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Ramsey Campbell, Probably
RAMSEY CAMPBELL, PROBABLY, originally published by PS back in 2002 since which time the author has expanded some of the essays, added others and generally tinkered around with the running order . . . as is his wont. Thus the original 140,000-or-so words compiled from Ramsey s non-fiction of three decades have been considerably (and entertainingly) expanded to represent getting on for a full half-a-century of Campbelliana now well in excess of 150,000 words. The subjects range from the perils of authorship to the delights of amateur fiction and film, from drugs to nightmares, from the Highgate Vampire to the Dracula Society s marching song. Friends are remembered and so is Mary Whitehouse. A seminal study of schoolgirl spanking is brought up to date. Many thoughts on the history of horror fiction are included. And, at last, it is revealed why Harlan Ellison is responsible. May the reader variously laugh, weep, ponder, disagree and turn uneasily in bed. Time for another taster boy, we really do spoil you folks!
- GenresHorrorNonfictionEssays
450 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2002
4 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
About the author
Ramsey Campbell
860 books1,599 followersRamsey Campbell is a British writer considered by a number of critics to be one of the great masters of horror fiction. T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today," while S. T. Joshi has said that "future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation, every bit the equal of Lovecraft or Blackwood."
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 8, 2016
Ramsey Campbell, Probably (1968-2015/Collected in 2015 Revised Edition) by Ramsey Campbell, edited by S.T. Joshi: 40 years of non-fiction pieces by World's Greatest Horror Writer Ramsey Campbell. There are autobiographical pieces which illuminate Campbell's often harrowing early life, essays on various writers, pieces on social issues related to horror, and essays and introductions originally written for Campbell's novels and short-story collections.
In all, they're dandy. And so many of them in this big book from PS Publishing! Campbell is thoughtful and often self-effacing when he writes about his own work, and those essays that do this offer a wealth of information about how and why certain decisions were made in the writing process, and what Campbell thinks about those decisions in retrospect.
He's also debilitatingly funny in many of the essays, never moreso than when he deals with The Highgate Vampire hoax. There's also hilarity to be had in portions of his self-appraisal (for some reason, a section on his attempt to include the word 'shit' in a Lovecraftian story submitted to August Derleth's Arkham House nearly had me lying on the floor).
His essays on writers are occasionally scathing but for the most part positive. A melancholy essay on the late John Brunner stands out as a painful meditation on what happens when a very good writer is forgotten in today's publishing climate. A wide-ranging essay on the novels of James Herbert is a sensitive reappraisal of that (alas, also late) best-selling writer's work as a foundational stratum of working-class, English horror shot through with deeply held social concerns not usually seen in English horror up to that time. Many of the writers Campbell writes about are also friends, thus shedding a certain personal light on writers ranging from Robert Aickman to the (then) Poppy Z. Brite.
General pieces include the almost-obligatory '10 horror movies for a desert island' essay, several examinations of horror in general and the general public's attitude towards horror, the 'Video Nasties' censorship hysteria in the Great Britain of the 1980's and early 1990's, and examinations of the history of horror. Campbell's lengthy autobiographical essay "How I Got Here" is also invaluable in understanding his life and work. He's almost painfully self-revelatory at points, while remaining refreshingly free of self-pity.
Oh, and there's an essay on British spanking-based pornography. Really, you can't go wrong with this collection. How often is one going to find revelatory close readings of major H.P. Lovecraft stories and brief 'plot' synopses of faux-English-school-girl spanking pornography in the same book?
In all, they're dandy. And so many of them in this big book from PS Publishing! Campbell is thoughtful and often self-effacing when he writes about his own work, and those essays that do this offer a wealth of information about how and why certain decisions were made in the writing process, and what Campbell thinks about those decisions in retrospect.
He's also debilitatingly funny in many of the essays, never moreso than when he deals with The Highgate Vampire hoax. There's also hilarity to be had in portions of his self-appraisal (for some reason, a section on his attempt to include the word 'shit' in a Lovecraftian story submitted to August Derleth's Arkham House nearly had me lying on the floor).
His essays on writers are occasionally scathing but for the most part positive. A melancholy essay on the late John Brunner stands out as a painful meditation on what happens when a very good writer is forgotten in today's publishing climate. A wide-ranging essay on the novels of James Herbert is a sensitive reappraisal of that (alas, also late) best-selling writer's work as a foundational stratum of working-class, English horror shot through with deeply held social concerns not usually seen in English horror up to that time. Many of the writers Campbell writes about are also friends, thus shedding a certain personal light on writers ranging from Robert Aickman to the (then) Poppy Z. Brite.
General pieces include the almost-obligatory '10 horror movies for a desert island' essay, several examinations of horror in general and the general public's attitude towards horror, the 'Video Nasties' censorship hysteria in the Great Britain of the 1980's and early 1990's, and examinations of the history of horror. Campbell's lengthy autobiographical essay "How I Got Here" is also invaluable in understanding his life and work. He's almost painfully self-revelatory at points, while remaining refreshingly free of self-pity.
Oh, and there's an essay on British spanking-based pornography. Really, you can't go wrong with this collection. How often is one going to find revelatory close readings of major H.P. Lovecraft stories and brief 'plot' synopses of faux-English-school-girl spanking pornography in the same book?
March 7, 2016
This compendium collects decades worth of Horror Legend Ramsey Campbell's essays, columns, introductions, afterwards, & in this new edition, several expansions, corrections, & footnotes. I greatly enjoyed reading Mr. Campbell's thoughts on all things Horror - in film, literature, & life. Whether it be cosmic, societal, or interpersonal.
Chiefly of interest is his infamous autobiographical essay (originally appearing as the introduction to the 2nd edition of "The Face That Must Die"), here greatly expanded; A cool & unflinching account of his strange childhood stuck between a ghost-like absentee father & a mother slowly consumed by madness, delving into such dark & uncomfortable territory its impact rivals his most accomplished tales of terror. It certainly goes a long way to explain why a poor young Ramsey resorted to Horrors From Beyond Space & Time as an alternative to those in his home.
The majority of the book is much lighter fare, particularly Mr. Campbell's thorough & generous appraisal of fellow Horror authors, where even those he clearly dislikes (Hutson!) get put up on blocks for a thorough break-down of technique alongside The Greats. Like all great authors he heaps plenty of praise & credit upon writers vastly inferior to himself, whose talents pale in his presence. His respectful examination of James Herbert's work a good example, lacking in all pretense or judgement.
In one essay Ramsey sets out to recount several of his recurring nightmares & night terrors with the same level of craft & detail he pours into his fiction. It's enthralling & unsettling as the best Horror & much of his nightmare images & themes were disturbingly close to my own.
Enjoying these essays it becomes clear Mr. Campbell is a Horror fan first & foremost, whose talents were borne from an innate fandom nurtured until it grew to consume him whole. A noble goal achieved, & here, well documented. "What the dead behold, they may become."
Bring on collection II...
-#PatrickBruss (Crypticus), 2016
Chiefly of interest is his infamous autobiographical essay (originally appearing as the introduction to the 2nd edition of "The Face That Must Die"), here greatly expanded; A cool & unflinching account of his strange childhood stuck between a ghost-like absentee father & a mother slowly consumed by madness, delving into such dark & uncomfortable territory its impact rivals his most accomplished tales of terror. It certainly goes a long way to explain why a poor young Ramsey resorted to Horrors From Beyond Space & Time as an alternative to those in his home.
The majority of the book is much lighter fare, particularly Mr. Campbell's thorough & generous appraisal of fellow Horror authors, where even those he clearly dislikes (Hutson!) get put up on blocks for a thorough break-down of technique alongside The Greats. Like all great authors he heaps plenty of praise & credit upon writers vastly inferior to himself, whose talents pale in his presence. His respectful examination of James Herbert's work a good example, lacking in all pretense or judgement.
In one essay Ramsey sets out to recount several of his recurring nightmares & night terrors with the same level of craft & detail he pours into his fiction. It's enthralling & unsettling as the best Horror & much of his nightmare images & themes were disturbingly close to my own.
Enjoying these essays it becomes clear Mr. Campbell is a Horror fan first & foremost, whose talents were borne from an innate fandom nurtured until it grew to consume him whole. A noble goal achieved, & here, well documented. "What the dead behold, they may become."
Bring on collection II...
-#PatrickBruss (Crypticus), 2016
September 25, 2021
I reviewed this title for Horrified magazine at
https://www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk/r...
https://www.horrifiedmagazine.co.uk/r...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews