Gaslight, Ghosts & Ghouls: A Centenary Celebration R. Chetwynd-Hayes

During the 1970s and ’80s, R. Chetwynd-Hayes (1919–2001) was one of the most important horror writers and editors working in Britain. Not only was he happy to write about such genre standards as ghosts, demons, ghouls, vampires and werewolves, but he also delighted in making up his own bizarre monster variations that managed to stretch the imaginations of both author and reader alike.

During his lifetime, Ronald published twenty-four collections of short fiction, twenty-four anthologies (including twelve volumes of the influential Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories series), thirteen novels and more than 220 short stories. His work was adapted for the movies, television, radio and comics, and reprinted in various languages around the world. One of his publishers described him as “Britain’s Prince of Chill”, and his volumes of ghost stories and humo­rous tales of terror once filled the shelves of nearly every public library in the UK. 

Now, the celebrate the centenary of his birth, his long-time friend an colleague, World Fantasy Award-winning editor Stephen Jones, has compiled Gaslight, Ghosts & Ghouls: A Centenary Celebration, a stunning volume of stories and non-fiction that truly does justice to R. Chetwynd-Hayes’s work and his enduring legacy.
This massive volume contains sixteen of the author’s highly original tales of terror and the supernatural, which invariably combined horror and humour in equal measure, giving them a style that was uniquely Ronald’s own. These not only include a rare reprint of one of his novellas featuring “the world’s only practising psychic detective” Francis St. Clare and his vivacious assistant Frederica (“Fred”) Masters, but also two tales that have never been reprinted since their original publication, plus a vampire novella that is appearing in print for the very first time!

There is also the longest interview with Ron ever published, conducted by Stephen Jones and Jo Fletcher, and the editor also teamed up with Chetwynd-Hayes aficionado Marc Damian Lawler to compile the most complete and detailed Working Bibliography of the author’s work ever assembled. 

Additionally, the book includes a dust-jacket and a full-colour portfolio of book-cover paintings by the masterful Les Edwards, a photographic section with many rare photos that have never been seen before (many supplied by the author’s family), plus two stunning endpapers by John Bolton and Graham Humphreys, and a back cover painting by Walter Velez, all inspired by The Monster Club, the 1980 movie based on Ronald’s stories and starring Vincent Price and John Carradine.

As R. Chetwynd-Hayes himself would have said: May you never hear invisible footsteps following you down the stairs. . .

Unsigned hardcover

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