Stephen King is the undisputed master of literary horror. No one else in the genre comes close to him in terms of quality or quality. He has penned over 60 novels and 200 short stories, continuously captivating readers with his exploration of the dark corners of the human psyche. His best works, like The Shining, It, and Misery, are not just tales of terror but profound examinations of family, addiction, and madness. In addition, they are great snapshots of late 20th-century America, particularly its small towns.
Indeed, King's talents go beyond horror, evident in more dramatic stories like The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. His writing is also highly visual, lending itself well to the screen. Some of the greatest movies of all time have been made based on his work. This dense, varied bibliography means he's sure to continue frightening readers for generations to come. Those looking to get started with his work could do worse than to look to his most highly-rated books on the review site Goodreads. These are King's best projects, ranked according to its users.
10 'Carrie' (1974)
Rating: 3.99/5
"And then the world exploded." King's electric debut revolves around a shy, bullied high school girl with a deeply religious and abusive mother. Her life takes a drastic turn when she discovers her telekinetic powers. After being humiliated at her prom by a cruel prank, Carrie unleashes her newfound abilities in a fit of rage, leading to a night of devastation in her small town.
The book is short (not even 200 pages) but packs an outsize punch. It's also structurally inventive, including excerpts from fictional books, newspapers, and reports, as well as contributions from various narrators. Reportedly, King grew dissatisfied with the book early on in the writing process, discarding the pages he'd written in the trash. His wife Tabitha retrieved them and insisted he continue. It's a good thing she did: Carrie was a bestseller, launching its author's career and helping to bring horror fiction into the mainstream.
9 'Pet Sematary' (1983)
Rating: 4.06/5
"Death is a mystery, and burial is a secret." Louis Creed moves with his family to a rural town in Maine, where he discovers a nearby pet cemetery with a dark secret. When tragedy strikes and Louis's son, Gage, is killed in an accident, he learns of an ancient burial ground beyond the pet cemetery that can bring the dead back to life, but at a terrible cost. Pet Sematary features some of the oldest horror tropes around, like a character who violates the finality of death and must suffer the consequences.
However, King breathes new life into these old chestnuts and makes them chilling once more. In large part, this is because the characters are complex and believable. They feel like real people, and the reader sympathizes with them, making their ordeals all the more horrific. For these reasons, Guillermo Del Toro has said it's one of the books he would most like to adapt. "As a father, I now understand it better than I ever would have, and it scares me a hundred times more," he explains.
8 'Salem's Lot' (1975)
Rating: 4.06/5
"When the evil falls on the town, its coming seems almost preordained." 'Salem's Lot centers on Ben Mears, a writer who returns to his hometown to find inspiration for his new book. However, he soon discovers that the townspeople are falling prey to a sinister force—a centuries-old vampire named Kurt Barlow. Once again, King takes a well-worn idea - in this case, a vampire story - but reinvigorates it by relocating the action to a fresh setting: a small New England town in the mid-70s.
King has described the book as "Peyton Place meets Dracula", which is accurate. In a lesser writer's hands, this tale might have come out fangless, but 'Salem's Lot is decidedly creepy and compelling. In addition to the vampire thrills, the small-town drama is intriguing as well. The book is peopled with a large cast of realistic characters, all of whom have their own struggles and secrets. This recipe translated well to the screen, resulting in a terrific miniseries adaptation. A new film version is in development as well.
7 'Misery' (1987)
Rating: 4.22/5
"I am your number one fan." King gets a little meta with this psychological thriller in which a bestselling author, Paul Sheldon, is kidnapped by his "number one fan," Annie Wilkes, after a car accident. Annie, a former nurse with a dangerous fixation on Paul's work, forces him to write a new novel that revives her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Trapped in Annie's remote home, Paul endures physical and psychological torture as he struggles to escape her clutches.
The book is incredibly tense. The reader roots desperately for Paul to break free, only to have their hopes dashed repeatedly. King's protagonists are often authors (write what you know, and all that) but Paul might be his most vivid and likable. He's definitely a little autobiographical, too. King has said that Paul feeling chained to his Misery character was a stand-in for King feeling boxed into the horror genre. He has also said that Annie Wilkes is a metaphor for drug addiction.
6 'The Shining' (1977)
Rating: 4.27/5
"Terrible things happen in the world, and they're things no one can explain." Struggling writer and recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance takes a job as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, a remote resort with a sinister history. He brings with him his wife, Wendy, and their young son, Danny, who possesses psychic abilities. As winter sets in, the hotel's malevolent influence begins to fray Jack's sanity.
Though not quite as good as Stanley Kubrick's film version, The Shining is top-tier King, and certainly one of his scariest books. It was his third published novel and is considerably more ambitious than Carrie and 'Salem's Lot, which had preceded it. Here, he draws inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe and Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House but filters it through his distinctive perspective. The result is an intelligent ghost story that elevates character over gore or action.
5 'On Writing' (2000)
Rating: 4.34/5
"Books are a uniquely portable magic." On Writing is a hybrid book: part memoir, part guidebook for aspiring writers. Here, King shares his journey from a struggling writer to a bestselling author, providing insights into his creative process, work ethic, and the experiences that shaped his stories. It's chock-full of simple but powerful writing advice, placing it among the best works on the topic. King's description of his work habits is especially fascinating.
King wrote the book while recovering from being hit by a van, and his inner struggles are evident on the page. This was clearly a difficult project for him. However, the book is also impressive and triumphal, with King rediscovering his voice, creativity, and passion for the craft. As a result, On Writing is a moving book that can be appreciated by anyone, not just budding writers or horror fans. It's one of the strongest works the author has ever produced.
4 '11/22/63' (2011)
Rating: 4.34/5
"Because the dark surrounds us, let us turn our faces to the light." 11/22/63 is a uniquely King blend of historical fiction and time travel. The novel follows Jake Epping, a high school teacher who discovers a portal to the year 1958 in the back of a diner. He sets out on a mission to prevent JFK's assassination on November 22, 1963. Soon, Epping bonds with people from the past, finding himself torn between times.
The premise is a little ridiculous, but King pulls it off, resulting in one of his most sweeping, moving novels. His recreation of the '50s and '60s is immersive, reflecting the huge amount of research he did while writing it. The characters are also well-drawn, particularly Jake's fiancée Sadie. This means that when tragedy strikes, it hits the reader even harder. Perhaps as a result 11/22/63 was one of King's most acclaimed novels of the 2010s, with the New York Times going so far as to rank it among the top five fiction books of the year.
3 'It' (1986)
Rating: 4.34/5
"We lie best when we lie to ourselves." It is a monumental work of horror that delves into the nature of fear and the power of memory. It alternates between two timelines, following a group of friends known as the Losers' Club as children in the 1950s and as adults in the 1980s. The friends are united by their encounters with a malevolent entity that takes the form of their worst fears, most often appearing as a clown named Pennywise.
King wasn't the first writer to describe a monster that takes on the form of whatever its victim fears most, but he certainly did it the most memorably. Pennywise is now an iconic villain, in his literary and cinematic forms: the shot of him peeking out from a sewer is seared onto many people's brains. Beneath the frights though, It is a smart, frustrating, overlong, controversial but undeniably imaginative work and a standout of '80s horror.
2 'The Stand' (1978)
Rating: 4.35/5
"That wasn't any act of God." Another King epic, The Stand takes place in the aftermath of a global pandemic that has wiped out most of the human population. The survivors are drawn into two factions: one led by the kind and wise Mother Abagail, and the other by the sinister and charismatic Randall Flagg. As the survivors rebuild their lives, they must prepare for an inevitable confrontation between the forces of good and evil.
This is essentially King's take on Lord of the Rings but set in a post-apocalyptic version of Las Vegas. It features bomb blasts, supernatural powers, countless characters, and the vilest of villains. Although not one of his most accessible books for newcomers, The Stand is vivid, intense, and grand in scale. The extended edition clocks in at well over 1000 pages. It's probably the most ambitious thing King has ever done. Critics responded; both Time magazine and the BBC have ranked The Stand among the best books of all time.
1 'The Green Mile' (1996)
Rating: 4.48/5
"Sometimes there is absolutely no difference at all between salvation and damnation." King's highest-rated book on Goodreads is less of a horror and more of a supernatural drama. The Green Mile takes place in the 1930s at Cold Mountain Penitentiary's death row. The story is narrated by Paul Edgecombe, a former prison guard who recounts his experiences with John Coffey, a giant of a man convicted of murdering two young girls. Despite his imposing appearance, Coffey possesses an extraordinary gift: the ability to heal others and absorb their suffering.
The death row setting is unique and memorable, and it's a great vehicle for King to explore issues of morality and justice. The Green Mile covers a lot of ground, pivoting from sweet and poignant to violent and horrifying. Like King's story Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, it was adapted into an excellent film by director Frank Darabont. It's a great example of King's range and thoughtful handling of incendiary subject matter.