Masters of the Weird Tale: Ramsey Campbell




About
The Oxford Companion to English Literature describes Ramsey Campbell (b. 1946) as “Britains most respected living horror writer.” He has been given more awards than any other writer in the field, including the Grand Master Award of the World Horror Convention, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association, the Living Legend Award of the International Horror Guild and the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Liverpool John Moores University for outstanding services to literature.

The early 1960s saw two invasions from Liverpool, one was the musical group the Beatles When the question “Who are these guys?” was asked the answer was emphatically provided with their first album hen the short story “The Church in High Street” was published in the August Derleth-edited anthology Dark Mind, Dark Heart, the question of “Who is this guy, writing like a British Lovecraft?” The publication of The Inhabitant of the Lake in 1964 gave a resounding answer that here was a true master of the pastiche, writing at a level not seen since the glory days of Weird Tales when the “Lovecraft Circle” was at the combined height of their prowess.

Nine years passed and a second collection appeared, the magnificent Demons by Daylight otally free of Lovecraft's shadow, now the question was “Who is this young man writing horror fiction completely unlike anyone else in the field?” The answer of course was Ramsey Campbell, and he was just getting started Over the next decade the question became “Who is this man setting the bar for the state of the art in this genre?” The decade of the 1980s saw Campbell nominated for, or win, over a dozen genre awards for his fiction, an unprecedented amount.

Rom stories such as “The Guy,” “Mackintosh Willy,” “The Sneering,” and “The Chimney” grew the foundation that has led to over a dozen collections, several of those winning awards in their own right A quarter of a century has passed since the last attempt to produce a “Best of Ramsey Campbell.” It's unlikely that any reader of this webpage does not have a copy of Alone With the Horrors in their collection, as it is, for all practical purposes, the most significant single author horror collection published in the 1990s ut Ramsey Campbell has hardly been idle since 1993.

His fiction remains state of the art and he continues to maintain his title as our best living practitioner of supernatural horror his latest installment in our acclaimed series “Masters of the Weird Tale” celebrates the first fifty-five years of Ramsey Campbell's illustrious career As you might imagine, one volume simply wouldn't do nstead, we've issued two volumes of over one thousand pages and still feel badly about the material that we were forced to leave out There's never been such an extensive collection of work by a living horror writer, but then again there's never been another Ramsey Campbell imited to 250 sets and featuring an introduction by Adam Nevill, a lengthy career retrospective interview, over three dozen illustrations, 86 stories, this is an essential volume for any serious collection of modern weird fiction Each volume is signed by Ramsey Campbell, Allen Koszowski, Jill Bauman, John Kenn Mortensen, Gavin O'Keefe, David Whitlam, and Jeanne D'Angelo hile all entries in the Masters of the Weird Tale tend to sell quickly, we expect that the demand for this amazing set of books will sell faster than usual We strongly suggest reserving your set immediately to avoid possible disappointment ur contract at present does not allow for additional printings, once these are gone, they're gone! The two volume collection of over 80 Ramsey Campbell stories is enclosed in a handsome slipcase with ribbon marker and over three dozen illustrations by Allen Koszowski, Jill Bauman, John Kenn Mortensen, Gavin O'Keefe, David Whitlam, and Jeanne D'Angelo he complete contents are shown below The edition is limited to 250 signed and numbered copies ach copy is signed by Ramsey Campbell and the Illustrators named above (except John Stewart).


Edition Details
  • Limited to 250 copies, each signed by Ramsey Campbell, Allen Koszowski, Jill Bauman, John Kenn Mortensen, Gavin O’Keefe, David Ho, David Whitlam, and Jeanne D’Angelo.
  • Oversize at 7½ × 11 inches.
  • New introduction by Adam Nevill.
  • Many photographs of Ramsey Campbell.
  • Two handsome volumes in a single slipcase.
  • Extensive bibliography.
  • Slipcase, ribbon marker, head and tail bands, full color wraparound dustjacket art.

Contents:
  • Introduction (Ramsey Campbell)
  • The Cellars
  • The Stocking
  • Reply Guaranteed
  • Concussion
  • The Scar
  • The Guy
  • Napier Court
  • The End of a Summer's Day
  • Potential
  • Cyril
  • The Companion
  • Call First
  • The Words That Count
  • The Man in the Underpass
  • Heading Home
  • In the Shadows
  • Run Through
  • Through the Walls
  • In the Bag
  • Looking Out
  • The Invocation
  • Baby
  • The Pattern
  • The Chimney
  • The Trick
  • The Change
  • Out of Copyright
  • The Brood
  • The Gap
  • Mackintosh Willy
  • Above the World
  • The Show Goes On
  • The Ferries
  • Midnight Hobo
  • The Depths
  • This Time
  • Down There
  • Calling Card
  • The Burning
  • The Fit
  • Hearing Is Believing
  • The Hands
  • Bedtime Story
  • Playing the Game
  • Second Sight
  • Again
  • In the Trees
  • Just Waiting
  • Next Time You'll Know Me
  • Seeing the World
  • Old Clothes
  • Apples
  • Beyond Words
  • Another World
  • The Other Side
  • Where the Heart Is
  • The Guide
  • It Helps If You Sing
  • Welcomeland
  • The Old School
  • Meeting the Author
  • Needing Ghosts
  • The Alternative
  • A Street Was Chosen
  • The Same in Any Language
  • The Word
  • The Dead Must Die
  • Never to Be Heard
  • Agatha's Ghost
  • Return Journey
  • The Entertainment
  • No Strings
  • No Story in It
  • The Retrospective
  • Feeling Remains
  • Fear the Dead
  • The Place of Revelation
  • Just Behind You
  • Skeleton Woods
  • Digging Deep
  • Respects
  • Dragged Down
  • Double Room
  • Interview with Ramsey Campbell
  • Story Sources (Ramsey Campbell)

Related Titles
The Book of the Kranzedan
The Book of the Kranzedan
The Director Should've Shot You
The Director Should've Shot You
Ender's Way
Ender's Way
The Spear
The Spear

External Links