A further anthology of essays, by leading critics, exploring the lives and careers of important writers who shaped the development of the supernatural story in the mid-to-late 20th century, concentrating on the modern period, after to the emergence of Weird Tales and H.P. Lovecraft, including the immediate predecessors and contemporaries of Stephen King.

Contents:

"Peter Straub: From Academe to Shadowland" by Bernadette Bosky.
"Poetry of Darkness: The Horror Fiction of Fritz Leiber" by Michael E. Stamm.
"Tales of Childhood and the Grave: Ray Bradbury's Horror Fiction" by Darrell Schweitzer.
"The Poetics of the Unconscious: The 'Strange Stories' of Robert Aickman" by Gary William Crawford.
"Michael McDowell and the Haunted South" by Michael E. Stamm.
"Yours Truly, Robert Bloch" by Michael E. Stamm.
"Concerning David Case" by Jeffrey K. Goddin.
"The Subtle Terrors of Charles L. Grant" by Don D'Ammassa.
"Ramsey Campbell: An Appreciation" by T.E.D. Klein.
"James Herbert: Notes Toward a Reappraisal" by Ramsey Campbell.
"American Gothic: Joseph Payne Brennan" by Alan Warren.
"The Grim Imperative of Michael Shea" by Arthur Jean Cox.
"Sardonic Fantasies: John Collier" by Ben P. Indick.
"History as Horror: Chelsa Quinn Yarbro" by Gillian Fitzgerald.
"Quietly Soaring: Peter Tremayne" by Christina Kiplinger.
"Three Poets of Horror: Tierney, Breiding, and Brennan" by Steve Eng.

With bibliographies and index.

DARRELL SCHWEITZER is himself a leading critic, author of books on H.P. Lovecraft and Lord Dunsany. A collection of his own critical essays, WINDOWS OF THE IMAGINATION, is also available from Wildside Press. As a fiction-writer, he has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award three times. He is the author of THE MASK OF THE SORCERER and THE SHATTERED GODDESS. He has been co-editor of the classic magazine Weird Tales since 1988.