Jayaprakash Satyamurthy
Knivesout no more
This is a great thread.
I picked up THE TOWER at a thrift store last summer. Haven't read it yet; any good?Don't know if anyone's mentioned him yet, but I'm a big fan of pulp style horror and UK author Simon Clark writes some great stuff.
There is some great stuff listed here at the top of the thread, go read this old stuff !
Remember... Horror fiction was not popular ..it was not /big'...ever..until King and Barker and other hacks hit the mainstream.
Lovecraft was not popular. He was still underground in the sixties. Nobody knew who Hodgson or Smith or any of them were, unless one made a real effort. It was hard to find the scary lit, and very rewarding when you did...
Now ? It's a big mainstream category. Horror for housewives. Largely boring and unbelievable. Still love it, but for gosh sakes ! Enough with the Vampire schtick ! Zombies are done to death. )
Very surprised not to see Clive Barker mentioned here. Some of his novels are amazing, my favourite is probably Cabal which was made into the film Nightbreed. The Damnation Game was an excellent read and if you know the film Hellraiser then this film was based on the novella The Hellbound Heart.
If you like horror short stories then his Books of Blood are well recommended.
James Herbert is another of my favourites. The Rats trilogy is worth picking up, his latest novels have been a bit off the boil but 48 was thrilling. Sepulchre remains one of my favourite all times reads, with Creed and Once being well up there too.