The Definitive List: Authors of Classic Horror

[Simon]

I am interested in compiling a list (alphabetic) of the great authors of classic horror. I will maintain the list in this post and update it whenever someone else cares to nominate an author. I shall limit this list to include authors who started writing horror prior to the 1960's.

I will also include with each author a suggested definitive work(s). I hope this list will prove useful to both existing fans of the genre in finding new authors and to newbies who are just discovering the genre.

Aickman, Robert - (Cold Hand in Mine)
Andreyev, Leonid - (Lazarus)
Beckford, William - (Vathek)
Benson E. F. - (The Collected Ghost Stories of E.F. Benson)
Bierce, Ambrose - (An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge)
Blackwood, Algernon - (Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories)
Bloch, Robert - (Psycho)
Bradbury, Ray - (The October Country)
Brontë, Emily - (Wuthering Heights)
Brown, Charles Brockden - (Wieland)
Buchan, John - (The Watcher By The Threshold And Other Tales)
Chambers, Robert W. - (The King in Yellow and Other Horror Stories)
Crawford, Marion - (The Upper Berth)
Doyle, Arthur Conan - (Tales of Terror and Mystery)
Ewers, Hanns Heinz - (Alraune)
Gaskell, Elizabeth - (The Old Nurse's Story)
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins - (The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories)
Hartley, L.P. - (Feet Foremost)
Hawthorne, Nathaniel - (The House of Seven Gables)
Hodgson, William Hope - (The House on the Borderland, Voice in the Night)
Hogg, James - (The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner)
Howard, Elizabeth Jane - (Three Miles Up)
Howard, Robert E. - (The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard)
Irving, Washington - (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow)
Jackson, Shirley - (The Haunting of Hill House, The Lottery)
James, Henry - (The Turn of the Screw)
James, Montague Rhodes - (Count Magnus & Other Ghost Stories)
Kafka, Franz - (The Metamorphosis)
Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan - (In a Glass Darkly)
Lee, Vernon - (Hauntings and Other Fantastic Tales)
Leiber, Fritz - (Conjure Wife)
Lewis Matthew Gregory - (The Monk)
Lovecraft, H.P. - (The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories)
Machen, Arthur - (The House of Souls)
Marryat, Frederick - (The Phantom Ship)
Marsh, Richard - (The Beetle)
Matheson, Richard - (I Am Legend)
Maturin Charles - (Melmoth the Wanderer)
Maupassant, Guy de - (Tales Of Supernatural Terror)
Maurier, Daphne du - (The Birds, Rebecca)
Meyrink, Gustav - (The Golem)
O'Donnell, Elliott - (Bounding Figure)
Onions Oliver - (The Beckoning Fair One)
Poe Edgar Allan - (Tales of Mystery and Imagination)
Radcliffe, Ann - (The Mysteries of Udolpho)
Shelley, Mary - (Frankenstein)
Smith, Clark Ashton - (The Dark Eidolon)
Stevens, Francis - (The Citadel of Fear)
Stevenson, Robert Louis - (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: And Other Tales of Terror)
Stoker, Bram - (Dracula)
Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, Auguste de - (Contes Cruels)
Wakefield, H. Russell - (Strayers from Sheol)
Walpole, Horace - (The Castle of Otranto)
Wellman, Manly Wade - (Who Fears the Devil)
Wheatley, Dennis - (The Devil Rides Out)

[[deleted user]]

King: The Shining (Did King complete his major work before 1980? or is his post-1980 work as significant?)
Bradbury: The October Country
Robert Bloch: Collected Stories
Clark Ashton Smith: there are so many various collections it's hard to determine a single title.
Ramsey Campbell: Alone with the Horrors
Henry James: Turn of the Screw

[Simon]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I suppose King can just about count...

I added Bloch but couldn't find anything by him called "Collected Stories" (on GoodReads) so I added "Psycho" instead since that is probably his most famous work?

[Martha]

I have a bit of an issue with King being included in this group, and possibly Bloch as well. I think they may be too modern. Campbell may just sneak by, IMO. I'm interested to see what Danielle thinks.

[Simon]

Well, didn't Bloch write most of his work before 1980?

As for King, I think you may be right. While the suggested novel ("The Shining") was written prior to 1980, it's probably not true to say that the main body of his work was prior to 1980. Perhaps I shall remove him...

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

I think we came up with prior to 1960 as the cutoff for "Classic Horror" designation for this group. We don't want to step on any toes since there is a very active and very good Modern Horror group on GRs already. For that reason, I don't think we can count King.

I believe that Robert Bloch started writing in the 1920s, so I would definitely count him as Classic Horror.

Thanks for starting the thread, Simon. Good idea.

[[deleted user]]

We probably have to determine what "classic" means; does it refer to a certain time period or to the influence/reputation of the authors and works. Are "modern" and "classic" incompatible?

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

For the purposes of this group, Classic Horror is horror published prior to 1960s. The goal of this group is to discuss and rediscover some of the old gems of horror literature that are known and some that were fairly obscure.

Classic Horror Vein is modern work that has the sensibilities and the style of older horror stories/writers. We do discuss the modern but classic-styled horror, but really this group is for the oldies.

[Martha]

We will have to stick to a certain time period. Certainly I don't want to have too much overlap with the major horror group on GR. I think many modern authors get enough discussions there.

[Simon]

Danielle, if the "official" designation of classic horror for this group is prior to 1960, I update the first post accordingly. It will mean dropping a few off the list above including Robert Aickman, Richard Matheson, Ramsey Campbell, etc.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

Richard Matheson is definitely on the edge. He has work he wrote in the 1950s, correct? If so, I think we're okay with including him. Same for Shirley Jackson. What do you think, Martha?

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

If you want to have a list for authors from the Modern Period who write Classic Horror, feel free to start one, Simon.

[Simon]

Martha wrote: "We will have to stick to a certain time period. Certainly I don't want to have too much overlap with the major horror group on GR. I think many modern authors get enough discussions there."

Yes, I know what you mean. But I think that some horror authors are almost falling in between the gaps a bit here. The likes of Aickman and Campbell for instance who wrote a lot in the 60's and 70's get largely ignored by the modern horror crowd and yet are deemed too recent for "classic" status.

[Martha]

I Am Legend was originally published in 1954, and Stir of Echoes in 1958, so I think we can count Matheson, even though some of his more famous work like Hell House were written later.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

Then you should include Aickman and Campbell. I'm fine with that.

[Simon]

I've changed the criteria in the opening post to: "...include authors who started writing horror prior to the 1960's."

Therefore, I've kept Aickman (who published his first stories in the 50's) and dropped Campbell (who didn't start publishing until 1964).

[[deleted user]]

1960 seems like a good cutting-off point, since it allows the inclusion of the "golden age" of the pulps but excludes the rise of modern horror again the 1970s (King, Levin, etc.). Unfortunately,too, it does exclude someone like Campbell, whose writing owes a great deal to the earlier golden age (Lovecraft) as well as to earlier writers (like M.R. James).

[Kurt]

Sheridan Le Fanu - Best Ghost Stories or another collection named In a Glass Darkly.

[Kurt]

Also some other classics:

The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliffe
The Beetle by Richard Marsh
Vathek by William Beckford

Probably only read by English majors anymore, but still worth reading.

[Simon]

Thanks for those suggestions. The list has been updated. Keep them coming!

[Shawn]

Gustav Meyrink - The Golem

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Jamesian Enthusiast]

I'd suggest Manly Wade Wellman. He started writing in the mid 1900s. He's well known for his Silver John stories: Who Fears the Devil

Here is a link to a page in his honor:

http://www.manlywadewellman.com/Wellb...

[Simon]

Thanks.

I'm away for a couple of weeks so I won't be able to update the list for a while.

[James]

Surely:

Robert Lois Stevenson - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: And Other Tales of Terror

[Simon]

James wrote: "Surely:

Robert Lois Stevenson - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: And Other Tales of Terror"

Noted.

[Karen]

E F Benson - How Fear Departed the Long Gallery
L P Hartley - Feet Foremost
Elliott O'Donnell - The Bounding Figure

[Martha]

Thanks Karen, I will look for those when we start up group story reads again.

[Simon]

Thanks Karen, list updated (although I couldn't find the books/stories you suggested on goodreads, hence no links).

[Karen]

Simon wrote: "Thanks Karen, list updated (although I couldn't find the books/stories you suggested on goodreads, hence no links)."

'How Fear Departed the Long Gallery' is in a collection called 'Hauntings & Horrors: The Collected Ghost Stories of E F Benson' £1.40 from Amazon uk; both that & 'The Bounding Figure' by Elliott O'Donell are available to read online at Horrormasters.com; 'Feet Foremost' by L P Hartley is difficult to find (as are all L P Hartley's stories), but is available to read online at donaldcorrell.com. Hope that helps. (I don't know how to provide links, I'm not very computer literate lol)

[Simon]

Thanks Keith. I've no idea how William Hope Hodgson got missed from the list.

[Jon Recluse]

What about James Hogg The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
and
Charles Maturin Melmoth the Wanderer

[Simon]

Updated.

[Ron]

Charlotte Perkins Gilman: The Yellow Wallpaper
Robert Chambers: The King in Yellow
Anyone recall the story about the 'Vivisectionist'? It was based on a real person who bound some books in human skin, can't recall his name or the author of the story due to current...circumstances. Great story...oh well, let's see...
Algernon Blackwood: I can't choose a fave
Lord Dunsany: The Two Bottles of Relish
Robert E. Howard: Pigeons From Hell
Clark Ashton Smith probably deserves a spot in there, also

[Dfordoom]

Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam should be on the list.

Also Charles Brockden Brown whose Wieland from 1798 marks the beginning of American gothic.

John Buchan is best remembered for his spy novels but he wrote some excellent horror, such as The Watcher by the Threshold.

Vernon Lee could be included on the basis of her Hauntings (1890).

[Dfordoom]

I'd also be inclined to include Nathaniel Hawthorne. As well as House of the Seven Gables he wrote some fine gothic short stories.

[Simon]

Okay, thanks for those suggestions. I've added most of them. Algernon Blackwood, Robert Howard and Clark Ashton Smith were already on the list.

[Char]

Ron, nice list! I loved The Yellow Wallpaper.

[Simon]

Added H.R. Wakefield.

[Shawn]

Fans of E.F. Benson may want to check out...

This week on Pseudopod.....
300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!300!.... Episode 300!

A very bad man can't shake the feeling that some...one? is following him...

It's "The Step" by E.F. Benson, read for you by Frank Key!

[Mark]

Just yesterday, I put on Amazon.com's Listmania my list of classic single-author fiction collections. It includes folks like Robert Aickman, Ramsey Campbell, H.R. Wakefield, Clark Ashton Smith, August Derleth, Basil Copper, and of course, H.P. Lovecraft...

http://www.amazon.com/lm/R1HP1YNJ6IQA...

[Martha]

That's a really great list, Mark! There's some authors on there I still need to check out.

[David]

A summation by Drake Morgan:

http://horrornovelreviews.com/2013/07...

[Robert]

Amazing list, Simon. And thanks, everyone who added titles. I am SO stealing these to add to my bookshelf. AND a "summation" by Drake Morgan! I am such a fan.

[Ron]

Hanns Heinz Ewers - My personal fave is the novel 'Alraune' (my fave horror of all time, actually), but his most read and discussed is his short story 'The Spider'.

Not certain if you'd class M.P. Shiel's 'The Purple Cloud' as horror or Sci-fi, but Lovecraft dug it. (and Cormac McCarthy was the latest to rip the plot for 'the Road')

Miss Bronte (with them there dots above the 'e') should prolly get a mention for Wuthering Heights.

Cpt. Fredrick Marryatt - The Phantom Ship

And how about some credit to a fella named Hugo for his truly depressing epic 'Hunchback of Notre Dame'?

Edit: Oh, and if its not too recent, John Farris 'Wildwood'.

[Ron]

oh....and Hugh B. Cave - the early stuff was shaky, but he turned into a real Pro. Its hard for me to name just one, but I suppose his collection Murgunstrumm and Others would work (although I never really cared for the title story - bad pastiche).

Leonid Andreyev - Lazarus (killer story)

Erckman-Chartrain - The Wolf-Man and Other Stories (well, they're actually two writers...)

Fritz Leiber - Conjure Wife, maybe?

...How about some version of Faust(us)? Goethe is great, but the revision ended it on a happy note. If plays are in, Marlowe would be the natural - the only wholly supernatural Elizabethan play in Joshi's estimation (and who amongst us shall question THE S.T.??? ;) )

[Simon]

Thanks for those suggestions Ron, most of which have been added.

[Holly]

Personally, I have to say what a huge relief it is to know that Stephen King books are not included in our discussions. There are plenty of other groups out there for the discussion of his work.......and this is a great place for those of use who really don't care to discuss it anymore!

[Rick]

Glad to see E.F. Benson on your list. "The Room in the Tower", is one of my all time favorites.

[Elisa]

Very good list. Some other books I'd suggest are:

Kafka, Franz - The Metamorphosis (1915)
Irving, Washington - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820)

[Simon]

Added.