Genre guide · Fiction
Horror: word count & book length
How long a horror book should be, which trim sizes suit it and what that means in printed pages. Typical length: 80,000–100,000 words.
About horror
Fiction meant to frighten, unsettle or disgust — supernatural, psychological, cosmic or body horror. Novellas are especially popular in indie horror.
Printed length in recommended trim sizes
| Trim | Pages at 11 pt | Spine (white) |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 x 8.5 in Digest | 320–398 pages | 0.72–0.9 in |
| 6 x 9 in US Trade | 274–348 pages | 0.62–0.78 in |
| 5 x 8 in | 382–474 pages | 0.86–1.07 in |
Page counts for these lengths
Tips for this category
- Horror novellas (20,000–40,000 words) are commercially viable and quick to produce.
About Horror
Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length ... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. The threats present in horror fiction often reflect broader cultural anxieties.
From the Wikipedia article “Horror fiction”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Most-published horror works in Open Library
| Title | Author | First published | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus | Mary Shelley | 1818 | 2,187 |
| Dracula | Bram Stoker | 1897 | 1,918 |
| Northanger Abbey | Jane Austen | 1818 | 1,013 |
| The Mayor of Casterbridge | Thomas Hardy | 1800 | 676 |
| Carmilla | Sheridan Le Fanu | 1871 | 571 |
| The Invisible Man | H. G. Wells | — | 563 |
| The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Robert Louis Stevenson | 1875 | 373 |
| Daisy Miller | Henry James | 1877 | 244 |
| The Fall of the House of Usher | Edgar Allan Poe | 1704 | 237 |
| Dracula's guest, and other weird stories | Bram Stoker, Washington Irving | 1914 | 171 |
Open Library lists 3,952 works under this subject.
Awards for this genre
Frequently asked questions
How long should a horror book be?
What trim size is best for horror?
Sources & data
- Subject statistics from Open Library.
- Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).