The Opening Round

OCT. 27, 2025

The Opening Round

Welcome to our first-ever horror pop-up, a weeklong tournament where you decide which book you want to advance—and your comments and upvotes could sway the outcome of every match. Here’s a recap of how it works.

It’s up to you: Are you ready to cast your votes?

Tell us which books should advance to tomorrow’s quarterfinals. Please note, only votes registered before midnight ET will be counted. The poll is now closed.

POLL RESULTS

• Dracula 33.2% — Frankenstein 66.8%

• The Haunting of Hill House 63.9% — The Shining 36.1%

• Rosemary’s Baby 59.1% — The Exorcist 40.9%

• The Terror 33.6% — Mexican Gothic 66.4%

• The King in Yellow 18.9% — The Woman in Black 81.1%

• Let the Right One In 58.9% — Carmilla 41.1%

• I Am Legend 51.7% — Ring Shout 48.3%

• The Silence of the Lambs 52% — The Talented Mister Ripley 48%

Or do you want to join the discussion?

In the opening round, the comment that receives the most upvotes in favor of one the books in each matchup will have those upvotes awarded to that title’s poll tally. Because there are eight matchups to discuss in today’s round, it’s possible that eight different comments could alter the outcomes of those matchups. (Though if a single comment in favor of multiple books receives the most upvotes, all those upvotes go to each book in that comment.) Please note, only upvotes added before midnight ET will be counted. The main discussion has now concluded, and the most-upvoted comments were by @Abigail Nussbaum (who added 10 extra votes each in favor of Frankenstein, The Haunting of Hill House, Mexican Gothic, and The Talented Mr. Ripley) and @Cutty Flam (who added six extra votes each in favor of Rosemary's Baby, The Woman in Black, Let the Right One In, and I Am Legend).

FINAL RESULTS

• Dracula 32.5% — Frankenstein 67.5%

• The Haunting of Hill House 64.9% — The Shining 35.1%

• Rosemary’s Baby 60% — The Exorcist 40%

• The Terror 32.5% — Mexican Gothic 67.5%

• The King in Yellow 18.4% — The Woman in Black 81.6%

• Let the Right One In 59.5% — Carmilla 40.5%

• I Am Legend 52.5% — Ring Shout 47.5%

• The Silence of the Lambs 50.4% — The Talented Mister Ripley 49.6%