Nominees are listed below the winner(s) for each year.

  • 1987: Mary Shelley by Muriel Spark
    • Joe Bob Goes To the Drive-In by Joe Bob Briggs
    • The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh by Paul A. Gagne
  • 1988: (no award)
  • 1989: Harlan Ellison's Watching by Harlan Ellison (tie)
  • 1989: Horror: The 100 Best Books by Stephen Jones & Kim Newman (tie)
    • American Vampires: by Fans, Victims, Practitioners by Norine Dresser
    • Horror: A Connoisseur's Guide To Literature and Film by Leonard Wolf
    • H.P. Lovecraft by Peter Cannon
  • 1990: Dark Dreamers by Stanley Wiater
    • Hollywood Gothic by David J. Skal
    • Horror Literature: A Reader's Guide by Neil Barron
    • Joe Bob Goes Back To The Drive-In by Joe Bob Briggs
    • The Weird Tale by S.T. Joshi
  • 1991: Clive Barker's Shadows in Eden by Stephen Jones
    • Vampires Among Us Rosemary by Ellen Guillen
    • Prism of the Night: A Biography of Anne Rice by Katherine Ramsland
    • The Shape Under The Sheet: The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia by Stephen J. Spignesi
  • 1992: Cut! Horror Writers of Horror Film by Christopher Golden
    • Men, Women And Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover
    • Young Adult Horror Fiction by Cosete Kies
    • Scare Tactics by John Russo
    • Dark Visions by Stanley Wiater
  • 1993: Once Around the Bloch by Robert Bloch
    • The Diary of Jack the Ripper by Shirley Harrison & Michael Barrett
    • The Monster Show by David J. Skal
  • 1994: (no award)
  • 1995: The Supernatural Index by Michael Ashley & William Contento
    • Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller by Janet Leigh & Christopher Nickens
    • An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural by James Randi
    • Immoral Tales: European Sex & Horro Movies 1956-1984 by Cathal Tohill & Pete Tombs
  • 1996: H.P. Lovecraft: A Life by S.T. Joshi
    • Bram Stoker: A Biography of the Author of Dracula by Barbara Belford
    • The Great Pulp Heroes by Don Hutchison
    • The Illustrated Werewolf Movie Guide by Stephen Jones
    • V is for Vampire by David Skal
  • 1997: Dark Thoughts: On Writing by Stanley Wiater
    • The Encyclopedia of Fantasy by John Clute & John Grant
    • The Hammer Story by Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes
    • Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror by Stephen Jones
    • Video Watchdog, Tim Lucas, ed.
    • Dean Koontz: A Writer's Biography by Katherine Ramsland
  • 1998: DarkEcho Newsletter Vol. 5, #1-50, edited by Paula Guran
    • Gothic Horror: A Reader's Guide from Poe to King and Beyond, edited by Clive Bloom
    • The Science of the X-Files by Jeanne Cavelos
    • A Writer's Tale by Richard Laymon
  • 1999: DarkEcho Newsletter, edited by Paula Guran
    • The Essential Monster Movie Guide by Stephen Jones
    • Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography by Victoria Price
    • Hellnotes, edited by David B. Silva & Paul F. Olson
  • 2000: On Writing by Stephen King
    • Hellnotes, edited by David B. Silva & Paul F. Olson
    • At the Foot of the Story Tree by Bill Sheehan
    • Horror of the 20th Century by Robert Weinberg
  • 2001: Jobs in Hell, edited by Brian Keene
    • If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell
    • Personal Demons, edited by Brian A. Hopkins & Garrett Peck
    • Hellnotes, edtied by David B. Silva & Paul F. Olson
  • 2002: Ramsey Campbell, Probably by Ramsey Campbell
    • Supernatural Fiction Writers: Fantasy and Horror, Second Edition by Richard Bleiler
    • Ralan.com, Ralan Conley, ed
    • Jobs in Hell, Brian Keene & Kelly Laymon, eds.
    • Hellnotes, David B. Silva, Paul F. Olson & Garrett Peck, eds.

See also