Scary Stories for a Scary Time of Year
It's that time of year again, where we get to read about 3 more authors who write horror. Getting to read and find out about the lives of other authors is so fascinating to me and something I love to do in my spare time. This year, I decided to take it back to some old school authors.
Authors of Horror
Bram Stoker
I feel like to be an author you have to have some sort of weird experience at some point in your life to pull inspiration from. Or maybe it's how authors are made, a weird experience or circumstance occurs and then one starts writing. This is what seemed to happen to Bram Stoker. At a young age he fell ill with an unknown illness. Keeping him bed ridden to the age of seven when he miraculously recovered and was able to join public school.
During those times he imagined a great many stories and once he went to college began writing for the college newspaper where he became friends with Henry Irving. Working at the local theater Stoker continued his own work through several short stories and novels. Traveling with the theater he gained inspiration for his most popular work and known classic today, Dracula.
Even with the popularity he continued to work into his later years with the theater where he eventually died of what was thought to be locomotive disease. His work has gone on in the generations with the annual award Bram Stoker Award created in his honor since 1988 which is awarded to horror stories written by other authors just like him.
It is said his diaries are now owned by his relatives and are soon to be in the making of a Dracula 2.
Ann Radcliff
Ann Radcliffe was born in 1764 as an only child. Unlikely many authors she had a pretty simple childhood, some of her family calling her quiet or shy as she stuck to herself being an only child.
But her life changed when she met her husband William who was a journalist for the Gazetter and New Daily Advertiser. While he worked late nights Ann decided to take up writing too, producing her first Gothic novel, The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne. This was quickly followed by four more novels which became highly successful including The Romance of the Forest and The Italians. By her last novel she was the best paid author of that time gaining $800 from her publishers. This was due to the topics her novels spoke about mostly focusing on the Catholic religion and dark landscapes.
Many authors have gone on to be influenced by her work including Edgar Allen Poe, Emily Bronte, and Jane Austen.
Just when she was gaining traction in her writing career, Radcliff suddenly disappeared from the limelight. Only occasionally being seen here or there at events. Even though she spent her time writing poetry no other work was produced during this time causing rumors to stir of her going insane from the ideas and topics her work produced.
This was quickly put to rest and Radcliff and her husband spent their later years traveling until 1823 when she came down with a fatal case of pneumonia which resulted in her death.
Even though highly loved in the writing community many have tried to go on to study her work and her life without much success due to the lack of information of her personal life.
H.P. Lovecraft
Lovecraft is the epitome of what people think when it comes to writers. Sad. Tragic. Lonely. Those are the words that come to mind. From a young age, his father was institutionalized where he would meet his death. Lovecraft having no father along with a decline in finances went and lived with his mother and aunts who encouraged him to write from a young age. His nightmares inspiration for his work.
Often times, he was gone from school with unknown illnesses and when he was at school was often thought of as a loner or strange due the weird behavior he portrayed. During those early years, depression formed making Lovecraft believe ending his life would help the matter.
Overcoming those obstacles due to his curiosity about the world he continued to write with The Alchemist being one of his most popular known works today. During those years, he spent with his mother who sadly also became institutionalized while his uncle lost the family money.
Lovecraft wasn't able to live off his work but still submitted his writing to magazines which often would publish his work. He met and married his wife Sonia Greene who was known for family money. They lived off of this in New York where he continued to publish and write. His novels containing themes of cosmicism, knowledge, decline of civilizations, and science. His work spreading further after being published in Weird Tales.
After losing the family wealth he and his wife separated even though Lovecraft never officially signed the paperwork. He moved back home to which he lived his final days dying at an early age of 46 due to a sever case of cancer in the small intestines.
His work has lived on with his most popular being The Call of Cthulhu, At The Mountains of Madness, and The Shadow Out of Time.
Final Thoughts
Have you read any titles from the authors above or seen any adaptations? If not, I highly recommend giving some a read if you are looking for a scare.
Who would you add to the list of authors who write horrors? If you haven't already, subscribe to the blog to stay updated on new and upcoming posts. Check out these other Authors who write horror!
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