Ramsey Campbell's picture

Ramsey Campbell

(John Ramsey Campbell)
UK  (1946 - )
(Son-in-Law of A Bertram Chandler)
aka
Carl Dreadstone, Jay Ramsay
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About Ramsey Campbell
Ramsey Campbell is perhaps the world's most decorated author of horror, terror, suspense, dark fantasy, and supernatural fiction. He has won four World Fantasy Awards, ten British Fantasy Awards, three Bram Stoker Awards, and the Horror Writers' Association's Lifetime Achievement Award, and has been named a Grand Master of Horror.

Publishers Weekly calls Campbell "a horror writer's horror writer," adding, "His control of mood and atmosphere is unsurpassed." Doug Winter, the noted scholar and critic, says Campbell has written "some of the most original and compelling fiction of our time, [works that dare] the precipice of reason, the human dilemma of knowing and not knowing, believing and disbelieving."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer says his horror fiction is "of consistently high quality," and The Washington Post praises Campbell for continuing "to break new ground, advancing the style and thematic content of horror fiction far beyond the works of his contemporaries."

Indeed, with the original publication of Scared Stiff, Campbell almost single-handedly created the genre of erotic horror. Never had sex and death been so mesmerizingly entwined. Clive Barker, in his Introduction, says, "One of the delightfully unsettling things about these tales is the way Ramsey's brooding, utterly unique vision renders an act so familiar to us all so fretful, so strange, so chilling. Sex . . . is the perfect stuff for the horror writer, and there can be few artists working in the genre as capable of analyzing and dramatizing [this] as Campbell."

He lives in Liverpool, England, with his wife and family.
 
Novels
The Doll Who Ate His MotherThe Bride of FrankensteinDracula's DaughterThe Face That Must Die
To Wake the DeadThe NamelessThe ClawNight of the Claw
IncarnateObsessionThe Hungry MoonThe Influence
Ancient ImagesNeeding GhostsMidnight SunThe Count of Eleven
The Long LostThe One Safe PlaceThe House on Nazareth HillThe Last Voice They Hear
Silent ChildrenPact of the FathersThe Darkest Part of the WoodsThe Overnight
Secret StoryThe Grin of the DarkThieving FearCreatures of the Pool
The Seven Days of CainSolomon Kane: Official Movie NovelisationGhosts KnowThe Kind Folk
 
Collections
The Inhabitant of the Lake: And Less Welcome TenantsDemons by DaylightThe Height of the ScreamWaking Nightmares
Dark CompanionsCold PrintBlack WineScared Stiff
Dark Feasts: The World of Ramsey CampbellTwo Obscure TalesAlone with the HorrorsStrange Things and Stranger Places
Far Away and NeverGhosts and Grisly ThingsTold by the DeadThe Book of Liverpool: A City in Short Fiction
Inconsequential TalesJust Behind YouThe Devil's Coattails: More Dispatches From the Dark FrontierThe Inhabitant of the Lake and Other Unwelcome Tenants
Horror For GoodA Ghostly Gathering: Mammoth Books presentsCut Corners Volume 1
 
Chapbooks
Through the Walls (1981)
The Guide (1985)
     aka Der Reisefuhrer
 
Novellas
The Long WayWith the Angels: Mammoth Books presents
 
Short Stories
 
Series contributed to
Best New HorrorBest New Horror 2Best New Horror 3Best New Horror 4
 
Anthologies edited
SuperhorrorNew Tales of the Cthulhu MythosNew Terrors 2New Terrors 1
The Gruesome BookMedusaFine Frights: Stories That Scared MeUncanny Banquet
DeathportThe Giant Book of TerrorMeddling with GhostsGathering the Bones: Original Stories from the World's Masters of Horror
Read by Dawn: Volume One
 
Non fiction
Ramsey Campbell, ProbablyHorror: Another 100 Best Books
 
Anthologies containing stories by Ramsey Campbell
Dark Mind Dark Heart (1962)
Over the Edge (1964)
Tandem Horror Three (1969)
Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos Volume 2 (1969)
New Writings in Horror and the Supernatural Volume 2 (1971)
The Year's Best Horror Stories (1971)
The Spawn of Cthulhu (1971)
The Year's Best Horror Stories II (1972)
Beware of the Cat (1972)
The Year's Best Horror Stories III (1973)
The Hounds of Hell (1974)
The Devil's Children (1974)
The Star Book of Horror 1 (1975)
Savage Heroes: Tales of Magical Fantasy (1975)
New Writings in SF 25 (1975)
Nameless Places (1975)
The Satyr's Head: And Other Tales of Terror (1975)
The Devil's Kisses (1976)
The Far Reaches of Fear (1976)
Frights: New Stories of Suspense and Supernatural Terror (1976)
The Taste of Fear (1976)
The First Orbit Book of Horror Stories (1976)
Whispers (1977)
The Rivals of Dracula (1977)
Chamber of Horrors (1978)
The Year's Best Fantasy Stories 4 (1978)
Shadows (1978)
Frights 2 (1979)
The Year's Best Horror Stories VII (1979)
Shadows 2 (1979)
New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (1980)
New Terrors 1 (1980)
Dark Forces (1980)
Modern Masters of Horror (1981)
Shadows 4 (1981)
The Giant Book of Horror Stories (1981)
The 18th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1982)
The Gruesome Book (1983)
Top Fantasy (1984)
The 17th Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories (1984)
Shadows 7 (1984)
The Year's Best Horror Stories XIII (1985)
After Midnight (1986)
Masters of Darkness (1986)
Hallowe'en Horrors (1986)
Cutting Edge (1986)
The Year's Best Horror Stories XIV (1986)
A Century of Horror 1970-1979: The Greatest Stories of the Decade (1987)
Masques 2 (1987)
Ghor, Kin-Slayer: The Saga of Genseric's Fifth-Born Son (1987)
The Architecture of Fear (1987)
Best of the Horror Show: An Adventure in Terror (1987)
Lord John Ten (1987)
Silver Scream (1988)
Prime Evil (1988)
The Year's Best Fantasy First Annual Collection (1988)
Gaslight and Ghosts (1988)
The Year's Best Fantasy Second Annual Collection (1989)
     aka Demons and Dreams
Book of the Dead (1989)
Scare Care (1989)
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Third Annual Collection (1990)
Urban Horrors (1990)
Dark Voices 2: The Pan Book of Horror (1990)
Best New Horror (1990)
Dark Voices 3: The Pan Book of Horror (1991)
Horror Story Volume 3 (1991)
The Mammoth Book of Terror (1992)
100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories (1992)
The Mammoth Book of Vampires (1992)
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Fifth Annual Collection (1992)
Best New Horror 3 (1992)
The Year's Best Horror Stories XX (1992)
Uncanny Banquet (1992)
Nursery Crimes (1993)
Cold Cuts (1993)
Monsters in Our Midst (1993)
The Hastur Cycle, 2nd Edition (1993)
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...Nightmare (1993)
The Best of Whispers (1994)
Northern Chills (1994)
The Shub Niggurath Cycle (1994)
Young Blood (1994)
The Mammoth Book of Frankenstein (1994)
Shadows over Innsmouth (1994)
100 Wicked Little Witch Stories (1995)
Made in Goatswood (1995)
The Azathoth Cycle (1995)
Doubles, Dummies and Dolls: 21 Terror Tales of Replication (1995)
Cthulhu 2000: A Lovecraftian Anthology (1995)
Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories (1995)
Dark Terrors (1995)
Dark Love (1995)
The Best New Horror 6 (1995)
Borderlands 4 (1995)
100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories (1995)
The Best of Weird Tales (1995)
The Giant Book of Fantasy Tales (1996)
The Disciples of Cthulhu (1996)
100 Tiny Tales of Terror (1996)
Fantasy Stories (1996)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume Seven (1996)
Dark Terrors 2 (1996)
Destination Unknown (1996)
The New Lovecraft Circle (1996)
The Mammoth Book of Dracula: Vampire Tales for the New Millennium (1997)
Millennium (1997)
Dancing with the Dark (1997)
Dark of the Night (1997)
Dark Terrors 3 (1997)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume Nine (1997)
Scaremongers (1998)
The Unexplained: Stories of the Paranormal (1998)
The Crow: Shattered Lives and Broken Dreams (1998)
Scaremongers 2: Redbrick Eden (1998)
Dark Terrors 4 (1998)
100 Twisted Little Tales of Torment (1998)
Tales of The Cthulhu Mythos (1999)
White of the Moon: New Tales of Madness and Dread (1999)
999: Twenty-nin Original Tales of Horror and Suspense (1999)
Technohorror: Tales of Terror, Suspense, and Intrigue (1999)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume Ten (1999)
100 Hilarious Little Howlers (1999)
Dark Terrors 5 (2000)
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume Eleven (2000)
The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (2000)
My Favorite Horror Story (2000)
Dark Mind Dark HeartOver the EdgeTales of the Cthulhu Mythos Volume 2New Writings in Horror and the Supernatural Volume 2
The Year's Best Horror StoriesThe Spawn of CthulhuThe Year's Best Horror Stories IIBeware of the Cat
The Year's Best Horror Stories IIIThe Hounds of HellThe Devil's ChildrenThe Star Book of Horror 1
Savage Heroes: Tales of Magical FantasyNew Writings in SF 25Nameless PlacesThe Satyr's Head: And Other Tales of Terror
The Devil's KissesFrights: New Stories of Suspense and Supernatural TerrorThe Taste of FearThe First Orbit Book of Horror Stories
WhispersThe Rivals of DraculaChamber of HorrorsThe Year's Best Fantasy Stories 4
ShadowsThe Year's Best Horror Stories VIIShadows 2New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
New Terrors 1Dark ForcesModern Masters of HorrorShadows 4
The Giant Book of Horror StoriesThe 18th Fontana Book of Great Ghost StoriesThe Gruesome BookTop Fantasy
The 17th Fontana Book of Great Horror StoriesShadows 7The Year's Best Horror Stories XIIIAfter Midnight
Masters of DarknessHallowe'en HorrorsCutting EdgeThe Year's Best Horror Stories XIV
A Century of Horror 1970-1979: The Greatest Stories of the DecadeGhor, Kin-Slayer: The Saga of Genseric's Fifth-Born SonThe Architecture of FearBest of the Horror Show: An Adventure in Terror
Lord John TenSilver ScreamPrime EvilThe Year's Best Fantasy First Annual Collection
Gaslight and GhostsThe Year's Best Fantasy Second Annual CollectionBook of the DeadScare Care
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Third Annual CollectionUrban HorrorsDark Voices 2: The Pan Book of HorrorBest New Horror
Dark Voices 3: The Pan Book of HorrorHorror Story Volume 3The Mammoth Book of Terror100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories
The Mammoth Book of VampiresThe Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Fifth Annual CollectionBest New Horror 3The Year's Best Horror Stories XX
Uncanny BanquetCold CutsMonsters in Our MidstThe Hastur Cycle, 2nd Edition
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...NightmareThe Best of WhispersThe Shub Niggurath CycleThe Mammoth Book of Frankenstein
Shadows over Innsmouth100 Wicked Little Witch StoriesMade in GoatswoodThe Azathoth Cycle
Doubles, Dummies and Dolls: 21 Terror Tales of ReplicationCthulhu 2000: A Lovecraftian AnthologyGreat Writers and Kids Write Spooky StoriesDark Terrors
Dark LoveBorderlands 4100 Vicious Little Vampire StoriesThe Best of Weird Tales
The Disciples of CthulhuFantasy StoriesThe Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume SevenDark Terrors 2
Destination UnknownThe New Lovecraft CircleThe Mammoth Book of Dracula: Vampire Tales for the New MillenniumMillennium
Dancing with the DarkDark of the NightDark Terrors 3The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume Nine
ScaremongersThe Unexplained: Stories of the ParanormalThe Crow: Shattered Lives and Broken DreamsScaremongers 2: Redbrick Eden
Dark Terrors 4100 Twisted Little Tales of TormentTales of The Cthulhu MythosWhite of the Moon: New Tales of Madness and Dread
999: Twenty-nin Original Tales of Horror and SuspenseTechnohorror: Tales of Terror, Suspense, and IntrigueThe Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume Ten100 Hilarious Little Howlers
Dark Terrors 5The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Volume ElevenThe Mammoth Book of Haunted House StoriesMy Favorite Horror Story
 
Short stories
DUMMY1
Kill Me Hideously
The Horror from the Bridge (1961)
The Insects from Shaggai (1961)
The Room in the Castle (1961)
The Church in High Street (1962)
The Inhabitant of the Lake [short story] (1962)
The Mine on Yuggoth (1962)
The Plain of Sound (1962)
The Render of the Veils (1962)
The Moon Lens (1963)
The Return of the Witch (1963)
The Will of Stanley Brooke (1963)
The Stone on the Island (1964)
The Cellars (1967)
Reply Guaranteed (1968)
The Stocking (1968)
Cold Print [short story] (1969)
Cyril (1969)
The Scar (1969)
Napier Court (1971)
Cat and Mouse (1972)
The Other House (1972)
At First Sight (1973)
Concussion (1973)
The Enchanted Fruit (1973)
The End of a Summer's Day (1973)
The Franklyn Paragraphs (1973)
The Guy (1973)
The Interloper (1973)
The Lost (1973)
Made in Goatswood (1973)
The Old Horns (1973)
Potential (1973)
The Second Staircase (1973)
The Sentinels (1973)
Litter (1974)
The Stages of the God (1974)
Vacant Possession (1974)
The Whining (1974)
Call First (1975)
Jack's Little Friend (1975)
The Man in the Underpass (1975)
Murders (1975)
The Previous Tenant (1975)
Run Through (1975)
Smoke Kiss (1975)
The Song at the Hub of the Garden (1975)
Ash (1976)
Baby (1976)
Beside the Seaside (1976)
The Companion (1976)World Fantasy (nominee)
Dolls (1976)
The Height of the Scream [short story] (1976)
Horror House of Blood (1976)
In the Shadows (1976)
Lilith's (1976)
Missing (1976)
The Other Woman (1976)
The Pattern (1976)
The Telephones (1976)
The Tugging (1976)
The Words That Count (1976)
The Changer of Names (1977)
The Chimney (1977)World Fantasy (nominee)
Conversion (1977)
In the Bag (1977)
Loveman's Comeback (1977)World Fantasy (nominee)
The Seductress (1977)
The Sustenance of Hoak (1977)
Dead Letters (1978)
Drawing In (1978)
Heading Home (1978)
The Little Voice (1978)
The Pit of Wings (1978)
Above the World (1979)
Mackintosh Willy (1979)World Fantasy
Midnight Hobo (1979)
The Mouths of Light (1979)
To Wake the Dead [short story] (1979)
Before the Storm (1980)
The Brood (1980)
The Change (1980)
Down There (1980)
The Faces at Pine Dunes (1980)
The Fit (1980)
The Gap (1980)
Out of Copyright (1980)
The Trick (1980)
Again (1981)
Calling Card (1981)
Hearing is Believing (1981)
The Next Sideshow (1981)
Through the Walls [short story] (1981)
Wrapped Up (1981)
The Depths (1982)
The Ferries (1982)
The Invocation (1982)
The Puppets (1982)
The Show Goes On (1982)
The Voice of the Beach (1982)
Jack in the Box (1983)
Just Waiting (1983)
Blacked Out (1984)
Seeing the World (1984)
Watch the Birdie [short story] (1984)
Old Clothes (1985)
Passing Phase (1985)
Rising Generation (1985)
The Sneering (1985)
Apples (1986)
Boiled Alive (1986)
The Hands (1986)
Little Man (1986)
Looking Out (1986)
Missed Connection (1986)
The Other Side (1986)
Root Cause (1986)
This Time (1986)
Another World (1987)
Medusa [short story] (1987)
Merry May (1987)
A New Life (1987)
Second Sight (1987)
Stages (1987)
Where the Heart Is (1987)
Eye of Childhood (1988)
Next Time You'll Know Me (1988)
Playing the Game (1988)
Welcomeland (1988)
Ancient Images [short story] (1989)
It Helps If You Sing (1989)
Meeting the Author (1989)
Needing Ghosts [short story] (1990)
The Worst Fog of the Year (1990)
The Same in Any Language (1991)
A Street Was Chosen (1991)
The Dead Must Die (1992)
End of the Line (1992)
The Limits of Fantasy (1992)
McGonagall in the Head (1992)
For You to Judge (1993)
See How They Run (1993)
The Urge (1993)
The Void (1993)
The Alternative (1994)
A Side of the Sea (1994)
Where They Lived (1994)
The Body in the Window (1995)
Going Under (1995)
The Horror Under Warrendown (1995)
The Maze (1995) (with Tammy and Matt Campbell)
Out of the Woods (1996)
Between the Floors (1997)
The Nearest to a Ghost (1997)
The Ways of Chaos (1997)
The Word (1997)Bram Stoker (nominee)
Never to Be Heard (1998)British Fantasy Society (nominee)
Ra (1998)
Ra*e (1998)
Twice by Fire (1998)
The Entertainment (1999)British Fantasy Society (nominee)
Bram Stoker (nominee)
No Story in It (2000)


Awards
World Fantasy Best Short story nominee (1977) : The Companion
World Fantasy Best Novel nominee (1977) : The Doll Who Ate His Mother
World Fantasy Best Collection nominee (1977) : The Height of the Scream
World Fantasy Best Short story nominee (1978) : The Chimney
World Fantasy Best Short story nominee (1978) : Loveman's Comeback
World Fantasy Best Short story winner (1980) : Mackintosh Willy
British Fantasy Society Best Novel winner (1981) : To Wake the Dead
World Fantasy Best Novel nominee (1982) : The Nameless
Bram Stoker Best Collection nominee (1988) : Scared Stiff
British Fantasy Society Best Novel winner (1988) : The Influence
World Fantasy Best Collection nominee (1988) : Scared Stiff
British Fantasy Society Best Novel winner (1991) : Midnight Sun
Bram Stoker Best Collection nominee (1992) : Waking Nightmares
Bram Stoker Best Collection winner (1994) : Alone with the Horrors
British Fantasy Society Best Novel winner (1994) : The Long Lost
World Fantasy Best Collection winner (1994) : Alone with the Horrors
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1995) : The One Safe Place
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1996) : The House on Nazareth Hill
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1997) : The House on Nazareth Hill
Bram Stoker Best Novellette nominee (1998) : The Word
British Fantasy Society Best Short story nominee (1998) : Never to Be Heard
British Fantasy Society Best Short story nominee (1999) : The Entertainment
Bram Stoker Best Short story nominee (2000) : The Entertainment
Bram Stoker Best Novel nominee (2001) : Silent Children
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (2005) : The Overnight
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (2006) : Secret Story


Books about Ramsey Campbell
Ramsey Campbell and Modern Horror Fiction
 
Links to other websites
Ramsey Campbell - the official web site


Ramsey Campbell recommends
Tales of Horror and the Supernatural
Tales of Horror and the Supernatural (1948)
Arthur Machen
"Tales of Horror and the Supernatural is, quite simply, one of the most important collections of weird tales by any author, and Tartarus press has done it proud. "
The Centauri Device
The Centauri Device (1974)
M John Harrison
"M John Harrison is the finest British writer now writing horror fiction and by far the most original."
Falling Angel
Falling Angel (1978)
William Hjortsberg
"The strongest crossbreeding of cop fiction and the supernatural since Falling Angel. An uncommonly powerful novel."
Books of Blood Volume 1
Books of Blood Volume 1 (1981)
Clive Barker
"I thought I was past being profoundly disturbed by horror fiction, but these books proved me wrong."
Fevre Dream
Fevre Dream (1982)
George R R Martin
"Frightening, moving, haunting - a powerful tale of supernatural terror."
The Damnation Game
The Damnation Game (1984)
Clive Barker
"Clive Barker is the most important new writer of horror since Peter Straub."
Live Girls
Live Girls (1987)
(Davey Owen, book 1)
Ray Garton
"The most nightmarish vampire story I have ever read."
Valley of Lights
Valley of Lights (1987)
Stephen Gallagher
"A treat: a real supernatural thriller - a suspenseful and terrifying tale, compellingly told."
Weaveworld
Weaveworld (1987)
Clive Barker
"All that you expect from Clive Barker and more - terrifying, shocking, audaciously imaginative, moving and ruthlessly unputdownable."
In the Land of the Dead
In the Land of the Dead (1989)
K W Jeter
"Jeter's is one of the most impressive bodies of work in my field today. Sometimes reminiscent of noir fiction but far darker, oppressively intense and hallucinatory vivid, deeply felt and unflinchingly honest, this book is what I believe contemporary horror fiction should be."
Songs of a Dead Dreamer
Songs of a Dead Dreamer (1989)
Thomas Ligotti
"One of the most important horror books of the decade...for Ligotti is one of the few consistently original voices in contemporary horror fiction."
The Night Man
The Night Man (1989)
K W Jeter
"Dark, intense, unflinchingly honest."
Angel
Angel (1993)
(Angel , book 1)
Garry Kilworth
"The strongest crossbreeding of cop fiction and the supernatural since Falling Angel. An uncommonly powerful novel."
The Community
The Community (1993)
Ben Leech
"The best kind of horror fiction."
Under the Crust: Supernatural Tales of Buxton
Under the Crust: Supernatural Tales of Buxton (1993)
Terry Lamsley
"A major debut in the field."
Pasquale's Angel
Pasquale's Angel (1994)
Paul McAuley
"A brilliantly sustained and controlled flight of imagination written with a fluency and vividness I'd kill for. A real treat, and a major novel from a writer whose prose is a delight to read."
Escardy Gap
Escardy Gap (1996)
Peter Crowther and James Lovegrove
"A feast for anyone who loves fantasy."
Head Injuries
Head Injuries (1998)
Conrad Williams
"I loved it. His portraits of everyday loneliness are brilliant. Altogether I thought it one of the finest and most haunting modern spectral novels I've read."
Eyes of Prey
Eyes of Prey (1998)
(Eyes , book 2)
Barry Hoffman
"An urban nightmare for the millennium."
Banquet for the Damned
Banquet for the Damned (2004)
Adam Nevill
"A substantial addition to the literature of the supernatural. "
The Shadow at The Bottom of The World
The Shadow at The Bottom of The World (2005)
Thomas Ligotti
"Thomas Ligotti is an absolute master of supernatural horror and weird fiction, and a true original. He pursues his unique vision with admirable honesty and rigorousness and conveys it in prose as powerfully evocative as any writer in the field. I'd say he might just be a genius."
The Keeper
The Keeper (2006)
Sarah Langan
"A dark and bracingly bleak tale of supernatural terror."
No Further Messages
No Further Messages (2007)
Brett Alexander Savory
"A stylish and intelligent writer. File under Original and Startling."



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