That's a lot of Stephen King! In past years, we've resisted giving authors more than one slot on the list (though we made an exception for Nora Roberts during the 2015 romance poll - and she's basically the Stephen King of romance.) In the end, we decided that since so much classic horror is in short story format, we would allow authors one novel and one short story if necessary. I'd be hiding under the bed shuddering without their help.Īnd a word about Stephen King: Out of almost 7,000 nominations you sent in, 1,023 of them were for the modern master of horror. Joshi stated, 'His work is more consistently.

Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. Readers did nominate them, but the judges felt uncomfortable debating the inclusion of their own work - so it's up to me to tell you to find and read their excellent books! I personally, as a gigantic horror wuss, owe a debt of gratitude to this year's judges, particularly Hendrix, for their help writing summaries for all the list entries. The Centaur, 'The Willows', 'The Wendigo'. The novella was written as part of his 1907 collection The Listener and Other Stories. One thing you won't see on the list is any work from this year's judges, Stephen Graham Jones, Ruthanna Emrys, Tananarive Due and Grady Hendrix. The Willows is one of the most popular stories by Algernon Blackwood. If you're up for a very Halloween-appropriate read that's creepy without any gore, grab this free download from Amazon.100 Best Books Happy Ever After: 100 Swoon-Worthy Romances I zoomed through the last half, anxious to see what would happen. It's not a book to read while you're camping in the wilderness or you'll never be able to sleep.I found this classic to be highly enjoyable. The trees, the wind, the water, the sounds-everything has a terrible, dark sense about it, and yes, it's creepy as all get out.

Despite the slow start, this novel is still compelling and tense as it builds towards the conclusion. The two are never named-the companion is simply called 'the Swede'-but that doesn't detract from the story at all. This story is considered by Lovecraft and others to be one of the greatest horror short stories of all time. 'Algernon Blackwoods novella The Willows uses setting like a master.

Lovecraft to be the best 'weird tale' of all time. Blackwood creates a menace in the very atmosphere of a place: a small island in a swampy area off the Danube, where two friends are stranded during a high flood. Classic horror from the prolific author of ghost stories and supernatural fiction, and thought by H. I don't read much horror, but this was selected as an October book club read and a Kindle copy was free on Amazon, so I was game.To modern tastes, the book has a very slow start. The Willows is an early example of American horror, published in 1907, and cited as a favorite story of H.P.

Algernon blackwood's the willows