| 1 |
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The Shining (The Shining, #1)
by
4.28 avg rating — 1,768,539 ratings
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| 2 |
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’Salem’s Lot
by
4.10 avg rating — 684,986 ratings
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| 3 |
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The Stand
by
4.35 avg rating — 862,907 ratings
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| 4 |
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It
by
4.24 avg rating — 1,320,472 ratings
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| 5 |
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The Haunting of Hill House
by
3.81 avg rating — 423,823 ratings
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| 6 |
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Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)
by
4.02 avg rating — 670,350 ratings
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| 7 |
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Misery
by
4.22 avg rating — 859,271 ratings
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| 8 |
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Ghost Story
by
3.91 avg rating — 84,762 ratings
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| 9 |
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Pet Sematary
by
4.09 avg rating — 733,034 ratings
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| 10 |
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The Exorcist (The Exorcist, #1)
by
4.21 avg rating — 282,778 ratings
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| 11 |
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Carrie
by
3.99 avg rating — 883,587 ratings
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| 12 |
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I Am Legend and Other Stories
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 138,069 ratings
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| 13 |
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Rosemary’s Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1)
by
4.06 avg rating — 167,062 ratings
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| 14 |
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Christine
by
3.86 avg rating — 270,409 ratings
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| 15 |
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The Hellbound Heart (Hellraiser #1)
by
4.08 avg rating — 72,703 ratings
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| 16 |
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Jaws (Jaws, #1)
by
3.94 avg rating — 185,421 ratings
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| 17 |
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Phantoms
by
3.95 avg rating — 82,609 ratings
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| 18 |
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Heart-Shaped Box
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3.84 avg rating — 160,005 ratings
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| 19 |
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The Night Begins
by
4.18 avg rating — 85 ratings
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| 20 |
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Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three (Books of Blood, #1-3)
by
4.19 avg rating — 30,572 ratings
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| 21 |
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Carrion Comfort
by
3.91 avg rating — 26,687 ratings
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| 22 |
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The Amityville Horror
by
3.82 avg rating — 139,854 ratings
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| 23 |
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The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)
by
4.12 avg rating — 223,219 ratings
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| 23 |
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House of Leaves
by
4.09 avg rating — 213,140 ratings
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| 25 |
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Needful Things
by
3.99 avg rating — 287,765 ratings
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| 26 |
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Watchers
by
4.19 avg rating — 174,649 ratings
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| 27 |
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The Damnation Game
by
3.81 avg rating — 21,664 ratings
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| 28 |
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Swan Song
by
4.30 avg rating — 78,920 ratings
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| 29 |
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Cujo
by
3.81 avg rating — 332,034 ratings
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| 30 |
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American Gods (American Gods, #1)
by
4.10 avg rating — 1,004,822 ratings
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| 31 |
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Hell House
by
3.67 avg rating — 66,727 ratings
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| 32 |
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Red Dragon (Hannibal Lecter, #1)
by
4.07 avg rating — 384,536 ratings
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| 33 |
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The Girl Next Door
by
3.91 avg rating — 60,243 ratings
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| 34 |
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Summer of Night (Seasons of Horror, #1)
by
4.05 avg rating — 30,416 ratings
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| 35 |
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Perfume
by
4.04 avg rating — 585,323 ratings
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| 36 |
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World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
by
4.02 avg rating — 581,043 ratings
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| 37 |
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The Queen of the Damned (The Vampire Chronicles, #3)
by
3.93 avg rating — 165,556 ratings
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| 38 |
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Lost Souls
by
3.90 avg rating — 19,373 ratings
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| 39 |
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Books of Blood, Volumes Four to Six (Books of Blood, #4-6)
by
4.27 avg rating — 4,800 ratings
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| 40 |
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The Terror
by
4.09 avg rating — 78,973 ratings
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| 41 |
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The Hungry Moon
by
3.58 avg rating — 2,143 ratings
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| 42 |
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The Fog
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3.88 avg rating — 28,365 ratings
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| 43 |
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Midnight
by
3.87 avg rating — 28,919 ratings
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| 44 |
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The Dark
by
3.83 avg rating — 7,665 ratings
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| 45 |
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Psycho (Psycho, #1)
by
4.13 avg rating — 81,078 ratings
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| 46 |
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The Omen
by
4.04 avg rating — 70,733 ratings
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| 47 |
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Dead Scared
by
4.15 avg rating — 39 ratings
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| 48 |
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The Great and Secret Show (Book of the Art #1)
by
4.06 avg rating — 31,661 ratings
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| 49 |
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The Rats (Rats, #1)
by
3.91 avg rating — 26,899 ratings
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| 50 |
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Stinger
by
3.90 avg rating — 10,451 ratings
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| 51 |
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Skeleton Crew
by
3.97 avg rating — 141,549 ratings
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| 52 |
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Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
by
4.06 avg rating — 156,609 ratings
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| 53 |
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Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, #1)
by
3.86 avg rating — 246,628 ratings
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| 54 |
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Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
by
4.14 avg rating — 1,100,336 ratings
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| 55 |
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Cabal
by
3.92 avg rating — 23,051 ratings
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| 56 |
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The Cellar
by
3.63 avg rating — 9,010 ratings
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| 57 |
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Floating Dragon
by
3.82 avg rating — 12,903 ratings
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| 58 |
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They Thirst
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3.92 avg rating — 14,025 ratings
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| 58 |
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Imajica
by
4.17 avg rating — 24,902 ratings
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| 58 |
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John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, #1)
by
3.86 avg rating — 87,352 ratings
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| 61 |
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Weave World
by
4.13 avg rating — 34,831 ratings
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| 62 |
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Song of Kali
by
3.62 avg rating — 16,637 ratings
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| 63 |
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The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2)
by
4.26 avg rating — 601,739 ratings
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| 64 |
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Let the Right One In
by
4.03 avg rating — 123,923 ratings
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| 65 |
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Koko
by
3.60 avg rating — 10,291 ratings
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| 66 |
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The Strain (The Strain #1)
by
3.80 avg rating — 91,382 ratings
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| 67 |
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The Lost World (Jurassic Park, #2)
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3.88 avg rating — 190,922 ratings
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| 68 |
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Night Shift
by
4.04 avg rating — 203,794 ratings
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| 69 |
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The Rising (The Rising #1)
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3.80 avg rating — 11,169 ratings
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| 70 |
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The Long Walk
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3.98 avg rating — 311,560 ratings
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| 71 |
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The Bad Place
by
3.94 avg rating — 39,049 ratings
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| 72 |
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Off Season (Dead River, #1)
by
3.74 avg rating — 21,287 ratings
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| 73 |
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The Keep (Adversary Cycle, #1)
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 20,233 ratings
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| 73 |
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Verland: The Transformation
by
3.87 avg rating — 171 ratings
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| 75 |
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The Wolf's Hour (Michael Gallatin #1)
by
4.09 avg rating — 12,498 ratings
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| 76 |
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Bag of Bones
by
3.92 avg rating — 215,453 ratings
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| 77 |
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Usher's Passing
by
3.97 avg rating — 6,154 ratings
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| 78 |
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Nightmares and Dreamscapes
by
3.95 avg rating — 89,431 ratings
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| 78 |
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Island
by
3.76 avg rating — 7,595 ratings
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| 80 |
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The Darkest Part of the Woods
by
3.29 avg rating — 853 ratings
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| 81 |
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Four Past Midnight
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3.95 avg rating — 117,857 ratings
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| 82 |
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Desperation
by
3.86 avg rating — 157,353 ratings
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| 83 |
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Ancient Images
by
3.48 avg rating — 1,604 ratings
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| 84 |
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Shadowland
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3.88 avg rating — 12,930 ratings
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| 85 |
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The Conqueror Worms
by
3.89 avg rating — 4,624 ratings
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| 86 |
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The Traveling Vampire Show
by
3.81 avg rating — 9,728 ratings
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| 87 |
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Abyss of Sinners
by
4.62 avg rating — 21 ratings
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| 88 |
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Twilight Eyes
by
3.93 avg rating — 28,308 ratings
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| 89 |
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Whispers
by
3.93 avg rating — 34,315 ratings
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| 90 |
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Ghoul
by
3.86 avg rating — 4,978 ratings
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| 90 |
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Legion (The Exorcist, #2)
by
3.67 avg rating — 14,414 ratings
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| 92 |
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The Face That Must Die
by
3.61 avg rating — 884 ratings
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| 93 |
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Pandora (The Organization, #1)
by
4.05 avg rating — 132 ratings
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| 94 |
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The Doll Who Ate His Mother
by
3.37 avg rating — 1,303 ratings
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| 95 |
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One Rainy Night
by
3.85 avg rating — 4,855 ratings
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| 96 |
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Ravenous
by
3.79 avg rating — 1,137 ratings
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| 97 |
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Creature
by
3.86 avg rating — 11,751 ratings
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| 97 |
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Lair (Rats, #2)
by
3.95 avg rating — 8,931 ratings
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| 99 |
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The Manitou
by
3.70 avg rating — 5,083 ratings
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| 100 |
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Baal
by
3.59 avg rating — 5,690 ratings
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newest »
I didn't see any literary horror novels on this list, which tells me that this is more of the Steven King / Peter Straub kind of list. This is okay. I like both King, Straub, Barker, Koontz, Rice, and that gang, but what about Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' or Mary Wollestonecraft Shelley's 'Frankenstein'? What about Edgar Allen Poe? How 'modern' does a horror novel have to be for a place in this list?
Jay wrote: "I didn't see any literary horror novels on this list, which tells me that this is more of the Steven King / Peter Straub kind of list. This is okay. I like both King, Straub, Barker, Koontz, Rice, ..."