#83. "Strange Case of Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

For many people, the greatest horror stories come from external forces. The idea of something uncontrollable breaking through a safety net feels horrifying, keeping audiences questioning how they would fight back. For Robert Louis Stevenson, he decides to explore the war of the self, producing one of the most memorable novellas of the late 19th century with two characters in one. "Strange Case of Dr. Jekkyl and Mr. Hyde" begins as the mystery of a scientist getting wrapped up in a murder mystery and famously ends with the discovery that the real enemy lies inside, waiting to break out. Is he capable of controlling everything, or is he doomed to give in to the torment inside? It's a morality tale like no other, and one that becomes more horrifying once you realize that Mr. Hyde is not an exception. He has the potential to exist inside all of us.

#82. "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier

When looking at the greatest ghost stories ever written, one has to consider Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca." This isn't to say that a ghost even appears. The titular character is there, but she never speaks. The whole story centers around the new Mrs. de Winter as she enters into a marriage that gives her access to the illusive Manderley mansion. It's a wondrous place, but it's also home to one of the most beautifully written Gothic stories of the 20th century. What follows is a story all about the discomfort of feeling like an outsider, like the world is going to swallow you whole with just one slip-up and make you another victim. "Rebecca" is a novel that captivates the human spirit (sometimes literally), finding ways to explore a feeling of inferiority wrapped in a mystery that remains just as sharp and shocking over 80 years later. Du Maurier's masterpiece offers plenty of inspiring passages, and it's a world that the reader will not want to leave.

#81. "Shutter Island" by Dennis Lehane

There are few things as difficult to write as a good horror novel. If you present something too seriously, it seeks to become too droll, drawing the reader out. There is a need to constantly be surprising the reader, compulsively pulling them into the surreal fears inside of them. The best of the novels have a pulpy undertone that is needed to achieve genuine shock, making you question reality. Dennis Lehane's "Shutter Island" may be one of the best examples of this, managing to convey a murder mystery at a mental institution with enough trashy language that it becomes something more perverse. Even amid the whirling subtext, he paints an incredible picture of surrealism, making it easy to overlook what's brilliant about the book. The truth has been staring us in the face the entire time, and you're going to be surprised how well it works at conveying the story's third act twist.

#80. "Strangers on a Train" by Patricia Highsmith

There's something sinister at play every time you pick up a Patricia Highsmith novel. Over the course of a career that's included such masterpieces as "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "The Price of Salt," she has found ways to make the internal struggle into a breathtaking mystery, asking ourselves why we give into certain impulses. That may be why her debut novel, "Strangers on a Train," manages to excel even better at capturing something more perverse than love or espionage. With one of the best hooks for a novel, she captures a novel-length exploration of our fascination with murder. It starts with the simple concept of what would happen if we did it and proceeds to go into painful, wrenching detail about how that secret attacks our ego, wondering if there if the perfect scheme is truly obtainable. Even if it's a murder story that gets to the point quickly, everything that follows is an intense and necessary understanding of crime's ability to hypnotize, drawing even the most innocent person askew. Highsmith knocks it out of the park, making you doubt yourself by the end even as she criticizes the actions. Ther's nothing as delicious as this page-turner, and the perfect way to kick off such an essential career in literature history.