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: January 2026
Publication Order
Tales of Unknown Horror
Buy on Amazon1978
The Year's Finest Fantasy
Buy on Amazon1978
The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series VI
Buy on Amazon1978
The Year's Best Horror Stories Series VII
Buy on Amazon1979
More Tales of Unknown Horror
Buy on Amazon1979
The Year's Finest Fantasy 2
Buy on Amazon1979
New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
Buy on Amazon1980
Dark Forces: New Stories of Suspense and Supernatural Horror
Buy on Amazon1980
New Terrors II
Buy on Amazon1980
Shadows 4
Buy on Amazon1981
The Seventeenth Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories
Buy on Amazon1981
Fantasy Annual III
Buy on Amazon1981
The Giant Book Of Horror Stories
Buy on Amazon1981
Fantasy Annual IV
Buy on Amazon1981
Modern Masters of Horror
Buy on Amazon1981
Death
Buy on Amazon1982
Fear Itself: The Horror Fiction of Stephen King
Buy on Amazon1982
65 Great Spine Chillers
Buy on Amazon1982
The Science Fiction Weight Loss Book
Buy on Amazon1983
The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series XII
Buy on Amazon1984
Realms of Darkness
Buy on Amazon1985
Great Tales of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Buy on Amazon1985
The Year's Best Horror Stories
Buy on Amazon1985
Kingdom of Fear: The World of Stephen King
Buy on Amazon1986
Horrors
Buy on Amazon1986
The Dark Descent
Buy on Amazon1987
Volume I: The Color of Evil
Buy on Amazon1987
A Treasury of American Horror Stories
Buy on Amazon1988
Horror Factor 7
Buy on Amazon1988
The Best Horror Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
Buy on Amazon1988
Prime Evil
Buy on Amazon1988
Dark Visions
Buy on Amazon1988
The Mammoth Book of Short Horror Novels
Buy on Amazon1988
Book of the Dead
Buy on Amazon1989
The Best of Modern Horror
Buy on Amazon1989
Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
Buy on Amazon1990
Dark Voices: No. 1
Buy on Amazon1990
Volume II: The Medusa In The Shield
Buy on Amazon1990
Volume III:A Fabulous, Formless Darkness
Buy on Amazon1991
Horrorstory
Buy on Amazon1991
The Horror Hall of Fame
Buy on Amazon1991
I Shudder at Your Touch: Twenty Two Tales of Sex and Horror
Buy on Amazon1991
Midnight Graffiti
Buy on Amazon1992
Young Blood
Buy on Amazon1994
Mid-life Confidential
Buy on Amazon1994
The Puffin Book of Horror Stories
Buy on Amazon1994
Space Movies
Buy on Amazon1995
Horror Stories
Buy on Amazon1995
Pulp Frictions: Hardboiled Stories
Buy on Amazon1996
Dark Love
Buy on Amazon1996
Year's Best Fantasy & Horror: Ninth Annual Collection
Buy on Amazon1996
Twists of the Tale: An Anthology of Cat Horror
Buy on Amazon1996
American Gothic Tales
Buy on Amazon1996
Blood Thirst
Buy on Amazon1997
Robert Bloch's Psychos
Buy on Amazon1997
The Best of the Best
Buy on Amazon1998
The Playboy Book of Science Fiction
Buy on Amazon1998
Legends 1
Buy on Amazon1998
Eternal Lovecraft: The Persistence of HPL in Popular Culture
Buy on Amazon1998
Scary! Stories That Will Make You Scream!
Buy on Amazon1999
999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense
Buy on Amazon1999
Vintage Science Fiction
Buy on Amazon1999
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Twelfth Annual Collection
Buy on Amazon1999
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Buy on Amazon1999
Technohorror: Inventions in Terror
Buy on Amazon1999
The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century
Buy on Amazon2000
Tails of Wonder and Imagination
Buy on Amazon2001
A Century of Great Suspense Stories
Buy on Amazon2001
Dark Masques
Buy on Amazon2001
Baseball: a Literary Anthology
Buy on Amazon2002
The Wavedancer Benefit: A Tribute to Frank Muller
Buy on Amazon2002
From the Borderlands
Buy on Amazon2003
In the Shadow of the Master
Buy on Amazon2003
Great Ghost Stories
Buy on Amazon2004
The Future Dictionary of America
Buy on Amazon2004
Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Seventeenth Annual Collection
Buy on Amazon2004
Transgressions
Buy on Amazon2005
The Campfire Collection
Buy on Amazon2005
Transgressions, Vol. 2
Buy on Amazon2006
The Best American Short Stories 2007
Buy on Amazon2007
The Living Dead
Buy on Amazon2008
The Best of Cemetery Dance II
Buy on Amazon2008
Dancing with the Dark
Buy on Amazon2009
The Big Book of NECON
Buy on Amazon2009
Zombies: Encounters with the Hungry Dead
Buy on Amazon2009
Best New Horror 20
Buy on Amazon2009
First Words: Earliest Writing from Favorite Contemporary Authors
Buy on Amazon2009
The Dead That Walk
Buy on Amazon2009
Shivers VI
Buy on Amazon2010
Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror
Buy on Amazon2010
Best New Horror 21
Buy on Amazon2010
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick
Buy on Amazon2011
A Book of Horrors
Buy on Amazon2011
Crucified Dreams
Buy on Amazon2011
Lightspeed: Year One
Buy on Amazon2011
Rage Against the Night
Buy on Amazon2011
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four
Buy on Amazon2012
The Mammoth Book of Body Horror
Buy on Amazon2012
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, 2012 Edition
Buy on Amazon2012
Shivers VII
Buy on Amazon2013
Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All
Buy on Amazon2013
Bad Seeds: Evil Progeny
Buy on Amazon2013
Selected Shorts: Behaving Badly
Buy on Amazon2013
Turn Down the Lights
Buy on Amazon2013
Woman: An Anthology
Buy on Amazon2014
Field of Fantasies
Buy on Amazon2014
Chiral Mad 3
Buy on Amazon2016
Six Scary Stories
Buy on Amazon2016
Grave Predictions
Buy on Amazon2016
The Best American Mystery Stories 2016
Buy on Amazon2016
In Sunlight or In Shadow
Buy on Amazon2016
Detours
Buy on Amazon2016
You, Human
Buy on Amazon2018
Flight or Fright
Buy on Amazon2018
It Came From The Garage!: An Anthology of Automotive Horror
Buy on Amazon2019
Terrifying Tales to Tell at Night
Buy on Amazon2019
Dark Tides
Buy on Amazon2019
Best of Best New Horror Volume 2
Buy on Amazon2020
The Pulp Horror Book of Phobias, Vol II
Buy on Amazon2020
The Best Horror of the Year Volume Thirteen
Buy on Amazon2021
Revelations
Buy on Amazon2022
Chiral Mad 5
Buy on Amazon2022
Qualia Nous: Vol. 2
Buy on Amazon2023
The Rack
Buy on Amazon2024
The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand
Buy on Amazon2025
Frequently Asked Questions
The recommended reading order for the The Dark Descent series is publication order: 1. Tales of Unknown Horror (1978), 2. The Year's Finest Fantasy (1978), 3. The Year's Best Horror Stories: Series VI (1978), 4. The Year's Best Horror Stories Series VII (1979), 5. More Tales of Unknown Horror (1979), and 120 more. This is generally the best way to experience the story as the author intended.
The The Dark Descent series by Stephen King contains 125 books. The series began in 1978 and continues to be a popular choice for readers.
The The Dark Descent series is written by Stephen King. You can find more books and series by this author on our website.
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