Most Popular Horror Books of the 1950s

Discover popular Horror books from the 1950s, with reader ratings and new favorites to explore.

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Books in this list

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

H. P. Lovecraft

Fantasy · Horror · Science Fiction · Weird Fiction

1951

8.4/10 67 ratings

I Am Legend

Richard Matheson

Horror · Science Fiction · Vampires · Bram Stoker Award

1954

8.0/10 89 ratings

The October Country

Ray Bradbury

Fantasy · Horror · Weird Fiction · Collection · Short Stories

1955

7.6/10 22 ratings

Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Horror · Mainstream

1954

7.2/10 200 ratings

The Birds and Other Stories

Daphne du Maurier

Horror · Short Stories · Mystery

1952

10.0/10 2 ratings

The Sundial

Shirley Jackson

Horror

1958

10.0/10 1 ratings

The Survivor and Others

H. P. Lovecraft, August Derleth

Fantasy · Horror · Science Fiction · Weird Fiction · Short Stories

1957

10.0/10 1 ratings

Pan Book of Horror Stories #1

The Pan Book of Horror Stories

Johnny Mains, Herbert van Thal

Fantasy · Horror · Cthulhu · Ghosts · Gothic Horror

1959

9.0/10 1 ratings

The Haunting of Hill House

Shirley Jackson

Horror

1959

8.5/10 8 ratings

Conjure Wife

Fritz Leiber

Fantasy · Horror

1953

7.4/10 5 ratings

The Mask of Cthulhu

August Derleth

Horror · Short Stories

1958

7.0/10 2 ratings

Psycho #1

Psycho

Robert Bloch

Horror · Psychological Horror · Psychological Thriller · Thriller

1959

6.8/10 12 ratings

Someone Like You

Roald Dahl

Horror · Short Stories

1953

6.7/10 3 ratings

Quatermass #1

Quatermass Experiment

Nigel Kneale

Horror · Science Fiction · TV Series

November 1959

The Man Who Could Cheat Death

Barré Lyndon, Jimmy Sangster

Horror · Science Fiction

1959

Too Many Ghosts

Paul Gallico

Horror

1959

The Dark Returners

Joseph Payne Brennan

Horror · Short Stories

1959

Broken Boy

John Blackburn

Horror

1959

The Haunted Looking Glass

Edward Gorey

Horror · Ghosts · Gothic Horror · Psychological Horror · Anthology

January 1, 1958

On an Odd Note

Gerald Kersh

Horror · Short Stories

1958

The Dreamers

Roger Manvell

Horror

1958

A Stir of Echoes

Richard Matheson

Horror

1958

Tales of the Werewolf Clan

The Werewolf of Ponkert

H. Warner Munn

Horror · Short Stories

1958

Nine Horrors and a Dream

Joseph Payne Brennan

Horror · Short Stories

1958

A Sour Apple Tree

John Blackburn

Horror

1958

A Scent of New-Mown Hay

John Blackburn

Horror

1958

Terror in the Night and Other Stories

Robert Bloch

Horror · Short Stories

1958

Wolves of Darkness

Jack Williamson

Fantasy · Horror

1958

Cape Fear

John D. MacDonald

Horror · Crime Fiction · Mystery · Thriller

January 1, 1957

Amorous Ghost

Pierre Bessand-Massenet

Horror · Translation

1957

The Master of the Macabre

Russell Thorndike

Horror

1957

The Hunger and Other Stories

Charles Beaumont

Horror · Short Stories

1957

In the Realm of Terror: Eight Haunting Tales

Algernon Blackwood

Fantasy · Horror · Short Stories

1957

The Screaming Ghost and Other Stories

Carl Carmer

Horror · Short Stories

1956

The Unquiet Spirit

Marguerite Steen

Horror

1956

Afternoon of an Autocrat

Norah Lofts

Horror

1956