Horror: The 100 Best Books (46 page)

BRIAN STABLEFORD (b. 1948) author, editor, critic and academic, was born in Shipley, Yorkshire. In 1969 he graduated from the University of York with first class honours in Biology and went on to complete postgraduate research in Biology and Sociology (a thesis on
The Sociology of Science Fiction
was presented in 1978). Now a full-time writer, Stableford is the author of more than thirty novels, including
The Last Days of the Edge of the World
,
The Walking Shadow
,
The Gates of Eden
,
Journey to the Centre
,
Invaders from the Centre
,
The Centre Cannot Hold
,
The Empire of Fear
,
The Werewolves of London
,
The Angel of Pain
and
Young Blood
, while some of his short stories were recently collected in
Sexual Chemistry: Sardonic Tales of the Genetic Revolution
. As "Brian Craig" he also has written a number of gaming novels for the
Warhammer
and
Dark Future
series. He won the European SF Award in 1984 for
The Science of Science Fiction
(written in collaboration with Peter Nicholls and David Langford) and is the author of
The Way to Write Science Fiction
(1989). Stableford has also edited a number of anthologies for the literary imprint Dedalus, including
The Dedalus Book of Decadence (Moral Ruins)
,
Tales of the Wandering Jew
,
The Dedalus Book of British Fantasy: The 19th Century
,
The Second Dedalus Book of Decadence (The Black Feast)
and
The Dedalus Book of Femmes Fatales
.

TIM STOUT (b. 1946) is a legal journalist who lives in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, with his wife, son and daughter. His early work in the horror field included contributions to John Carpenter's fanzine
Fantastic Films Illustrated
, and editing the only two issues of the British film magazine
Supernatural
(1969). Becoming a writer of short stories, he published two collections --
Hollow Laughter
and
The Doomsdeath Chronicles
-- before turning to novels with
The Raging
, the tale of a haunted Celtic statue. He admits to a preference for the restraints and polished style of such old masters as Stoker, Conan Doyle, Wells, Machen, and his all-time favourite author, H. Rider Haggard.

PETER STRAUB (b. 1943) is regarded along with his friend Stephen King and Dean Koontz as one of America's most popular horror novelists. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he taught at a private Milwaukee school for boys, where he wrote poetry published in a number of British and American literary journals (eventually collected together in
Leeson Park and Belsize Square
in 1983). He began his first novel,
Marriages
(1973), while working on his doctorate at University College, Dublin, and he followed it with a string of popular bestsellers that include
Julia
(filmed in 1976 as
Full Circle
, aka
The Haunting of Julia
, starring Mia Farrow),
If You Could See Me Now
,
Ghost Story
(disappointingly filmed with an all-star cast in 1981),
Shadow Land
,
Floating Dragon
,
Wild Animals
(containing
Julia
,
If You Could See Me Now
and the non-genre novel
Under Venus
),
Koko
(winner of the 1989 World Fantasy Award),
Mystery
, and the short novel,
Mrs. God
. In 1977 Straub collaborated with Stephen King on
The Talisman
, which combined a fantasy quest with elements of both authors' horror fiction, and his short stories has been collected in
Houses Without Doors
(1990).

MILTON SUBOTSKY (1921-1991) was born in New York City and, despite majoring in chemical engineering, he started writing, editing and directing educational, documentary and industrial films at the age of seventeen. After World War II he wrote scripts for such TV shows as
Lights Out
,
Danger
,
Suspense
,
The Clock
and
Mr. I Magination
. He teamed up with financier Max J. Rosenberg to make the feature musical
Rock, Rock, Rock
(1956), for which Subotsky wrote nine songs, including a No. 1 hit. They moved to England in 1959 to produce
City of the Dead
(aka
Horror Hotel
), a low-budget horror thriller starring Christopher Lee. The successful 1964 production,
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
, led to the formation of Amicus Productions. Second only to Hammer Films during the 1960s and '70s, Amicus produced a string of horror and science fiction films, many scripted by Subotsky:
Dr. Who and the Daleks
,
The Skull
,
Torture Garden
,
Scream and Scream Again
,
The House That Dripped Blood
,
Tales from the Crypt
and
The Land That Time Forgot
, amongst numerous others. During the late '70s and 1980s he produced
The Uncanny
,
Dominique
,
The Monster Club
and the TV mini-series of Ray Bradbury's
The Martian Chronicles
. He was also credited on a number of movie adaptations of Stephen King stories, but he was never able to get the funding to re-launch Amicus. An avid reader, Subotsky co-edited an anthology of science fiction stories and wrote the TV series and book
The Golden Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales
.

JACK SULLIVAN (b. 1946) lives in New York and is a teacher and lecturer on the ghost story, English and humanities. His short story, "The Initiation", was published in Ramsey Campbell's anthology New
Terrors
(1980). Sullivan is the author of
Elegant Nightmares: The English Ghost Story from Le Fanu to Blackwood
(which develops Robert Aickman's insight that the ghost story is akin to poetry) and a book on music criticism,
Words on Music
. As an editor, he is responsible for
Lost Souls: A Collection of English Ghost Stories
and
The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural
. His reviews appear regularly in
The New York Times Book Review
and
Washington Post Book World
, amongst other publications.

STEVE RASNIC TEM (b. 1950) was born in Pennington Gap, Virginia, in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. He received his Masters in Creative Writing at Colorado State University and currently lives with his wife, the writer Melanie Tem, in a supposedly haunted Victorian house in Denver. Tem has sold hundreds of poems and short stories to such magazines and anthologies as
Fantasy Tales
,
Weirdbook
,
Whispers
,
Twilight Zone
,
New Terrors 1
,
Shadows
,
Cutting Edge
,
Halloween Horrors I
and
II
,
Tales By Moonlight I
and
II
,
Tropical Chills
,
The Fantastic Robin Hood
,
Tales of the Wandering Jew
,
Dark at Heart
,
Psycho-Paths 2
,
The Ultimate Frankenstein
,
The Ultimate Dracula
,
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror
and
Best New Horror
, amongst many others. He won the 1988 British Fantasy Award for his story "Leaks", and his short fiction has been collected in the chapbooks
Fairytales
,
Celestrial Inventory
,
Absences: Charlie Goode's Ghosts
, and the collection
Ombres surla route
, published in France by Denoel. Tem's first novel,
Excavation
, appeared in 1987.

THOMAS TESSIER (b. 1947) was born in Connecticut, where he currently lives. Educated at University College, Dublin, he spent several years in London, where he was a regular contributor to
Vogue
and involved in the publishing imprint Millington. The author of three volumes of poetry and a trio of plays that were professionally staged, his books include
The Fates
(1978),
The Nightwalker
,
Shockwaves
,
Phantom
(nominated for the 1982 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel),
Finishing Touches
,
Rapture
,
Secret Strangers
, and
Fog Heart
.

PETER TREMAYNE (b. 1943) is the pseudonym of historian Peter Berresford Ellis, the author of
The Dictionary of Irish Mythology
and
A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
. The youngest son of a journalist, he was born in Coventry, England, but because of his father's work received his education in a dozen different schools around the country. After studying at Brighton College of Art he tried his hand as a reporter, magazine editor, and lecturer. Being of Irish descent on his father's side, he travelled widely in Ireland, studying its history, politics, language and culture, later broadening his interest to all Celtic countries. Already the author of such political volumes as
Wales -- A Nation Again
and
A History of the Irish Working Class
, Ellis used the "Peter Tremayne" alias on his first horror novel,
Hound of Frankenstein
(1977), published by Mills & Boon. Since then he has published more than a dozen fantasy and horror novels such as
Dracula Unborn
,
The Ants
,
The Curse of Loch Ness
,
Dracula My Love
,
Zombie!
,
The Morgow Rises
,
Swamp!
,
Kiss of the Cobra
,
Angelus!
,
Trollnight
,
Bloodmist
,
Ravenmoon
,
Island of Shadows
and
Snowbeast
. Tremayne has edited
Masters of Terror: William Hope Hodgson
and
Irish Masters of Fantasy
, his infrequent short fiction appears in magazines and anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic, and six short horror stories are collected in
My Lady of Hy-Brasil
.

LISA TUTTLE (b. 1952) was born in Texas but has lived in Britain since 1980. An early member of the Clarion SF Writer's Workshop, she won the John W. Campbell Award for best new science fiction writer in 1974. Her first book,
Windhaven
, was a collaboration with George R.R. Martin. Since then she has published the novels
Familiar Spirit
,
Gabriel
,
Lost Futures
and
The Pillow Friend
, plus the non-fiction studies,
Encyclopedia of Feminism
and
Heroines
. Winner of the 1990 British Science Fiction Award for her story "In Translation", Tuttle's short fiction has been collected in
A Spaceship Built of Stone
,
A Nest of Nightmares
and
Memories of the Body
, and she edited the acclaimed horror anthology by women,
Skin of the Soul

KARL EDWARD WAGNER (1945-1994) was born in Knoxville Tennessee, and trained as a psychiatrist before becoming a full-time writer and editor. His first novel,
Darkness Weaves With Many Shades
(which appeared in a much-butchered edition in 1970) introduced Kane the Mystic Swordsman, and was the first in an intelligent and often extremely brutal heroic fantasy series that continued with
Death Angel's Shadow
,
Bloodstone
,
Dark Crusade
, and the collections
Night Winds
and
The Book of Kane
. Wagner also developed the exploits of two of Robert E. Howard's characters, Conan and Bran Mak Morn, in the respective novels
The Road of Kings
and
Legion from the Shadows
. His other books include
Sign of the Salamander
,
Killer
(co-written with David Drake),
In a Lonely Place
,
Why Not You and I?
,
Unthreatened By the Morning Light
and
Exorcisms and Ecstasies
. For fourteen years he was the editor of
The Year's Best Horror Stories
series and he also edited three volumes
of Echoes of Valor and Intensive Scare
. Wagner collaborated with artist Kent Williams on the graphic novel,
Tell Me, Dark
, which he later disowned, and he was a multiple winner of both the World Fantasy Award and British Fantasy Award.

IAN WATSON (b. 1943) was born in Northumberland and raised on Tyneside. After receiving a first class Honours degree in English and a research degree from Oxford, he lectured in literature for several years in Tanzania and Tokyo. Returning to teach future studies at Birmingham Polytechnic, he has been a full-time writer since 1976. His first SF story was "Roof Garden Under Saturn" in
New Worlds
(1969), and although he has published numerous stories since, it is as a novelist that he has gained his reputation. His novel
The Embedding
was nominated for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1974 and won the Prix Apollo in its French translation the following year. Subsequent novels have included
The Jonah Kit
(winner of the British Science Fiction Award for 1978),
Miracle Visitors
,
God's World
,
The Martian Inca
,
Alien Embassy
,
The Book of the River
,
Chekhov's Journey
,
Queenmagic Kingmagic
,
Whores of Babylon
,
The Flies of Memory
and the gaming novel,
Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor
. He has also turned to horror with the novels
The Power
,
The Fire Worm
and
Meat
, and his short fiction can be found in such collections as
Evil Water
,
Salvage Rites and Other Stories
, and
Stalin's Teardrops
. Watson lives with his wife and daughter in a small Northamptonshire village and is an active member of CND and the Labour Party.