7 Lesser-Known Novels by Iconic Horror Writers

Horror is one of the oldest literary genres, and with good reason: It supplies thrills and chills and shines a light on our darkest fears, all while we’re safe and sound in our reading nooks. There can’t be many among us who haven’t been thoroughly entertained and equally shaken by the works of horror masters like Stephen King or Shirley Jackson—and while an author’s best-known works might grab the headlines, it would be wrong to assume that their other novels don't have as much (or more!) to offer. Read on to discover some lesser-known gems from giants of the horror scene.

1. Hangsaman (1951) // Shirley Jackson
2. Firestarter (1980) // Stephen King
3. All the Beautiful Sinners (2003) // Stephen Graham Jones
4. The Good House (2003) // Tananarive Due
5. All’s Well (2021) // Mona Awad
6. The Damnation Game (1985) // Clive Barker
7. The Three Impostors (1895) // Arthur Machen
8. Bonus: “Berenice” (1835) // Edgar Allan Poe

Hangsaman (1951) // Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson’s celebrated novels The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, not to mention her short stories like “The Lottery,” are enough to earn her status as one of the best American authors to ever have put pen to paper. But if you’ve read all those and are craving more, check out Hangsaman, Jackson's second published novel. It tells the tale of Natalie Waite, a young woman oppressed by smothering parents, charting her inner fantasies and her experiences at college, which she hopes will provide an escape from a closeted existence. Despite the awful incidents that befall Natalie, the novel ends on a positive note and carries with it a strong message of empowerment.

Jackson was supposedly inspired by the real-life disappearance of Paula Jean Weldon, and the book’s title comes from an old folk ballad, often also referred to as “Gallows Pole,” “Gallis Pole,” or “The Maid Free from the Gallows.” The song has been covered numerous times over the decades, with arguably the most memorable coming by way of rock legends Led Zeppelin.

Firestarter (1980) // Stephen King

King penned more than one tale about a young girl with deadly psychic powers. Carrie might be far better known (partly due to the 1976 film adaptation directed by Brian De Palma, in which Sissy Spacek scarred a generation with her role as the titular protagonist), but Firestarter is equally worthy of your time. The novel follows Charlie McGee, whose pyrokinetic ability becomes the focus of a government agency that wants her power. Firestarter made The New York Times best-seller list, nabbed some award nominations, and was adapted into a film starring Drew Barrymore as Charlie in 1984. A follow-up miniseries appeared in 2002, and another big-screen adaptation in 2022, directed by Keith Thomas. Despite all that—and probably because of the dominance of his other novels like The Shining—Firestarter remains a somewhat underrated entry in King’s bibliography.

Want to know how adult Charlie McGee earned a living? Check out Drew Barrymore in this Saturday Night Live sketch from 2007 to find out.

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All the Beautiful Sinners (2003) // Stephen Graham Jones

Psychological horror is a tricky genre to pull off, but done well can provide for a truly mind-blowing experience. Blackfeet Native American Stephen Graham Jones’s more widely celebrated works include Night of the Mannequins and The Only Good Indians, both published in 2020. Between them, the works scooped two Bram Stoker Awards, two Shirley Jackson Awards, and one Ray Bradbury Prize. All the Beautiful Sinners, published in 2003, didn’t garner the same attention, and this curious, challenging, and rewarding work has surely slipped under many readers’ radars.

The book’s hero is Jim Doe, a Deputy Sheriff following the trail of a serial killer known as the Tin Man. As the story progresses, the reader is drawn into an increasingly unsettling, nightmarish realm where faces change, material facts turn to metaphorical clues, and the protagonist himself begins to question reality.  This isn’t a novel for the faint-hearted. Jones, an avowed fan of slasher films (his bright yellow truck even features stickers of horror movie villains), isn’t one to skimp on the grisly details—expect decaying bodies and deaths aplenty.

The Good House (2003) // Tananarive Due

Florida native Tananarive Due is another writer on this list who has scooped up a number of major awards, including the American Book Award for 2001’s The Living Blood, and the Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, and World Fantasy Awards for her 2023 novel, The Reformatory. The Good House, published in 2003, didn’t nab any prizes (though it was nominated for the International Horror Guild Awards), but that doesn’t make it any less of a terrifying tale: A sense of unease permeates the entire novel, which follows protagonist Angela Toussaint as she journeys back to her late grandmother’s home in Washington. Told in a non-chronological order, it dives deep into the traditional West African religion of Vodún (or Vodu); spirits good and bad are brought to life, and there are incidents of possession and exorcism.

All’s Well (2021) // Mona Awad

Canadian writer Mona Awad caught the literary world’s attention with her debut novel, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl (2016), which garnered the Amazon First Novel Award. Her second full-length work, Bunny (2019)—a university-based tale of occult goings on—narrowly missed out on the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror. Awad’s third novel, 2021’s All's Well, was shortlisted for that same prize, though it didn't quite receive the same amount of attention. That’s a shame, because this inventive tale is just as snappy and sinister. Miranda Fitch is a failed actor burdened with chronic back-pain and a collapsed marriage, and she’s addicted painkillers. In her new work as a theatre director, Fitch attempts to stage Shakespeare’s play All’s Well That Ends Well, but has to contend with three mysterious patrons who seem to know way too much about her past.

The Shakespeare classic featured in the novel has earned a reputation for being unlucky, largely thanks to a planned series of performances in 1741 that were beset by misfortune, with leading players falling ill, fainting, and even dying.

The Damnation Game (1985) // Clive Barker

English horror supremo Clive Barker came to the attention of many thanks to big screen adaptations of his works The Hellbound Heart—which appeared in cinemas in 1987 as Hellraiser (written and directed by Barker himself)—and the 1992 movie Candyman (an adaptation of Barker’s short story “The Forbidden” that was written and directed by Bernard Rose). The striking visual style of the evil entities in both films struck fear into many a hapless viewer—but before either of those movies appeared, Barker had already produced a literary sensation in the form of his debut novel, 1985’s The Damnation Game.

The story employs one of the oldest and most enduring tropes in horror fiction: a deal with the devil. Barker’s gripping style and vivid imagination breathe new life into the concept through memorable characters such as millionaire Joseph Whitehead; the book’s hero and Whitehead;s bodyguard, Marty Strauss; and the unforgettable and highly sinister Mamoulian.

Fiction and filmmaking aside, Barker is also an accomplished painter. You can see many of his distinctive artworks via the author’s official store.

The Three Impostors (1895) // Arthur Machen

Welsh writer Arthur Machen (born Arthur Llewellyn Jones) wrote a number of curious and deeply terrifying works. The best-known is his 1894 novel The Great God Pan, which Stephen King declared to be “one of the best horror stories ever written.”  Inspired by Machen’s visit to the ruins of a pagan temple, that particular book earned a place in the must-read list of every aspiring horror author.

But Machen’s bibliography has a lot more to offer, including The Three Impostors—a devilish work which weaves together several strange stories centred around a pagan secret society determined to spread deception and danger across the streets of London. Authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, and Graham Joyce all owe a debt to this stylish chronicler of the weird, and The Three Imposters stands as one of Machen's most memorable tales.

Bonus: “Berenice” (1835) // Edgar Allan Poe

We couldn’t end this list without mentioning Edgar Allan Poe, whose list of literary achievements would require a separate article entirely. The American author and poet is celebrated as one of the great short story writers. His 1841 novella Murders in the Rue Morgue stands as a landmark in the development of the detective fiction genre; striking poems like “The Raven” (1845) have burned themselves into many a psyche; and his macabre tales have provided inspiration for countless writers, artists, filmmakers, and even musicians over the years, and continue to do so.

While stories such as “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Cask of Amontillado” will be well known to many, the lesser-known “Berenice” is equally haunting and stylish. The tale’s narrator, Egaeus, relates the horrifying incidents befalling his bride to be, the titular Berenice, as she rapidly deteriorates and eventually dies. As you might expect from a Poe story, death doesn’t mark the end of Berenice’s involvement in what comes next. Upon its initial publication in the Southern Literary Messenger, the periodical received numerous complaints from readers shocked by the story’s violence.