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Richard Laymon was a popular author that wrote horror fiction. By the time he died, Laymon had produced over a hundred short stories and full-length novels.
Order of Beast House Chronicles Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Cellar | 1980 | Description / Buy | |
2 | The Beast House | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
3 | The Midnight Tour | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Friday Night in Beast House | 2001 | Description / Buy |
Order of Richard Laymon Standalone Novels
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Your Secret Admirer | 1980 | Description / Buy | |
2 | The Woods Are Dark | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Out Are the Lights | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Nightmare Lake | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Night Show | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Dawson's City | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
7 | Beware | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
8 | Allhallow's Eve | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
9 | Night Creature | 1986 | Description / Buy | |
10 | Dark Mountain / Tread Softly | 1987 | Description / Buy | |
11 | Thin Air | 1987 | Description / Buy | |
12 | Flesh | 1987 | Description / Buy | |
13 | Resurrection Dreams | 1988 | Description / Buy | |
14 | Midnight's Lair | 1988 | Description / Buy | |
15 | Funland (Short Story) | 1989 | Description / Buy | |
16 | The Stake | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
17 | One Rainy Night | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
18 | Darkness, Tell Us | 1991 | Description / Buy | |
19 | Island | 1991 | Description / Buy | |
20 | Blood Games | 1992 | Description / Buy | |
21 | Alarums | 1992 | Description / Buy | |
22 | Savage | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
23 | Endless Night | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
24 | In the Dark | 1994 | Description / Buy | |
25 | Quake | 1995 | Description / Buy | |
26 | Body Rides | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
27 | Bite | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
28 | After Midnight | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
29 | The Wilds (Short Story) | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
30 | Cuts | 1999 | Description / Buy | |
31 | Among the Missing | 1999 | Description / Buy | |
32 | Come Out Tonight | 1999 | Description / Buy | |
33 | The Traveling Vampire Show | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
34 | Once Upon a Halloween | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
35 | No Sanctuary | 2001 | Description / Buy | |
36 | Night in the Lonesome October | 2001 | Description / Buy | |
37 | Amara / To Wake The Dead | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
38 | The Lake | 2004 | Description / Buy | |
39 | The Glory Bus / Into the Fire | 2005 | Description / Buy |
Order of Richard Laymon Short Stories/Novellas
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Shootout at Joe's (Short Story) | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Cardiac Arrest (Short Story) | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Intruder (Short Story) | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Caller (Short Story) | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Night Ride | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Night Games (Short Story) | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
7 | Guts | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
8 | The Cobra | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
9 | Last Hand | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
10 | The Hearse (Short Story) | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
11 | Lonely One (Short Story) | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
12 | Live Bait (Short Story) | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
13 | Marathon | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
14 | The Return (Short Story) | 1986 | Description / Buy | |
15 | Beginner's Luck | 1986 | Description / Buy | |
16 | Halloween Hunt | 1986 | Description / Buy | |
17 | The Halloween Mouse (Short Story) | 2001 | Description / Buy |
Order of Richard Laymon Short Story Collections
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A Good, Secret Place | 1992 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Fiends | 1997 | Description / Buy | |
3 | A Writer's Tale | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Dreadful Tales | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Madman Stan and Other Stories | 2004 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Short Stories: The Mystery and Men’s Magazines (Short Story) | 2014 | Description / Buy |
Order of Making Of The Cities Series as Lee Davis Willoughby
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cincinnati | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Baton Rouge | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Omaha | 1992 | Description / Buy |
Order of Women Who Won The West Series as Lee Davis Willoughby
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tempest of Tombstone | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Dodge City Darling | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Duchess of Denver | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Lost Lady of Laramie | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Flame of Virginia City | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Angel of Hangtown | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
7 | Belle of Fort Smith | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
8 | Princess of Powder River | 1982 | Description / Buy |
Order of World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 1 | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
2 | The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 2 | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
3 | The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 3 | 2002 | Description / Buy | |
4 | The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 4 | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
5 | The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 5 | 2004 | Description / Buy |
Order of Making Of America Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Wilderness Seekers | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
2 | The Mountain Breed | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
3 | The Conestoga People | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
4 | The Forty-Niners | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Hearts Divided | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
6 | The Builders | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
7 | The Land Rushers | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
8 | The Wild and The Wayward | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
9 | The Texans | 1980 | Description / Buy | |
10 | The Alaskans | 1980 | Description / Buy | |
11 | The Golden Staters | 1980 | Description / Buy | |
12 | The River People | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
13 | The Land Grabbers | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
14 | The Ranchers | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
15 | The Homesteaders | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
16 | The Frontier Healers | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
17 | The Buffalo People | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
18 | The Far Islanders | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
19 | The Border Breed | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
20 | The Boomers | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
21 | The Wildcatters | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
22 | The Gunfighters | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
23 | The Cajuns | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
24 | The Donner People | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
25 | The Creoles | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
26 | The Nightriders | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
27 | The Sooners | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
28 | The Vigilantes | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
29 | The Express Riders | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
30 | The Soldiers of Fortune | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
31 | The Wranglers | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
32 | The Baja People | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
33 | The Yukon Breed | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
34 | The Smugglers | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
35 | The Voyageurs | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
36 | The Barbary Coasters | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
37 | The Whalers | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
38 | The Canadians | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
39 | The Prophet's People | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
40 | The Lawmen | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
41 | The Copper Kings | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
42 | The Caribbeans | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
43 | The Trail Blazers | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
44 | The Gamblers | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
45 | The Robber Barons | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
46 | The Assassins | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
47 | The Bounty Hunters | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
48 | The Texas Rangers | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
49 | The Outlaws | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
50 | The Fugitives | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
51 | The Frontier Detectives | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
52 | The Raiders | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
53 | The Rough Riders | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
54 | Warriors of the Code | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
55 | The Sixgun Apostles | 1987 | Description / Buy | |
56 | The Scarlet Sisters | 1988 | Description / Buy |
Order of Hot Blood Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hot Blood Tales of Erotic Horror | 1989 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Hotter Blood: More Tales of Erotic Horror | 1991 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Hottest Blood | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Deadly After Dark | 1994 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Seeds of Fear | 1995 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Fear the Fever | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
7 | Kiss and Kill | 1997 | Description / Buy | |
8 | Crimes of Passion | 1997 | Description / Buy | |
9 | Hot Blood X | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
10 | Fatal Attractions | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
11 | Strange Bedfellows | 2004 | Description / Buy | |
12 | Dark Passions | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
13 | Stranger by Night | 2011 | Description / Buy |
Order of Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Anthology Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Best New Horror | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Best New Horror 2 | 1991 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Best New Horror 3 | 1992 | Description / Buy | |
4 | The Giant Book of Best New Horror | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Best New Horror 4 | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Best New Horror 5 | 1994 | Description / Buy | |
7 | Best New Horror 6 | 1995 | Description / Buy | |
8 | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 7 | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
9 | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 8 | 1997 | Description / Buy | |
10 | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 9 | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
11 | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 10 | 1999 | Description / Buy | |
12 | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, #11 | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
13 | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, #12 | 2001 | Description / Buy | |
14 | Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 13 | 2002 | Description / Buy | |
15 | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 14 | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
16 | The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 15 | 2004 | Description / Buy | |
17 | Best New Horror 16 | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
18 | Best New Horror 17 | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
19 | Best New Horror 18 | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
20 | The Best of Best New Horror | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
21 | Best New Horror 19 | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
22 | Best New Horror 20 | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
23 | Best New Horror 21 | 2010 | Description / Buy | |
24 | Best New Horror 22 | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
25 | The Mammoth Book of Body Horror | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
26 | Best New Horror 23 | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
27 | Best New Horror 24 | 2013 | Description / Buy | |
28 | Best New Horror 25 | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
29 | Best New Horror #26 | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
30 | Best New Horror 27 | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
31 | Best New Horror 28 | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
32 | Best New Horror 29 | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
33 | The Best of Best New Horror, Volume One | 2020 | Description / Buy | |
34 | Best of Best New Horror Volume 2 | 2020 | Description / Buy | |
35 | Best New Horror #30 | 2020 | Description / Buy | |
36 | Best New Horror #31 | 2021 | Description / Buy |
Order of Book of the Dead Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Book of the Dead | 1989 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Still Dead | 1992 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Mondo Zombie | 2006 | Description / Buy |
Order of Dark Delicacies Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre by the World's Greatest Horror Writers | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Dark Delicacies II: Fear | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Dark Delicacies III: Haunted | 2009 | Description / Buy |
Order of 100 Stories Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 100 Malicious Little Mysteries | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
2 | 100 Dastardly Little Detective Stories | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
3 | 100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
4 | 100 Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
5 | 100 Wild Little Weird Tales | 1994 | Description / Buy | |
6 | 100 Creepy Little Creature Stories | 1994 | Description / Buy | |
7 | 100 Crooked Little Crime Stories | 1994 | Description / Buy | |
8 | 100 Vicious Little Vampire Stories | 1995 | Description / Buy | |
9 | 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories | 1995 | Description / Buy | |
10 | 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
11 | 100 Fiendish Little Frightmares | 1997 | Description / Buy | |
12 | 100 Sneaky Little Sleuth Stories | 1997 | Description / Buy | |
13 | 100 Twisted Little Tales of Torment | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
14 | 100 Menacing Little Murder Stories | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
15 | 100 Hilarious Little Howlers | 1999 | Description / Buy | |
16 | Crafty Cat Crimes | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
17 | 100 Tiny Tales of Terror (Short Story) | 2014 | Description / Buy |
Richard Laymon Anthologies
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Triage | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Hotter Blood: More Tales of Erotic Horror | 1991 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Ten Tales | 1994 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Vampire Detectives | 1995 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Grave Tales | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Bad News | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
7 | October Dreams | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
8 | The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 2 | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
9 | The Children of Cthulhu: Chilling New Tales Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
10 | Mondo Zombie | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
11 | In Laymon's Terms | 2008 | Description / Buy |
Born in 1947 in Chicago, Laymon spent his teenage years in Tiburon which is in California. As an author, Laymon drew the interest of renowned writers like Stephen King.
Despite such acclaim, Laymon never made much of a splash in the United States. A former student of Redwood High School, Willamette University, and Loyola University, Laymon died having acquired a BA and an MA in English literature.
He wrote short stories and novels under his real name and the Richard Kelly pen name. But for all his efforts, the author struggled to push his popularity beyond the boundaries of Europe where his primary fanbase was located.
An opportunity to make his mark internationally came when Richard Laymon entered into a partnership with Leisure Books. They were supposed to edit and release The Woods Are Dark in his native homeland. But they did such a poor job of editing the manuscript, going so far as to erase fifty pages from the final product that the release only succeeded in hurting Laymon’s career.
Fortunately for the author, a properly edited version of The Woods Are Dark finally hit the shelves in 2008. But by then, the author had already passed. He was fifty-four years old when he died in 2001, the result of a heart attack.
He had a wife and a daughter at the time.
Before going into fiction writing, Laymon worked as a school teacher and a librarian. The author has been described as Stephen King without the censorship because of the boundaries he pushes in his horror stories.
Richard Laymon Awards
Laymon won the Bram Stoker Award in 2001 (The Traveling Vampire Show). He was also nominated for Bram Stoker Awards in 1989, 1991, 1994 and 1996.
Best Richard Laymon Books
Laymon was a twisted writer, taking the blood, guts, and gore of the horror genre and adding a disturbing aspect to the equation, with some of the best books in the author’s bibliography including:
Endless Night: Jody and Evelyn’s little brother saw Evelyn die. They saw everyone die. At sixteen, Jody was dragged into a world filled with the sort of misery and pain most people never witness. A gang of killers came into the house and murdered everyone.
Jody managed to make it out alive. But neither she nor Evelyn’s brother can rest on their laurels. Simon is hunting them down. He has his reasons for wanting to get to Joby. But even if he wished to show her compassion, the choice has been taken out of Simon’s hands.
Simon’s comrades have given him an ultimatum. He either finds the only survivors of the slaughter or they kill his family. For Jody, the nightmare has just begun.
This Richard Laymon release came out in 2004 and it continued his penchant for taking readers down some truly dark and demented rabbit holes.
Jody Fargo takes center stage as the heroine of the story. When Jody goes to her best friend’s house for a sleepover, she expects a night of fun and games. Then the sound of breaking glass wakes Evelyn.
Jody initially dismisses her suspicions of a potential burglary. But Evelyn sticks to her guns. She knows what she heard and quickly proceeds to investigate the noise. The decision ends with Evelyn getting impaled by a spear.
Jody is horrified but she succeeds in containing her nerves, so much so that Evelyn’s killer does not take note of her. And the moment he moves on, Jody collects Andy, Evelyn’s twelve-year-old brother, and they flee the house. From there, Jody must fight to stay alive as her captors give chase.
In the Dark: Jane Kerry was ordinary. Nothing of note ever happened to the young librarian. But then she received an envelope with money that compelled her to find a book. Within it, she found even more money and an additional clue.
It takes Jane a while to realize that she has been pulled into a game, one that intends to not only test her intelligence but also determine how far she will go to win. Jane faces many a criminal and immoral challenge along the way.
As the game proceeds and as the stakes are elevated, things take a dangerous turn. Jane learns that quitting is no longer an option, not unless she wishes to forfeit her life.
When Does The Next Richard Laymon book come out?
Richard Laymon doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Short Stories: The Mystery and Men’s Magazines and was released on May, 14th 2014. It is the newest book in the Richard Laymon Short Story Collections.