Horror Authors


Horror Thriller

 

 

Stephen King- King first acquired a love for horror at approximately the age of four as he listened to a horror story on the radio through his mother's door, although that night he was afraid of the dark. His first true taste of horror was a book of his father's he found in a relative's attic. He gives credit to Ripley's Believe It or Not! for contributing to his discovery of strange facts. He wrote his first story when he was seven and proceeded to write for magazines when he was twelve. King gets his inspiration for his books, stories, and movies from his experiences in his life or twists on reality from his point of view.[1] Stephen King has a series of weird facts about him that are very interesting; such as, his mother working in a kitchen at a facility for mentally challenged individuals. He has high blood pressure, flat feet, limited vision and punctured ear drums. Stephen is of Scots-Irish ancestry, is 6' 4" and sometimes wears a beard between the ending of the World Series and the beginning of spring baseball training. His wife and he give out scholarships to high school students in their area and also give to other charities. Also, he appears at least once in most of his films.[2]

 

Bram Stoker

Abraham (Bram) Stoker was born Nov. 8, 1847 in Dublin, Ireland. He attended Trinity College and received honors in math, science, history and composition. After he graduated he became a civil servant at Dublin Castle and was an unpaid writer for a local newspaper, the Dublin Evening Mail [4]. Stoker was fascinated with the supernatural and the occult, which is why he was later rumored to have participated in occult circles. These fascinations were his main topics when he began writing. Some of Stoker’s later interests were of alchemy and astral projection, mainly mythical things that were dark-natured. There were rumors of his membership in the infamous Order of the Golden Dawn, which may or may not be true [3]. Around 1872 Stoker published many of his stories but didn’t become well known until his creation of “Dracula” in 1897. This book became the inspiration for many theatrical, literary and film creations, and is considered a classic horror story. Stoker continued his Gothic and Fantasy fiction until his death in 1912 [4].

 

Megan Shepherd

When Megan Shepherd's favorite TV show Lost was canceled she began to read the gothic classic Dracula by Bram Stoker. That led her to reflect on another book she had read The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells. She decided she wanted to take a different perspective on the story and began writing her first book, The Madman's Daughter. She gets most of her inspiration from gothic classics. Sometimes she is inspired in social settings, like when she was on a writers' retreat and another writer was talking about her husband's job working with wildlife. She began to think what it would be like to have a human zoo, and "boom" - her next trilogy The Cage was born.[6] The authors who have influenced Megan's writing style are reflected in The Madman's Daughter trilogy. One can see the influence of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and H.G. Well's The Island of Doctor Moreau.[5]

 

Joe Hill

Joe Hill is a modern-day author who has recently written a horror novel called Heart-Shaped Box. Hill has always been drawn to ghost stories, which may be because he is the son of the very famous horror author, Stephen King. Hill got his passion for writing from his dad. He wrote his first column for a newspaper when he was only 11. However, that is also when he realized that he wanted to have a pen name. Hill loved writing, and he didn't want to be published mainly for who his father was. So, he dropped his last name and now goes by Joe Hill. His decision to not get noticed because of his father's name has done him no harm. Many publishers were eager to buy Hill's novel before knowing who his father was.


[1]  Russell, Sharon A. Stephen King: A Critical Companion. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. Print.

[2]  King, Tabitha. "StephenKing.com - About the Author." StephenKing.com - About the Author. Web. 23 May 2012. <http://www.stephenking.com/the_author.html>.

[3]Scarborough, Terry. "Bram Stoker: A Brief Biography." The Victorian Web. George Landow, 30 Apr. 2008. Web. 14 Dec. 2012

[4]"Bram Stoker Awards 2012." The Biography Channel Website. A&E Television Networks, 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.

          [5] Seggel, Heather. 'Megan Shepherd: Red in Tooth and Claw." BookPage. BookPage, Feb 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. 

          [6] Shepherd, Megan. "Frequently Asked Questions." Megan Shepherd. N.p., 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.

          [7] Bone, Alison. "Ghost Writer." Bookseller 8 Dec. 2006: 21. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 May 2015.