What do you think?
Rate this book
What They Wrote: In Praise of Dark Fiction
What They Wrote is a collection of introductions, articles, and reviews by Jack Ketchum of various horror novels and collections. Included here are introductions for works by Edward Lee, Stanley Wiater, Barry Hoffman, Kealan Patrick Burke, Thomas Tessier, P.D. Cacek, Lucy Taylor, Tim Lebbon, T.M. Wright, and Rio Youers. Also included are reviews of two Stephen King novels, a John Carpenter movie, and a Richard Laymon novel.Contents of this Lee's Quest for Sex, Truth and Reality - IntroductionOn The Haunting of Hill House - EssayMysteries of the Word - by Stanley Wiater - IntroductionThe Midnight Tour by Richard Laymon - ReviewJudas Eyes - by Barry Hoffman - IntroductionMonochrome Love - The Alchemy of Love - by Elizabeth Engstrom & Alan M. ClarkThe Painter Next Door - On Neal McPheeters, for an Unpublished Collection of his Work - IntroductionMidlisters - by Kealan Patrick Burke - IntroductionTessier and the Wolf - The Nightwalkers by Thomas Tessier - IntroductionIn the Spirit by P. D. Cacek - IntroductionBag of Bones by Stephen King - ReviewOn Chas. An Opinion of an Opinion - Introduction"It's the Dog Scene That Gets Me" - On John Carpenter's The ThingOn Header, Needlepoint, and the Journal of American Medicine - Header by Edward Lee - IntroductionFatal Journeys - by Lucy Taylor - IntroductionWhite and Other Tales of Ruin - by Tim Lebbon - IntroductionDark Arts - Thomas F. Monteleone - IntroductionOn I am Legend by Richard Matheson - ArticleRobert E. Howard's Typewriter - SHIFTERS by Edward Lee & John Pelan - IntroductionSome Seeds Take – Strange Seed by T. M. Wright - Introduction'What Rio Sees' - All That I See - by Rio Youers - IntroductionFrom a Buick 8 by Stephen King - ReviewA Short Peter Straub Companion - Written for the 2006 World Horror Convention Program Book
- GenresHorror
106 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 4, 2014
2 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Jack Ketchum
199 books2,972 followersDallas William Mayr, better known by his pen name Jack Ketchum, was an American horror fiction author. He was the recipient of four Bram Stoker Awards and three further nominations. His novels included Off Season, Offspring, and Red, which were adapted to film. In 2011, Ketchum received the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award for outstanding contribution to the horror genre.
A onetime actor, teacher, literary agent, lumber salesman, and soda jerk, Ketchum credited his childhood love of Elvis Presley, dinosaurs, and horror for getting him through his formative years. He began making up stories at a young age and explained that he spent much time in his room, or in the woods near his house, down by the brook: "[m]y interests [were] books, comics, movies, rock 'n roll, show tunes, TV, dinosaurs [...] pretty much any activity that didn't demand too much socializing, or where I could easily walk away from socializing." He would make up stories using his plastic soldiers, knights, and dinosaurs as the characters.
Later, in his teen years, Ketchum was befriended by Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, who became his mentor.
Ketchum worked many different jobs before completing his first novel (1980's controversial Off Season), including acting as agent for novelist Henry Miller at Scott Meredith Literary Agency.
His decision to eventually concentrate on novel writing was partly fueled by a preference for work that offered stability and longevity.
Ketchum died of cancer on January 24, 2018, in New York City at the age of 71.
A onetime actor, teacher, literary agent, lumber salesman, and soda jerk, Ketchum credited his childhood love of Elvis Presley, dinosaurs, and horror for getting him through his formative years. He began making up stories at a young age and explained that he spent much time in his room, or in the woods near his house, down by the brook: "[m]y interests [were] books, comics, movies, rock 'n roll, show tunes, TV, dinosaurs [...] pretty much any activity that didn't demand too much socializing, or where I could easily walk away from socializing." He would make up stories using his plastic soldiers, knights, and dinosaurs as the characters.
Later, in his teen years, Ketchum was befriended by Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, who became his mentor.
Ketchum worked many different jobs before completing his first novel (1980's controversial Off Season), including acting as agent for novelist Henry Miller at Scott Meredith Literary Agency.
His decision to eventually concentrate on novel writing was partly fueled by a preference for work that offered stability and longevity.
Ketchum died of cancer on January 24, 2018, in New York City at the age of 71.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 1, 2025
Ketchum had wide-ranging interests and tastes. This collection puts together introductions and other essays published in the small press, mostly. A pleasant read and I could hear Dallas saying many of these generous things as I read the book. Good to spend more time with an old friend.
August 5, 2014
Jack Ketchum must be thanking his lucky stars for e-books, which allow him to haphazardly throw together whatever writing scraps are lying around and call it a book.
WHAT THEY WROTE is mostly comprised of introductory pieces he has written for various books throughout the years. Most of those books are novels, but also included is one for a book of illustrations and another for what seems to be a collection of old horror film reviews.
Normally, reading a book that consists primarily of introductions would be like going to Red Lobster every day and only ordering an appetizer. But Ketchum really excels at this kind of writing, and I wouldn't be surprised if his intros sometimes turn out better than the books themselves. They are everything a good intro should be. They are beautifully written; they are insightful without giving away the plot; and they possess a certain giddy enthusiasm--the kind of contagious enthusiasm that can't be faked and sends you running to the nearest bookstore to see what all his fuss is about. Which, figuratively speaking, is exactly what I did when I went online and downloaded to my Kindle the first book introduced in this collection. (I'm reading it right now, and, so far, it's exactly as advertised.)
WHAT THEY WROTE is rounded out by a couple of essays (one on Matheson's I AM LEGEND and one on John Carpenter's THE THING). There is also a brief tribute to writer Peter Straub. I'm not sure WHAT THEY WROTE will give you the same satisfaction as reading an actual book, but, taken for what it is, I don't see how anyone could complain.
WHAT THEY WROTE is mostly comprised of introductory pieces he has written for various books throughout the years. Most of those books are novels, but also included is one for a book of illustrations and another for what seems to be a collection of old horror film reviews.
Normally, reading a book that consists primarily of introductions would be like going to Red Lobster every day and only ordering an appetizer. But Ketchum really excels at this kind of writing, and I wouldn't be surprised if his intros sometimes turn out better than the books themselves. They are everything a good intro should be. They are beautifully written; they are insightful without giving away the plot; and they possess a certain giddy enthusiasm--the kind of contagious enthusiasm that can't be faked and sends you running to the nearest bookstore to see what all his fuss is about. Which, figuratively speaking, is exactly what I did when I went online and downloaded to my Kindle the first book introduced in this collection. (I'm reading it right now, and, so far, it's exactly as advertised.)
WHAT THEY WROTE is rounded out by a couple of essays (one on Matheson's I AM LEGEND and one on John Carpenter's THE THING). There is also a brief tribute to writer Peter Straub. I'm not sure WHAT THEY WROTE will give you the same satisfaction as reading an actual book, but, taken for what it is, I don't see how anyone could complain.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews