wonder and mystery about the universe, to tell us
that even in the most prosaic settings, there can be
an element of magic, and that by knowing the ex-
tent of that magic, we might lose something of our
own enthusiasm for life. Lovecraft is not saying
that there are some things humans was not meant
to know, but rather that we need to understand
that there is a price to be paid for that knowledge.
Straub, Peter (1943– )
Along with Stephen KING, Anne RICE, and Dean
R. KOONTZ, Peter Straub has dominated the
American horror fiction scene for more than two
decades. He made his debut in the genre with Julia
(1975, also published as Full Circle), a very intelli-
gent and convincing modern ghost story. After a
young girl dies tragically in an accident, her
mother is subject to particularly cruel apparitions
that initially appear to be illusions founded in her
guilt but that are soon revealed to be a genuinely
supernatural intervention. There is an even more
malevolent ghost in If You Could See Me Now
(1977), this time a wronged woman returning from
the grave to exact vengeance on her unfaithful
lover. But it was with GHOST STORY(1979) that
Straub became one of the dominant voices in hor-
ror fiction. Ghost Storyis a large, complex novel
with unusually well-developed characters and a
very unconventional type of ghost who can change
her appearance and manifest herself physically so
that she can interact with the living, even during
daylight, rather than lurking in the shadows, nebu-
lous, indistinct, and physically impotent. The 1981
film version did an above-average job of translat-
ing the story to the screen. The book did for the
ghost story what Stephen King had earlier done for
vampires in ’SALEMS’ LOT(1975).
Straub’s next fantasy novel was Shadowland
(1980), considerably narrower in scope, in which
two young people live with an authentic magician
in rural New England waiting for him to decide to
which of them he will pass on his talent and
knowledge. This was followed by the much more
ambitious The Floating Dragon(1982), which mixes
ancient supernatural evil in the form of a kind of
disembodied spirit, the dragon, with a rather im-
plausible science fiction device, a chemical spill
that causes those affected to begin to dissolve from
within. Portions of the novel are extremely effec-
tive, while other sections seem less coordinated or
credible. Three subsequent loosely related novels
have ambiguous or no fantastic content at all but
are still associated with the genre. These are Koko
(1988), Mystery(1990), and The Throat(1993).
The Hellfire Club(1996) is not fantasy, either.
Straub returned to the supernatural with Mr.
X(1999), a chilling story about a man who experi-
ences a precognitive vision of murder on his birth-
day every year until he finally reaches the year in
which the events are to take place. He followed
with two related novels, Lost Boy, Lost Girl(2003)
and In the Night Room (2004). In the first a
teenager’s obsession with a house once owned by a
serial killer leads to his discovery of a ghostly girl
who exists in another reality. The second novel
concerns a horror writer who learns that at least
one of his characters has come to life and that
what he writes can affect her reality. He is, in fact,
the author of Lost Boy, Lost Girl.Both novels are
more contemplative and less melodramatic than
Straub’s earlier supernatural novels, but both in-
volve fascinating mysteries.
With Stephen King Straub collaborated on
The Talisman(1984), set partly in our world and
partly in a parallel reality in which werewolves and
other magical elements exist. The story is basically
an extended quest, not always tightly plotted but
filled with fascinating tidbits and side trips. The
two authors added a very belated sequel, Black
House(2001), in which an evil force from the
other world uses a serial killer in ours as its agent
in the theft of a number of children. Although less
imaginative, the sequel is otherwise a much better
book, tightly plotted and suspenseful.
Straub has won numerous fantasy and horror
awards. His novels The Throat, Mr. X,and Lost
Boy, Lost Girlall won the Bram Stoker Award, as
did the collection Magic Terrorand the story “Mr.
Clubb and Mr. Cuff.” His marginally fantastic
novel Kokowon the World Fantasy Award, as did
the short story “The Ghost Village.” Several other
short stories are worth special mention, including
“The Juniper Tree” (1988), “The Fee” (1994),
and the short novel Pork Pie Hat(1994). Houses
without Doors(1990) contains some of his best340 Straub, Peter