Thursday, November 16, 2006

Top 5 Horror Writers

I notice there isn't a whole lot of talk about literature and writing on here. Maybe that's because Terence spends too much time watching wrasslin' and not enough time reading. But fear not, Cobby is here to save the day!

5) Stephen King
Right out the gate, let me say that King has not been scary for about twenty years. Weird? Yes. Scary? Not really. His earlier stuff, most notably his first two short story compilations, has some pretty frightening stuff that kept me up many nights.

4) Clive Barker
Barker created the character Pinhead, and that isn't even his meanest, nastiest creation. Need I really say more?

3) Robert W. Chambers
Chambers writes in the Lovecraftian style, but he does so better than most. He leans more towards the "this guy is just plain crazy" than Lovecraft did, but his stories are all very, very good.

2) There is no number 2. Number 1 is so awesome he takes up both spots.

1) Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Lovecraft is the king of horror. He is the most emulated writer in the genre, and most horror writers get their start by writing short stories to fit into the Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft's stories deal predominantly with ancient beings toying with mankind in various ways, but you're always left wondering whether or not the events in the story actually happened, or were they the ramblings of an insane mind. Even after 70 years his works have not lost their appeal, and I doubt they ever will.

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