swap_horiz Usher's Passing Alternatives

1

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Shirley Jackson’s *We Have Always Lived in the Castle* presents a chilling portrait of isolation and psychological horro...

Classic Isolation Gothic Unreliable Narrator

9.1 Excellent

2

Boy's Life

Robert McCammon’s *Boy's Life* is a supernatural horror novel exploring themes of innocence and corruption through the e...

Supernatural Coming Of Age Small Town 1990S

9.0 Excellent

3

Swan Song

Robert McCammon’s *Swan Song* presents a sprawling post-apocalyptic horror narrative set in 1987. The novel explores the...

Post Apocalyptic Epic Supernatural 1980S

8.9 Great

4

Blackwater

Blackwater is a novel by Michael McDowell set in 1980s Alabama. The story follows the Blackwood family as they confront...

Supernatural Family Saga 1980S Southern Gothic

8.9 Great

5

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 Gothic novella exploring human duality through a London scientist who chemically transform...

Classic Gothic Victorian Duality

8.7 Great

6

Carrion Comfort

Dan Simmons's 1989 novel about psychic vampires who feed on human consciousness, tracing their activities from World War...

Epic 1980S Mind Control Dan Simmons

8.7 Great

7

The Hellbound Heart

Clive Barker's 1986 novella that introduced the Cenobites and the Lament Configuration puzzle box, directly inspiring th...

1980S Body Horror Demons Clive Barker

8.6 Great

8

Mexican Gothic

Mexican Gothic is a 2020 horror novel by Mexican-Canadian author Silvia Moreno-Garcia, notable for becoming a bestseller...

Gothic 2020S Silvia Moreno Garcia 1950S Mexico

8.4 Great

9

The Vampire Lestat

Anne Rice's 1985 second Vampire Chronicles entry, narrated by Lestat de Lioncourt, who recounts his origins and reinvent...

Vampire 1980S Gothic Anne Rice

8.3 Great

10

Weaveworld

Clive Barker's 1987 fantasy-horror novel about a magical realm hidden within a carpet whose inhabitants must be protecte...

Epic Dark Fantasy 1980S Clive Barker

8.2 Great

11

Watchers

A 1987 thriller by Dean Koontz about a genetically enhanced golden retriever that escapes a covert government laboratory...

Government Thriller 1980S Creature

8.2 Great

12

The Talisman

Stephen King and Peter Straub's 1984 co-authored fantasy-horror novel about a boy who travels a parallel world called th...

Dark Fantasy 1980S Road Trip Stephen King

8.1 Great

13

Koko

Peter Straub's 1988 novel following four Vietnam veterans who investigate a series of murders in Asia they believe are c...

Psychological 1980S Serial Killer War Trauma

8.0 Great

14

The Monk

Matthew Lewis's 1796 Gothic masterpiece follows the violent downfall of a Catholic monk in Madrid, notorious for its sho...

Classic Supernatural Gothic Transgressive

8.0 Great

15

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

James Hogg's 1824 Scottish novel is a pioneering work of psychological horror that uses a split narrative to explore dem...

Classic Gothic Doppelganger James Hogg

8.0 Great

16

The Damnation Game

Clive Barker's 1985 debut novel, a Faustian horror story about a gambler relentlessly pursued by a supernatural figure d...

Supernatural 1980S Gothic Faustian

7.5 Good

17

The Wolf's Hour

A 1989 horror-thriller by Robert R. McCammon featuring Michael Gallatin, a werewolf recruited by British intelligence to...

Wwii Thriller 1980S Werewolf

7.5 Good

18

Rawblood

A 2015 debut novel by Catriona Ward set on Dartmoor, England, tracing the supernaturally cursed Villarca family across m...

Historical Gothic 2010S Family Curse

7.5 Good

19

They Thirst

A 1981 vampire horror novel by Robert R. McCammon set in Los Angeles, depicting a large-scale vampire invasion overtakin...

Epic Vampire 1980S Los Angeles

7.2 Good

20

Mystery Walk

A 1983 horror novel by Robert R. McCammon about a young man named Billy Creekmore who possesses a supernatural ability t...

Supernatural 1980S Psychic Robert Mccammon

7.0 Good