Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

Horror Fiction


Horror Fiction is a genre of Speculative Fiction. “It focuses on terrifying stories that incite fear. Villains may be either supernatural, such as monsters, vampires, ghosts, and demons, or mundane people, such as psychopathic and cruel murders. It often features violence and death.” (Wikipedia citation of Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionary Online, and MSN Encarta)

Within Horror Fiction there are numerous subgenres. These can include, but are not limited to:

• Demons
• Fairytale Horror
• Ghosts
• Gothic
• Humorous Horror
• Lovecraftian / Cthulhu Mythos
• Man-made Horrors
• Monsters
• Mythic Fiction (Horror)
• Occult
• Post-Apocalyptic Horror
• Psychic Abilities
• Psychological
• Splatterpunk
• Vampires
• Weird (Horror)
• Werewolves
• Witches
• Zombies

This topic, Horror Fiction, should contain any Boxall books considered Horror Fiction despite the subgenre in which they may fall.
Remember -- only Boxall Books!!!

Bookshelf: Topic – Horror Fiction (https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...) lists the 29 Boxall books currently tagged as Horror Fiction.

For more information about Horror Fiction and its subgenres:
Horror Fiction -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_...
Worlds Without End -- http://www.worldswithoutend.com/resou...
Conceptual Fiction (Exploring the Non-Realist Tradition in Fiction -- http://www.conceptualfiction.com/inde...

Horror Fiction – Boxall Bookshelf
• Ackroyd, Peter – Hawksmoor
• Amis, Kingsley – The Green Man
• Banks, Iain – The Wasp Factory
• Beckford, William – Vathek
• Danielewski, Mark Z. – House of Leaves
• Gilman, Charlotte Perkins – The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories
• Godwin, William – The Adventures of Caleb Williams
• Hodgson, William Hope – The House on the Borderland
• Hogg, James – The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
• Huysmans, Joris-Karl – La-Bas
• James, Henry – The Turn of the Screw
• King, Stephen – The Shining
• Lautreamont, Comte de – Les Chants de Maldoror
• Le Fanu, J. Sheridan – Uncle Silas
• Le Fanu, J. Sheridan – In a Glass Darkly
• Lewis, Matthew Gregory – The Monk
• Lovecraft, H. P. – At the Mountains of Madness
• Melmoth the Wanderer – Maturin, Charles Robert
• Poe, Edgar Allan – The Fall of the House of Usher
• Poe, Edgar Allan – The Pit and the Pendulum
• Poe, Edgar Allan – The Purloined Letter
• Radcliffe, Ann – The Mysteries of Udolpho
• Rice, Anne – Interview with the Vampire
• Shelley, Mary – Frankenstein
• Stevenson, Robert Louis – The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Stoker, Bram – Dracula
• Suskind, Patrick – Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
• Walpole, Horace – The Castle of Otranto
• Wilde, Oscar – The Picture of Dorian Gray


Contributors to this list (2008 to 2016)
Suzanne, Maryann, Laura, Sunny, Deanne, Vanessa, Charity, Alxandra, Mekki, Sandi, Nicola, Dee, Laurence, Ellinor, Colleen, J_BlueFlower, Diane, Kirsten, Jenni, Sarah, Wendy, and Linda

The following books have been recommended, but are not currently on the Horror Bookshelf. What do you think – Horror or not? Post your comments below.
• Doyle, Arthur Conan Doyle – The Hound of the Baskervilles
• Ellis, Bret Easton – American Psycho
• Fowles, John – The Collector
• Perez-Reverte, Arturo – The Club Dumas
• Schatzing, Frank – The Swarm
• Thompson, Jim – The Killer Inside Me
• Wells, H. G. – The Island of Dr. Moreau
• Wyndham, John – The Day of the Triffids
• Wyndham, John – The Midwich Cuckoos

Also, list any books that you think should be added to the list.

Anything by de Sade,
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
HG Wells The IsLand of Dr Moreau and The War of the Worlds

1984 by George Orwell counts, I think.
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift, maybe.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
A Christmas Carol by Dickens
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

SaraSian wrote: "Anything by de Sade,
Mary Shelley Frankenstein
HG Wells The IsLand of Dr Moreau and The War of the Worlds"

Definitely Frankenstein by Mary Shelley! I can't believe it was left off the list. I've already added it to the bookshelf and edited my original post.

I could agree with The Island of Dr. Moreau, but not so sure about War of the Worlds, seems to be more SF/alien invasion than Horror.

De Sade... I don't think horror was on my mind while reading his books!!

Maddy wrote: "1984 by George Orwell counts, I think.
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift, maybe.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
A Christmas Carol by Dickens
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Beloved by To..."

A Modest Proposal is political satire.

I can agree with Wuthering Heights as Horror/Gothic

I've never thought of A Christmas Carol as Horror even though it has ghosts and time travel. Seems more Fantasy, than Horror.

The Handmaid's Tale and 1984 -- more SF (dystopia and near-future)

I remember Beloved as more Magical Realism.

I'm just not sure about Lord of the Flies. I would say SF/dystopian but it wasn't an alternate time period or near-future.

Karen wrote: "...I remember Beloved as more Magical Realism...."

When I first thought about this topic I agreed with your comments 100% but on a little more reflection with respect to Beloved, while I agree it fits within Magic Realism, I also think it is a horror story, albeit different from the usual. It is a true ghost story and not a pleasant one at that.

I wouldn’t call The Purloined Letter a Horror Story. I read it years ago and as far as I remember it is adetective story without any Horror elements.

Ellinor wrote: "I wouldn’t call The Purloined Letter a Horror Story. I read it years ago and as far as I remember it is adetective story without any Horror elements."

I agree, it's part of the Auguste Dupin detective stories.

I would say Hawksmoor is a horror/psychogeographic novel. It certainly is creepy. And maybe The Yellow Wallpaper - descent into madness.

Yrinsyde wrote: "I would say Hawksmoor is a horror/psychogeographic novel. It certainly is creepy. And maybe The Yellow Wallpaper - descent into madness."

Agree! Both are definitely Horror. You're right -- Hawksmoor was very creepy.