Horror Stories: 25 Must-Read Books That Inspired Scary Movies

Didn't know "Let Me In" is based on an awesome Swedish vampire novel? Check out other killer source stories that will keep you turning pages.

October 4, 2010

Not Available Lead — Image via Complex Original
Complex Original

Come on, admit it: Your high school book reports were little more than regurgitated back-cover-plot-synopses, or, at the most, owed a great deal to CliffsNotes. Don't kick yourself; the truth is, in this digital age, the majority of fiction junkies get their fixes from television or the movies (and cheat using Wikipedia). Still, ardent book hounds—such as your fam here at Complex—know that the best stories are usually told in literary form. Frankly, authors can get away with far more than directors, especially in the fantastic free-for-all that is the horror genre. For example, this weekend's new vampire flick Let Me In, with its suck-free child actors, is quite good (if not one of the best horror movies of 2010), yet its source material, Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist's 2004 novel Let the Right One In, still reigns supreme. It's not the first time a scary book has outshined its big-screen adaptation. Maraud through the nearest Barnes and Noble's "horror" section and you'll discover that several classic flicks were initially embraced in paperback or hardcover formats. Here, in no particular order, are 25 of the best horror books that eventually became films. And, the last time checked, only two of them (Dracula and The Turn of the Screw) are available in CliffsNotes editions. Take that, slackers.

by Matt Barone

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• CLICK NEXT TO SEE MORE CLASSIC HORROR STORIES...

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• CLICK NEXT TO SEE MORE CLASSIC HORROR STORIES...

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