Rick Hautala


Rick Hautala was an American speculative fiction and horror writer. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1974, where he received a Master of Art in English Literature. Hautala arrived on the horror scene in 1980 with several of his early novels published by Zebra books. He wrote and published over 90 novels and short stories since the early 1980s. A number of his books have been translated to other languages and sold internationally. Cold Whisper, published in October, 1991 by Zebra Books, Inc. was also published in Finnish as Haamu by Werner Söderström, Helsinki, Finland, in August, 1994. Toward the end of his life, many of his works were published with specialty press and small press publishers like Cemetery Dance Publications and Dark Harvest. His novel The Wildman, was chosen to be Full Moon Press' debut limited edition title.
Rick Hautala's third novel, 1986's Night Stone, was one of the first books to feature a holographic cover and it became an international best-seller, selling well over one million copies. "Knocking" was a part of the Bram Stoker Award winning anthology 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense. His short story collection, Bedbugs was selected by Barnes & Noble as one of the most distinguished horror publications of the year 2000.
Hautala also wrote screenplays, including a 2008 adaptation of Kealan Patrick Burke's short story "Peekers". He also wrote the screenplay for the 2007 short film Dead@17 based on Josh Howard's graphic novel series of the same name, and The Ugly File, directed by Mark Steensland, based on the short story by Ed Gorman.
The Horror Writers Association gave him and Joe R. Lansdale the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement for 2011, which they received at the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet in Salt Lake City, Utah on 31 March 2012.
He died of a heart attack on March 21, 2013.

Selected bibliography

Novels and novellas

  • Moondeath
  • Moonbog
  • Night Stone
  • Little Brothers
  • Moon Walker
  • Winter Wake
  • Dead Voices
  • Cold Whisper
  • Dark Silence
  • Ghost Light
  • Twilight Time
  • Shades of Night
  • Beyond the Shroud
  • The Mountain King
  • Impulse
  • Poltergeist: The Legacy – The Hidden Saint
  • The Wildman – artwork by Alan M. Clark
  • Reunion
  • Rough Winds
  • Indian Summer
  • Chills
  • The Demon's Wife
  • Star Road, with Matthew Costello
  • ''Waiting''

    Chapbooks

  • Oilman -released as a double chapbook with Gary A. Braunbeck's Our Things
  • Chrysalis – A Little Brothers related story.
  • Scared Crows – with Jim Connolly. A HELLBOY story.

    The Jenna Blake ''Body of Evidence'' series

All books in the Body of Evidence series are co-authored with Christopher Golden
  1. Skin Deep
  2. Burning Bones
  3. Brain Trust
  4. Last Breath
  5. ''Throat Culture''

    As A. J. Matthews

Books published under the pseudonym A. J. Matthews:
  • The White Room
  • Looking Glass
  • Follow
  • ''Unbroken''

    Screenplays

  • Lovecraft's Pillow – based on a suggestion by Stephen King
  • Dead@17 – based on Josh Howard's graphic novel series
  • Peekers – based on the short story by Kealan Patrick Burke
  • The Ugly File – based on the short story by Ed Gorman

    Collections

  • Bedbugs – Short story collection illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne
  • Four Octobers – Novella collection that includes: Tin Can Telephone, Miss Henry's Bottles, Blood Ledge, and Cold River
  • Untcigahunk: Stories and Myths of the Little Brothers – Contains the novel Little Brothers and collects all of the Little Brothers related short stories to date.
  • Occasional Demons – Short story collection that includes some of his Little Brothers related stories
  • ''Glimpses: The Best Short Stories of Rick Hautala''

    Anthology appearances

  • 999, edited by Al Sarrantonio – Contains the short story "Knocking"
  • Night Visions 9 – Includes the short stories "The Birch Whistle", "Chrysalis", and "Deal with the Devils"
  • Eulogies: A Horror World Yearbook, edited by Nanci Kalanta – Includes the Little Brothers Story "The Witch House"
  • Evermore, edited by James Robert Smith and Stephen Mark Rainey – Contains the short story "They Call Me Eddie", co-authored with Thomas F. Monteleone
  • October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween, edited by Richard Chizmar – Contains the essay "My Favorite Halloween Memory"
  • Exotic Gothic, edited by Danel Olson. – Contains the short story co-authored with Mark Steensland and inspired by a comment from Stephen King, "Lovecraft's Pillow"