Horror: The 100 Best Books (38 page)

The History of Luminous Motion
, Scott Bradfield

Ancient Images
, Ramsey Campbell

A Child Across the Sky
, Jonathan Carroll

Goat Dance
, Douglas Clegg

Sunglasses After Dark
, Nancy Collins

Blood is Not Enough
, Ellen Datlow (ed.)

Geek Love
, Katherine Dunn

Down River
, Stephen Gallagher

The Woodwitch
, Stephen Gregory

In the Land of the Dead
, K. W. Jeter

The Dark Half
, Stephen King

By Bizarre Hands
, Joe R. Lansdale

Songs of a Dead Dreamer
, Thomas Ligotti

The Grotesque
, Patrick McGrath

Toady
, Mark Morris

Seeing Red
, David J. Schow

Carrion Comfort
, Dan Simmons

Mystery
, Peter Straub

Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
Horrorstory Volume Four
, Karl Edward Wagner (ed.)

Unthreatened By the Morning Light
, Karl Edward Wagner

Antique Dust
, Robert Westall

1990:
Sex
and Other Acts of the Imagination
, Cliff Burns

Midnight Sun
, Ramsey Campbell

The Brains of Hats
, Michael Blumlein

Rune
, Christopher Fowler

Rain
, Stephen Gallagher

Adventureland
, Steve Harris

Creed
, James Herbert

Sweet Heart
, Peter James

Phantom
, Susan Kay

The Frighteners
, Stephen Laws

The Hope
, James Lovegrove

Mary Reilly
, Valerie Martin

Good Omens
, Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman

The Shaft
, David J. Schow

Moon Dance
, S.P. Somtow

The Werewolves of London
, Brian Stableford

Houses Without Doors
, Peter Straub

Rapture
, Thomas Tessier

Horrorstory Volume Five
, Karl Edward Wagner (ed.)

1991:
Saint Peter's Wolf
, Michael Cadnum

The Count of Eleven
, Ramsey Campbell

Outside the Dog Museum
, Jonathan Carroll

The M.D.: A Horror Story
, Thomas M. Disch

American Psycho
, Bret Easton Ellis

The Boat House
, Stephen Gallagher

The Fetch
, Robert Holdstock

Twilight
, Peter James

Dreamside
, Graham Joyce

The Cipher
, Kathe Koja

Batman: Captured by the Engines
, Joe R. Lansdale

Grimscribe: His Life and Works
, Thomas Ligotti

Darklands
, Nicholas Royle (ed.)

Summer of Night
, Dan Simmons

Downriver
, Iain Sinclair

The Bridge
, John Skipp & Craig Spector

Secret Strangers,
Thomas Tessier

Dirty Weekend
, Helen Zahavi

1992:
Whispers in the Dark
, Jonathan Aycliffe

Lost Souls
, Poppy Z. Brite

Ghostwright
, Jonathan Carroll

MetaHorror
, Dennis Etchison (ed.)

Foundations of Fear,
David G. Hartwell (ed.)

Sineater
, Elizabeth Massie

Flicker
, Theodore Roszak

1993:
Alone With the Horrors
, Ramsey Campbell

The Long Lost
, Ramsey Campbell

Shadowman
, Dennis Etchison

Under the Crust
, Terry Lamsley

Created By
, Richard Christian Matheson

Crybbe
(US:
Curfew
), Phil Rickman

The Golden
, Lucius Shepard

The Throat
, Peter Straub

Demons and Shadows,
Robert Westall

Random Acts of Senseless Violence
, Jack Womack

1994:
The Early Fears
, Robert Bloch

What's Wrong With America
, Scott Bradfield

From the Teeth of Angels
, Jonathan Carroll

What a Carve Up
, Jonathan Coe

The Priest
, Thomas M. Disch

Spanky
, Christopher Fowler

Throat Sprockets
, Tim Lucas

The Great Divorce
, Valerie Martin

Radon Daughters
, Iain Sinclair

Shades of Darkness
, Robert Westall

1995:
Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem
, Peter Ackroyd

Father of Frankenstein
, Christopher Bram

The Off Season
, Jack Cady

The One Safe Place
, Ramsey Campbell

Burning Your Bridges
, Angela Carter

Death Stalks the Night
, Hugh B. Cave

The Blood Countess
, Andrei Codrescu

California Gothic
, Dennis Etchison

Psychoville
, Christopher Fowler

The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein
, Theodore Roszak

1996:
Stiff Lips
, Anne Billson

The House on Nazareth Hill
(US:
Nazareth Hill)
, Ramsey Campbell

Brand New Cherry Flavor
, Todd Crimson

The Tooth Fairy
, Graham Joyce

The 37th Mandala
, Marc Laidlaw

Conference With the Dead
, Terry Lamsley

The Nightmare Factory
, Thomas Ligotti

Celestial Dogs
, Jay Russell

The Pavilion of Frozen Women
, S.P. Somtow

The Hunger and Ecstasy of Vampires
, Brian Stableford

The Hellfire Club
, Peter Straub

The Pillow Friend
, Lisa Tuttle

1997:
The Church of Dead Girls
, Stephen Dobyns

100 Fiendish Little Frightmares
, Dziemianowicz, Weinberg, Greenberg (eds.)

Disturbia
, Christopher Fowler

Furnace
, Muriel Gray

The Matter of the Heart
, Nicholas Royle

Darker Angels
, S.P. Somtow

Fog Heart
, Thomas Tessier

Revelations
(UK:
Millennium
), Douglas E. Winter (ed.)

FORREST J ACKERMAN (b. 1917) has inspired several generations of writers and film-makers -- from Stephen King to Steven Spielberg. He is the world's premier fan of science fiction, fantasy and horror and has spent a lifetime building a priceless collection of books, magazines and movie memorabilia which he displays throughout his home, the "Ackermansion" in "Horrorwood, Karloffornia," and in a newly-created $40 million museum due to open in Berlin in 1995. He won the first Hugo Award, coined the term "sci-fi" and in 1958 created the monster movie magazine field with
Famous Monsters of Filmland
. The editor of such magazines as
Spacemen
,
Monster World
,
Monsterland
and
Monsterama
, as well as numerous anthologies and non-fiction volumes, he has known many of the great film stars and technicians personally, been a literary agent for more than forty-five years, and appeared in over thirty-five movies, including
Dracula vs. Frankenstein
,
Amazon Women on the Moon
,
The Howling
and
Michael Jackson's Thriller
.

BRIAN W. (WILSON) ALDISS (b. 1925) is one of Britain's most important and prolific science fiction authors. He was born in East Anglia but now lives in Oxford with his wife Margaret. Aldiss' first SF story, "Criminal Record" appeared in
Science Fantasy
(1954) and his first novel,
Non-Stop
(US:
Starship
) followed four years later. Writer, editor and critic, Aldiss has produced a rich and varied stream of novels, stories, articles and non-fiction books over the years. His recent work includes
Dracula Unbound
, the
Helliconia
trilogy, a revised edition of his landmark history of science fiction,
Trillion Year Spree
, the acclaimed mainstream novel
Forgotten Life
, and the autobiographical
Bury My Heart at W.H. Smith's
. He has won most of the prizes in the international science fiction field -- Hugos, Nebula, and a Campbell Award from the USA, a Jules Verne Award from Sweden, BSFA Awards from Britain, while the Australians voted him quite simply the "World's Best Contemporary Writer of Science Fiction". Aldiss' 1973 time-travel adventure
Frankenstein Unbound
(filmed in 1990 by Roger Corman) is a tribute to Mary Shelley's 1818 classic and features the young authoress as a major character; however, he declined to write about the original book for this volume as he firmly considers it science fiction -- not a
horror
novel . . .

MIKE ASHLEY (b. 1948) was born in Middlesex, England, and now lives in Kent, where by day he is an auditor with the Kent County Council. By night he researches the related fields of science fiction, fantasy and weird fiction and is the author of more than twenty books and over two hundred articles. He has edited such anthologies as
Souls in Metal
,
Weird Legacies
,
The Best of British SF
,
Jewels of Wonder
,
The Mammoth Book of Short Horror Novels
,
The Magic Mirror: Lost Supernatural Stories by Algernon Blackwood
,
The Pendragon Chronicles, Robert E. Howard's World of Heroes
and
The Camelot Chronicles
, while his non-fiction books include the four-volume
History of the Science Fiction Magazine
,
Who's Who in Horror and Fantasy Fiction
,
The Illustrated Book of Science Fiction Lists
and, as co-editor,
Monthly Terrors
and
Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines
. He has also written a biography of Algernon Blackwood and a book about Hugo Gernsback and the pioneer days of the science fiction magazines.

CLIVE BARKER (b. 1952) was born in Liverpool and, after moving to London in the early 1970s, now lives in Beverly Hills, California. An award-winning short story writer, best-selling novelist, illustrator, playwright, screenwriter and film director, after early success with plays like
The History of the Devil
,
Frankenstein in Love
,
Colossus
and
The Secret Life of Cartoons
, he made an impressive debut as a horror writer in 1984 with the publication of the first three volumes of
Clive Barker's Books of Blood
. A further trio of
Books of Blood
followed, along with the novels
The Damnation Game
,
Weaveworld
,
Cabal
,
The Great and Secret Show
,
Imajica
and
Everville
. Barker also scripted the movies
Underworld
(US:
Transmutations
),
Rawhead Rex
and
Hellraiser
(based on his own novella
The Hellhound Heart
), the latter also marking his successful debut as a director. He repeated the role of writer/director on
Nightbreed
, and was executive producer on
Hellhound: Hellraiser II
and
Candyman
(based on his story "The Forbidden"). His stories and concepts have been widely adapted into comics and graphic novels, and recent film projects have included
Lord of Illusions
(1995), which he scripted and directed, and an executive producer credit on
Gods and Monsters
(1998). Barker has won both the British Fantasy Award and the World Fantasy Award.

HILAIRE BELLOC (1870-1953) was a French-born English writer, best known for his poetry, political satires and visionary essays about the Roman Catholic church. A number of his books, such as
But Soft We Are Observed!
(1928), a satirical suspense novel set in 1979, are borderline science fiction or fantasy; others include
Mr. Petre
(1925),
The Man Who Made Gold
(1930) and
The Postmaster-General
(1932). The piece reprinted in this volume was published anonymously in
The Morning Post
for September 17th, 1908. At the time, Belloc was the literary editor and internal evidence in the review, as well as references in correspondence between Belloc and Algernon Blackwood, strongly suggest that he was the author of the piece.