Top 100 Best Horror Books of All Time

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco, 1973

Eager for a reprieve from their stuffy apartment in Queens, Ben and Marian Rolfe jump at the chance to rent a beautiful Long Island mansion. The owners of the place, a brother and sister team called the Allardyces, give them a great deal: $900.00 for the entire summer. There’s just one stipulation: the Allardyce’s elderly mother must remain in her upstairs bedroom under Ben and Marian’s care. The siblings explain that Mrs. Allardyce’s only need will be three meals a day — a task that sounds easy enough for Marian, who promptly agrees to be sole caretaker for the old woman. 

But soon after Ben and Marian — along with their son David, and Ben’s aunt Elizabeth — move into the old mansion, they realize the place might not be what it seems. A dark force is at work — a force that seems to be feeding from its new tenants.

Sure to satisfy any haunted house enthusiast, Burnt Offerings has not only been praised by such authors as Stephen King and Stephen Graham Jones (King even names it as an inspiration for his classic, The Shining), it’s also the basis of the 1976 movie of the same name, starring Karen Black, Bette Davis, and Oliver Reed. 

Keeping its secrets close and walking the thin line between truth and delusion, Burnt Offerings is sure to keep you wondering what’s real … and what you might be imagining …