Literature
Thomas Ligotti
born 1953 · horror writer, philosopher
Cult master of philosophical horror who was born in Detroit, studied at Wayne State and spent 23 years as an editor at Gale Research while writing his stories in the city.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 73- Detroit years
- 1953–2001
- Field
- Literature
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Ligotti was born in Detroit into a family of Sicilian and Polish descent and spent nearly fifty years in the metro area. He attended Macomb County Community College from 1971 to 1973 and graduated from Wayne State University in 1978. For 23 years he worked as an associate editor at Gale Research, the Detroit reference publisher, producing literary-criticism volumes by day and writing some of the bleakest weird fiction in American letters by night. Collections such as Songs of a Dead Dreamer (1985) and Grimscribe (1991) built a devoted following, and his nonfiction book The Conspiracy Against the Human Race (2010) found a mass audience when its ideas echoed through HBO's True Detective. In 2001 he left Gale and moved to south Florida.
Highlights
- Songs of a Dead Dreamer (1985) and Grimscribe (1991)
- Bram Stoker Award for The Nightmare Factory (1996)
- The Conspiracy Against the Human Race (2010), echoed in HBO's True Detective
- 23 years as associate editor at Gale Research in Detroit
- Wayne State University graduate (1978)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1973–1978
Wayne State University
He graduated from Wayne State in 1978.
Studied here · 1971–1973
Macomb Community College (South Campus)
He attended the community college before transferring to Wayne State.