he writer is not the infamous Stephen King antihero Mort Rainey, but the far more nefarious author of the novels Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark (with Elizabeth Massie, HarperCollins, 1999), Balak (Wildside Books, 2000), The Lebo Coven (Thomson Gale/Five Star Books, 2004), The Nightmare Frontier (Sarob Press, 2006), and Blue Devil Island (Thomson Gale/Five Star Books, 2007); three short story collections; and over 80 published works of short fiction (for a complete bibliography, click the button in the left-hand frame that says "Bibliography" and then run like hell). Those with long memories may recall that I edited Deathrealm magazine, from 1987 to 1997. In its decade-long history, Deathrealm won a bunch of nice awards and featured hundreds of short stories, poems, and essays by authors ranging from the most established professionals to young, aspiring first-timers, many of whom proceeded to carve out names for themselves in the horror/dark fantasy field. Note: Deathrealm has been dead, bereft of life, and pushing up daisies for over ten years now, so please don't send me your submissions anymore. Really. Please. In 2004, I edited a new anthology for Delirium Books, titled Deathrealms, which features a wide selection of short stories from the magazine. I've edited a couple of other anthologies as well. The Song of Cthulhu (Chaosium, 2001) features 20 stories of Lovecraftian horror, and in 2006, I co-edited (with James Robert Smith) a new anthology for Arkham House titled Evermore, which features short stories about Edgar Allan Poe. In summer, 2008, Dark Regions Press released a new collection of my short fiction, titled Other Gods, featuring 16 of my tales, including one never-before-published story ("Antidotes"). I have a number of dark and delightful tales coming down the pike, which I'll post about when details are available.... "So what's this 'Damned Rodan' business plastered all over everything?" Well, I'll tell you. My one gaming vice is playing the World War II online combat flight simulator Aces High. I belong to the oldest organized (and arguably most respected) squadron of flight simmers: "The Damned." And being a diehard fan of giant Japanese monsters, my flight sim handle is Rodan—thus "Damned Rodan." I live in Greensboro, North Carolina, with my Damned wife, Peggy, and a passle of Damned housecats. My Damned daughter, Allison, lives and works in Gaithersburg, Maryland. I am an active member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and over the past year have become an avid geocacher. For updates on what's happening currently, visit The Blog Where Horror Dwells and/or the News page.   High school days. I did too have hair.

"Stephen Mark Rainey has one of those slow voices that slides up from deep inside and lulls his readers into a false sense of security, just before coiling his words around them and stealing their breath. The spirit of H. P. Lovecraft lives on as dark shapes take form in the shadows of our minds and the question resurfaces—what is real, and what lies beyond?" —David Niall Wilson Author of Deep Blue, The Mote in Andrea's Eye, Ancient Eyes, and     Star Trek Voyager: Chrysalis