Rhode Island's Spookiest Writers

From HP Lovecraft to Hugh Barrett Cave, these RI writers spook out the romance, horror, and sciene fiction genres. From the living, the undead, and the deceased, Rhode Island has been home to many a scary writer. Providence's own H.P. Lovecraft (1890 - 1937) is the best-known, while Hugh Barrett Cave (1910-2004), who lived for a time in Pawtucket, was the most prolific, but these two greats aren't the only writers that our little state has to offer. They might be creepy, and they are definitely kooky, mysterious, and spooky, but these five Rhode Island writers still send shivers down our spines with their tales of dark terror and supernatural entities.

LES DANIELS

Genre: Horror

Quote: " I think we're the spin-off, we're the colony. .... And it's dark, it's cold; there's the ocean which is always kind of scary. It's damp. It's grey. It's New England..."

While attending Brown University, he wrote his master's thesis on Frankenstein, but it's vampires that warm his blood these days. His series about the vampire Don Sebastian de Villanueva contrast blood lust with the non-supernatural evils of the world during the Spanish Inquisition, the French Revolution, and Victorian London. Daniels also writes pop culture reference books.

Selected Works:

No Blood Spilled (1991)

Dying of Fright: Masterpieces of the Macabre [editor] (1976)

Living in Fear: A History of Horror in the Mass Media (1975)

ALICE KIMBERLY

Genre: Mystery

Quote: "I can't think of many better uses for fiction, or any art, than to comfort the grieving; to lift them up with an idea that maybe they really aren't so alone, that maybe there really are spirits looking after them, even if those spirits reside within themselves-as imagination, passion, or creative abilities they have yet to tap." - In an interview

Alice Kimberly is Cleo Coyle who is Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini... wait? What? This husband and wife writing team uses different aliases to keep their different mystery series straight. As long as someone understands it, right? They might not live in Rhode Island, but their Haunted Bookshop series features widowed bookstore owner, Penelope Thornton-McClure, who lives in a small town in Rhode Island with her son. Her bookshop is haunted by Private Investigator Jack Shephard, who wouldn't believe in ghosts if he weren't one himself.

Selected works:

The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion (forthcoming - January 2009)

The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library (2007)

The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (2004)

JON LAND

Genre: Suspense

Quote: "Jon Land is arguably one of today's best authors of the Spy-Espionage-Action-Adventure genre." - his personal website

Okay, so Jon Land isn't shy about proclaiming himself of the best thriller writers out there, but why should he be? With at least fifteen best-selling novels under his belt, and likely more on the way, Jon Land has earned his bragging rights. His books about pirates on the high seas, Middle East terrorists, and murdered archeologists will keep you turning pages late into the night. What's a little modesty when you've been published in fifty different countries in six different languages? Oh, and he lives in Providence.

Selected Works:

Blood Diamonds (2008)

A Walk In The Darkness (2008)

The Seven Sins (2008)

BOB LEUCI

Genre: Crime

Quote: "I think of Rhode Island in some ways as the Sicily of the United States. It has its own language. It has its own culture, its own food. It's a very special place." - in an interview

The truth is stranger than fiction, and it's scarier, too. Just ask Bob Leuci, of Saunderstown, who served as a NYPD police officer for twenty years. An idealistic cop who turned dirty when a pair of fellow officers slipped him $500, Leuci eventually turned informer and wore a wire. He learned the writing craft after a reluctant retirement in 1981. He's now a mid-list career crime novelist, but it's his memoir that will leave you unable to sleep at night.

Selected Works:

Fence Jumpers (2007)

All The Centurions: A New York City Cop Remembers His Years On The Street (2005)

Blaze (2001)

RORY RAVEN

Genre: Supernatural Non-fiction

Quote: "I don't make claims to have extraordinary psychic powers. There are things I can do that appear to be psychic."

Rory Raven knows what the public is thinking, or at least that's what he wants you to believe. But whether you believe this mentalist or not, one thing's for certain: Raven's written the book on the ghosts of Providence. Whether you buy his book or take one of his guided tours this October, you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about the spooky goings-on of the capital city.

Selected Work:

Haunted Providence (2008)

NECRONOMICON PRESS

Quote: "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and stronger kind of fear is fear of the unknown." - H.P. Lovecraft

The Necronomicon Press isn't a single writer, but a collection of them. A small-press publisher based in West Warwick, Necronomicon Press was started in 1976 to publish the works of H.P. Lovecraft and other horror writers. The press publishes reprints and new contemporary work in the horror genre. Its name comes from the fictional work often cited in H.P. Lovecraft's work, but no word on whether the people behind the press summoned the Old Ones to ensure their 32-year publishing success.

Selected Works:

Brian Lumley's Ghoul Warnings and Other Omens (1999)

Brian Stableford's Fables & Fantasies (1996)

S.T. Joshi's H.P. Lovecraft: A Life (1996)