Thomas Ligotti Books In Order

Songs of a Dead Dreamer

Songs of a Dreamer was Thomas Ligotti’s first collection of supernatural horror stories. When originally published in 1985 by Harry Morris’s Silver Scarab Press, the book was hardly noticed. In 1989, an expanded version appeared that garnered accolades from several quarters. Writing in the Washington Post, the celebrated science fiction and fantasy author Michael Swanwick extolled: ‘Put this volume on the shelf right between H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe. Where it belongs.’The revisions in the present volume of Songs of a Dead Dreamer have been calculated to make its stories into enhanced incarnations of the originals. This edition is and will remain definitive. For those already familiar with the stories in Songs of a Dead Dreamer, an invitation is extended to return to them in their ultimate state. For those new to the collection, it is submitted to engage them with some of the most extraordinary tales of their kind. In either case, this publication of Songs of a Dead Dreamer offers evidence for why Ligotti has been judged to be among the most important authors in the history of supernatural horror.

Grimscribe

Grimscribe: His Lives and Works is the second volume in a series of revised, definitive editions of the horror story collections of Thomas Ligotti. First published in 1991 by Carroll & Graf in the United States and Robinson Publishing in England, Grimscribe garnered significantly more recognition than Ligotti’s first collection, Songs of a Dead Dreamer, which was issued two years earlier by the same publishers. In the view of many commentators, it was with Grimscribe that Ligotti consolidated his reputation as a horror writer of high stature. As Steven J. Mariconda remarked in a 1992 essay surveying the stories in Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe: ‘Of the two collections, Grimscribe achieves near classic status and is recommended to all.’ Included in this volume is ‘The Last Feast of Harlequin,’ a novella that, in the observation of H. P. Lovecraft scholar and biographer S. T. Joshi, ‘may perhaps be the very best homage to Lovecraft ever written.’Like the stories in Songs of a Dead Dreamer, the first title of Ligotti’s to be published in a revised, definitive edition by Subterranean Press, those presented here in Grimscribe: His Lives and Works have been amended to realize the full artistic aims of the originals rather than to compose new versions of these works. This volume may thus be considered, in the manner of its predecessor in this series, as both as a reissue and the culminating specimen of its master effort of twenty years ago.

The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein and Other Gothic Tales

This new edition of Thomas Ligotti’s brilliant vignettes is a cause for celebration. Not only has the text been substantially revised by Thomas Ligotti, but artist Harry O. Morris has created eleven new artworks for the book. The text is gorgeously set and designed. Each copy is signed by Thomas Ligotti and Harry O. Morris. The book also has a new introduction by Ligotti. It comes bound in printed cloth with a back panel velvet cloth, two ribbon markers, and is housed in a handsome slipcase. Limited to 500 copies, each signed by Thomas Ligotti and Harry O. Morris.

Noctuary

Noctuary is the third volume of Thomas Ligotti’s horror stories to appear in a revised, definitive edition from Subterranean Press. The first two collections in this series, Songs of a Dead Dreamer 2010; 1986; expanded edition, 1989 and Grimscribe: His Lives and Works 2011; originally published 1991, are now collector’s items. Like its predecessors, Noctuary received numerous plaudits from reviewers upon its initial appearance. According to Library Journal, Noctuary is ‘another colorful collection of horror stories…
which spring on the unsuspecting reader the combination of supernatural characters, natural props, and ‘weird’ circumstanced. As Booklist observed, ‘The most disturbing terror comes from within, springs unexpectedly from bland or half formed memories of the past. This is the terror that Ligotti cultivates in the rich evocative tales of Noctuary…
For those willing to immerse themselves in Ligotti’s world, the rewards are great.’When an interviewer asked Ligotti the derivation of the word ‘Noctuary,’ he replied that it was the nocturnal counterpart of ‘diary,’ that is, a journal of what occurs on a nightly timetable rather than during the light of day. Echoing the tenebrous tone of the book’s name are the section titles into which Noctuary is divided Studies in Shadow, Discourse on Blackness, Notebook of the Night. Shadow, Blackness, Night: these are substance and signification of the themes of Ligotti’s works and the signature of gloom in which they are signed. New to Noctuary are the terse pieces of the volumes third section. Composed of nineteen dreamy entries, Notebook of the Night is a journal or perhaps only excerpts of a greater work of insidious exploits, delirious freaks, hymns to the void, esoteric rituals, and carnivals of the abyss. As an introduction to this and the other segments of Noctuary is ‘In the Night, in the Dark: A Note on the Appreciation of Weird Fiction.’ Perhaps the reader will fight guidance in the words of this meditation on what separates the aberrant from the norm, the diseased from the wholesome, and the night from the day.

Teatro Grottesco

Thomas Ligotti is often cited as the most curious and remarkable figure in horror literature since H.P. Lovecraft. Celebrated for his exceptionally grotesque imagination and facility as a prose writer, he is a five time recipient of the most prestigious awards in horror literature. This fact is unusual in that Ligotti’s work does not display the traits which have come to be associated with contemporary horror sympathetic heroes, settings in the everyday world, and good versus evil scenarios. Instead, he has followed a literary tradition that began with Edgar Allan Poe, portraying characters that are outside of anything that might be called normal life, depicting strange locales far off the beaten track, and rendering a grim vision of human existence as a perpetual nightmare. The stories collected in Teatro Grottesco, for instance, feature tormented individuals who play out there doom in various odd little towns for which Ligotti is noted as well as in dark sectors frequented by sinister and often blackly comical eccentrics. The cycle of narratives that include the title work of this collection introduces the readers to a freakish community of artists who encounter demonic perils that threaten their lives and their sanity. In other tales, characters live in the shadow of menacing forms and forces that ultimately envelop them in the most perverse and deranged destinities. The ‘funny town’ of ‘The Town Manager’, the ‘medicine shop’ of ‘The Clown Puppet’, and the foggy terrain ‘across the border’ of ‘Our Case for Retributive Action’ and ‘Our Temporary Supervisor’ are among the venues that close in on those fated to exist within their precincts. These are selected examples of the bleak array of persons and places that compose the fiction of Thomas Ligotti. As one critic has written, ‘Ligotti is wonderful and original; has a dark vision of a new and special kind, a vision that no one has had before him.’

My Work is Not Yet Done

When junior manager Frank Dominio is suddenly demoted and then fired, it seems there was more than a grain of truth to his persecution fantasies. But as he prepares to even the score with those responsible for his demise, he unwittingly finds an ally in a dark and malevolent force that grants him supernatural powers. Frank takes his revenge in the most ghastly ways imaginable but there will be a terrible price to pay once his work is done. This tale of corporate horror and demonic retribution will strike a chord with anyone who has ever been disgruntled at work.

Death Poems

Limited to 333 unnumbered copies. Contents: Here You Go, Growing Up, Usefulness, Memories, Weather Conditions, Going Ahead, Losing Customers, Safety In Numbers, Means To An End, Smaller, Big Problem, The Note, Suddenly, Premature, Staying, Birthday, Hospital, Still, Closing Time, Calculation, Memento, De Facto, You Dream You Die, Complexity, The Conclusion, The Taste, Impossibility, Your Evacuation, Knowing, Counting The Ways, Odyssey, Request, Thoughtful, Carpe Diem?, Absolved Of Debt, Unthinkable, Night Voices, and My Own Death Poems.

The Shadow at the Bottom of the World

Author Signed & number edition.

The Nightmare Factory, Vol. 1

‘A fractured mind is often the way into a world not suspected by those of an innocent normality.’ Enter the universe of renowned horror master Thomas Ligotti a universe where clowns take part in a sinister winter festival, a scheming girlfriend makes reality itself come unraveled, a crumbling asylum’s destruction unleashes a greater horror, and a mysterious Teatro comes and goes, leaving only shattered dreams in its wake. In the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft, Ligotti’s sophisticated tales of terror take us to places few would suspect exist, where madness is only a thought away. The Nightmare Factory adapts four of Ligotti’s most chilling tales into fine graphic literature by famed writers and artists Stuart Moore, Joe Harris, Colleen Doran The Sandman, Ben Templesmith 30 Days of Night, Ted McKeever Batman, and Michael Gaydos Alias. Featuring all new introductions to each story by Thomas Ligotti.

The Nightmare Factory, Vol. 2

‘A fractured mind is often the way into a world not suspected by those of an innocent normality.’ Enter the universe of renowned horror master Thomas Ligotti a universe where clowns take part in a sinister winter festival, a scheming girlfriend makes reality itself come unraveled, a crumbling asylum’s destruction unleashes a greater horror, and a mysterious Teatro comes and goes, leaving only shattered dreams in its wake. In the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft, Ligotti’s sophisticated tales of terror take us to places few would suspect exist, where madness is only a thought away. The Nightmare Factory adapts four of Ligotti’s most chilling tales into fine graphic literature by famed writers and artists Stuart Moore, Joe Harris, Colleen Doran The Sandman, Ben Templesmith 30 Days of Night, Ted McKeever Batman, and Michael Gaydos Alias. Featuring all new introductions to each story by Thomas Ligotti.

The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein

This new edition of Thomas Ligotti’s brilliant vignettes is a cause for celebration. Not only has the text been substantially revised by Thomas Ligotti, but artist Harry O. Morris has created eleven new artworks for the book. The text is gorgeously set and designed. Each copy is signed by Thomas Ligotti and Harry O. Morris. The book also has a new introduction by Ligotti. It comes bound in printed cloth with a back panel velvet cloth, two ribbon markers, and is housed in a handsome slipcase. Limited to 500 copies, each signed by Thomas Ligotti and Harry O. Morris.

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race

Should the human race voluntarily put an end to its existence? Do we even know what it means to be human? And what if we are nothing like we suppose ourselves to be? In this challenging philosophical work, celebrated supernatural writer Thomas Ligotti broaches these and other issues in an unflinching and penetrating manner that brings to mind some of his own imperishable horror fiction. For Ligotti, there is no refuge from our existence as conscious beings who must suppress their awareness of what horrors life holds in store for them. Yet try as we may, our consciousness may at any time rise up against our defenses against it, whispering to us things we would rather not hear: Religion is a transparent fantasy, optimism an exercise in delusional wish fulfillment, and even the quest for pleasure an ultimately doomed enterprise. Drawing upon the work of such pessimistic philosophers as Arthur Schopenhauer and Peter Wessel Zapffe, as well as the findings of various fields of study such as neuroscience, moral philosophy, Terror Management Psychology, the sociology of self deception, and the theory of uncanny experience, Ligotti presents a compelling contrivance of horror for the consideration of his reader. Perhaps most provocatively, Ligotti sees in the literature of supernatural fiction a confirmation of the cheerless vision he is propounding, dovetailing into his book the overarching theme that, having been ousted by evolution from the natural world, the human race has been effectively translated to a supernatural order of being. In this state of existence, we are denied slumber in nature’s arms and must exist in a waking nightmare in which we are taunted by hints of our true nature. Written with the pungency and panache we expect from a master of English prose, The Conspiracy Against the Human Race is a hypnotic guide to the darker regions of one of the most interesting minds of our time.

Best New Horror 4

A collection of short horror stories features the work of Peter Atkins, Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, Kim Newman, Peter Straub, Karl Edward Wagner, and others.

Best New Horror #26

The first annual collection of the world’s best horror stories and short novels showcases fiction from every part of the field from terror to supernatural chills and features the talents of Ian Watson, Stephen Gallagher, Ramsey Campbell, and others.

The Book of Cthulhu

The Cthulhu Mythos is one of the 20th century”s most singularly recognizable literary creations. Initially created by H. P. Lovecraft and a group of his amorphous contemporaries the so called ‘Lovecraft Circle’, The Cthulhu Mythos story cycle has taken on a convoluted, cyclopean life of its own. Some of the most prodigious writers of the 20th century, and some of the most astounding writers of the 21st century have planted their seeds in this fertile soil. The Book of Cthulhu harvests the weirdest and most corpulent crop of these modern mythos tales. From weird fiction masters to enigmatic rising stars, The Book of Cthulhu demonstrates how Mythos fiction has been a major cultural meme throughout the 20th century, and how this type of story is still salient, and terribly powerful today. Table of Contents: Caitlin R. Kiernan Andromeda among the Stones Ramsey Campbell The Tugging Charles Stross A Colder War Bruce Sterling The Unthinkable Silvia Moreno Garcia Flash Frame W. H. Pugmire Some Buried Memory Molly Tanzer The Infernal History of the Ivybridge Twins Michael Shea Fat Face Elizabeth Bear Shoggoths in Bloom T. E. D. Klien Black Man With A Horn David Drake Than Curse the Darkness Charles Saunders Jeroboam Henley”s Debt Thomas Ligotti Nethescurial Kage Baker Calamari Curls Edward Morris Jihad over Innsmouth Cherie Priest Bad Sushi John Hornor Jacobs The Dream of the Fisherman”s Wife Brian McNaughton The Doom that Came to Innsmouth Ann K. Schwader Lost Stars Steve Duffy The Oram County Whoosit Joe R. Lansdale The Crawling Sky Brian Lumley The Fairground Horror Tim Pratt Cinderlands Gene Wolfe Lord of the Land Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. To Live and Die in Arkham John Langan The Shallows Laird Barron The Men from Porlock

Cthulhu 2000

In Cthulhu 2000, a host of horror and fantasy’s top authors captures the spirit of supreme supernatural storyteller H. P. Lovecraft with eighteen chilling contemporary tales that would have made the master proud.

The Barrens by F. Paul Wilson: In a tangled wilderness, unearthly lights lead the way to a world no human was meant to see.
His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood by Poppy Z. Brite: Two dabblers in black magic encounter a maestro of evil enchantment.
On the Slab by Harlan Ellison: The corpse of a one eyed giant brings untold fortune and unspeakable fear to whoever possesses it.
Pickman’s Modem by Lawrence Watt Evans: Horror is a keystroke away, when an ancient evil lurks in modern technology.

PLUS FOURTEEN MORE BLOOD CURDLING STORIES

The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, #8

The latest annual of the world’s premier collection of horror, terror, and dark fantasy again showcases the talents of the finest writers working the field. Along with his annual review of the year in horror, award winning editor Stephen Jones has chosen the year’s best stories by old masters and new voices alike.

October Dreams

Classic novellas, never before published stories, essays on the history, literature, and films of Halloween, and real life memories of October 31st from today’s best practitioners of fear: Dean Koontz Peter Straub Poppy Z. Brite Rick Hautala Steve Rasnic Tem Elizabeth Engstrom Thomas Ligotti Gary A. Braunbeck Jack Ketchum Thomas F. Monteleone Hugh B. Cave Simon Clark Christopher Golden Ray Bradbury Jack Ketchum Alan M. Clark Gahan Wilson Paula Guran John Shirley Tom Piccirilli Jack Cady David B. Silva Robert Morrish William F. Nolan Michael Cadnum Richard Laymon Douglas Clegg Douglas E. Winter Stanley Wiater Caitl n R. Kiernan Lewis Shiner Yvonne Navarro Tim Lebbon Kim Newman F. Paul Wilson Owl Goingback Dennis Etchison Stephen Mark Rainey Charles L. Grant Kelly Laymon Dominick Cancilla Kristine Kathryn Rusch Michael Marshall Smith Wayne Allen Sallee Ramsey Campbell Ed Gorman Stefan Dziemianowicz Peter Crowther

Halloween

Shivers and spirits…
the mystical and macabre…
our darkest fears and sweetest fantasies…
the fun and frivolity of tricks, treats, festivities, and masquerades. Halloween is a holiday filled with both delight and dread, beloved by youngsters and adults alike. Celebrate the most magical season of the year with this sensational treasury of seasonal tales spooky, suspenseful, terrifying, or teasing harvested from a multitude of master storytellers.