Soares' List of Horror

For his list, author L.L. Soares told me that he couldn't keep it down to just 20 books; that's why we get five bonus items this time around. He also mentioned that he doesn't necessarily consider this a "best of genre" list, however he does consider it a list of great horror books. And, in his own words: "I didn't include Poe, Lovecraft, or Robert W. Chambers, because I think they're in a class by themselves."

Books of Blood by Clive Barker

Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber 

I am Legend by Richard Matheson 

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum 

Dark Gods by T.E.D. Klein 

By Bizarre Hands by Joe R. Lansdale  

The Dark Country by Dennis Etchison 

The Blackwater Series by Michael McDowell 

Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison

Abomination by Michael C. Norton 

Grimm Memorials by R. Patrick Gates 

The Night Runners by Joe R. Lansdale 

Live Girls by Ray Garton 

The Scream by Skipp & Spector 

The Safety of Unknown Cities by Lucy Taylor 

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite 

The Stand by Stephen King 

The Cellar by Richard Laymon 

The Kill Riff by David J. Schow 

Tales of Pain and Wonder by Caitlin Kiernan 

The Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale 

A Choir of Ill Children by Tom Piccirilli 

The Bighead by Edward Lee 

Skin by Kathe Koja

L.L. Soares is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of the novel Life Rage. His other books include Rock ‘n’ Roll, Hard, the short story collection In Sickness and the novella Green Tsunami (both with Laura Cooney). His fiction has appeared in magazines like Cemetery Dance, Horror Garage, and Bare Bone and anthologies like Insidious Assassins and Living After Midnight (the latter also features a story by some guy named Wilbanks). His new novella called "Nightmare in Greasepaint" (written with G. Daniel Gunn) is coming out soon from Samhain Publishing.

He co-writes the Stoker-nominated horror movie review column Cinema Knife Fight, which can be found at: www.cinemaknifefight.com.

For more about his endeavors, go to www.llsoares.com.