Ranker FilmList RulesVote up your favorite horror movies based on or inspired by literature.
Some of the best horror movies based on books are those where the director that can take the words off the page from the author and turn them into some of the most memorable and visually horrifying scenes in film history. Scary movies based on horror fiction have been around since the days of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi and have been making moviegoers scream in terror and delight ever since! The reason for the success of horror movies adapted from books is due to the reader’s yearning to see if the film matches up or surpasses their own imagination while they were reading the book. New movies based on horror novels have been huge hits at the box office as of late and thus we are likely to see even more of them terrorizing us in theaters in the coming years.
Share this list with your friends and rank the best horror movies based on books any way you want! Cue the jump scare! Don't see a horror movie adaptation that you love? Feel free to add it to the list and check back to find out how others rank your selections.
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16919The Exorcist
Max von Sydow, Ellen BurstynReleased: 1973
Directed by: William Friedkin
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17325The Silence of the Lambs
Jodie Foster, Anthony HopkinsReleased: 1991
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
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14922Carrie
John Travolta, Sissy SpacekReleased: 1976
Directed by: Brian De Palma
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13519Jaws
Steven Spielberg, Richard DreyfussReleased: 1975
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
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13021Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock, Janet LeighReleased: 1960
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
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14635It
Bill Skarsgård, Finn WolfhardReleased: September 8th, 2017
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
It is a 2017 horror film directed by Andy Muschietti and based on the Stephen King novel. In 1989, a group known as the Losers Club take on a monster known to them as Pennywise that is terrorizing the town of Derry.
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13635Pet Sematary
Stephen King, Fred GwynneReleased: 1989
Directed by: Mary Lambert
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11025The Birds
Alfred Hitchcock, Tippi HedrenReleased: 1963
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
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10524Bram Stoker's Dracula
Monica Bellucci, Keanu ReevesReleased: 1992
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
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10424Christine
Kelly Preston, Alexandra PaulReleased: 1983
Directed by: John Carpenter
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13847The Shining
Jack Nicholson, Shelley DuvallReleased: 1980
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
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9823Red Dragon
Anthony Hopkins, Ralph FiennesReleased: 2002
Directed by: Brett Ratner
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10528Cujo
Dee Wallace, Danny PintauroReleased: 1983
Directed by: Lewis Teague
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10629The Mist
Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay HardenReleased: 2007
Directed by: Frank Darabont
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9120Hellraiser
Doug Bradley, Andrew RobinsonReleased: 1987
Directed by: Clive Barker
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89271408
Samuel L. Jackson, John CusackReleased: 2007
Directed by: Mikael Håfström
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9632The Amityville Horror
James Brolin, Margot KidderReleased: 1979
Directed by: Stuart Rosenberg
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8831Children of the Corn
Linda Hamilton, Peter HortonReleased: 1984
Directed by: Fritz Kiersch
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8328Dracula
Bela Lugosi, Tod BrowningReleased: 1931
Directed by: Tod Browning, Karl Freund
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7119Manhunter
Brian Cox, Garcelle BeauvaisReleased: 1986
Directed by: Michael Mann
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7826Frankenstein
Boris Karloff, John BolesReleased: 1931
Directed by: James Whale
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6217Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Zoe Colletti, Michael GarzaReleased: 2019
Directed by: André Øvredal
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8133Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
Tom Cruise, Brad PittReleased: 1994
Directed by: Neil Jordan
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6420Let the Right One In
Lina Leandersson, Tom LjungmanReleased: 2008
Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
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7126Thinner
Stephen King, Kari WührerReleased: 1996
Directed by: Tom Holland
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