11 Eerie Authors Like Edgar Allan Poe

From a haunted mansion to the mountains of madness, the creepy tales of these authors are sure to give you nightmares – just like Edgar Allan Poe.

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Though Poe was best known for his tales of mystery and horror in the forms of poetry and short stories, he was much more than just the man who made us forever fear ravens. Widely believed to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre in the English-speaking world—sorry Arthur Conan Doyle—Poe also contributed to the science fiction genre and was a literary critic.

Since there’s only so many times one can read “The Tell-Tale Heart” or “The Raven,” here are 11 authors who match the horror-telling ability of Poe. If you’re a fan of his scary stories and frightening poetry, you’ll delight in downright terrifying authors like Edgar Allan Poe.

Harlan Ellison

No Doors, No Windows

No Doors, No Windows

By Harlan Ellison

Recommended read: No Doors, No Windows

Ellison once described his work by saying, “My stories go out from here and raise hell.” Though the prolific author has won numerous awards in the science fiction genre, he’s also a mystery and horror writer. His work No Doors, No Windows attempts to examine fear and includes 16 terrifying short stories. Like Poe, he’s able to fully immerse readers into his dark world—using fear, instead of more obvious horror, to keep the feeling of dread with them.

Clayton Rawson

No Coffin for the Corpse

No Coffin for the Corpse

By Clayton Rawson

Recommended read: No Coffin for the Corpse

Rawson was a mystery writer who incorporated his love of magic into his detective novels, which follow The Great Merlini. He was one of the founding members of the Mystery Writers of American, which present the Edgar Awards annually. In No Coffin for the Corpse, a man that was killed and buried by his assailant comes back to haunt in the tone of The Tell-Tale Heart.

Guy Endore

The Werewolf of Paris

The Werewolf of Paris

By Guy Endore

Recommended read: The Werewolf of Paris

Best known for writing one of the first werewolf novels, Guy Endore’s Gothic fiction is a cult favorite of horror fans. His best-known novel, The Werewolf of Paris, was published in 1933 and is about a werewolf dealing with his affliction. Endore’s dark and ominous tone will please fans of Poe—with his story occurring during the events of the Franco-Prussian War.

Henry James

The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw

By Henry James

Recommended read: The Turn of the Screw

Largely known for his rich works of literary realism, Henry James was also a master craftsman of Gothic madness and suspense. In The Turn of the Screw, a young governess at a secluded country estate desperately tries to protect the children from sinister forces that only she can see. The supernatural tale haunts readers long after the last page is turned–just like Poe’s best stories.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sign of the Four

The Sign of the Four

By Arthur Conan Doyle

Recommended read: The Sign of the Four

No list of Poe successors would be complete without Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The celebrated author never shied away from admitting his inspiration for Sherlock Holmes stemmed from Poe’s own detective, Monsieur Dupin. The Sign of the Four, the second novel in the Sherlock Holmes series, introduces Doctor Watson’s future wife Mary—as she hires Holmes to find her father who was last seen in India.

Bram Stoker

Dracula

Dracula

By Bram Stoker

Recommended read: Dracula

Bram Stoker is best known for defining the vampire genre with his Gothic novel, Dracula. The frightening tale, told in a less obviously horrific way in the epistolary style, is sure to delight fans of Poe’s subtle horror. In addition to writing, Stoker was involved in theater and managed Henry Irving’s Lyceum Theatre in London for 27 years.

H.G. Wells

The Island of Doctor Moreau

The Island of Doctor Moreau

By H. G. Wells

Recommended read: The Island of Doctor Moreau

While H.G. Wells is best known for The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, he’s also the author of some more horrific science fiction. In The Island of Doctor Moreau, Edward Prendick is shipwrecked on a remote island in the Pacific—unaware of the mad scientist and lab-made horrors that await him. The creepy way Prendick descends into a pit of horror is reminiscent of Poe’s style.

Mary Shelley

Frankenstein

Frankenstein

By Mary Shelley

Recommended read: Frankenstein

Like Poe, Shelley’s style has elements of both the Gothic novel and Romanticism. And to further their similarities—they both were part of early science fiction. Shelley’s popular novel, Frankenstein, tells of Victor Frankenstein and the living monster he creates. Though published in 1818, it’s a terrifying idea in any era.

H.P. Lovecraft

At the Mountains of Madness

At the Mountains of Madness

By H. P. Lovecraft

Recommended read: At the Mountains of Madness

Lovecraft, like Poe, wrote horror fiction that was quite unlike the literary tradition of his time. The two authors shared certain biographical similarities, as well–both lost their fathers at a young age, and both found literary success primarily after death. In Lovecraft’s novella, At the Mountains of Madness, Lovecraft tells of a chilling exploration of Antarctica in 1930—with the narrator advising that no one attempt to return to the continent.

Shirley Jackson

the_haunting_of_hill_house_cover

The Haunting of Hill House

By Shirley Jackson

Recommended read: The Haunting of Hill House

Jackson is well-known for her thrilling short story, “The Lottery,” in which a town gathers for an unusually dark tradition. Like Poe, Jackson uses psychological terror, rather than abrupt horror, to engage her audience. In The Haunting of Hill House, readers are left to untangle what is real and what is merely imagined by the characters as they experience the paranormal activities of an old mansion.

Frank Norris

McTeague

McTeague

By Frank Norris

Recommended read: McTeague

With Poe as a strong influence, Norris explored the dark realities of violence and poverty in his work. McTeague weaves together envy, jealousy, and murder as it follows a young couple’s courtship, marriage and, ultimately, their demise. Norris, too, often had trouble publishing his work, as editors were shocked by the darkness of his stories.

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