As I was looking through some of my old issues of THE TWILIGHT ZONE Magazines I came across a brief article that listed the great author, poet, editor and publisher Karl Edward Wagner’s favorite horror novels in the June/July 1983 issue. I found the list to be both interesting and comprehensive. I know that after reading the list I’ve added several titles to my “must read” book stack and I think you will too. For example, R.R. Ryan is listed in every category and is obviously an author whose work I need to be more familiar with, and Frederic Brown is listed twice in the Non-Supernatural category. Even more surprising is that Manly Wade Wellman wasn’t found in the list and I know that Wagner was a big fan of his work publishing him twice under his outstanding Carcosa imprint
Wagner divided his choices for favorite horror novels into three categories. Supernatural Horror, Science Fiction Horror and Non-Supernatural Horror. I hope you find the list below and interesting and informative as I did.
I. The Thirteen Best Supernatural Horror Novels:
1. Hell! Said the Duchess by Michael Arlen
2. The Burning Court by John Dickson Carr
3. Alraune by Hanns Heinz Ewers
4. Dark Sanctuary by H.B. Gregory
5. Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg
6. Maker of Shadows by Jack Mann
7. The Yellow Mistletoe by Walter S. Masterman
8. Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin
9. Burn Witch Burn by A. Merritt
10. Fingers of Fear by J.U. Nicolson
11. Doctors Wear Scarlet by Simon Raven
12. Echo of a Curse by R.R. Ryan
13. Medusa by E.H. Visiak
II. The Thirteen Best Science Fiction Horror Novels:
1. The Death Guard by Philip George Chadwick
2. Final Blackout by L. Ron Hubbard
3. Vampires Overhead by Alan Hyder
4. The Quatermass Experiment by Nigel Kneale
5. Quatermass and the Pit by Nigel Kneale
6. The Cadaver of Gideon Wyck by Alexander Laing
7. The Flying Beast by Walter S. Masterman
8. The Black Corridor by Michael Moorcock
9. Land Under England by Joseph O’Neill
10. The Cross of Carl by Walter Owen
11. Freak Museum by R.R. Ryan
12. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
13. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
III. The Thirteen Best Non-Supernatural Horror Novels:
1. The Deadly Percheron by John Franklin Bardin
2. Psycho by Robert Bloch
3. Here Comes a Candle by Fredric Brown
4. The Screaming Mimi br Fredric Brown
5. The Fire-Spirits by Paul Busson
6. The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr
7. The Sorceror’s Apprentice by Hanns Heinz Ewers
8. Vampire by Hanns Heinz Ewers
9. Fully Dressed and in His Right Mind by Michael Fessier
10. The Shadow on the House by Mark Hansom
11. Torture Garden by Octave Mirbeau
12. The Master of the Day of Judgement by Leo Perutz
13. The Subjugated Beast by R.R. Ryan
Filed under: Miskatonic Books Tagged: Karl Edward Wagner, Manly Wade Wellman, R.R. Ryan, The Twilight Zone Magazine