Biography & Bibliography

[Cyril Tourneur]

The creature that would become known as John B. Ford was born sometime in 1963 in a mist shrouded house upon some lonely moor. He grew up as an extremely shy and abnormally quiet boy and spent much of his early childhood in isolation in the gabled attic of his ancestral home. At school he was shunned by the other children and finally left that institution with two ‘O’ Levels in English in 1979.

He attempted to live an ordinary life and worked as a probation assistant, a car park attendant and did a ten-year stretch as a factory labourer. You get less for murder he tells me, though how he knows this is unknown. Much of this period of his life is lost in a blur of memory but one cannot help but wonder what atrocities and horrors he might have witnessed (or even caused!) in these convenient blank spaces of his life.

On New Year’s Day 1995 he suffered a massive panic attack in a remote area of the Peak District, miles from anywhere or anyone and when he returned to civilisation he had been ‘reborn in his own body’ as John B. Ford. No record exists of his previous name.

John B. Ford devoted himself to writing and publishing horror fiction and soon caused quite a stir on the Small Press scene with his macabre and atmospheric fiction. He still suffers anxiety and occasional depression and likes to frequent cemeteries, haunted houses (one wonders if they were haunted before he came along!) and alehouses. He uses alcohol to good effect as a means to relax.

His fiction is dark in the extreme and mostly focused on the themes of death or madness, but he also possesses the ability to work accurately in the style of deceased authors such as Hodgson, Chambers, Lovecraft, Shiel, etc. He has also collaborated with many modern day authors that are much better known than he is, such as: Simon Clark, Thomas Ligotti, F. Paul Wilson, Brian Stableford, Tim Lebbon and Ramsey Campbell, to name but a few. Ford’s most famous story is The Illusion of Life. This has been reprinted in many publications since its first appearance in 1996.

For a number of years he ran BJM Press, which published his own writings and the work of other contemporary horror writers. He has edited many books both alone and with Paul Kane & Steve Lines for Rainfall Books, which he runs with Steve. He is also the author of several collections. He is co-editor of 'Terror Tales' and the forthcoming anthology 'Strange Stories'.

The Cemetery Of The Ocean -- The Doppelganger Broadsheet -- Feb 96

The Midnight Caller -- Really Quite Cosmic -- Feb 96

The Rose Of Lamia -- Footsteps -- April 96

The Illusion Of Life -- Saccade --May 96

Tongue Tied -- Bats And Red Velvet -- May 96

The Sea Of Strangeness -- Really Quite Cosmic -- July 96

Long Black Hairy Legs -- The Doppelganger Broadsheet -- Nov 96

Destiny -- The Sky's Gone Out -- Nov 96

In The House Of Chained Souls -- Black Planet -- Nov 96

A Visit To The Gooja Bird -- Reader's Feast -- Dec 96

The Illusion Of Life -- Sink Full Of Dishes -- Dec 96

In The House Of Chained Souls -- The Doppelganger Broadsheet -- Dec 96

The Illusion Of Death -- Strix -- Dec 96

Grondak -- Writers' Express -- Feb 96

Love Hearts -- Unreal Dreams -- March 97

The Menace Of Manifold Valley -- The Doppelganger Broadsheet -- March 97

Life On Ice -- Odyssey -- April 97

The Illusion Of Life -- Peninsular -- April 97

Dead Man's Handle -- Nasty Piece Of Work -- June 97

The Darkest Of All Healings -- Strix -- July 97

The Illusion Of Life -- Penny Dreadful -- August 97

The Lucky Man From Atlantis -- Flickers `n' Frames -- August 97

The Man Who Drank Death -- Visions -- August 97

A Visit To The Gooja Bird -- Lateral Moves -- August 97

Strange One Off The Rails -- Unreal Dreams -- August 97

The Halloween House -- Oktobyr -- Oct 97

The Curse -- Nightchillers -- Oct 97

The Cemetery Of The Ocean -- Unreal Dreams Oct 97

The Song Of Weeping -- The Doppelganger Broadsheet -- Dec 97

Satanic Rose With Crimson Bud -- Tales Of The Arabesque And Grotesque -- Dec 97

The Keeper Of Souls -- Strix -- Dec 97

The Men Who Glowed -- Scared To Death -- Dec 97

The Rose Of Lamia -- Penny Dreadful -- Jan 98

Black Snakes And Rats -- Saccade -- Feb 98

The Superintendent Of Death -- Scared To Death -- March 98

Transfiguration -- Tales Of The Arabesque And Grotesque -- April 98

The Song Of Weeping -- Strix -- April 98

The Sea Of Strangeness -- Penny Dreadful -- May 98

The Things In The Weed -- Scared To Death -- June 98

The Song Of Weeping -- Scared To Death -- June 98

Satanic Rose With Crimson Bud -- Scared To Death -- June 98

To Dwell On Tainted Ground -- Enigmatic Tales -- June 98

In The House Of Chained Souls -- Sackcloth And Ashes -- Sept 98

A Visit To The Gooja Bird -- Strix -- Sept 98

The Curse -- Penny Dreadful -- Sept 98

My Lady Of Starlight -- Writers Express -- Sept 98

The Rose Of Lamia -- Unreal Dreams -- Sept 98

Destiny -- Sierra Heaven -- Oct 98

The Man With Electric Balls -- Tales Of The Grotesque And Arabesque -- Oct 98

The Church Of Unholiness -- Oktobyr -- Oct 98

My Lady Azia (Written With Richard Bennet) Terror Tales -- Dec 98

The Pools Of Sadness -- The Dream Zone -- Dec 98

The Illusion Of Life -- Roadworks -- Jan 99

Earth Spirit -- The Doppelganger Broadsheet -- Jan 99

The Island Of The Undead -- Strix -- Jan 99

The Darkest Of All Healings -- Penny Dreadful -- Feb 99

Sweet And Sour Dreams -- The Dream Zone -- March 99

The Midnight Caller -- Penny Dreadful -- June 99

Dead Things (with Paul Bradshaw) -- Dead Things Magazine -- July 99

Sex Dwarf And The Disco Dollies -- Charnel House -- July 99

The Cycle (with Joe Rattigan) -- Strix -- July 99

The Island of The Undead -- Monomyth -- July 99

A Visit To The Gooja Bird -- Songs of Innocence -- August 99

Strange One Off The Rails -- Penny Dreadful -- Oct 99

Croxton's Return (written with Derek M. Fox) Enigmatic Tales -- Dec 99

The Nightmare Plot (written with Gary Greenwood) The Dream Zone -- Feb 00

Soul Light -- Songs of Innocence -- Feb 00

The Song Of Weeping -- Penny Dreadful -- April 00

Giving You The Eye -- Penny Dreadful -- April 00

The Maze For Jaded Brains -- Redsine -- April 00

Doctor Calargi's Black Box -- Roadworks -- May 00

The Eternally Descending Blade -- Dream Zone -- June 00

Earth Spirit -- Songs Of Innocence -- August 00

Mrs Drasic's Farewell Party (Written with Eddie M. Angerhuber) -- Nocturnal Products -- 2002

Behind The Painted Face -- Shadow Writers #1 -- October 2002

A Box Full Of Nightmares -- Penny Dreadful -- April 2005



CHAPBOOKS:



Within The Sea Of The Dead -- BJM Press -- 1996

The Derelict Of Death (Written With Simon Clark) -- BJM Press -- 1998

Macabre Delights And Twisted Tales -- BJM Press -- 1997

Ghouls And Gore And Twisted Terrors -- BJM Press -- 1998

Death Songs of Carcosa (with Steve Lines) -- Rainfall Books -- April 2006



BOOKS:



Dark Shadows On The Moon -- story collection -- Hive Press -- 2001

Tales Of Devilry And Doom -- story collection -- Rainfall Books -- 2001

The Evil Entwines -- collaborative stories -- Hardcastle Books -- 2002

The Haunted Ocean -- Novella -- Rainfall Books -- 2004

The Evil Entwines (Extended Version) -- collaborative stories -- Rainfall Books 2005


Comments on the writings of JOHN B. FORD
The horror is so all-pervading and INTENSE that sometimes reading the book I feel as though I am wading through the treacle of the damned

Nick Granger-Taylor



Ford's writing is Old School. He's like Ligotti, he's like Rickman, he's like Clark Ashton Smith and August Derleth. He's macabre, classy and very unusual. If guts are spilled, it's only as an aside to the overall atmosphere of unease and dread. It's not the main feature, but rather, is seamlessly integrated into the story line. That's very refreshing these days. I believe this to be Ford's most extensive collection to date. These stories are brief, very dark, and bite like a rabid terrier. I like John Ford and I think he fits quite nicely into these pages. Have a look.

Mark Ziesing



And finally, I have just received a copy of John B.s anthology, Dark Shadows on the Moon, and it looks sensational; a collection of the very best of his work; a must for all those who have never read The Darkest Of All Healings, The Illusion Of Life, Transfiguration, or any of his Sagasso Sea stories.

David Price





Some stories have the mood of Ligotti blended with Pugmire, which is a HIGH praise! Definitely my favorite thus far (I'm on page 62) was INFECTION OF TIME - wow!!! The visual of those green-glowing walls!!!

Jeffrey Thomas





First, how could I not love "The Strangest Interview" when it is comprised of one interviewing himself, and is headed by an epigraph/endorsement from Tom Ligotti?

Matt Cardin



I read "The Darkest of All Healings" and "The Sea of Strangeness" last night and enjoyed them very much. I look forward to reading the rest as time allows.

Stanley C. Sargent



I read In the House of Chained Souls last night and enjoyed it immensely. I found it very intense, and, if this is not too obvious an observation, dark.

Quentin S. Crisp



I had to stop reading DARK SHADOWS when I reached a third of the way through, as it was disturbing me so much and actually gave me nightmares...Honest!

I'll get back to it when I'm feeling more sturdy.

Nick Granger-Taylor



There is a certain sub-genre of fantasy horror that has seen a resurgence in recent years and is almost exclusively confined to the small press in Britain and the USA. I'm sure someone will have coined a cute term for it but the best I can do is Pseudo Gothic. John B Ford is one of the leading lights of this style and manages to imbibe his stories with a turn-of-the century air even when anachronisms such as videos and Ford Orions are present! That is no mean feat.

Noel K. Hannan



I thought this very impressive. Quite masterful.

Nick Granger-Taylor on The Illusion Of Life



It was only recently and by accident that I stumbled across some (of Ford's) fiction on the internet, and I must say that it's been quite a long time since a literary first encounter left me in such a state of pleasant shock.

Still dazed,

Alexander Zartl



I've just read The Maze For Jaded Brains. In my view it's one of the best stories in "Dark Shadows". The descent into insanity of the narrator and the murderous presence of Dr. Sepoire in the background is extremely skilfully handled. The outward description of Pierre as a drooling imbecile as contrasted with his interior view of the bizarre nature of the world really gave me a start. I'm carrying "Dark Shadows" around with me wherever I go at the moment, such is my admiration for it.

Mark Samuels



To say Ford arrived on the horror scene would be wrong; more accurately he exploded all over it. Courageously disregarding modern trends in writing horror, he wrote his stories in the classic style – at first emulating the likes of William Hope Hodgson, M.P. Shiel and Algernon Blackwood. But he quickly found a distinctive voice which, although it echoes writers of a certain vintage, is clearly his own.

If anything, dark veins run through Ford's prose of madness, death, and nightmare, infusing his work with such an intensity that his passionate visions of hell-like worlds and characters threatened by nameless horrors linger in the reader's mind long after the story is over.

Simon Clark



Funny, if only John B Ford would enter his MAZE FOR JADED BRAINS here (you know, if no-one knew about it and I hadn't just spilled the beans on the writer) now THAT would be my winner. That final scalpel scene will stick in my mind for a good long time, JB. Schweet. Hertzan Chimera



The book gets underway with 'Behind the Painted Face' from John B. Ford (the leading Terror Scribe - and one of the folk behind Rainfall Books), which gets the collection off to a good start, even if is not up to some of Mr. Ford's better writing. In this tale he explores the often held nightmarish feeling of evil clowns, and by playing on a familiar dread and not having to set too much of the background he can concentrate on applying the scares. Lesley Mazey, The Eternal Night.

FiendishFord