Ramsey Campbell

Hailed by The Oxford Companion to English Literature as "Britain's most respected living horror writer," Ramsey Campbell has authored an astounding body of work for over half a century that embodies the weird, the supernatural, and the subtle, much of which is widely considered classics of dark fiction today. He has been given more awards than any other writer in the field, including being made an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University for outstanding services to literature. Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard bring you this introduction to his work, the sixth in a series of primers exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction. Herein is a chance to discover-or learn more of-the remarkable voice of Ramsey Campbell, as beautifully illustrated by artist Michelle Prebich. Included within these pages are: - Six short stories, one written exclusively for this book- Author interview- Biography and bibliography- Academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD (former humanities chair and professor of the year, Seton Hill University)- ... and more Enter this doorway to the vast and fantastic: Get to know Ramsey Campbell.###"A fascinating study for fans seeking new reads and for librarians developing wide-ranging collections." -Library Journal"Refreshing and much-needed... Addresses significant themes and figures within the horror field." -Locus Magazine Table of Contents includes: - Introduction by Eric J. Guignard- About Ramsey Campbell (A Biography)- The Place of Revelation- The Place of Revelation: A Commentary- The Companion- The Companion: A Commentary- The Alternative- The Alternative: A Commentary- One Copy Only- One Copy Only: A Commentary- Recently Used- Recently Used: A Commentary- The Bill- The Bill: A Commentary- Why Ramsey Campbell Matters by Michael Arnzen, PhD- In Conversation with Ramsey Campbell- My Roots Exhumed: An Essay by Ramsey Campbell- A Bibliography of English Language Fiction for Ramsey Campbell

Campbell's writing is intimate, darkly funny, and deeply human, balancing edge-of-the-seat suspense with heartfelt character development. This delightfully unsettling sequel does not disappoint. -- Publishers Weekly Book 2 in the Three Births of Daoloth trilogy. 1985. Dominic Sheldrake is now a lecturer on cinema. His and Lesley's small son Toby has begun to experience strange nocturnal seizures that no medical help seems to be able to treat. Meanwhile Dominic assumes the occultist Christian Noble is out of his life, but his influence on the world is more insidious than ever. Roberta Parkin has become a journalist and infiltrates the new version of the Nobles' cult, but are the experiences it offers too powerful for her to control? In order to rescue his son from the cult, if he can, Dominic must undergo them too... FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress

“An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that” - Guillermo del Toro Alex Grand is a successful crime novelist until his latest book is condemned for appropriating the experience of victims of abuse. In a bid to rescue his reputation he ghostwrites a memoir of abuse on behalf of a survivor, Carl Batchelor. Carl’s account proves to be less than entirely reliable; someone is alive who shouldn’t be. As Alex investigates the background of Carl’s accusations his grasp of the truth of the book and of his own involvement begins to crumble. When he has to testify in a court case brought about by Carl’s memoir, this may be one step too far for his insecure mind… FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

“An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that” - Guillermo del Toro Alex Grand is a successful crime novelist until his latest book is condemned for appropriating the experience of victims of abuse. In a bid to rescue his reputation he ghostwrites a memoir of abuse on behalf of a survivor, Carl Batchelor. Carl’s account proves to be less than entirely reliable; someone is alive who shouldn’t be. As Alex investigates the background of Carl’s accusations his grasp of the truth of the book and of his own involvement begins to crumble. When he has to testify in a court case brought about by Carl’s memoir, this may be one step too far for his insecure mind… FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

"An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that" - Guillermo del Toro Alex Grand is a successful crime novelist until his latest book is condemned for appropriating the experience of victims of abuse. In a bid to rescue his reputation he ghostwrites a memoir of abuse on behalf of a survivor, Carl Batchelor. Carl's account proves to be less than entirely reliable; someone is alive who shouldn't be. As Alex investigates the background of Carl's accusations his grasp of the truth of the book and of his own involvement begins to crumble. When he has to testify in a court case brought about by Carl's memoir, this may be one step too far for his insecure mind... FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Featured in Library Journal's Top 20 Horror Bestseller List “An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that” - Guillermo del Toro Book 1 in the Three Births of Daoloth trilogy. 1952. On a school trip to France teenager Dominic Sheldrake begins to suspect his teacher Christian Noble has reasons to be there as secret as they're strange. Meanwhile a widowed neighbour joins a church that puts you in touch with your dead relatives, who prove much harder to get rid of. As Dominic and his friends Roberta and Jim investigate, they can’t suspect how much larger and more terrible the link between these mysteries will become. A monstrous discovery beneath a church only hints at terrors that are poised to engulf the world as the trilogy brings us to the present day… FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Featured in Library Journal's Top 20 Horror Bestseller List “An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that” - Guillermo del Toro Book 1 in the Three Births of Daoloth trilogy. 1952. On a school trip to France teenager Dominic Sheldrake begins to suspect his teacher Christian Noble has reasons to be there as secret as they're strange. Meanwhile a widowed neighbour joins a church that puts you in touch with your dead relatives, who prove much harder to get rid of. As Dominic and his friends Roberta and Jim investigate, they can’t suspect how much larger and more terrible the link between these mysteries will become. A monstrous discovery beneath a church only hints at terrors that are poised to engulf the world as the trilogy brings us to the present day… FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Featured in Library Journal's Top 20 Horror Bestseller List "An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that" - Guillermo del Toro Book 1 in the Three Births of Daoloth trilogy. 1952. On a school trip to France teenager Dominic Sheldrake begins to suspect his teacher Christian Noble has reasons to be there as secret as they're strange. Meanwhile a widowed neighbour joins a church that puts you in touch with your dead relatives, who prove much harder to get rid of. As Dominic and his friends Roberta and Jim investigate, they can't suspect how much larger and more terrible the link between these mysteries will become. A monstrous discovery beneath a church only hints at terrors that are poised to engulf the world as the trilogy brings us to the present day... FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

VHS Nasty: The Video Nasties is the definitive, full-colour guide to the halcyon days of the 1980s, when the British government and its nanny state, headed by the self-proclaimed and totally unelected "Protector of Public Morals," Mary Whitehouse, decided it would dictate what the viewing public could-and, more specifically, couldn't-watch in the privacy of their own homes. The fight to control the voracious, countrywide spread of video players brought about the much-maligned Video Recordings Act 1984, which came complete with a list of "video nasties," horror movies deemed much too disturbing for the delicate sensitivities of the British public, and which were not to be viewed on home VCRs. And, not only were those films banned, producers and directors were prosecuted, video stores were raided by the police, and video cassettes were burned (Fahrenheit 451 anyone?). Naturally, the act not only blighted the whole video/home entertainment revolution but it also inadvertently created the cult underground movement and a huge collector's market for the iconic films, many of which still change hands for phenomenal sums of money I Spit on Your Grave, The Driller Killer, Cannibal Holocaust, Xtro, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Evil Dead were just a handful of the initial 72 titles that made the "must-see" list of the 1980's horror aficionados, all of whom moved heaven and hell to get their hands on a copy Tony Newton and David Bond lead us through the history of those dark, draconian days with an engaging, conversational style that makes for simply terrific reading. They also provide a comprehensive, title-by-title list of each and every one of the banned and prosecuted films, along with comments and memories of some of the producers, directors, writers, and actors responsible for creating the whole video nasty phenomenon. With insightful contributions from: Lloyd Kaufman, Taylor Sprow, Ramsey Campbell, Graham Masterton, Barbie Wilde, Nicholas Vince, John Thomson, Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust), Steve Wright, Terry M. West, Richard Stanley, James Cullen Bressack (Blood Lake), Mark Miller (Seraphim Films), Colin McCracken, Eric Weston (Evilspeak), Glenn Criddle, Max Weinstein, John Penney (The Return of the Living Dead 3, Hellgate), and many, many more.

VHS Nasty: The Video Nasties is the definitive, full-colour guide to the halcyon days of the 1980s, when the British government and its nanny state, headed by the self-proclaimed and totally unelected "Protector of Public Morals," Mary Whitehouse, decided it would dictate what the viewing public could-and, more specifically, couldn't-watch in the privacy of their own homes. The fight to control the voracious, countrywide spread of video players brought about the much-maligned Video Recordings Act 1984, which came complete with a list of "video nasties," horror movies deemed much too disturbing for the delicate sensitivities of the British public, and which were not to be viewed on home VCRs. And, not only were those films banned, producers and directors were prosecuted, video stores were raided by the police, and video cassettes were burned (Fahrenheit 451 anyone?). Naturally, the act not only blighted the whole video/home entertainment revolution but it also inadvertently created the cult underground movement and a huge collector's market for the iconic films, many of which still change hands for phenomenal sums of money I Spit on Your Grave, The Driller Killer, Cannibal Holocaust, Xtro, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Evil Dead were just a handful of the initial 72 titles that made the "must-see" list of the 1980's horror aficionados, all of whom moved heaven and hell to get their hands on a copy Tony Newton and David Bond lead us through the history of those dark, draconian days with an engaging, conversational style that makes for simply terrific reading. They also provide a comprehensive, title-by-title list of each and every one of the banned and prosecuted films, along with comments and memories of some of the producers, directors, writers, and actors responsible for creating the whole video nasty phenomenon. With insightful contributions from: Lloyd Kaufman, Taylor Sprow, Ramsey Campbell, Graham Masterton, Barbie Wilde, Nicholas Vince, John Thomson, Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust), Steve Wright, Terry M. West, Richard Stanley, James Cullen Bressack (Blood Lake), Mark Miller (Seraphim Films), Colin McCracken, Eric Weston (Evilspeak), Glenn Criddle, Max Weinstein, John Penney (The Return of the Living Dead 3, Hellgate), and many, many more.

Featuring new stories specially commissioned for the collection this offering of H. P. Lovecraft's shared universe is a thrilling immersion into the world of Old Ones and the Elder Gods, an ancient race of terrifying beings. In Lovecraft's vision we live in a deep, but fragile illusion, unable to comprehend the ancient beings, such as the Cthulhu who lies dead but dreaming in the submerged city of R'lyeh, waiting to rise then wreak havoc on our realm of existence. Lovecraft used the mythos to create a background to his fiction, and challenged many writer companions to add their own stories. Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Robert Bloch, Frank Belknap Long, Henry Kuttner were amongst the first but over the years many others such as Ramsey Campbell, Lin Carter and August Derleth added their voices to the many mythic cycles, developing themes and new fictional pathways for the town of Arkham, and the creatures Azathoth and Nyarlathotep. The Lovecraft Mythos is fertile ground for any writer of supernatural, horror, fantasy and science fiction, so for this edition we opened our submissions for brand new stories, many published here for the first time, to continue expanding the shared universe. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Hal Bodner, Evey Brett, Ramsey Campbell, Helen E. Davis, JG Faherty, Cody Goodfellow, Rachael K. Jones, Scott R. Jones, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Nancy Kilpatrick, N. R. Lambert, Victor LaValle, Thana Niveau, John Possidente, John Llewellyn Probert, Mark Samuels, William Browning Spencer, R. S. Stefoff, Jonathan Thomas, Donald Tyson and Douglas Wynne.

SOMETHING HAS FALLEN AWAY. We have lost a part of ourselves, our history, what we once were. That something, when we encounter it again, look it straight in the eyes, disgusts us, makes us retch. This is the horror of the abject. Following the success of Comma’s award-winning New Uncanny anthology, The New Abject invites leading authors to respond to two parallel theories of the abject – Julia Kristeva’s theory of the psychoanalytic, intimate abject, and Georges Bataille’s societal equivalent – with visceral stories of modern unease. As we become ever-more isolated by social media bubbles, or the demands for social distancing, our moral gag-reflex is increasingly sensitised, and our ability to tolerate difference, or ‘the other’, atrophies. Like all good horror writing, these stories remind us that exposure to what unsettles us, even in small doses, is always better than pretending it doesn’t exist. After all, we can never be wholly free of that which belongs to us.

“An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that” - Guillermo del Toro Featured in Booklist's Top SF/Fantasy & Horror of 2020. Patrick Torrington’s aunt Thelma was a successful artist whose late work turned towards the occult. While staying with her in his teens he found evidence that she used to visit magical sites. As an adult he discovers her journal of her explorations, and his teenage son Roy becomes fascinated too. His experiences at the sites scare Patrick away from them, but Roy carries on the search, together with his new girlfriend. Can Patrick convince his son that his increasingly terrible suspicions are real, or will what they’ve helped to rouse take a new hold on the world? FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

“An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that” - Guillermo del Toro Featured in Booklist's Top SF/Fantasy & Horror of 2020. Patrick Torrington’s aunt Thelma was a successful artist whose late work turned towards the occult. While staying with her in his teens he found evidence that she used to visit magical sites. As an adult he discovers her journal of her explorations, and his teenage son Roy becomes fascinated too. His experiences at the sites scare Patrick away from them, but Roy carries on the search, together with his new girlfriend. Can Patrick convince his son that his increasingly terrible suspicions are real, or will what they’ve helped to rouse take a new hold on the world? FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Vad är det som rör sig där ute i mörkret? Vad är det som viskar och rispar mot ditt fönster? Är det en knotig gren i den kalla kvällsvinden, eller är det något annat? Frågan du borde ställa dig är: Vågar du dig in bland de tolv skräcknoveller som göms i "Varsel i mörkret"? Skräckantologin i din hand är sammanställd av Hans-Åke Lilja och är en hyllning till Stephen Kings författarskap, samt 20-årsjubileet för hemsidan Lilja’s Library – The World of Stephen King. I denna antologi samsas Stephen Kings ”Den blå kompressorn” med skräcknoveller av författare som Clive Barker och Edgar Allan Poe. John Ajvide Lindqvist medverkar även med ”The Keeper’s Companion” som är specialskriven för antologin.

"An absolute master of modern horror. And a damn fine writer at that" - Guillermo del Toro Featured in Booklist's Top SF/Fantasy & Horror of 2020. Patrick Torrington's aunt Thelma was a successful artist whose late work turned towards the occult. While staying with her in his teens he found evidence that she used to visit magical sites. As an adult he discovers her journal of her explorations, and his teenage son Roy becomes fascinated too. His experiences at the sites scare Patrick away from them, but Roy carries on the search, together with his new girlfriend. Can Patrick convince his son that his increasingly terrible suspicions are real, or will what they've helped to rouse take a new hold on the world? FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

"THE MOST DEFINITIVE GUIDE INTO THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF BEING A HORROR WRITER SINCE STEPHEN KING'S 'ON WRITING'..." We have assembled some of the very best in the business from whom you can learn so much about the craft of horror writing: Bram Stoker Award(c) winners, bestselling authors, a President of the Horror Writers' Association, and myriad contemporary horror authors of distinction. The Horror Writer covers how to connect with your market and carve out a sustainable niche in the independent horror genre, how to tackle the writer's ever-lurking nemesis of productivity, writing good horror stories with powerful, effective scenes, realistic, flowing dialogue and relatable characters without resorting to clich d jump scares and well-worn gimmicks. Also covered is the delicate subject of handling rejection with good grace, and how to use those inevitable "not quite the right fit for us at this time" letters as an opportunity to hone your craft. Plus... perceptive interviews to provide an intimate peek into the psyche of the horror author and the challenges they work through to bring their nefarious ideas to the page. And, as if that - and so much more - was not enough, we have for your delectation Ramsey Campbell's beautifully insightful analysis of the tales of HP Lovecraft. Featuring: Ramsey Campbell, John Palisano, Chad Lutzke, Lisa Morton, Kenneth W. Cain, Kevin J. Kennedy, Monique Snyman, Scott Nicholson, Lucy A. Snyder, Richard Thomas, Gene O'Neill, Jess Landry, Luke Walker, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Marie O'Regan, Armand Rosamilia, Kevin Lucia, Ben Eads, Kelli Owen, Jasper Bark, and Bret McCormick. And interviews with: Steve Rasnic Tem, Stephen Graham Jones, David Owain Hughes, Tim Waggoner, and Mort Castle.