Graham Masterton, and Dean R. Koontz have also
found a continuing audience, and newer writers
such as Bentley Little, Edward Lee, Thomas Ligotti,
Tom Piccirilli, Nancy Holder, and Christopher
Golden appear to be attracting a new generation of
readers. The diverse styles and subject matters of
these writers, none of whom confine themselves to
traditional ghosts, vampires, demonic possessions,
and satanic cults, may indicate a healthier and
more gradual expansion of the field in the future.
There are far too many authors and significant
works to cover them all adequately even in a book
of this length. What I have attempted to do is pro-
vide an overview of the careers of the significant
writers, some of whom are active in both fields, as
well as a sampling of newer writers who may
become the leading names over the next few years.
I have also chosen selected novels and short stories,
including many of the best fantasy and horror sto-
ries ever written, but also some of the most influen-
tial, and a few that illustrate points that may not
have been covered elsewhere. There is also a bibli-
ography of the fantasy and horror books of each
writer covered, lists of the winners of the Bram
Stoker Awards presented by the Horror Writers’
Association and the World Fantasy Awards pre-
sented by the World Fantasy Convention, a brief
bibliography of reference works I have found useful,
and a glossary of terms that might be unfamiliar. I
hope that readers will find this book useful and that
they may be stimulated to discover as much pleas-
ure in reading some of the works mentioned herein
as I have.viii Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction