WiHM: Six Female Writers Who Give Us Chills

On our next to last day of Women in Horror Month, Marie is spotlighting six brilliant women who give us chills by way of the written word.  Everyone should experience the thrill of reading something that prevents you from falling asleep - whether it is a book impossible to put down, or one that induces such terror that you have to leave the light on and listen to your knees knock. 

Here are six fine examples:

SHIRLEY JACKSON

In 1948 she shocked readers of "the New Yorker" with her sinister short story, "The Lottery". Since then she has become one of the most respected (and feared) authors of gothic fiction. In 2007 the Shirley Jackson Award was created to awards achievements in psychological suspense, horror, and dark fantastic fiction. Her most famous piece, and my favorite haunted house story, is "The Haunting of Hill House", a tale of truly evil piece of architecture. She has also penned many short stories, some of which can be found in her posthumous anthology "Come Along With Me". If you haven't read her yet, you simply must! Light a few candles, but don't expect them to keep the chills away!

OTHER RECOMMENDED READS

-We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962)
-The Lovely House (1950)

EDITH WHARTON

Although American Pulitzer Prize winner Wharton was mostly known for her novels and use of dramatic irony, she also produced quite a few ghost stories, and darn good ones, too! She actually began writing supernatural fiction to overcome her fear of ghosts! Because of this fact you will find a genuine sense of creeping dread within her words. A few of her most frequently published stories are "The Triumph of the Night", "The Looking Glass", and "The Pomegranate Seed".

RECOMMENDED COLLECTIONS
-The Ghost-Feeler: Stories of Terror and the Supernatural (2002)
-Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton (2009)

ANNE RICE

Believe it or not, this lady started out writing raunchy gay fiction! Sex and the supernatural go hand and hand, no one understands that more than Anne Rice. She is the Queen of the Vampires, although she has written books featuring ghosts, witches, werewolves, you name it!  She puts immense details into her thick manuscripts, inventing entire bloodlines, histories, and even genetic mappings of her characters. If you only know her for her films, you must crack open one of her books.

RECOMMENDED READS
-Interview with a Vampire
-The Witching Hour
-Violin

CHARLOTTE RIDDELL

A very popular writer in the Victorian era, and a prolific ghost story writer, Riddell has written novels and short stories abundant. She is often included in ghost story anthologies, some examples being Victorian Tales of Terror (1972), Gaslit Horror (1988), and a personal favorite of mine, The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories (2000).

OTHER RECOMMENDED READS
- The Old House in Vauxhall Walk (1882)
- The Haunted River (1877)
- Banshee's Warning (1867)

AGATHA CHRISTIE

Known as the Queen of Crime, Christie had a passion for the mysterious and otherworldly. She has a great, gothic spooky style, and is a master of the formulaic whodunit.

RECOMMENDED READS
- The Hound of Death (1933)
- In a Glass Darkly (1939)
- The Idol House of Astarte (1932)
-And Then There Were None (1939)

ELLEN DATLOW

American editor Datlow isn't a writer, but she is probably the most well-known modern horror editor and anthologist. She works often with speculative fiction publisher Tor, and partners with fantasy editor Terri Windling; she has edited several editions of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. Below I have listed a few of my favorite anthologies she has edited.

RECOMMENDED READS
-Supernatural Noir (2011)
-The Dark: New Ghost Stories (2004)
-Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers (2002)

                 
                                                               ~by Marie Robinson