John Farris

About John Farris An American writer, John Farris has become a literary institution in his own right over the course of his life, largely focusing on the southern Gothic genre of fiction. This he would use to shape much of his career, with a clear gift for creating both suspense and tension, building them almost effortlessly over the course of each and every novel. He would also go on to become a highly well regarded figure within Hollywood too, with many of his novels reaching the big-screen.

The best place to start is the Harrison High series, the earliest of John Farris's multi-book series: it opens with Harrison High (1959) and runs to 7 books across 1959–1974, ending with Crisis at Harrison High (1974). John Farris's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

John Farris has 71 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1956 and 2025. 32 of them belong to 5 named series — the largest being the Harrison High series with 7 books — and 39 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. John Farris's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Harrison High (1959–1974, 7 books), The Fury (1976–2008, 4 books) and World Disasters (1989–1991, 6 books).

This guide splits John Farris's 71 books into 5 named series and 39 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Harrison High (7 books, 1959–1974); World Disasters (6 books, 1989–1991); The Fury (4 books, 1976–2008); Night Visions (11 books, 1984–2006); Transgressions (4 books, 2005–2006).