Peter Straub, the celebrated author of dark fantasies, psychological thrillers and literary horrors, died on Sunday following a long illness. He was 79.
Straub authored numerous novels, short stories and novellas during his lifetime, from his debut horror novel Julia in 1975 – later filmed as The Haunting of Julia – to the 2010 novel A Dark Matter and The Talisman, which he co-wrote with Stephen King.
King tweeted his condolences on Tuesday, calling Straub a “good friend” and “amazingly talented colleague and collaborator”.
“Working with him was one of the great joys of my creative life,” he wrote. The two co-wrote Black House, a sequel to The Talisman, published in 2001.
“One of the best writers I’ve read, one of the best friends I’ve known,” English author Neil Gaiman wrote in a tweet. “Always kind, funny, irascible, brilliant. Once performed the Crow position in yoga, in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, men’s room, because he was fearless and proud of his yoga. I’ll miss you Peter.”
“I’ll miss the books he would still have written, but more than that I’ll miss the conversations we’ll now never have,” Gaiman added in a second tweet.
Born on 2 March 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Straub studied English at the University of Wisconsin and earned an MA from Columbia before teaching English at his former prep school for three years. He started, but did not finish, a PhD at University College Dublin, and instead published two books of poetry in 1972, Ishmael and Open Air, and his first novel, Marriages in 1973.
He turned to gothic fiction at the suggestion of his agent, first with Julia and then his breakout book, Ghost Story in 1979. Other works include Floating Dragon, The Ghost Village, The Throat and The Hellfire Club.
Over the course of his career, Straub was nominated for a dozen World Fantasy Awards and won four, as well as 14 Bram Stoker awards, the premier achievement for literary horror, winning 10 times. He won a Stoker lifetime achievement award in 2006, was named an International Horror Guild living legend in 2008 and received a lifetime achievement World Fantasy Award in 2010, among numerous other accolades.
Straub married Susan Bitker in 1966, and is survived by their two children, Ben and Emma, a bestselling author.
