H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) is commonly regarded as the leading author of supernatural fiction in the 20th century. He is distinctive among writers in having a tremendous popular following as well as a considerable and increasing academic reputation as a writer of substance and significance. This encyclopedia is an exhaustive guide to many aspects of Lovecraft's life and work, codifying the detailed research on Lovecraft conducted by many scholars over the past three decades. It includes hundreds of alphabetically arranged entries on Lovecraft and presents extensive bibliographical information. The volume draws upon rare documents, including thousands of unpublished letters, in presenting plot synopses of Lovecraft's major works, descriptions of characters in his tales, capsule biographies of his major colleagues and family members, and entries on little known features in his stories, such as his imaginary book of occult lore, the Necronomicon. The volume refers to current scholarship on the issues in question and also supplies the literary, topographical, and biographical sources for key elements in Lovecraft's work. As Lovecraft's renown continues to ascend in the 21st century, this encyclopedia will be essential to an understanding of his life and writings.

The leading critic of supernatural literature here examines the roots of the "weird tale" (as Lovecraft called it) through detailed examinations of five "founding fathers" of the genre: Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood, M.R. James, and H.P. Lovecraft. The result is a thorough study of the art, craft, philosophy, and aesthetics of an enduring genre of fantastic literature.

During his lifetime, H. P. Lovecraft did not have a single book of his stories published. When he died in 1937, he probably envisioned the oblivion that would overtake his entire literary output. But in the decades that have followed, Lovecraft's fiction, essays, poetry, and letters have catapulted him to worldwide celebrity-a result unprecedented in the history of literature. S. T. Joshi, a leading Lovecraft scholar and biographer, has traced the publication of Lovecraft's works from the amateur press to the pulp magazines and then, after his death, in book form by Arkham House and many other publishers, including hundreds of translations in more than thirty languages. Joshi also charts the development of criticism and scholarship on Lovecraft, from the fan magazines of the 1930s onward. The 1970s effected a revolution in Lovecraft scholarship, and that work continues today with critics around the world studying Lovecraft's life and oeuvre in a multitude of ways. This volume is an essential guide to the posthumous success of one of the most compelling writers in American and world literature.

In his forty-year career as a critic and editor of weird fiction, S. T. Joshi has had occasion to study many of the leading writers of fantasy and horror fiction, and this book embodies some of his most provocative discussions on weird writers over the past century or more. The "golden age" of weird fiction ranged from about 1880 to 1940, and Joshi studies such leading writers as Ambrose Bierce and Bram Stoker, as well as little-known but fascinating figures such as Edna W. Underwood and Gertrude Atherton. Bierce's pungent political satires, rarely discussed by critics, are analyzed in detail, and we learn of both the lives and the writings of such pioneering writers of ghostly fiction as Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and E. Nesbit. The early decades of the 20th century saw the emergence of such titans as Lord Dunsany and M. R. James, and Joshi provides penetrating glimpses into their variegated work. This was also an era of lesser-known figures, and Joshi shows how the work of Sax Rohmer, Irvin S. Cobb, and Maurice Level contributed to the development of weird fiction. Contemporary writers ranging from Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, and CaitlIn R. Kiernan are also studied in detail. All told, this volume provides illuminating glimpses of many of the leading writers of the weird tale over the past century and a half, and also adds to S. T. Joshi's stature as the leading critic of weird fiction today.

The author "has gone back to primary sources to set the record straight" on "the leading American writer of horror fiction in this century."--Cover.

H. P. Lovecraft has come to be recognised as the leading author of supernatural fiction in the twentieth century. But how did a man who died in poverty, with no book of his stories published in his lifetime, become such an icon in horror literature? S. T. Joshi, the leading authority on Lovecraft, traces in detail the course of Lovecraft’s life and shows how Lovecraft was engaged in the political, economic, social and intellectual currents of his time.

An exhaustive work covering the full range of topics relating to vampires, including literature, film and television, and folklore. Encyclopedia of the Vampire: The Living Dead in Myth, Legend, and Popular Culture is a comprehensive encyclopedia relating to all phases of vampirism—in literature, film, and television; in folklore; and in world culture. Although previous encyclopedias have attempted to chart this terrain, no prior work contains the depth of information, the breadth of scope, and the up-to-date coverage of this volume. With contributions from many leading critics of horror and supernatural literature and media, the encyclopedia offers entries on leading authors of vampire literature (Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, Stephenie Meyer), on important individual literary works (Dracula and Interview with the Vampire), on celebrated vampire films (the many different adaptations of Dracula, the Twilight series, Love at First Bite), and on television shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel). It also covers other significant topics pertaining to vampires, such as vampires in world folklore, humorous vampire films, and vampire lifestyle.

Joshi presents a highly acerbic critique of the religious point of view that dissects the arguments offered by well-known apologists for various tenets of belief.