Thomas Ligotti (born July 9, 1953 in Detroit, Michigan) is a contemporary American horror author and reclusive literary cult figure. His writings are unique in style, have been noted as major continuations of several literary genres —most prominently Lovecraftian horror— and have overall been variously described as works of "philosophical horror," often written as philosophical novels with a "darker" undertone which is similar to gothic fiction. The Washington Post called him "the best kept secret in contemporary horror fiction"; another critic declared "It's a skilled writer indeed who can suggest a horror so shocking that one is grateful it was kept offstage."
Ligotti attended Macomb County Community College between 1971 and 1973 and graduated from Wayne State University in 1977.
Ligotti started his publishing career in the early 1980s with a number of short stories published in various American small press magazines.
His unique and affecting tales gathered a small following. Ligotti's relative anonymity and reclusiveness led to speculation about his identity: Was Ligotti a pseudonym used by a prominent literary writer? Were his stories in fact collaborations of multiple authors? In an introduction to a 1996 collection of Ligotti fiction, The Nightmare Factory, Poppy Z. Brite mentioned these notions, with a rhetorical question: "Are you out there, Thomas Ligotti?"
In recent years, Ligotti has conducted interviews and disclosed some details of his background. For twenty-three years Ligotti worked as an Associate Editor at Gale Research (now the Gale Group), a publishing company that produces compilations of literary (and other) research. In the summer of 2001, Ligotti quit his job at the Gale Group and moved to south Florida. His favorite music is generally instrumental rock.
Ligotti's worldview has been described as profoundly nihilistic (though he's wary of the label, stating thus: "'Nihilist' is a name that other people call you. No intelligent person has ever described or thought of himself as a nihilist."), and has stated he has suffered from chronic anxiety for much of his life; these have been prominent themes in his work.
Ligotti generally avoids the explicit violence common in some recent horror fiction, preferring to establish a disquieting, pessimistic atmosphere through the use of subtlety and repetition. He has cited Vladimir Nabokov, Thomas Bernhard, Edgar Allan Poe, Bruno Schulz, Emil Cioran and William S. Burroughs among his favorite writers. There are similarities between some of Ligotti's work and the stories of Robert Aickman, as well. H. P. Lovecraft is also an important touchstone for Ligotti: a few stories, "The Sect of the Idiot" in particular, make explicit reference to Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, and one, "The Last Feast of Harlequin," was dedicated to Lovecraft. Also among his avowed influences (as cited in an early interview with the renowned Cthulhu Mythos fanzine Dagon) are M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, and Arthur Machen, all fin de siécle horror authors known for their subtlety and implications of the cosmic and supernatural in their stories.
Ligotti has stated he prefers short stories to longer forms, both as a reader and writer, though he has recently written a novella, My Work Is Not Yet Done.
Ligotti has collaborated with the musical group Current 93 on the albums In A Foreign Town, In A Foreign Land (1997, reissued 2002), I Have a Special Plan for This World (2000) and This Degenerate Little Town (2001) all released on David Tibet's Durtro label. Tibet has also published several limited editions of Ligotti's books on Durtro Press. Ligotti also played guitar on Current 93's contribution to the compilation Foxtrot, an album whose proceeds went to the treatment of musician John Balance's alcoholism.
Critical analyses of Ligotti's work can be found in S. T. Joshi's book The Modern Weird Tale (2001), as well as in a critical anthology assembled by Darrell Schweitzer, a fan of Ligotti.
In September 2007, Fox Atomic Comics released The Nightmare Factory, a graphic novel based on Ligotti's stories. The book received very strong reviews, and consequently a second volume has been published in September 2008.
Wonder Entertainment has released The Frolic Collector's Edition DVD and Book set, which contains a short film adaptation of Thomas Ligotti's short story "The Frolic." This collector's edition contains the following: commentary tracks and behind-the-scenes by director Jacob Cooney, producer Jane Kelly Kosek, and actor Maury Sterling; a new interview with screenwriters Thomas Ligotti and Brandon Trenz; a newly revised version of the short story, with a new introduction by Thomas Ligotti; and the screenplay, with a new introduction by Brandon Trenz. Only 1,000 copies will be available of this collector's edition. The book, which contains the revised "The Frolic," is exclusive to this set.
Critical opinion of Ligotti has generally been favorable. The New York Times Book Review wrote "If there were a literary genre called 'philosophical horror,' Thomas Ligotti's Grimscribe would easily fit within it" and praised his "provocative images and a style that is both entertaining and lyrical".
He has often been favorably compared to Edgar Allan Poe, Jorge Luis Borges, Franz Kafka and H.P. Lovecraft.
Awards
Ligotti has received many awards and nominations for his work:
1982: Small Press Writers and Artists Organization, Best Author of Horror/Weird Fiction: The Chymist
1986: Rhysling Award, from Science Fiction Poetry Association (nomination): One Thousand Painful Variations Performed Upon Divers Creatures Undergoing the Treatment of Dr. Moreau, Humanist
1991: World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction (nomination): The Last Feast of Harlequin
1992: World Fantasy Award for Best Collection (nomination): Grimscribe: His Lives and Works
1997: World Fantasy Award for Best Collection (nomination): The Nightmare Factory
1995: Bram Stoker Award for Best Short Fiction (nomination): The Bungalow House
1996: Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection: The Nightmare Factory
1996: Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction: The Red Tower
2002: Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction: My Work Is Not Yet Done
2002: International Horror Guild Award, Long Form Category: My Work Is Not Yet Done
The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein and Other Gothic Tales (1994)
The Nightmare Factory (1996)
In a Foreign Town, in a Foreign Land (1997, accompanying CD by Current 93)
I Have a Special Plan for This World (2000, accompanying CD by Current 93)
This Degenerate Little Town (2001, accompanying CD by Current 93)
My Work Is Not Yet Done: Three Tales of Corporate Horror (2002)
Crampton: A Screenplay (2003, with Brandon Trenz)
Sideshow, and Other Stories (2003)
Death Poems (2004)
The Shadow at the Bottom of the World (2005)
Teatro Grottesco (2006, reprinted in 2008)
The Conspiracy Against the Human Race (2010)
About him
The Thomas Ligotti Reader: Essays and Explorations (2003), edited by Darrell Schweitzer. A collection of essays about Ligotti's work, which includes one by Ligotti on the horror genre, a Ligotti interview, and a bibliography of his published works.
Studies in Modern Horror, issue #2 (2004), edited by N. G. Christakos. This issue of the scholarly journal concerning contemporary weird tales includes Nick Curtis' essay "Notes on Time Displacement and Memory Loss in Crampton" and the first published version of The Unholy City poem cycle by Ligotti.
Studies in Modern Horror, issue #4 (2006), edited by N. G. Christakos. This issue of the scholarly journal concerning contemporary weird tales includes Stephen Tompkins' essay, The Nemesis of Mimesis: Thomas Ligotti, Worlds Elsewhere, and the Darkness Ten Times Black.
