It Was a Dark and Stormy Night Quiz

Answer: Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley, wife of poet Percy Shelley, began writing "Frankenstein" when she was eighteen, in 1815. Galvanism and odd properties of electricity were popular topics of the day, which she used in her story about a scientist who created a life and was horrified by what he had done.

The book was published anonymously in 1818, not unusual for a female author of the day. The first time an edition was published with her name was in France in 1823.

Answer: Stephen King

Born in Maine, Stephen King uses real and fictional towns in Maine as the settings for many of his horror novels. He attributes his interest in the genre to the first time he read "The Lurker in the Shadows", a collection of horror stories by H.P. Lovecraft.

Many of his novels have been made into successful movies. He has also written under the pen names of Richard Bachman and John Swithen. He has been known to go into bookstores in Bangor, Maine, take one of his books off a shelf, autograph it and put it back.

Answer: Bram Stoker

As director of London's Lyceum Theatre, Bram Stoker began writing novels in 1890. His conversations with Hungarian writer Armin Vambery about goings-on in the Carpathian mountains were likely the inspiration for "Dracula". Like many authors' works, "Dracula" was not immediately popular, gaining fame after Stoker's death in 1912.

Answer: Clive Barker

Clive Barker, from Liverpool, England, has been writing since the mid-1980s. Starting with a collection of short stories entitled "Books of Blood" (1984-1985), Barker has written horror novels and screenplays; he has also written horror comic books through the Marvel Comics "Razorline" series. His short story "The Forbidden" was made into the "Candyman" movie series.

Answer: Richard Matheson

An author and screenwriter, Richard Matheson has been plying his trade since 1950 when he wrote "Born of Man and Woman", the story of a monstrous child imprisoned in his parents' basement. "I Am Legend" has been used as the basis for three movies. Matheson also wrote the classic "Twilight Zone" episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", starring William Shatner.

Answer: Robert Bloch

Robert Bloch wrote horror, crime and science fiction stories. His novel "Psycho" (1959) was turned into one of Alfred Hitchcock's best known movies in 1960. He also wrote "That Hell-Bound Train", "Firebug" and "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper". Bloch also wrote screenplays for the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" TV show and wrote the screenplay for "Wolf in the Fold" (a Jack the Ripper-type story) for "Star Trek".

Answer: R.L. Stine

Called the "Stephen King of Children's Literature", R.L. Stine has written hundreds of horror novels for children, including the "Fear Street", "Goosebumps" and "The Nightmare Room" series. In addition, he has authored several stand-alone novels. In 2003, the "Guinness Book of World Records" named Stine as the best-selling children's book series author of all time.

Answer: H.P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips (H.P.) Lovecraft is perhaps best known for "The Cthulhu Mythos", which was a collection of horror stories by several authors and included his novella "The Call of Cthulhu". He was also known for the Necronomicon, a book of magical rites and lore, a device which has been used by several authors in later years.

Many of Lovecraft's works explored the idea that the universe is so far beyond human understanding that real knowledge of it would drive men insane.

Answer: Anne Rice

Anne Rice wrote ten books about vampires as part of "The Vampire Chronicles" from 1976 to 2003. Two of them were made into movies, "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles" in 1994 and "Queen of the Damned" in 2002. She has also written Christian literature and erotic fiction.

Answer: Edgar Allan Poe

The author of such works as "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Raven", Edgar Allen Poe was a master of the macabre. Before his death at age 40, he was an author, poet, editor and literary critic. He is credited with inventing the detective fiction genre but first thoughts are usually of his creepy, heart rate-increasing stories.