The 10 best horror stories in history

Horror stories are capable of making us feel terrifying sensations. It is a genre of fiction of a speculative nature, which what it does is scare and create disgust among its readers. But at the end of the day it is what they want, humans are like that.

The feelings of terror come from the great fears of human beings and society. In our imagination there are a series of fears that some writers know how to surface with excellent mastery. Today we will see a great selection of the best horror stories in history.

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Top 10 Scary Tales: Historical Classics That Will Make You Horrify

The horror story is in itself a unique genre, as they create a strange and overwhelming atmosphere. The literary historian Cuddon defines the horror tale as "a piece of prose fiction by variable length that surprises or frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a sense of revulsion or hate".

There is no doubt that this genre is destined for different feelings of disgust to emerge among readers. Not everyone is willing to read this type of story, but there are people who really enjoy it. Here are the best horror stories ever written.

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1. The rats on the walls

Howard Phillips Lovecraft He is one of the great masters of the genre. The Rats of the Walls tells the story of an heir who will live to an ancestral family heritage. There he and his cats hear rats scampering behind the walls. He investigates and discovers an underground city hidden for centuries very macabre.

2. The black cat

Edgar Allan Poe, another of the greats, narrates in the first person the relationship of a man with a cat. The cat is black, and he is both an ally and an enemy. He finally kills him and decides to adopt another, also black. The protagonist says that he induces him to kill his wife, who appears dead. A historical horror story that will not leave you indifferent.

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3. The vurdalak family

Alexis Tolstoy he wrote this vampire tale in 1839. The story is about the trip of a diplomat in a small town in Serbia. It is kindly hosted by a local family, but there is something strange. The father of the family has gone in search of a Turkish bandit. Relatives have orders that if she comes back too late they drive a stake into her chest. After a few months the diplomat returns and the people are not the same.

4. Whistle and I'll come

Whistle and I'll Go is one of the best-known horror stories of M.R. James, and refers to a poem by Robert Burns. The story leads the reader into disturbing circumstances in which a mysterious and terrifying creature appears. It is a ghost story that is part of a collection of stories that M.R. James dedicated to this topic.

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5. The tall woman

Pedro Antonio de Alarcón It is about a terrible experience that one friend tells another. One night the first one meets a mysterious woman on the street. She is she laughs and her appearance is the most chilling. He sees that he is following him and runs off until he loses sight of her. Since then, every time he sees her, someone very close to her dies... until he himself dies after a few days. And then he appears to his friend.

6. Green Tea

Joseph Sheridan le Fanu It was the Irish writer who wrote this remarkable Gothic tale in 1872. It tells the story of Reverend Jennings, who after drinking a mysterious concoction is haunted by an evil spirit. Jennings commits suicide and the paranormal case is investigated, reaching fatal consequences for whoever takes care of it.

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7. The glowing pyramid

Arthur Machen he wrote this magnificent story in which he describes a mysterious species that coexists in parallel with the human species. This species thirsts for revenge, and there are a series of disappearances in Great Britain. Machen is able to convey a feeling of overwhelm and claustrophobia with great mastery, admired by other authors such as Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

8. The shelter

Guy de Maupassant wrote this story starring a young man and an old man. Locked up for months because of the cold winter, the old man goes hunting one day. Seeing that he never comes back, the young man goes out and tries to find him but he does not succeed. Little by little he loses his mind. This is one of the best horror stories that deals with madness.

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9. The yellow tapestry

The Yellow Tapestry is a tale written by Charlotte perkins gilman in 1892. Perkins was a feminist woman who was a reference in the United States. The story is to some extent autobiographical, and revolves around postpartum depression. The protagonist of the story is exposed to conditions that result in a true horror story. Furthermore, the story is a critique of the society of the moment at the same time.

10. The death of Halpin Frayser

The North American Author Ambrose Bierce wrote The Death of Halpin Frayser in 1891. Halpin Frayser awakens from a dream pronouncing some mysterious words: Catherine Larue. The protagonist then finds the corpse of his mother in the forest and dies. The mystery will be solved by two detectives who will have to face a supernatural force.

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Bibliographic references

• Cross, J. K. (1956). Best Horror Stories. London: Faber & Faber.

• Cuddon, J.A. (1984). The Penguin Book of Horror Stories. London.

• Davenport-Hines, R. (1998). Gothic: 1500 Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin. London: Fourth Estate.