Affiliate Disclosure: Links on this page may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Read our affiliate policy
The Dark Descent Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of The Dark Descent books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: March 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the The Dark Descent series? Start with "Points of View" (1956) and follow publication order through all 140 books.
The complete The Dark Descent reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order
Points of View
1956
The Best American Short Stories 1964
1964
Prize Stories 1970: The O. Henry Awards
1970
Anti-Story: An Anthology of Experimental Fiction
1971
Scenes From American Life: Contemporary Short Fiction
1973
Prize Stories 1973: The O. Henry Awards
1973
Fiction International, No.1, Fall 1973
1973
Women and Fiction
1975
Banquet: Five Short Stories
1978
New American Writing
1979
The Best American Short Stories 1979
1979
Dark Forces: New Stories of Suspense and Supernatural Horror
1980
Night Walks
1982
The Web She Weaves
1983
Witches' Brew
1984
Fiction International 15.1: Writing and Politics
1984
The Dark Descent
1987
The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction
1987
First Annual Collection
1988
Demons & Dreams: The Best Fantasy and Horror 1
1988
Third Annual Collection
1989
Women Writers at Work
1989
Among Sisters: Short Stories by Women Writers
1989
Colors of a New Day
1990
Volume III:A Fabulous, Formless Darkness
1991
The Picador Book of the New Gothic
1991
Cries of the Spirit
1991
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Fourth Annual Collection
1991
Fourth Annual Collection
1991
The Architecture of Fear
1991
The Best American Short Stories 1991
1991
The Oxford Book of American Short Stories
1992
The Short Story: 30 Masterpieces
1992
Flash Fiction: 72 Very Short Stories
1992
Sisters In Crime 5
1992
Fiction International 22
1992
Ploughshares Winter 1993-94
1993
God: An Anthology of Fiction
1993
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: November 1994
1994
First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers
1994
Deadly Sins
1994
Obsession
1995
Bad Behavior
1995
The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women
1995
Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears
1995
Murder For Love
1996
American Gothic Tales
1996
Granta 58: Ambition
1997
Black Swan, White Raven
1997
Crimes of Passion
1997
American Fiction
1997
Telling Stories
1997
The Best American Mystery Stories 1997
1997
Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers
1998
The Best of the Best
1998
Murder for Revenge
1998
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
1998
Eleventh Annual Collection
1998
Sex, Drugs, Rock'n'Roll: Stories to End the Century
1998
The Best American Mystery Stories 1999
1999
The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction
1999
Irreconcilable Differences
1999
Ovid Metamorphosed
2000
The Good Parts
2000
Master's Choice: Mystery Stories by Today's Top Writers and the Masters Who Inspired Them
2000
The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century
2000
Here to Stay: Five Plays from the Women's Project
2000
Black Heart, Ivory Bones
2000
Mr. Simonelli or the Fairy Widower
2000
The Best American Short Stories of the Century
2000
The Best American Essays of the Century
2000
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 2
2000
40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology
2000
The Best American Mystery Stories 2001
2001
Writers on Writing
2001
Opening Shots, Vol. II
2001
Tails of Wonder and Imagination
2001
Redshift
2001
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 3
2002
The Dark: New Ghost Stories
2003
The Best American Mystery Stories 2003
2003
More Stories We Tell
2004
The Future Dictionary of America
2004
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 5
2004
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 15
2004
Writers on Writers
2005
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules
2005
Dangerous Women
2005
Transgressions
2005
Becoming Myself: Reflections on Growing Up Female
2006
TwentiethAnnual Collection
2007
The Best American Mystery Stories 2007
2007
The New Granta Book of the American Short Story
2007
Unforgettable Ghost Stories by Women Writers
2008
Twenty-First Annual Collection
2008
Freedom
2009
First Words: Earliest Writing from Favorite Contemporary Authors
2009
Half-Minute Horrors
2009
The Best American Mystery Stories 2009
2009
What's Your Exit?: A Literary Detour Through New Jersey
2010
L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories
2010
Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror
2010
My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me
2010
Hint Fiction
2010
The Mammoth Book of Angels and Demons
2011
What You Wish For
2011
Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales From Great Fiction Writers
2012
The Interrogator and Other Criminally Good Fiction
2012
What My Mother Gave Me
2013
Ploughshares Spring 1988
2013
Boulevard No. 87
2014
Boulevard 88
2014
The Doll Collection
2015
Choose Wisely: 35 Women Up To No Good
2015
The Best Stories from Boulevard, 1985-2015
2015
Taking Aim: Power and Pain, Teens and Guns
2015
The Best American Mystery Stories 2015
2015
Sleights of Hand: The Deception Issue
2016
Unloaded
2016
In Sunlight or In Shadow
2016
Boulevard Nos. 95 & 96
2017
Tales of Two Americas
2017
The Best American Mystery Stories 2017
2017
Shadows Over Main Street Volume 2
2017
Alive in Shape and Color
2017
Uncertainties Volume III
2018
Simpsonistas, Vol. 1
2018
Cutting Edge: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers
2019
Simpsonistas, Vol. 2
2019
Drawing Lines
2021
Five Short Stories by Women
2021
When Things Get Dark
2021
The Best Horror of the Year Volume Thirteen
2021
Screams from the Dark
2022
CVC10 Carter V Cooper Short Fiction Anthology: Book Ten
2022
The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2022
2022
Simpsonistas Vol. 4: Tales from the New Literary Project
2022
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2023
2023
A Darker Shade of Noir: New Stories of Body Horror by Women Writers
2023
Fears: Tales of Psychological Horror
2024
Affiliate Disclosure
As an Amazon Associate, Reading Order Books earns from qualifying purchases. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. This helps us maintain the site and continue providing reading order guides. Read our full disclosure