Manliest Writers of 'Weird' or 'Horror' Literature

[Druidic]

Justin, I don't think any writer can beat Hodgson in macho spirit but we shouldn't forget Karl Edward Wagner. I don't know how he did with the ladies but I'm sure he had some memorable nights at the conventions. And, man, he could hold his liquor admirably.

Poe.

[Raul Urraca]

Rumor has it that Mark Samuels once pistol-whipped a Scotsman.

[durandal]

You can't top Wrath James White.

[Kevin]

I don't know who Wrath James White is, but considering the picture, the name alone wins, hands down.

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

He's an extreme horror writer. He wrote a story (might have been one of his collaborations) about a man who tries to do such vile acts at home that God will come down to stop him, with the hope he can trap God and torture him.

[Gnosticangel]

Though I second WHH, what about Ambrose Bierce?

At the outset of the American Civil War, Bierce enlisted in the Union Army's 9th Indiana Infantry. He participated in the Operations in Western Virginia campaign (1861), was present at the "first battle" at Philippi and received newspaper attention for his daring rescue, under fire, of a gravely wounded comrade at the Battle of Rich Mountain. In February 1862 he was commissioned a first lieutenant, and served on the staff of General William Babcock Hazen as a topographical engineer, making maps of likely battlefields.

Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862), a terrifying experience that became a source for several later short stories and the memoir "What I Saw of Shiloh". In June 1864, he sustained a serious head wound at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, and spent the rest of the summer on furlough, returning to active duty in September. He was discharged from the army in January 1865.

His military career resumed, however, when in mid-1866 he rejoined General Hazen as part of the latter's expedition to inspect military outposts across the Great Plains. The expedition proceeded by horseback and wagon from Omaha, Nebraska, arriving toward year's end in San Francisco, California.

Bierce wrote realistically of the terrible things he had seen in the war in such stories as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", "A Horseman in the Sky", "One of the Missing", and "Chickamauga". His grimly realistic cycle of 25 war stories has been called "the greatest anti-war document in American literature".

According to Milton Subotsky, Bierce helped pioneer the psychological horror story. In addition to his ghost and war stories, he also published several volumes of poetry. His Fantastic Fables anticipated the ironic style of grotesquerie that became a more common genre in the 20th century.

In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. He was rumored to be traveling with rebel troops, and was not seen again.

[Ucasuni]

Quote Originally Posted by Frater_Tsalal

My favorite sentence from Wikipedia's entry on Clark Ashton Smith: "Smith now reluctantly did gardening for other residents at Pacific Grove, and grew a goatee." It's such a bizarre, random observation. I wonder what was going through the mind of the person who wrote that. "Let's see, at this late stage in his life CAS decided to grow a goatee. Yeah, I definitely should put that in there."

I just like to imagine that his reluctance extended to his facial hair, as if the goatee were grown under duress.

[Kevin]

Quote Originally Posted by Nirvana In Karma

Poe.

At first blush Poe seems to be the opposite of what this thread is looking for. But: I know he was short, died young, was an extreme alcoholic, and suffered greatly at the hands of his abusive (step?) father. Oh, and pioneered a genre in his spare time.

Perhaps, after all, he's the most "manly" of the bunch.

Oh, and thanks for the reminder re: Bierce. I read his 'Shiloh' eyewitness account, and can't imagine wanting to read any others. The perfect combination of elegant 19th century prose and the raised brow of skepticism.

[gveranon]

Quote Originally Posted by Druidic

Justin, I don't think any writer can beat Hodgson in macho spirit but we shouldn't forget Karl Edward Wagner. I don't know how he did with the ladies but I'm sure he had some memorable nights at the conventions. And, man, he could hold his liquor admirably.

In the first picture I ever saw of Karl Edward Wagner, many years ago, he was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words KILL 'EM ALL. Combined with his biker-like appearance, this made an impression on me. I wasn't a Metallica fan, so it was several years before I realized, Oh, that was probably just a concert t-shirt.