by Ian Brady

Created on: June 11, 2008   Last Updated: February 07, 2009

Whereas the most common names that instantly spring to mind in the horror fiction genre are; Clive Barker, Stephen King, John Saul, Dean Koontz and Ramsey Campbell and the other usual subjects. There are a number of less known but equally talented up and coming authors out there to be enjoyed and indeed cherished. There are some names that readily spring to mind like the brilliant Joe. R. Lansdale, the wickedly talented Bentley Little. In my opinion the brightest names in modern horror are arguably John Everson and Brian Keene. And let us not forget the ladies- the wickedly entertaining Lisa Morton and Fran Friel to name just two. If you are not familiar with these names I strongly suggest that you look them up, all it takes is a few strokes in an Internet search engine, trust me you will be thanking me afterwards. The caveat that distinguishes great horror writers from the ordinary are the Bram Stoker awards- brought to you by the Horror Writers Association. If you are not familiar with them- you need to check it out. This is an organization of the creme de creme of contemporary horror writers.

Horror is going under a revolution right now, and there are so many fresh voices out there. Some books I have encountered recently are by folks such as the twisted and creative P.S. Gifford and Joe McKinney.

Also we have Stephen King's son, Joe Hill, who is proving to be just as talented as his famous father.

With the advancements in computers and the Internet it is easier than ever to investigate the newer talents in horror. Many of the authors offer free samples of their work on their websites- and I urge you to take advantage of this technology.

Plus the next time you are in a library (you do go to libraries don't you?) Why not take a chance on an author that you are not as familiar with. The worst thing that can happen is that you read a couple of chapters and decide the book is not for you. But the possibility exists of encountering an author who you enjoy more than you have ever read before.

In this world it is getting harder and harder for writers to get published- I urge you to support the ones that make it. Trust me the ones that have succeeded have worked darn hard for it.

So, in close, I think the legacy of the horror world is in safe and creative hands- and the future of the genre looks incredibly bright It is up to folks like us- the readers of the world- to make sure that it keeps going that way.

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