American horror writers

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as one of the central figures of Romanticism and Gothic fiction in the United States and of early American literature. Poe was one of the country's first successful practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered to be one of the pioneers of the detective fiction genre. In addition, he is credited with contributing significantly to the emergence of science fiction. He is the first well-known American writer to earn a living exclusively through writing, which resulted in a financially difficult life and career.

American author and screenwriter (1920–2012)

American writer and editor (1890–1937)

George Raymond Richard Martin, also known by the initials G.R.R.M., is an American author, screenwriter, and television producer. Martin is best known as the author of the epic fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, which was adapted by HBO into the Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) and its prequel series House of the Dragon (2022–present). Martin also wrote a related series of novellas, Tales of Dunk and Egg, which have been adapted by HBO as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026–present). Outside of A Song of Ice and Fire and its related media, Martin helped create the Wild Cards anthology series and contributed worldbuilding for the video game Elden Ring (2022).

American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist (1842–1914)

American writer

American novelist, essayist

American author (1906–1936)

American fiction writer (1926–2013)

American director, screenwriter, and producer (born 1964)

American novelist and short story writer (1921–1995)

American novelist (born 1943)

American writer (1934–2018)

American writer and screenwriter (born 1945)

American novelist, playwright (1929–2007)

American fiction writer (1917–1994)

American writer (1916-1965)

American novelist (1948–2026)

American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction (1910–1992)

American speculative fiction writer (1918–1985)

American novelist, also known by the pseudonym Lemony Snicket (born 1970)

American screenwriter (1924–1975)

American writer and filmmaker (1928-2017)

American writer best known for science fiction (1951–2022)

American poet (1902–1971)

American writer and filmmaker (born 1954)

American author (1893-1961)

American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and writer (1918–1994)

American writer

American horror writer (born 1972)

American comic book writer

American writer (born 1968)

American novelist, short story writer, poet, editor, and anthologist (1909–1971)

American novelist and poet (1943–2022)

American artist, novelist, short story writer (1865–1933)

American science fiction author and poet (1940–2008)

American horror author

writer

American author (1857–1948)

American novelist

American actor and novelist (1926–1991)

American science fiction, horror and mystery novelist (1929–2016)

Novelist, short story writer, essayist (1854-1909)

American novelist, short story writer, poet (1901–1994)

American novelist

American horror writer (1946-2018)

American mystery and speculative fiction writer (1909–1969)

writer

American writer

American novelist

American film director and producer

American writer (1941–2017)

American cartoonist, illustrator and film director

American author

American writer

American criminal profiler

American writer (1929-1967)

American writer and film director

actor, writer

American writer (1945–1994)