Books in the Studies in Supernatural Literature series

This collection of new essays and reprints of significant articles provides a comprehensive picture of Lord Dunsany's contribution to fantasy fiction and world literature. These essays make a case for the continued study of this neglected but hugely influential writer.

In his classic study Supernatural Horror in Literature, H. P. Lovecraft discusses the emergence of what he called spectral literatureliterature that involves the gothic themes of the supernatural found in the past but also considers modern society and humanity. Beyond indicating how authors of such works derived pleasure from a sense of cosmic atmosphere, Lovecraft did not elaborate on what he meant by the term spectral as a form of haunted literature concerned with modernity. In Lord Dunsany, H. P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury: Spectral Journeys, William F. Touponce examines what these three masters of weird fiction reveal about modernity and the condition of being modern in their tales. In this study, Touponce confirms that these three authors viewed storytelling as a kind of journey into the spectral. Furthermore, he explains how each identifies modernity with capitalism in various ways and shows a concern with surpassing the limits of realism, which they see as tied to the representation of bourgeois society. The collected writings of Lord Dunsany, H. P. Lovecraft, and Ray Bradbury span the length of the tumultuous twentieth century with hundreds of stories. By comparing these authors, Touponce also traces the development of supernatural fiction since the early 1900s. Reading about how these works were tied to various stages of capitalism, one can see the connection between supernatural literature and society. This study will appeal to fans of the three authors discussed here, as well as to scholars and others interested in the connection between literature and society, criticism of supernatural fiction, the nature of storytelling, and the meaning and experience of modernity.

Recognized as a major innovator in the weird story, H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was an author whose influence was felt by nearly every writer of horror, fantasy, and science fiction in the second half of the twentieth century. In H. P. Lovecraft and Influence: His Predecessors and Successors, Robert H. Waugh has assembled a collection of essays that not only examine the effect Lovecraft's work has had-and continues to have-on writers, but how Lovecraft's writing was shaped by those who preceded him. Chapters in this collection are devoted to authors such as Jonathan Swift, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Lord Dunsany, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, Stephen King and more.

This is a collection of critical essays on Ramsey Campbell, author of several award-winning stories and novels in the fields of fantasy and horror, including To Wake the Dead, Incarnate, and Grin of the Dark.

This single author collection of essays tackles the usual subjects in horror literature-particularly Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, H. P. Lovecraft and Ramsey Campbell-but also examines some of the less well-known names of the genre, including Charles Brockden Brown and Algernon Blackwood.

This book illuminates the impact, lasting influence, and personalities involved with the creation and development of dark fantasy works of the 20th and 21st century-classics of literature, cinema, and television. This collection of new and reprinted material will focus on recognized trailblazers-Rod Serling, Ray Bradbury, Hugh Hefner, etc.-as well as those whose contributions have been sadly neglected. Featuring profiles, interviews, and essays, this collection will provide insight into not only what is important, but why, and how these works have made such an impact on popular culture.

This volume collects critical essays that provide a broader understanding of the magazine Weird Tales and its authors, artists, readers, and editorial practices, as well as the larger impact that the periodical had on popular culture and genre fiction. In particular, these essays explain why Weird Tales deserved its subtitle "The Unique Magazine" and why works by some of its authors have endured.