Haining, Peter (Alexander) 1940-
HAINING, Peter (Alexander) 1940-
PERSONAL: Born April 2, 1940, in Enfield, Middlesex, England; son of William (a manager) and Joan (Pattrick) Haining; married Philippa Waring, October 2, 1965; children: Richard, Sean, Gemma. Ethnicity: "Anglo-Scottish." Education: Attended grammar school in Buckhurst Hill, England. Hobbies and other interests: Rare books, football.
ADDRESSES: Home—Peyton House, Boxford, Suffolk CO10 5DZ, England. E-mail—peterhaining@onetel.net.uk.
CAREER: Journalist and magazine writer, 1957-63; New English Library, London, England, 1963-72, began as editor, became senior editor, then editorial director; editorial consultant for television and films, writer, and anthologist, 1972—. Has appeared on television program Myths of Mankind, Discovery Channel, 1999.
MEMBER: International PEN, British Film Institute.
AWARDS, HONORS: Edgar Allan Poe Award nomination for best critical/biographical work, Mystery Writers of America, 1990, for Agatha Christie: Murder in Four Acts, and 2003, for The Classic Era of Crime Fiction.
WRITINGS:
(With Arthur V. Sellwood) Devil Worship in Britain, Transworld Publishers, 1964.
Holiday Guide to the Channel Islands, New English Library (London, England), 1966, revised edition published as The Channel Islands, introduction by Nicholas Monsarrat, 1974.
Witchcraft and Black Magic, Hamlyn (London, England), 1971, Grosset & Dunlap (New York, NY), 1972.
The Warlock's Book: Secrets of Black Magic from the Ancient Grimoires, University Books (New York, NY), 1972.
The Anatomy of Witchcraft, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1972.
The Dream Machines: An Eyewitness History of Ballooning, New English Library (London, England), 1972, World Publishing (New York, NY), 1973.
Eurotunnel: An Illustrated History of the Channel Tunnel Scheme, New English Library (London, England), 1972.
The Hero, New English Library (London, England), 1973.
Ghosts: The Illustrated History, Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1974, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1975.
The Fortune Hunter's Guidebook, Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1975.
An Illustrated History of Witchcraft, New English Library (London, England), 1975, Pyramid Books (New York, NY), 1976.
The Great English Earthquake, Robert Hale (London, England), 1976.
The Compleat Birdman: A History of Man-Powered Flight, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1976.
The Monster Trap and Other True Stories, Armada Books (London, England), 1976.
Terror!: A History of Horror Illustrations from the Pulp Magazines, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1976.
Ancient Mysteries, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1977.
The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack, Muller (London, England), 1977.
The Restless Bones and Other True Mysteries, Armada Books (London, England), 1978.
Mystery!: An Illustrated History of Crime and Detective Fiction, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1978.
The Mystery and Horrible Murders of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Muller (London, England), 1978.
The Screaming Skull and Other True Mysteries, Armada Books (London, England), 1979.
Movable Books: An Illustrated History: Pages & Pictures of Folding, Revolving, Dissolving, Mechanical, Scenic, Panoramic, Dimensional, Changing, Pop-up and Other Novelty Books from the Collection of David and Briar Philips, New English Library (London, England), 1979.
The Man Who Was Frankenstein, Muller (London, England), 1979.
Superstitions, Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1979.
The Leprechaun's Kingdom, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1979.
Hell Hound and Other True Mysteries, Armada Books (London, England), 1980.
Buried Passions: Maria Marten and the Red Barn Murder, Spearman (Sudbury, England), 1980.
The Vampire Terror and Other True Mysteries, Armada Books (London, England), 1981.
A Dictionary of Ghosts, Robert Hale (London, England), 1981.
The Legend of Charlie Chaplin, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1982.
Doctor Who: A Celebration: Two Decades through Time and Space, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1983.
The Legend of Brigitte Bardot, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1983.
The Last Gentleman: David Niven, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1984.
Raquel Welch: Sex Symbol to Super Star, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1984.
A Dictionary of Ghost Lore, Prentice-Hall (New York, NY), 1984.
Eyewitness to the Galaxy: Britain's Contribution to Research in Space, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1985.
Goldie: Goldie Hawn, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1985.
The Spitfire Log, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1985.
The Race for Mars, Comet (New York, NY), 1986.
The Television Sherlock Holmes, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1986.
Elvis in Private, Robert Hale (London, England), 1987.
The Dracula Centenary Book, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1987.
James Bond: A Celebration, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1987.
The Scarecrow: Fact and Fable, Robert Hale (London, England), 1988.
Doctor Who: Twenty-five Glorious Years, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1988.
The Day War Broke Out, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1989.
Bob Hope: Thanks for the Memory, Foulsham (London, England), 1989.
Charlie Chaplin: A Centenary Celebration, Foulsham (London, England), 1989.
Agatha Christie: Murder in Four Acts: A Centenary Celebration of "The Queen of Crime" on Stage, Film, Radio and TV, Virgin (London, England), 1990.
The Legend of Garbo: A Memorial Edition, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1990.
Spitfire Summer: The People's-Eye View of the Battle of Britain, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1990.
The English Highwayman: A Legend Unmasked, Robert Hale (London, England), 1991.
The Supernatural Coast, Robert Hale (London, England), 1992.
The MG Log: The World's Favourite Sports Car, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1993.
Sweeney Todd: The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.
The Complete Margret, Boxtree (London, England), 1994.
On Call with Doctor Finlay, Boxtree (London, England), 1994.
Agatha Christie's Poirot, Boxtree (London, England), 1995.
On Duty with the Chief, Boxtree (London, England), 1995.
On the Rounds with Medics, Boxtree (London, England), 1995.
(With Peter Tremayne) The Undead: The Legend of Bram Stoker and Dracula, Constable (London, England), 1997.
The Invasion Earth Companion: Behind the Scenes of the Sci-Fi Channel Series, TVBooks (New York, NY), 1998.
A Dictionary of Vampires, Robert Hale (London, England), 2000.
The Classic Era of the American Pulp Magazine, Prion (London, England), 2001.
The Classic Era of Crime Fiction, Prion (London, England), 2002.
The Flying Bomb War, Robson (London, England), 2002.
The Jail That Went to Sea, Robson (London, England), 2003.
The Mystery of Rommel's Gold, Robson (London, England), 2004.
editor or compiler
The Hell of Mirrors, New English Library (London, England), 1964, published as Everyman's Book of Classic Horror Stories, Dutton (New York, NY), 1976.
Summoned from the Tomb, Digit Books (London, England), 1966.
Beyond the Curtain of Dark, New English Library (London, England), 1966, Pinnacle Books, 1972.
Where Nightmares Are, Mayflower Books (London, England), 1966.
The Craft of Terror: Extracts from the Rare and Infamous Gothic "Horror" Novels, New English Library (London, England), 1966.
The Gentlewomen of Evil: An Anthology of Rare Supernatural Stories from the Pens of Victorian Ladies, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1967.
Legends for the Dark, New English Library (London, England), 1968.
The Evil People: Being Thirteen Strange and Terrible Accounts of Witchcraft, Black Magic and Voo-doo, Frewin (London, England), 1968.
Dr. Caligari's Black Book: An Excursion into the Macabre, in Thirteen Acts, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1968.
The Future Makers: A Selection of Science Fiction from Brian Aldiss [and Others], Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1968.
The Midnight People: Being Eighteen Terrifying and Bizarre Tales of Vampires, Frewin (London, England), 1968, published as Vampires at Midnight: Seventeen Brilliant and Chilling Tales of the Ghastly Bloodsucking Undead, Grosset (New York, NY), 1970.
The Witchcraft Reader, Dobson (London, England), 1969, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1970.
The Satanists, Neville Spearman (Sudbury, England), 1969, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1970.
The Unspeakable People: Being Twenty of the World's Most Horrible Horror Stories, Frewin (London, England), 1969.
The Freak Show: Tales of Fantasy and Horror, Rapp & Whiting (London, England), 1970, published as The Freak Show: Freaks, Monsters, Ghouls, Etc., Thomas Nelson (Nashville, TN), 1972.
The Hollywood Nightmare: Tales of Fantasy and Horror from the Film World, Macdonald (London, England), 1970, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1971.
A Thousand Afternoons, Cowles (New York, NY), 1970, published in England with introduction and preface by Haining as A Thousand Afternoons: An Anthology of Bullfighting, P. Owen (London, England), 1970.
The Wild Night Company: Irish Stories of Fantasy and Horror, Gollancz (London, England), 1970, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1971, published as Irish Tales of Terror, Bonanza Books (New York, NY), 1988.
A Circle of Witches: An Anthology of Victorian Witchcraft Stories, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1971.
The Clans of Darkness: Scottish Stories of Fantasy and Horror, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1971, published as Scottish Stories of Fantasy and Horror, foreword by Angus Wilson, Bonanza Books (New York, NY), 1988.
The Ghouls, Stein & Day (New York, NY), 1971.
The Necromancers: The Best of Black Magic and Witchcraft, introduction by Robert Bloch, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1971, Morrow (New York, NY), 1972.
Gothic Tales of Terror: Classic Horror Stories from Great Britain, Europe, and the United States, 1765-1840, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1972, published as Great British Tales of Terror: Gothic Stories of Horror and Romance, 1765-1840, Gollancz (London, England), 1972.
The Magicians: Occult Stories, introduction by Colin Wilson, P. Owen (London, England), 1972, published as The Magicians: The Occult in Fact and Fiction, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1973.
The Lucifer Society: Macabre Tales by Great Modern Writers, foreword by Kingsley Amis, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1972, published as The Lucifer Society, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1972.
Nightfrights: Occult Stories for All Ages, illustrated by David Smee, Gollancz (London, England), 1972, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1973.
The Nightmare Reader, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1973.
The Graveyard Wit: The Humour of the Tombstone, Frank Graham (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England), 1973.
The Sherlock Holmes Scrapbook: Fifty Years of Occasional Articles, Newspaper Cuttings, Letters, Memoirs, Anecdotes, Pictures, Photographs and Drawings Relating to the Great Detective, foreword by Peter Cushing, New English Library (London, England), 1973, Crown (New York, NY), 1974.
The Witchcraft Papers: Contemporary Records of the Witchcraft Hysteria in Essex, 1560-1700, R. Hale (London, England), 1974.
The Magic Valley Travellers: Welsh Stories of Fantasy and Horror, foreword by Richard Hughes, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1974.
The Monster Makers: Creators and Creations of Fantasy and Horror, illustrated by David Smee, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1974.
Christopher Lee's New Chamber of Horrors, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1974.
The Hashish Club: An Anthology of Drug Literature, Peter Owen (London, England), 1975, Volume 1: Founding of the Modern Tradition, Volume 2: The Penny Dreadful.
The Ancient Mysteries Reader, illustrated by Christopher Scott, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1975.
The Fantastic Pulps, Gollancz (London, England), 1975, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1976.
The Ghost's Companion: Stories of Personal Encounters with the Supernatural, Gollancz (London, England), 1975, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1976.
The Black Magic Omnibus, Robson Books, 1975, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1976.
Weird Tales: A Facsimile of the World's Most Famous Fantasy Magazine, Neville Spearman (Jersey, Channel Islands), 1976.
First Book of Unknown Tales of Horror, Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1976.
The Dracula Scrapbook: Articles, Essays, Letters, Newspaper Cuttings, Anecdotes, Illustrations, Photographs and Memorabilia about the Vampire Legend, foreword by Christopher Lee, Brandon House (North Hollywood, CA), 1976.
Peter Cushing's Tales of a Monster Hunter, Arthur Barker (London, England), 1977.
The Frankenstein File, New English Library (London, England), 1977.
Deadly Nightshade: Strange Tales of the Dark, Gollancz (London, England), 1977, Taplinger (New York, NY), 1978.
The Edgar Allan Poe Scrapbook: Articles, Essays, Letters, Anecdotes, Illustrations, Photographs and Memorabilia about the Legendary American Genius, foreword by Robert Bloch, New English Library (London, England), 1977, Schocken (New York, NY), 1978.
Second Book of Unknown Tales of Horror, Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1978.
The H. G. Wells Scrapbook: Articles, Essays, Letters, Anecdotes, Illustrations, Photographs, and Memorabilia about the Prophetic Genius of the Twentieth Century, foreword by Jack Williamson, Crown (New York, NY), 1978.
The Jules Verne Companion, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1978.
The Shilling Shockers: Stories of Terror from the Gothic Bluebooks, Gollancz (London, England), 1978, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1979.
M. R. James, Book of the Supernatural, Foulsham (London, England), 1979.
Classic Horror Omnibus, New English Library (London, England), 1979.
M. R. James, The Book of Ghost Stories, Stein & Day (New York, NY), 1979.
A Sherlock Holmes Compendium, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1980.
The Gaston Leroux Bedside Companion: Weird Stories by the Author of "The Phantom of the Opera," Gollancz (London, England), 1980.
Third Book of Unknown Tales of Horror, Sidgwick & Jackson (London, England), 1980.
The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Completing the Canon, W. H. Allen (London, England), 1981.
The Best Short Stories of Rider Haggard, foreword by Hammond Innes, Michael Joseph (London, England), 1981.
Greasepaint and Ghosts: An Anthology of Strange and Supernatural Stories from the World of Theatre, Kimber (London, England), 1982.
Shades of Dracula: Bram Stoker's Uncollected Stories, Kimber (London, England), 1982.
The Complete Ghost Stories of Charles Dickens, F. Watts (New York, NY), 1982.
Dead of Night: Horror Stories from Radio, Television, and Films, Stein & Day (New York, NY), 1983.
Saki, Short Stories 2, Dent (London, England), 1983.
The Traction Engine Companion, Robert Hale (London, England), 1983.
Nightcaps and Nightmares: Ghosts with a Touch of Humour, Kimber (London, England), 1983.
Paths to the River Bank: The Origins of "The Wind in the Willows," from the Writings of Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Carolyn Beresford, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1983.
Hallowe'en Hauntings: Stories about the Most Ghostly Night of the Year, Kimber (London, England), 1984.
The Lost Stories of W. S. Gilbert, Robson Books (London, England)/Parkwest Publications, 1985.
The Ghost Ship: Stories of the Phantom Flying Dutchman, Kimber (London, England), 1985.
Tales of Dungeons and Dragons, introduction by Ray Bradbury, Century (London, England), 1986.
Supernatural Sleuths: Stories of Occult Investigators, Kimber (London, England), 1986.
The Supernatural Tales of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, W. Foulsham (New York, NY), 1987.
Great Irish Stories of the Supernatural, Souvenir (London, England), 1992.
Great Irish Detective Stories, Souvenir (London, England), 1993.
Charles Dickens' Christmas Ghost Stories, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1993.
Great Irish Tales of the Unimaginable: Stories of Fantasy and Myth, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1994.
Bram Stoker, Midnight Tales, P. Owen (London, England), 1995.
The Vampire Omnibus, Orion (London, England), 1995.
Tales from the Gothic Bluebooks, Gothic Society at the Gargoyle's Head Press (Chislehurst, Kent, England), 1995.
Murder at the Races, Orion (London, England), 1995.
Hunted Down: The Detective Stories of Charles Dickens, P. Owen (London, England), 1996.
Edith Wharton, The Ghost-Feeler: Stories of Terror and the Supernatural, P. Owen (London, England), 1996.
London after Midnight, Little Brown UK (London, England), 1996.
Great Irish Humorous Stories: An Anthology of Laughter and Wit, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1998.
The Mammoth Book of Movie Detectives and Screen Crimes, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 1998.
The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 1998.
Vintage Science Fiction, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 1999.
Death on Wheels, Souvenir Press (London, England), 1999.
Knights of Madness, Ace Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Great Welsh Fantasy Stories, introduction by Richard Hughes, Gwasg Carreg (Llanrwst, Wales), 2000.
The Wizard's Den: Spellbinding Stories of Magic and Magicians, Souvenir Press (London, England), 2001.
Editor of numerous works in a wide variety of genres.
WORK IN PROGRESS: "A series of books about the Second World War."
SIDELIGHTS: British author Peter Haining is a former journalist whose interest in all types of genre fiction—horror, science fiction, detective, fantasy—has led him to a productive career as an editor of story collections. He has also written a number of books about ghostly legends and folktales, and as a collector of pulp magazines and film and television aficionado, Haining has also written about classic genre fiction tales and their authors.
As an editor, Haining has received particular praise for collecting stories by authors who did not typically write genre fiction. This is evident, for example, in his 1996 book Hunted Down: The Detective Stories of Charles Dickens, as well as in collection such as The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories. Of the latter, Booklist contributor Brad Hooper appreciated Haining's inclusion of tales by such authors as William Trevor and Algernon Blackwood, noting that the editor's division of stories into three time periods—early twentieth century, World War I- and II-era fiction, and modern fiction—aids readers in seeing how changes in history and advances in science affected the stories authors wrote. Another collection by Haining, The Classic Era of American Pulp Magazines, was praised by Bill Ott in Booklist as a "delicious volume" that includes a wide variety of genre fiction and reproductions of magazine cover art from Haining's personal collection. A Publishers Weekly contributor further deemed it "an essential collector's item for pulp aficionados."
Haining has also structured several collections around thematic elements. London after Midnight, for example, contains stories associated with that city's famous crime scenes, such as the Whitechapel district where Jack the Ripper's murders took place. In Death on Wheels, Haining presents horror and suspense stories involving cars. As with several earlier collections, this anthology features both familiar horror authors (such as Stephen King) and writers not usually associated with the genre (such as Antonia Fraser and Jeffrey Archer).
Haining once told CA: "My interest in the macabre was prompted by seeing a television production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when still a small child and being almost frightened to death! It also fired my interest in macabre fiction. As a journalist I came into contact with witchcraft and black magic, and this led to my first book, Devil Worship in Britain. Other books on the subject even resulted in my being 'cursed' by a group of Devil Worshippers in London. My ancestors lived in the lowlands of Scotland, and one of my works, The Warlock's Book, is based on records I discovered about a female ancestor who was burned at the stake for possessing a 'book of spells.' Over the years I have assembled a large library of books in both fact and fiction on all aspects of the supernatural and the occult and I draw on this in my work which has been published now in over a dozen languages."
More recently, Haining told CA, "I believe that an anthology should read like a good novel, with a beginning, middle, and end—each story taking the reader through new discoveries about the theme with the change of author being barely discernable wherever possible. I like to add personal details about the authors of the stories and how they were written—particularly where there has been a real experience or event inspired by the tale—as I think this provides added interest for the reader. I do not believe in 'editing by committee' where several names are featured as the editors of the collections. The best anthologies, in my estimation, are those that reveal the editor's own tastes and inclinations in precisely the same way as a novel. Whether I am writing prefaces to short stories or long works of nonfiction, I try to make my sentences work hard to hold the reader's interest and ensure that he or she is better informed about the subject at the end of the sentence than he or she was at the beginning. With the ever-present distraction of television, movies, videos, and the Internet, it is incumbent on the writer to fill his readers' imaginations with pictures every bit as vivid as those on offer from the other mediums."
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
periodicals
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, November, 2000, Tom Easton, review of Knights of Madness, p. 135.
Booklist, January 1, 1998, Leon Wagner, review of Crime Movies II: Famous Television Crime Series, p. 780; November 15, 1998, Brad Hooper, review of The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories, p. 574; April 15, 2001, Bill Ott, review of The Classic Era of American Pulp Magazines, p. 1511.
Christian Science Monitor, July 25, 1996, David Holmstrom, review of Hunted Down: The Detective Stories of Charles Dickens, p. B1.
Economist, December 22, 1984, review of Raquel Welch: Sex Symbol to Super Star and The Legend of Brigitte Bardot, p. 113.
Film Quarterly, summer, 1980, John L. Fell, review of The Frankenstein File, p. 53.
Library Journal, September 15, 1981, Pat Goodfellow, review of Mystery!: An Illustrated History of Crime and Detective Fiction, p. 1736; April 1, 1983, review of The Complete Ghost Stories of Charles Dickens, p. 757; December, 1984, Virginia A. Doser, review of Raquel Welch, p. 2294; November 1, 1996, Michelle Foyt, review of Ghost Movies II: Famous Supernatural Television Programs, p. 109; November 15, 1998, Nancy McNicol, review of The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories, p. 94; September 15, 1999, Devon Thomas, review of Vintage Science Fiction, p. 116.
New York Times, March 16, 1980, review of The Leprechaun's Kingdom, p. 35; July 26, 1981, New-gate Callendar, review of Mystery!, p. 22.
Publishers Weekly, January 18, 1980, review of The Leprechaun's Kingdom, p. 139; April 3, 1981, Genevieve Stuttaford, review of Mystery!, p. 64; May 29, 1987, Sybil Steinberg, review of Tales of Dungeons and Dragons, p. 68; March 18, 1988, Sybil Steinberg, review of Poltergeist: Tales of Deadly Ghosts, p. 71; September 14, 1992, review of Murder on the Menu: Cordon Bleu Stories of Crime and Mystery, p. 114; November 28, 1994, review of Great Irish Tales of the Unimaginable: Stories of Fantasy and Myth, p. 45.
School Library Journal, June, 2003, Sharon Rawlins, review of The Wizards' Den: Spellbinding Stories of Magic and Magicians, p. 143.
Wall Street Journal, November 20, 1984, Edmund Fuller, review of Doctor Who: A Celebration: Two Decades through Time and Space, p. 30W.
online
Crime Time, http://www.crimetime.co.uk/interviews/ (February 23, 2004), interview with Peter Haining.