremonies to an autograph auction we held to benefit blind and deaf orphans. (Yeah, how's that for a charity cause? This was in Japan, by the way.) When we looked at the copy he sent, it turned out to be copyedited throughout - almost every page had inked corrections and changes. Amazing artifact. He was a good guy and like you, I wish he'd written more, he was superb.

[@wildmanz8233]

I love these top 10 lists dealing with books, this one is no exception. I'm a sucker for the Weird Tales style of horror and definitely would put Lovecraft and Robert Bloch on the list as well as Arthur Machen. If nonfiction could be included I'd have to say Panzram: A Journal of Murder by Gaddis and Long would be near the top of the horror reading list.

[@ffridiejr]

Great list. "Carrion Comfort" By Dan Simmons stands at the top of my list of favorite horrors novels.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I’m reading Carrion Comfort soon!

[@philipgeyer926]

What's your thoughts on The Croning by Laird Barron?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I haven’t read that one yet. I really need to.

[@philipgeyer926]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 The best not just horror fiction but book in general I've read in years. The endings a bit weak, but everything else is amazing.

[@maestro7058]

The Dark Gods copy has been received and rear thanks to you Michael. The Children of whatever sorry I forgot the name WAS FANTASTIC MY MAN! Other stories not that great in my opinion BUT will re-read them just in case. SOLID RECOMMEND FOR T.E.D. Klein!

[@PaxPanic]

A great mix you have here!

[@thebookishbryants]

The Elementals is my favorite horror novel. So creepy and brilliant! I am glad McDowell is getting his due. It is so well deserved. I enjoy Cold Moon Over Babylon and The Amulet as well. Scott.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yes! I’ll finally be reading Blackwater this year.

[@Shellyish]

What a great list!! Even though I’m not brave enough to read horror. The Elementals sounds intriguing especially your description of place. My husband loved Pet Sematary and I think it topped his list. Dracula!!! 🧛

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

If you read that Faulkner book you will have no problem with these!

[@Shellyish]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I didn't exactly care for Faulkner though. 🙈

[@ScullyPop]

Love the top ten picks.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks!

[@stevengentry9396]

Very nice list! I'm not a big horror reader (comparatively), but Dracula and I Am Legend were excellent. The Vincent Price film adaptation of Matheson, The Last Man On Earth, is well worth a watch.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

The Vincent Price movie was the best version, but it was terribly hampered by its tiny budget. Still entertaining though.

[@shirleyanne6573]

This is a great list but i can't believe you forgot Shirley Jackson!

[@dubbingsync]

There’s a few horror books that I want to read and a few I know I need to reread, but I have absolutely no idea which of the ones I’ve read I would count as a favourite. Though I guess it’s probably Dracula, only because I’ve read it more than I have any other horror book. It’s also one of the reasons I was so disappointed in Dracul by Dacre Stoker.

[@jamesfetcho6315]

A Head Full of Ghost ,and The Elementals are the only books on Your list I haven't read. So....I put them on my 2 Be read really really soon list. Great God Pan👍😁👍 I Am Legend 👍😁👍 H.P.Lovecraft 👍😁👍 Carrie, or Jaws was the 1st Horror book I ever read. I read them around the same time. Great List, and Video 👍😁👍

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I think you might be the only person I know, other than Justin, who has read Dark Gods.

[@geraldblade1147]

Since it appears that you read my comments I wonder how you feel about the 'Dark Tower' series?

[@francoisjohannson139]

I read Dracula when I was 12 and i enjoyed it.

[@Brunette_Rapunzel]

Will you be reading Stephen King's new book, Fairy Tale, at some point?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yes, but since I’m reading his books in publication order it’s going to be a while. I’m still in the 80s!

[@davidsigler9690]

No "Ghost Story" by Peter Straub?.....great book as well as a good movie.

[@igorrenfield6588]

Hippocampus Press has published a collection of Klein’s short fiction.

[@peterpuleo2904]

I started to read "The Fisherman" but ended up skimming it. I rate it as average. Just my opinion.

[@StephanieJCohen]

Pet Sematary scared the crap out of me. I loved Frankenstein. Horror tends to be a genre I don’t read that much of because I am a huge scaredy cat. And I don’t like to be scared.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I love it!

[@justinecooper9575]

Since Dracula is your top pick then you need to read "The Dracula Tape" by Fred Saberhagen to get the story from the Count's point of view.

[@johannemilsom7503]

Michael, Google TED Klein and you get a heap of stuff on him, I haven’t watched or read anything yet but there is a video on The events at Poroth Farm and even an interview with Klein himself.

[@justinecooper9575]

If you can get past the soap opera elements of Dracula then, yeah, it's not bad. Since it's your top pick then you need to read "The Dracula Tape" by Fred Saberhagen to get the story from the Count's point of view.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I read that years ago. I remember it being pretty good.

[@SteveTalksBooks]

Haven't read anything in your top 10.. yet. Reading Dracula next week

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Dracula is an excellent place to start!

[@peterpuleo2904]

I think some of the old masters like M.R. James, E.F. Benson, and Algernon Blackwood can hold their own against any of these excellent pieces.

[@Desh727]

I dont know why I didn't like I Am Legend. It wasn't scary at all. It was definitely bleak sure but I felt no connection to the character. The only part I really liked was short lived

[@sidclark1953]

T.E.D. Klein is still alive. Why doesn't he at least issue his back catalog as eBooks?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I have no idea.

[@MuhalHal]

do you like Robert Bloch?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I do! It felt kind of wrong not to have him on this list, actually.

[@bkboy2384]

Love von manor!!!...

[@bkboy2384]

Top king novels???

[@ProudGirlDadX2]

I was 13-14 when I first read Frankenstein. I was already very familiar with the character of Frankenstein and Frankenstein's monster thru pop culture and whatever. It's never bothered me when people call the monster Frankenstein, it's know quicker and easier for most. What has bothered me ever since that 1st read is that it has been widely accepted for far too long that the monster is some Giant dimwitted imbecile who just lumbers around grunting like a zombie. When in the source material he is very intelligent, teaches himself to read and write, and I believe learns to speak 3-4 different languages? Why would they portray his as just another zombie albeit a Giant zombie I will never understand 🤷‍♂️🤬

[@peterpuleo2904]

Excellent points !

[@leonoldfield9765]

👍

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks!

[@senoi]

... Il mostro... Dylan Dog?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yes!

[@johannemilsom7503]

sorry, no interview. I clicked on it and the site didn’t exist.

[@nope5657]

Man, I just can't get behind Tremblay. Nothing burger of a writer imo. But hey, I'm in the minority on that, so what the hell do I know? Great list though

[@Vintagevanessa99]

liking your videos - very much. I love the 'white people'. stays with you that one.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thank you so much! Yeah, that story is really great.

[@bustercrabbe8447]

1. H.P. Lovecraft, 2. Edgar Allen Poe, 3. The Wolfman, 4. Frankenstein, 5. The Mummy, 6. Dracula. 7. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Absolutely NOTHING by Stephen King. 👎 🤢🤮

[@ivnarc6430]

Edgar allan poe