Horror Novels and Horror Movies

Horror Novels

It’s said that the books we read in our formative years are the books which shape our reading habits for the rest of our lives.  Over the years I’ve met so many science fiction, fantasy and horror writers who can point – without hesitation – to that one book they read as a child or young adult which set them on a lifelong journey. 
And that’s how it was with me.  I’ve written elsewhere about how I came to horror through James Herbert’s The Rats, and I’ve lost count now just how many horror novels I’ve read over the years.  Horror is a universal genre and I am sure our ancient ancestors huddled in their caves, told one another stories about the monsters which lurked in the darkness outside.  (Of course, in their case, they actually did!) 
Defining my top ten horror novels wasn’t an easy task.  In the end, I narrowed it down to how many times I read and reread the titles. 
So here are my top 10 horror novels. 
Find me on twitter @melanieruthrose and let me know your number one.  I’ll create a new list of fan favorites.

Horror Movies

My top 10 list of horror movies are real classics in their genre.  A couple of them are based on true stories – because truth is always far stranger than fiction!
Some of these movies were so successful and popular that they were remade, to greater or lesser success.
So here are my top 10 of scary classics.