Summer Reader Poll 2018: Horror It's aliiiiiive! In honor of Frankenstein's 200th birthday, our summer poll is all horror this year — we want to know about your favorite scary stories to tell in the dark (or anywhere else)!

Special Series

Summer Reader Poll 2018: Horror

It's aliiiiiive! Our famous summer reader poll is here to send shivers down your spine.

Subscribe to Books Newsletter

Enter The Crypt, Tomb, Vault, Coffin (And More) Of Horror Comics

August 20, 2018 • Horror comics enjoyed a golden age in the 1940s and '50s, before people got scared about kids reading gore and terror — but they never went away entirely, and now there's a new generation of scares.

Hello Lovely/Getty Images/Blend Images

H.P. Lovecraft And The Shadow Over Horror

August 16, 2018 • Lovecraft's stories are among the foundations of modern horror; they still have the power to terrify today. But his bigotry is just as horrific — so how do we deal with this all-too-human darkness?

What, No 'Jaws?' Or: See The Movie, Skip The Book

Readers nominated Jaws for our list of 100 favorite horror stories — but our judges recommend you see the movie instead. Getty Images/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Getty Images/Getty Images

What, No 'Jaws?' Or: See The Movie, Skip The Book

August 16, 2018 • Readers may notice that some famous titles are missing from this year's final list of 100 favorite horror stories — books like Jaws and The Amityville Horror. That's because, frankly, they stink.

Review

Like 'Goosebumps?' Here's Another 30 Years' Worth Of Horror For Kids

August 12, 2018 • From the late '60s to the rise of Harry Potter in the late '90s, horror fiction had a hold on young readers, and there was something to scare everyone, from realistic thrillers to possessed dummies.

Reading Horror Can Arm Us Against A Horrifying World

Why read horror when the world is already so creepy? Maree Searle/Getty Images/EyeEm hide caption

toggle caption

Maree Searle/Getty Images/EyeEm

Reading Horror Can Arm Us Against A Horrifying World

August 5, 2018 • Why read horror stories when the real world is scary enough on its own? Because horror does more than scare us — it teaches us how to live with being scared, and how to fight back against evil.

Evil Children And Overachieving Skeletons: Welcome To The World Of Paperback Horror

July 7, 2018 • When Rosemary's Baby hit the best-seller lists in 1967, it spawned a boom in paperback horror novels. All but forgotten today, they're a wacky feast of killer crabs, evil dolls and busy skeletons.

Summer Horror Poll: Meet Our Expert Panelists!

Ruthanna Emrys Jamie Anfenson-Comeau hide caption

toggle caption

Jamie Anfenson-Comeau

Summer Horror Poll: Meet Our Expert Panelists!

June 21, 2018 • We asked you to tell us about your favorite horror novels and short stories, and you gave us more than 6,500 titles. Now, meet the expert judges who'll take those parts and create a beautiful monster.

It'll Take More Than A Few Angry Villagers To Kill Off 'Frankenstein'

Angry villagers — like these, from James Whale's classic 1931 film version of Frankenstein. Getty Images/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Getty Images/Getty Images

It'll Take More Than A Few Angry Villagers To Kill Off 'Frankenstein'

June 18, 2018 • Mary Shelley's timeless novel gave us not only an enduring trope — the misunderstood monster — but an equally enduring way to talk about what happens when human knowledge outpaces responsibility.

'Where The Nightmares Go' Maps The Territory Of Fear

"We Are Where the Nightmares Go" by C. Robert Cargill Harper Voyager hide caption

toggle caption

Harper Voyager

Review

'Where The Nightmares Go' Maps The Territory Of Fear

June 17, 2018 • C. Robert Cargill's new story collection covers the globe and genres of horror from classic to modern, with ghost stories, thrillers, gore and puzzles that would be right at home on premium cable.

It's Aliiiiiive! This Year, Our Summer Reader Poll Is All About Horror

Our famous Summer Reader Poll lurches to life, dripping grave-dirt and bits of glowing green, ready to hear all about your favorite horror novels and stories. What sends a shiver down your spine? Angela Hsieh/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Angela Hsieh/NPR

It's Aliiiiiive! This Year, Our Summer Reader Poll Is All About Horror

June 12, 2018 • Our famous Summer Reader Poll lurches to life, dripping grave-dirt and bits of glowing green, ready to hear all about your favorite horror novels and stories. What sends a shiver down your spine?

It's Aliiiiiive! This Year, Our Summer Reader Poll Is All About Horror

Listen · 2:28 2:28

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/617208292/620471178" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Browse archive or search npr.org