You Pick BestYouPickBest

The 16 Greatest Horror Short Story Collections

By YPB Team

Victorian ghost stories sit beside modern literary nightmares, with pulp shocks and slow-burn dread in between. Cast your vote!

  1. Books of Blood — ranked #11
    Books of Blood
    Clive Barker's genre-redefining 1980s volumes of visceral, imaginative horror tales.
    1000pts
  2. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary — ranked #22
    Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
    M.R. James' 1904 collection that set the template for the English ghost story.
    551pts
  3. Her Body and Other Parties — ranked #33
    Her Body and Other Parties
    Carmen Maria Machado's acclaimed 2017 collection blending horror, fabulism, and queer desire.
    551pts
  4. Night Shift — ranked #44
    Night Shift
    Stephen King's 1978 debut collection, packed with early classics like 'Children of the Corn' and 'The Mangler'.
    551pts
  5. Things We Lost in the Fire — ranked #55
    Things We Lost in the Fire
    Mariana Enriquez's chilling 2016 collection of Argentine urban horror.
    551pts
  6. North American Lake Monsters — ranked #66
    North American Lake Monsters
    Nathan Ballingrud's award-winning 2013 collection of literary, blue-collar horror.
    466pts
  7. The White People and Other Weird Stories — ranked #77
    The White People and Other Weird Stories
    A collection of Arthur Machen's influential tales of hidden, ancient terror.
    466pts
  8. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories — ranked #88
    The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
    A definitive collection of H.P. Lovecraft's foundational cosmic-horror tales.
    466pts
  9. Skeleton Crew — ranked #99
    Skeleton Crew
    Stephen King's 1985 collection anchored by the novella 'The Mist'.
    363pts
  10. Tales of Mystery and Imagination — ranked #1010
    Tales of Mystery and Imagination
    The classic gathering of Edgar Allan Poe's macabre and gothic short fiction.
    363pts
  11. The October Country — ranked #1111
    The October Country
    Ray Bradbury's atmospheric 1955 collection of dark, autumnal fantasies.
    363pts
  12. Nightmares & Dreamscapes — ranked #1212
    Nightmares & Dreamscapes
    Stephen King's sprawling 1993 collection spanning horror, suspense, and dark fantasy.
    363pts
  13. The King in Yellow — ranked #1313
    The King in Yellow
    Robert W. Chambers' 1895 collection of eerie, interlinked weird tales that influenced cosmic horror.
    0pts
  14. The Bloody Chamber — ranked #1414
    The Bloody Chamber
    Angela Carter's 1979 collection of feminist, gothic fairy-tale reimaginings.
    0pts
  15. The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All — ranked #1515
    The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All
    Laird Barron's dark 2013 collection of cosmic and noir-tinged horror stories.
    0pts
  16. Get in Trouble — ranked #1616
    Get in Trouble
    Kelly Link's 2015 collection of strange, genre-bending tales laced with unease.
    0pts

#books91#horror68#classics480

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first!

Make your own rankingAny question with 2–50 answers. AI fills in options and pictures in a minute.Create →Add rankings to your siteEmbed any ranking. Your readers vote right on your page.How it works →