# Favorite Horror Writers



## Sinister

I supose this is the right forum. Hard to tell. It is affiliated with Halloween in many ways; so I guess this is as good a place as any. I nail down some of mine, as always, INPO:

1. Stephen King- This should be no surprise to anyone. He's parobably on everyone's list. His writing in the latter years has been missing the greatness it had from the beginning of his career, into the VERY early 90's. Still the list of greats that he has written IS impressive: _IT!, Salem's Lot, Needful Things, Pet Semetary, The Shining, The Dead Zone, The Tommyknockers_ and of course, _The Stand._ His last real good book was _Bag of Bones_ and before and after that, his feminist phase really left me out in the cold.

2. Brian Lumley- Author of the _Necroscope _ series. I am not just going off on a tangent saying these are the best Vampire books ever written; they simply are. Just pick up the first one, read it and the harbinger of literary Vampire doom in this day and age, Anne Rice will no longer be in your vocabulary.

3. Bentley Little- Little's writing is different that most folks. The man refuses to follow trends.He makes no apologies for it, and you HAVE to admire that in someone. After I read his book, _The Store,_ I was hooked! I now own all his works, including the one he wrote under the pseudonym, Phillip Emmons. entitled, _Death Instinct._ I highly recommend his books.

4. Richard Laymon- Wish I could get my hands on some of his earlier works; but since his death, they are going to be VERY hard to come by without paying dearly for them.

5. Charles Grant- A cutting edge writer that has a unique outlook on things horrific in general.

6. Michael Cecilione- I have read exactly two books of his: _Thirst, _ and _The Soul Snatchers._ That is more than enough to make me include him in a list that should by all rights contain authors with several books to their name. If you read any of his books, you'll see why I did.

7. Robert McCammon- Haven't read his latest two, but they are on my list. Read his early works ( wondered why he took a decade off from writing, though) and they are some that every serious Horror Afficianado should have in their collection.

8. John Passarella- Up-and-Coming Horror writer that wrote a couple of great books about Witches entitled, _Wither,_ and _Wither's Rain._ Look for big things to come from this guy. I sent an email to him once. He is very gracious, and answered EVERY question I asked. Very Cool.

9. Mick Farren- Another great Vampire fiction writer. Farren also writes Sci-Fi, but I'm a big fan of his Victor Renquist series.

10. H. P. Lovecraft- Sometimes hard to follow, but the dude wrote some real creepy ****. His writings have influenced practically everyone on my list. I would be remiss leaving him off. Without his influence, I sincerely doubt, we would have a lot of the great Horror works we have today.


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## Zombie-F

*Edgar Allan Poe*: A master at crafting an atmosphere you can actually almost see in front of your eyes. Hard to read in places since it's older English, but I think that adds to the feel of his stories.

*H.P. Lovecraft*: His earlier work is a bit hard to follow, but once he mastered his craft, it was all genius from there. A true master of the bizarre.

*Stephen King*: Some of his works start off slow, with an alomst ridiculous amount of character development, but once the "show" gets underway, it is both incredibly creative and horrifying. Sometimes he can go a little off the deep end.

*Richard Laymon*: I have one of his books thanks to Pete. "The Travelling Vampire Show" is a great work that can be best described as "Steven King's the Silver Bullet" but with Vampires instead. It's a great read with a hell of an ending. It's one of the best Vampire stories I can think of.

*T. Chris Martindale*: If only the makers of the movie "Wendigo" used this guy's book "Where the Chill Waits" as a basis for their story, they would have had a great movie. I strongly suggest tracking down a copy of this (now out of print) Wendigo story.

*John Steakley*: Two words sum up this man's work: Vampire$ Inc. The movie is dog**** compared to the book it was based on. The Jack Crow in this book makes James Woods' character look like a weak little bug.

*Del James*: AKA the guy who's stories Guns 'N Roses used as the basis for their videos "November Rain" and "Estranged". A short story writer who's collection "The Language of Fear" has many highs for fans of horror, though, the story "The Nerve" takes the cake. He writes an interesting type of "Rock 'N Roll Horror" that shouldn't be passed over on. Too bad he couldn't get his career off the ground.


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## Sinister

Two comments on your post, Z: *Laymon * has another book entitled _The Stake_ that you might want to check out that is about the Undead. It seems that there could've been a continuation of it, but now we'll never know.

As for *Steakley;* I was sorely disappointed in the book. I did like Cherry Cat though. I wouldn't have minded seeing how Carpenter would have enterpreted the character to film. I suspect that Montoya was his answer to that particular situation. John Carpenter's *Vampires* was one of The Man's best films IMHO.


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## dougspaulding

Helspont, you left the greatest horror writer of all time off your list. I'm thinking of gems like the short stories "The Women", "The Dwarf", "The Veldt", "The Small Assassin", "The Jar", "The Crowd", & "The Scythe", or collections like "Dark Carnival", which would become "The October Country", almost, or novels like "Something Wicked This Way Comes". 

Yes, I speak of my namesake, Ray Douglas Bradbury. What's up with that, Helspont?

Mr BradburyÕs stories will cause, from time to time, a furtive glance among the darkened corners of your chamber. 

I agree with the comments on Steve King; he can be brilliant ("Salem's Lot", "The Shining", "It") or boring (I'm thinking particularly of "The Dark Half" here). I'm very keen on seeing the remake of "Salem's Lot" next month. I'm one of the ones who was scared the daylights out of by the original in 1979. Zero special effects, maybe, but atmospheric as could be!

Anybody like Ramsey Campbell? I'm reading his "The Influence" right now. He's been called England's answer to Stephen King. I don't know about all that, but we'll see.

I still think Straub's "Ghost Story" is one of the scariest things I've ever read. 

What are some of the scariest things y'all have read or seen on screen?


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## Lilith

H.P. Lovecraft
Steven King
and 
Anne Rice

They are probably my top three favorite authors of all time.


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## Citizen Tallee

I like how everone listed their favs and then added their own little thoughts on each writer.  I don't have a lot of time right now so I'm just going to list off my favs, and I'll add other stuff later on.

My favourite horror writer of all time would definetely be Clive Barker. The man is a god amongst men when it comes to horror fiction. Weaveworld, The Great and Secret Show -- all fantastic pieces of literature. 

Other favs would definetely be: Stephen King (especially the Gunslinger series), Bentley Little, Edgar Allen Poe, and of course, H. P. Lovecraft.


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## Sinister

I'm actually surprised that Lilith forgot Clive Barker on her list, with her LOVE for the *Hellraiser* series and all. Barker just became a bit too off the wall for me when _Imajica_ came along. I couldn't even finish the book. Clive is DEFINITELY on a different planet than the rest of us.

Actually, D.S. I didn't forget Bradbury. If this had been a Sci-Fi thread I started his name would top the list. I do like the Horror stories he has written, but you know what a fool I am for _The Martian Chronicles,_ and I think he is more geared towards that particular genre is all. 

Anne Rice. Don't even get me started on her. This would quickly turn into one of my infamous rants!


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## dougspaulding

Helspont, RB isn't a sci-fi writer. He's only written one sci-fi novel: "Fahrenheit 451". "Martian Chronicles" was fantasy - excellent fantasy! He's primarily a horror writer, particularly his earlier works.

I recently finished Barker's "Coldheart Canyon", and I thought it was terrific. He's definitely on a different plane, if not planet. (Lilith makes an appearance in this novel). 

Others to ponder: Philip K. Dick, Richard Matheson ("I Am Legend" is one of my favorite vampire novels), M. R. James, Arthur Machen, of course Lovecraft, the demented one, Robert Bloch ("Psycho" is still my favorite horror film), Poe, and Bierce. Who else?


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## Dreamdemon

Stephen King
Anne Rice
Clive Barker
H.P. Lovecraft
Bram Stoker

Aaron


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## DarkEmpress

*Anne Rice
*Edgar Allen Poe
*Stephen King
and call me childish, but I like *R.L. Stine too...always have...since I was in like 2nd grade


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## Lilith

Helspont said:


> I'm actually surprised that Lilith forgot Clive Barker on her list, with her LOVE for the *Hellraiser* series and all. Barker just became a bit too off the wall for me when _Imajica_ came along. I couldn't even finish the book. Clive is DEFINITELY on a different planet than the rest of us.


lol... Well I haven't actually read any of his books as of yet. I might eventually. I been busy with the Vampire Chronicles and Harry Potter. lol


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## dougspaulding

Well Lilith, definitely read his "Coldheart Canyon", then.

You love Potter, too? I think the Potter books are among the finest fantasy in recent memory - at least since Narnia and LOTR. Can't wait for the third film next month. They are very well made - no complaints. The books are certainly better, though.


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## Lilith

^^ Thanks for the recomandation... I probably need a new book soon. 

Potter is great... ^^ I just adore it. I love fantasy... But C.S. Lewis is my favorite author of all time... Shocking to many people since I am not exactly Christian.


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## dougspaulding

You like C. S. Lewis, too? I adore Jack Lewis. He's one of the greatest writers of the last century. Ever read his Space Trilogy? Wonderful Sci-Fi.

I'm sort of a Christo-pagan, or Christian Druid, if you prefer.


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## Hauntful

I love reading Stephen King novels, and he is my favorite all time Horror writer. He is very gifted to have such an amazing creative imagination to always come up with such great story plots. His books will always keeping you on the edge of wanting to know what will happen next, and maybe scare you a little just from his book. His books are always great sellers one after another, and with his winning award achievements is just so remarkable. He is my favorite horror writer and many more, and he will always be even after his time.


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## Joyfuldead

Ken King and Philip Overby


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## Joyfuldead

dougspaulding said:


> I'm sort of a Christo-pagan, or Christian Druid, if you prefer.


Please explain how the two coexist, not to come down or put you on the spot.. just curious.

Since youre Druid.. explain to me what you believe, then tell me your thoughts on stonehenge.... if you get the chance.


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## Sinister

Joyfuldead said:


> Ken King and Philip Overby


I am ABSOLUTELY Flattered! Thanks, Joyful!


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## dougspaulding

Joyfuldead said:


> Please explain how the two coexist, not to come down or put you on the spot.. just curious.
> 
> Since youre Druid.. explain to me what you believe, then tell me your thoughts on stonehenge.... if you get the chance.


I recognize the Earth-based Traditions, but still think there's something to Christianity, something hidden at its core that they don't teach at Sunday School. Remember that Jesus, who was really called Yeshua, never coined the term "Christian,". Paul did that and then proceeded to "invent" the Christian religion as we know it, cutting out women (sex and women are "dirty!" don't you know) removing the Goddess, etc. Yeshua was an occult teacher of the ancient Mystery tradition. He was married to Mary Magdalene, the other half of the Messiah Archetype, both of them representing the Divine Energy as it incarnates in both Masculine and Feminine forms. The wedding at Cana was theirs, they even produced children.

I am not a die-hard Pagan who celebrates all the Pagan holidays, and I am not a fanatical Christian who worships the King James Bible and believes everyone will go to Hell that has a different religion than me. You could say I am an extremely liberal Christian or a very conservative Pagan. Since I have beliefs from both religions it is easy for me to identify as a Christian Pagan.

Be glad to explain much more later, as I get a chance. If you like, we can talk "PM", so as not to bore the other members with religious stuff.


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## Sinister

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....


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## dougspaulding

What did I tell you?


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## Sinister

By the power vested in me, it is time to resurrect another thread!


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## claymud

I don't know if he's really a horror writter but one of his short stories is in a book I have called 65 storys of horror so I'll just say it. H.G Wells... one of my favriot writters of all time.

I like some of Steven Kings work too but it just never really grabbed me like other writters


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## Sinister

I have to ask you then clay, what works of his have you read? I could recommend some if you like, depending on what you list. I will say if you haven't read great books like *IT!, Needful Things, Pet Semetary, The Stand, 'Salems Lot, Christine, The Dead Zone* or *Bag of Bones *go check 'em out and then tell us whether you can get into his works. Also if you would rather go the short story path, pick up *Night Shift, Skeleton Crew *and *Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Skeleton Crew* has the exceptional story of _The Mist_ which is a must read for any serious fan of Horror. If I remember correctly, it's supposed to finally see a screen adaptation that is directed by Frank Darabont.

Good stuff all listed there, clay. I wouldn't steer you wrong.


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## claymud

Oh I know you'd never put me down a bad path, I have the Tommyknockers and more then half way through the shining before stopping... I also have Night Shift, read some of the storys in it and they were pretty good but havn't really read it all the way through.


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## Omega

I must say that I had forgotten about this thread and if i'm not mistaken I already posted some authors but I do have a revised list:

*H.P. Lovecraft*
*Clive Barker*
*Brian Lumley*
*Stephen King*
*Marquis De Sade*


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## Death's Door

Stephen King
John Saul
Cliver Barker
H.P. Lovecraft
R.L. Stine (and also glad someone brought this up toooo)

I actually started reading books from Lovecraft. I was in barnes and Noble one day and looking for something different and checked out this author.


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