Below is a rundown of what I believe to be the Top 40 scary short stories from 1800 to 1849. You will notice some familiar names and some that may be new. The Top 12 were recently published in my new book: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849: A Classic Horror Anthology. They include story backgrounds, annotations and photos of the author. I am also please to announced that for the first time the book is now available as a Kindle ebook for only $4.99. Just click The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849 Kindle ebook to be taken to the page. Enjoy and for those of you in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving!
40. 1839 Running the Gauntlet by Anonymous
39. 1823 The Mutiny by William Harrison Ainsworth
38. 1836 The Wedding Knell by Nathaniel Hawthorne
37. 1842 Ben Blower's Story; or How to Relish a Julep by Charles Feno Hoffman
36. 1827 The Bohemian by Anonymous
35. 1831 Singular Passage in the Life of the Late Henry Harris, Doctor in Divinity by Richard Harris Barham
34. 1830 Confessions of a Reformed Ribbonman by William Carleton
33. 1820 The Field of Terror by Baron Friedrich Heinrich Karl De la Motte Fouquâe
32. 1837 Cousin Mattie by James Hogg
31. 1844 Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
30. 1821 The Man in the Bell by William Maginn
29. 1836 The Legend of the Bell Rock by Captain Frederick Marryat
28. 1849 Hop-Frog by Edgar Allan Poe
27. 1832 Gabriel Lindsay by William Mudford
26. 1835 The Fiery Vault by Reithra
25. 1837 The Involuntary Experimentalist by Samuel Ferguson
24. 1831 The Lonely Man of the Ocean by Anonymous
23. 1843 Ko-rea-ran-neh-neh; or, The Flying Head by Charles Feno Hoffman
22. 1846 The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
21. 1837 Dr. Heidegger's Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne
20. 1823 A Scots Mummy by James Hogg
19. 1835 The Story of the Greek Slave by Captain Frederick Marryat
18. 1843 The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe
17. 1834 The Singular Trial of Francis Ormiston by George Sloane
16. 1842 The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
15. 1827 Le Revenant by Henry Thomson
14. 1841 A Descent into the Maelstrom by Edgar Allan Poe
13. 1830 The Elixir of Life by Honore de Balzac
12. 1836 The Old Man’s Tale About the Queer Client by Charles Dickens11. 1817 The Deserted House by E.T. A. Hoffmann
10. 1836 The Minister’s Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne
9. 1843 The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
8. 1828 The Severed Hand by Wilhelm Hauff
7. 1826 The Lighthouse by George Soane
6. 1842 The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
5. 1829 El Verdugo (The Executioner) by Honoré de Balzac
4. 1832 The Thunder-Struck and the Boxer by Samuel Warren
3. 1845 The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe
2. 1832 The Mysterious Mansion by Honoré de Balzac
1. 1839 The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
