Can anyone recommend some atmospheric horror novels?

Ghost Story
The Haunting of Hill House
Hell House

Check for Dorchester Publishing. They have an imprint called Leisure Books and they specialize in horror novels. Generally 2 per month. Just browse around there and see if anything tickles your fancy.

H P Lovecraft

the atmosphere is thicker than molassas

Peter Straub, particularly his early work like Ghost Story, Julia, and Shadowland.

The Magus by John Fowles -- maybe not horror per se, but it definitely has the atmosphere.

The Collected Short Stories of Richard Matheson, Volumes I-III.

The Rising and it's sequel City of the Dead by Brian Keene.

Thumbs down on Keene, for me anyway. I suggest The Terror by Dan Simmons.

I don't think those books are atmposheric at all. The Rising is just pure action-horror, unless I'm thinking of a different book.

Never heard of Keene. After reading the descriptions of his books, it sounds like he just rewrites Stephen King.

You're right. I enjoyed them, but they're just action schlock novels.

I'm listening to the audiobook version of Joe Hill's 20th Century Ghosts now, and I think some of these stories are pretty atmospheric. Some of them fall flat too, though. But that's the case with any short story collection.

Agreed. There's zero atmosphere. Not at all what the OP was asking for. Not sure why anyone would have recommended them here (or anywhere, for that matter, but certainly not here).

Talking zombie animals =/= 1) atmosphere or 2) a good novel. Come to think of it he's never written a good one. Stay far far away.

try these:

Dark Harvest, by Norman Partridge

City Of The Dead, by Brian Keene

Hell House

these are the best horror stories i ever read.