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See also Horror Writer Association's Top 40 Horror Books of All Time
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Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray BradburyTwo thirteen year old boys go to the traveling carnival, where they encounter "Mr. Dark" who wears a tattoo for each person who, lured by the offer to live out their secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival. They discover a magic carousel, the Dust Witch, a sinister mirror maze, and other creepy horrors. |
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The Stand by Stephen KingAfter the death of most of the population of North America from a superfu virus, the survivors find each other and divide into two camps. One group of oddball characters are united by shared dreams of a 108 year old black woman who seems to be a refuge from evil. The other group becomes disciples of Randall Flagg, an evil "dark man" with supernatural powers. A climactic confrontation eventually follows. |
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis StevensonA physician is researching the dual aspects, good and evil, that lie within each person. He formulates a potion that causes the evil part to predominate, takes it himself, and becomes Mr. Hyde, with eventual tragic consequences. |
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Dracula by Bram StokerThis novel is written as a seies of letters between Jonathan Harker, his fiancee Mina Murray, Professor Van Helsing, and others. Harker is a lawyer who meets a sinister Count Dracula at his castle in Transylvania. Harker has come to complete a real estate transaction, becomes a prisoner in the castle, and barely escapes with his life when he discovers Dracula is a vampire. When Dracula relocates to London, disaster follows. |
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Frankenstein by by Mary ShelleyVictor Frankenstein is a Swiss scientist who has been performing biological and chemical experiments. He creates a conscious being by assembling and reanimating parts of corpses. Frankenstein's revulsion at the sight of his unnatural creature leads to tragic consequences when the creature escapes. |
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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WildeA young man of extraordinary physical beauty has a portrait painted of him. He expresses the wish that it could be the portrait, not himself, that ages and fades in beauty. His wish is fulfilled, and Gray embarks on a life of hedonism and debauchery, which is reflected in the portrait as it grows progressively more ugly. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin being displayed as well as all the signs of aging. |