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The Essentials of Horror

EssentialsHorror

The following is a short list, featuring four significant authors from the formative years of horror fiction, plus twenty prolific authors, whom you would commonly find on any list of Horror Fiction “classics” or “essentials.” A list of the “best” authors in any category has to be considered subjective under the best of circumstances. However, based on the criteria of which authors’ works have continued to stand the “test of time,” and whose works have remained relevant to contemporary readers, the authors listed here are a good place to start. Fans and/or students of Horror Fiction are also encouraged to check in with any of our librarians for additional

classic. Among the best of a class, of the highest quality in a group…a work that endures.Harper Handbook to Literature

The author links in this booklist are to the complete listings of all materials in the Lincoln City Libraries’ collections by these authors. The links connect directly to our library catalog, so that you may check on the current availability of titles. Covers shown below are relative samples of some of these authors’ best-known works.

THE GROUNDBREAKERS

Authors with one or two significant works early in the formative years of the horror genre.

(Thomas Joseph) Sheridan Le Fanu

[1814-1973]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

SheridanLefanu

Mary Shelley

[1797-1851]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

MaryShelley

Robert Louis Stevenson

[1850-1894]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

RobertLouisStevenson

Bram Stoker

[1847-1912]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

BramStoker

THE MASTERS OF THE FORM

Authors with bodies of work significant to the ongoing horror genre.

Clive Barker

[1952-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

CliveBarker

Ambrose Bierce

[1842-1913]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

AmbroseBierce

Algernon Blackwood

[1869-1951]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

AlgernonBlackwood

Robert Bloch

[1917-1994]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

RobertBloch

Ramsey Campbell

[1946-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

RamseyCampbell

Shirley Jackson

[1916-1965]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

ShirleyJackson

Stephen King

[1947-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

StephenKing

Dean Koontz

[1945-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

DeanKoontz

Richard Laymon

[1947-2001]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

RichardLaymon

H.P. Lovecraft

[1890-1937]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

HPLovecraft

Brian Lumley

[1937-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

BrianLumley

Graham Masterton

[1946-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

GrahamMasterton

Richard Matheson

[1926-2013]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

RichardMatheson

Robert McCammon

[1952-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

RobertMcCammon

Edgar Allan Poe

[1809-1849]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]

EdgarAllanPoe

Anne Rice

[1941-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

AnneRice

John Saul

[1942-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

JohnSaul

Dan Simmons

[1948-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author (http://www.dansimmons.com/ is currently not available) ]

DanSimmons

Peter Straub

[1943-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

PeterStraub

F. Paul Wilson

[1946-    ]  [ Wikipedia entry for this author ]  [ official web site for this author ]

FPaulWilson

Compiled and expanded for the Web March 2012 sdc | Last updated September 2020 sdc