Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)

Classic story of creation destroying its creator. A London doctor concocts a potion that brings out his evil alter-ego. Mr Hyde sets about terrorising the city before meeting his inevitable end. Repeatedly filmed with original storyline and some fairly inventive variations. Well-written and an eminently enjoyable read despite its age.

Dracula
by Bram Stoker (1897)

The original creaky coffin lid opening and shrill shriek as a wooden stake is driven through the heart are just two of the enduring images to be found in Stoker's Dracula. A gothic horror for the ages, the book is based on the legend of 'nosferatu', the vampire. Plenty of romance with obvious sexual overtones as well. The original is still the best.

The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka (1915)

While Kafka's brilliant The Trial (1925) borders on the fantastic, this one delves straight into it. A hard-working young man wakes up one morning to find he has transformed into a giant insect. His family doesn't seem terribly surprised, but they are put out by the terrible inconvenience the metamorphosis has caused. Probably has as many interpretations as it does readers.

Bloodcurdling Tales
by H P Lovecraft (1922-37)

Consummate 'best of' collection containing sixteen classic Lovecraft tales published between 1922-37, including 'The Shadow Out Of Time'. Dubbed Bloodcurdling Tales Of Horror & the Macabre, fantasy fans won't want to miss the chilling 'Call Of the Cthulhu'. Seminal work from one of the all-time greatest writers of early horror.

Titus Groan
by Mervyn Peake (1946)

Gothic masterpiece that kicked off Peake's highly original Gormenghast trilogy. Groan is the story of the early life of the heir to the decaying Gormenghast castle - or perhaps more accurately, the story of the castle itself. Every darkly humorous twist is matched with a dismally oppressive corner. A literary gem that remains popular.

I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson (1954)

Classic horror story that was originally sold as sci-fi (it's not). Robert Neville finds himself as the last man on Earth, with everyone else having turned into vampires as the result of a devastating plague. Neville is the hunter by day and at night becomes the hunted, living only for the next sunrise. Trendsetting use of modern urban settings as a backdrop for a vampire story.

Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Ray Bradbury (1962)

Gothic fantasy at its most wicked. When Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow Show rolls into a small Illinois town to usher in the coming Halloween, two boys soon discover that wishes can sometimes turn into nightmares. Bradbury is a master storyteller and well known in all speculative fiction fields. This book remains a classic for the ages.

The Magus
by John Fowles (1965)

Often ranked as one of the greatest novels of the modern era, The Magus tells the story of Englishman Nicholas Urfe who takes up a teaching post on a Greek island. He befriends the island's richest man and unknowingly becomes entrapped in the nightmarish 'godgame' - where staged deaths, erotic episodes and unspeakable violence blur the line between reality and fantasy.