Editing List of horror fiction writers

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
This is a navigational list of notable writers who have published significant work in the [[horror fiction]] genre, who also have stand-alone articles on Wikipedia. All items must have a reference to demonstrate that they have produced significant work in the horror genre.

{{Dynamic list}}

{{horizontal TOC|nonum=yes}}

== A ==
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* [[Ania Ahlborn]]<ref name="Standard"/>
* [[Gemma Amor]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The 2019 Bram Stoker Award Finalists – The Bram Stoker Awards |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/news/the-2019-bram-stoker-award-finalists/ |access-date=11 March 2025 |language=en-US |archivedate=2022-09-13 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913194259/https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/news/the-2019-bram-stoker-award-finalists/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Jay Anson]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Margaret Atwood]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1939, Canada)
* [[Dathan Auerbach]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/>
* [[Mona Awad]]<ref name="Standard"/>
}}

== B ==
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* [[Iain Banks]]<ref name="Esquire"/> (1954–2013, Scotland)
* [[L. A. Banks]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Tracey Baptiste]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Clive Barker]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="This is Horror"/> (born 1952, England)
* [[Laird Barron]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1970, US)
* [[Agustina Bazterrica]]<ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Standard"/>
* [[John Bellairs]]<ref name="NPR"/> (1938–1991, US)
* [[E. F. Benson]]<ref name="Archive Horrifica"/> (1867–1940, England)
* [[Lauren Beukes]]<ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[Ambrose Bierce]]<ref name="Reactor"/> (1842 – c. 1914, US)
* [[Jerome Bixby]]<ref name="NPR"/> (1923–1998, US)
* [[Algernon Blackwood]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="This is Horror"/><ref name="Archive Horrifica"/> (1869–1951, England)
* [[William Peter Blatty]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (1928–2017, US)
* [[Robert Bloch]]<ref name="Guardian"/> (1917–1994, US)
* [[Ray Bradbury]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Independent"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (1920–2012, US)
* [[Poppy Z. Brite]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/> (born 1967, US)
* [[Max Brooks]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[Christopher Buehlman]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Chesya Burke]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Octavia E. Butler]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/>
}}

== C ==
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* [[Rachel Caine]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Ramsey Campbell]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="This is Horror"/> (born 1946, England)
* [[M. R. Carey]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Emily Carroll]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Angela Carter]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Robert W. Chambers]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Archive Horrifica"/> (1865–1933, US)
* [[Stephen Chbosky]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Joey Comeau]]<ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[Justin Cronin]]<ref name="Guardian"/>
* [[Nick Cutter]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Standard"/>
}}

== D ==
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* [[Roald Dahl]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/> (1916–1990, Wales/England)
* [[Mark Z. Danielewski]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[Walter de la Mare]]<ref name="Archive Horrifica"/> (1873–1956, England)
* [[Joe Donnelly]]<ref name="Esquire"/>
* [[Daphne du Maurier]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (1907–1989, England)
* [[Tananarive Due]]<ref name="Esquire"/> (born 1966, US)
* [[Lois Duncan]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Katherine Dunn]]<ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[Lord Dunsany]]<ref name="Archive Horrifica"/> (1878–1957, England/Ireland)
}}

== E ==
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* [[Bret Easton Ellis]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (born 1964, US)
* [[Harlan Ellison]]<ref name="NPR"/> (1934–2018, US)
* [[Guy Endore]]<ref name="NPR"/> (1901–1970, US)
* [[Mariana Enriquez]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Independent"/><ref name="The Week"/>
}}

== F ==
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* [[Gemma Files]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/> (born 1968, Canada)
* [[John Fowles]]<ref name="NPR"/>
}}

== G ==
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* [[Neil Gaiman]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Independent"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (born 1960, England)
* [[Charlotte Perkins Gilman]]<ref name="NPR"/> (1860–1935, US)
* [[William Golding]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Sara Gran]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Mira Grant]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1978, US)
}}

== H ==
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* [[Elizabeth Hand]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Thomas Harris]]<ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (born 1940, US)
* [[Zakiya Dalila Harris]]<ref name="Esquire"/>
* [[Rachel Harrison (writer)|Rachel Harrison]]<ref name="Esquire"/>
* [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]]<ref name="NPR"/> (1804–1864, US)
* [[Grady Hendrix]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[James Herbert]]<ref name="This is Horror"/> (1943–2013, England)
* [[Thomas Olde Heuvelt]]<ref name="Standard"/>
* [[Joe Hill (writer)|Joe Hill]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/>
* [[Matt Hill (writer)|Matt Hill]]<ref name=Clute/>
* [[Susan Hill]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[Jennifer Hillier]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[William Hope Hodgson]]<ref name="Archive Horrifica"/> (1877–1918, England/Belgium)
* [[Nalo Hopkinson]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1960, Jamaica/Canada)
* [[Andrew Michael Hurley]]<ref name="Standard"/>
* [[Shaun Hutson]]<ref name="This is Horror"/> (born 1958, England)
}}

== I ==
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* [[Junji Ito]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Independent"/><ref name="Standard"/> (born 1963, Japan)
}}

== J ==
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* [[Shirley Jackson]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Independent"/><ref name="The Week"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/> (1916–1965, US)
* [[W. W. Jacobs]]<ref name="NPR"/> (1863–1943, England)
* [[Henry James]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="The Week"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/> (1843–1916, US/England)
* [[Simone St. James]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[M. R. James]]<ref name="This is Horror"/><ref name="Archive Horrifica"/> (1862–1936, England)
* [[Daisy Johnson (writer)|Daisy Johnson]]<ref name="The Week"/>
* [[Stephen Graham Jones]]<ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/> (born 1972, US)
}}

== K ==
[[File:Stephen King at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival 2 (cropped).jpg|alt=Photograph of Stephen King, 2024|thumb|[[Stephen King]]]]
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* [[Alma Katsu]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Jack Ketchum]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (1946–2018, US)
* [[Cassandra Khaw]]<ref name="Independent"/>
* [[Caitlin R. Kiernan]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/>
* [[Stephen King]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Independent"/><ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/> (born 1947, US)
* [[T. E. D. Klein]]<ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (born 1947, US)
* [[Kathe Koja]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1960, US)
* [[Dean R. Koontz]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1945, US)
* [[Daniel Kraus (author)|Daniel Kraus]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[R.F. Kuang]]<ref name="Standard"/>
}}

== L ==
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* [[John Langan]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/> (born 1969, US)
* [[Joe R. Lansdale]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1951, US)
* [[Victor LaValle]]<ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="The Week"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="NPR"/> (born 1972, US)
* [[Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Ira Levin]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (1929–2007, US)
* [[Matthew Gregory Lewis|Matthew Lewis]]<ref name="Esquire"/>
* [[John Ajvide Lindqvist]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/> (born 1968, Sweden)
* [[Livia Llewellyn]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[H. P. Lovecraft]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/> (1890–1937, US)
* [[Brian Lumley]]<ref name="Standard"/> (born 1937, England)
}}

== M ==
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* [[Carmen Maria Machado]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Arthur Machen]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Archive Horrifica"/> (1863–1947, Wales)
* [[Josh Malerman]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/>
* [[Robert Marasco]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[William March]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[George R. R. Martin]]<ref name="Esquire"/> (born 1948, US)
* [[Richard Matheson]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (1926–2013, US)
* [[Robert R. McCammon]]<ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="NPR"/> (born 1952, US)
* [[Michael McDowell (author)|Michael McDowell]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[Jennifer McMahon (writer)|Jennifer McMahon]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Sarah Monette]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[David Moody (writer)|David Moody]]<ref name="This is Horror"/>
* [[Silvia Moreno-Garcia]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/> (born 1981, Mexico)
* [[Toni Morrison]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/> (1931–2019, US)
* [[Ottessa Moshfegh]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Ryu Murakami]]<ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
}}

== N ==
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* [[Adam Nevill]]<ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="This is Horror"/> (born 1969, England)
}}

== O ==
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* [[Joyce Carol Oates]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1938, US)
* [[Ellen Oh]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Helen Oyeyemi]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Independent"/>
}}

== P ==
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* [[Chuck Palahniuk]]<ref name="Esquire"/> (born 1962, US)
* [[Michelle Paver]]<ref name="Standard"/>
* [[Tom Piccirilli]]<ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[Edgar Allan Poe]]<ref name="NPR"/> (1809–1849, US)
* [[Laura Purcell]]<ref name="Independent"/>
}}

== R ==
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* [[Ava Reid]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Anne Rice]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (1941–2021, US)
* [[Bertram Fletcher Robinson]]<ref>{{cite book |isbn=978-1840220872|title=The Werewolf Pack (Tales of Mystery & The Supernatural)|last1=Valentine |first1=Mark |date=June 2008 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions }}</ref>
* [[Christina Georgina Rossetti]]<ref name="NPR"/>
}}

== S ==
[[File:Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Rothwell.tif|alt=Portrait of Mary Shelley|thumb|[[Mary Shelley]]]]
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* [[Riley Sager]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Joan Samson]]<ref name="Esquire"/> (1937–1976)
* [[Mary Shelley]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="This is Horror"/> (1797–1851, England)
* [[Lionel Shriver]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Anne Rivers Siddons]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/> (1936–2019, US)
* [[Dan Simmons]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (born 1948, US)
* [[Jonathan Sims]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Lovegrove |first=James |date=30 October 2022 |title=Fresh chills — the best new horror fiction |url=https://www.ft.com/content/6076b87e-23a5-4a81-80c7-a43cdd59ff18 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20221031133822/https://www.ft.com/content/6076b87e-23a5-4a81-80c7-a43cdd59ff18 |archivedate=31 October 2022 |accessdate=11 March 2025 |newspaper=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref>
* [[Scott Smith (author)|Scott Smith]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Clark Ashton Smith]]<ref name="Archive Horrifica"/> (1893–1961, US)
* [[R. L. Stine]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1943, US)
* [[Bram Stoker]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/><ref name="RTE"/> (1847–1912, Ireland/England)
* [[Mats Strandberg]] 
* [[Peter Straub]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/> (1943–2022, US)
* [[Whitley Strieber]]<ref name="NPR"/> (born 1945, US)
* [[Charles Stross]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Koji Suzuki]]<ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Guardian"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[Søren Sveistrup]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
}}

== T ==
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* [[Sonya Taaffe]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Michael Talbot (author)|Michael Talbot]]<ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[James Tiptree Jr.]] (pseudonym of Alice Bradley Sheldon)<ref name="NPR"/>
* [[Paul Tremblay]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/>
* [[Thomas Tryon]]<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Esquire"/><ref name="Readers Digest"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/><ref name="Standard"/>
}}

== W ==
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* [[Sarai Walker]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
* [[Catriona Ward]]<ref name="Esquire"/>
* [[Sarah Waters]]<ref name="Esquire"/>
* [[Edith Wharton]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/> (1862–1937, US)
* [[Oscar Wilde]]<ref name="Independent"/><ref name="Guardian"/>
* [[Kai Ashante Wilson]]<ref name="NPR"/>
* David Wong (pseudonym of [[Jason Pargin]])<ref name="NPR"/><ref name="Paste Magazine"/>
* [[John Wyndham]]<ref name="Readers Digest"/>
}}

== References ==
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="Archive Horrifica">{{Cite web |date=2022-01-06 |title=10 Early 20th Century Authors of the Fantastic and the Ghastly: The Birth of the Weird |url=https://archivehorrifica.com/2022/01/06/the-birth-of-the-weird-10-early-20th-century-authors-of-the-fantastic-and-the-ghastly/ |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=Archive Horrifica |language=en|first= Matthew |last=Pridham}}</ref>

<ref name="Esquire">{{Cite web |last=McRobert |first=Neil |date=9 May 2022 |title=The 50 Best Horror Books of All Time Will Scare You Sh*tless |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/g37676766/scary-horror-books/ |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=Esquire}}</ref>

<ref name="Guardian">{{Cite news |last=Bergmoser |first=Gabriel |date=2020-10-28 |title=Top 10 horror novels |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/28/top-10-horror-novels-halloween-gabriel-bergmoser-the-hunted |access-date=2024-11-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

<ref name="Independent">{{Cite web |date=2024-06-04 |title=13 best horror books that will send a chill up your spine |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/books/best-horror-books-scary-stories-b1932473.html |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

<ref name="NPR">{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Petra |date=16 August 2018 |title=Click If You Dare: 100 Favorite Horror Stories |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/08/16/632779706/click-if-you-dare-100-favorite-horror-stories|website=NPR|access-date=2024-11-04}}</ref>

<ref name="Paste Magazine">{{Cite web |last=Foxe |first=Steve |date=30 August 2018 |title=The 50 Best Horror Novels of All Time |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/books/horror/the-best-horror-novels-of-all-time |website=Paste Magazine}}</ref>

<ref name="Reactor">{{Cite web |last=Aycock |first=Anthony |date=2024-03-18 |title=The Weirdness of Ambrose Bierce: From "Owl Creek Bridge" to Horror and Satire |url=https://reactormag.com/the-weirdness-of-ambrose-bierce-from-owl-creek-bridge-to-horror-and-satire/ |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=Reactor |language=en-US}}</ref>

<ref name="Readers Digest">{{Cite web |last=Beabout |first=Leandra |date=3 October 2024 |title=61 Best Horror Books of All Time to Scare You Silly |url=https://www.rd.com/list/scariest-books/|website=Reader's Digest|access-date=2024-11-04}}</ref>

<ref name="RTE">{{Cite web |last=O'Rourke |first=Evelyn |date=2024-10-19 |title=Long-lost Bram Stoker story discovered in Dublin |website=[[RTÉ.ie]] |url=https://www.rte.ie/culture/2024/1019/1476279-bram-stoker/ |language=en}}</ref>

<ref name="Standard">{{Cite web |last=Kemsley |first=Saskia |date=2024-10-02 |title=Best horror novels that are must-reads, from classic spooky tales to modern scares |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/shopping/esbest/books-dvds/best-horror-novels-b1184959.html |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=The Standard |language=en}}</ref>

<ref name="The Week">{{Cite web |first=Tess |last=Foley-Cox |date=2024-10-30 |title=Best horror books to read this Halloween |url=https://theweek.com/culture-life/books/best-horror-books-to-read-this-halloween |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=theweek |language=en}}</ref>

<ref name="This is Horror">{{Cite web |date=2012-04-23 |title=10 English Authors That Helped Shape Horror Fiction |url=https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/features/10-english-authors-that-helped-shape-horror-fiction/ |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=This Is Horror |language=en-GB|first1=MICHAEL |last1=WILSON|first2= SIMON |last2 = MARSHALL-JONES}}</ref>

<ref name=Clute>{{cite web |last=Clute |first=John |author-link=John Clute |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/hill_matt |title=Hill, Mat |website=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]] |date=15 October 2023 |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref>

}}

==See also==
*[[Lists of writers]]
**[[List of fantasy authors]]
**[[List of notable 20th-century writers]]
**[[List of science fiction authors]]

{{Horror fiction}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horror fiction writers}}
[[Category:Horror writers| ]]
[[Category:Lists of writers|Horror fiction]]