Richard Laymon Books in Order
81 books are credited to Richard Laymon, published between 1980 and 2014; 5 of them appeared after Richard Laymon's death in 2001. The first book is The Cellar (1980) and the newest is Short Stories: The Mystery and Men’s Magazines (2014). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 81
- Published
- 1980–2014
- Confirmed
- 81 of 81 titles
- Pages on record
- 15,862 in 51 of 81 books
- Reading time
- 264–397 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 15,862 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 51 of 81 titles with a page count on record.
Richard Carl Laymon (14 January 1947 to 14 February 2001) was an American writer of suspense and horror fiction, particularly splatterpunk. The Cellar (1980) opens the Laymon catalogue, and The Woods Are Dark (1981) follows; Your Secret Admirer (1980) appeared under the name Carl Laymon. The Beast House Chronicles is among the series on record, with standalone novels and short fiction also listed. The newest title is Short Stories: The Mystery and Men's Magazines (2014). Subjects include haunted houses, vampires, stalkers, serial murders and California.
How many Richard Laymon books are there?
Richard Laymon has 81 books, released between 1980 and 2014. 5 of them were published after Richard Laymon's death in 2001. They include 3 separate series.
Richard Laymon Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 81 Richard Laymon books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119803093/4
- 2Your Secret Admirer (As: Carl Laymon)Richard Laymon Standalone Novels #11980 · 150 pages · confirmed 3/419801503/4
- 319812153/4
- 41981–3/4
- 519813333/4
- 61981–3/4
- 71982–3/4
- 81982–3/4
- 91982–3/4
- 101982–3/4
- 111982–3/4
- 121982–3/4
- 1319823683/4
- 1419822883/4
- 1519823683/4
- 161983–3/4
- 1719833193/4
- 181984273/4
- 191984283/4
- 2019843343/4
- 211984273/4
- 2219842793/4
- 231984–3/4
- 241985–3/4
- 251985–3/4
- 261985–3/4
- 2719852903/4
- 281985–3/4
- 2919852463/4
- 301985–3/4
- 311985–3/4
- 321985–3/4
- 331985263/4
- 341985263/4
- 351985–3/4
- 361986–3/4
- 371986613/4
- 381986–3/4
- 391986–3/4
- 40Dark Mountain / Tread Softly (As: Richard Kelly)Richard Laymon Standalone Novels #101987 · confirmed 3/41987–3/4
- 411987613/4
- 4219873553/4
- 4319883703/4
- 44Midnight's Lair (As: Richard Kelly)Richard Laymon Standalone Novels #141988 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/419883043/4
- 45198913/4
- 4619903843/4
- 471990–3/4
- 4819905123/4
- 4919904103/4
- 5019913923/4
- 5119915043/4
- 521992–3/4
- 531992–3/4
- 5419924673/4
- 551992–3/4
- 5619933843/4
- 5719934703/4
- 581994–3/4
- 5919955673/4
- 6019965013/4
- 6119963783/4
- 6219973103/4
- 6319983503/4
- 6419985963/4
- 6519984383/4
- 661998–3/4
- 671999–3/4
- 6819994003/4
- 6919994343/4
- 7020004483/4
- 7120003913/4
- 7220002523/4
- 7320012383/4
- 742001363/4
- 7520013523/4
- 7620013463/4
- 7720034483/4
- 7820043153/4
- 7920044023/4
- 8020053523/4
- 812014–3/4
Richard Laymon series and characters in order
The character linked below has its own reading-order page.
Richard Laymon books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. A group whose heading is a link has its own reading-order page; the other groups have no page of their own on this site.
Richard Laymon Standalone Novels
39 books39 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Richard Laymon Short Stories/Novellas
17 books17 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Women Who Won The West books in order
8 books by Richard LaymonRichard Laymon Short Story
6 books6 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Beast House Chronicles in order
4 booksMaking Of America books in order
4 books by Richard Laymon- 12. The River People
- 19. The Border Breed
- 22. The Gunfighters
- 40. The Lawmen
Making Of The Cities Series as Lee Davis Willoughby in order
3 books- 1. Cincinnati
- 2. Baton Rouge
- 3. Omaha
Do you have to read Richard Laymon books in order?
You only need to read Richard Laymon books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Richard Laymon
Start with Tempest of Tombstone (1982), the first Women Who Won the West book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Cellar (1980).
What is the newest Richard Laymon book?
Short Stories: The Mystery and Men’s Magazines (2014) is the newest Richard Laymon book released so far.
Is there a new Richard Laymon book coming?
No next Richard Laymon book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Richard Laymon has won
Wikidata records 1 award and 3 nominations for Richard Laymon. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Bram Stoker Award for Novel2000Wonfor The Traveling Vampire Show
- Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection1993Shortlistedfor A Good, Secret Place
- Bram Stoker Award for Novel1990Shortlistedfor Funland
- Bram Stoker Award for Novel1988Shortlistedfor Flesh
Richard Laymon at a glance
- Died
- Richard Laymon died in 2001, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Richard Laymon are still being published after Richard Laymon's death in 2001; the newest appeared in 2014.
- Release pace
- Richard Laymon books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 15,862 pages across the 51 of 81 books with a recorded length, a median of 350 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Richard Laymon books, 45 of 81, were published in the 1980s.
What the Richard Laymon books are about
35 of the 81 Richard Laymon books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: horror is tagged on 17 of 35. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Horror 17 of 35 books
- California 3 of 35 books
- Murder 3 of 35 books
- Thrillers 3 of 35 books
- Vampires 3 of 35 books
- Friendship 2 of 35 books
- Haunted houses 2 of 35 books
- Romans, nouvelles 2 of 35 books
- Serial murders 2 of 35 books
- Stalkers 2 of 35 books