Much of the greatest horror ever conceived began in literature. From Dracula and Frankenstein to Rosemary’s Baby and the Body Snatchers, characters that have been immortalized on celluloid got their start on publishing paper.

Book collecting is certainly one of the easiest hobbies, considering how many new and secondhand book stores there are, plus library sales, flea markets, and the sheer volume of books available for purchase online. Horror book collectors can easily pick up copies through these outlets, but for those seeking more lucrative opportunities, it’s important to focus on first editions.

“First edition” simply means the first printing of a book. They are the limited number of copies a publisher has made in the first round of printing, the initial installment on a potential long-term investment if the book does well.

High value horror first editions are typically the prominent titles. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is part gothic-romantic, part early science fiction, telling the story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates and animates a monstrous human-creature. Any of the works by Edgar Allan Poe, which were part of the dark romanticism movement, will fetch impressive prices. One that will always be revered is the gothic horror novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker, which introduced the now legendary vampire Count Dracula.

First editions of modern classics can also fetch a pretty penny in the secondary market. Stephen King’s masterpiece, The Shining, about a man driven insane by malevolent spirits at an isolated hotel is one example. Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House in which a doctor takes people with experience in the paranormal to a haunted house is another. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, telling the story of a girl possessed by demons, prompting her mother to hire priests to extract the demons and save the 12-year-old is also a top seller.