S.T. Joshi is a leading authority on H.P. Lovecraft, as well as other writers mostly in the realms of supernatural and fantasy fiction. He is the author of The Weird Tale (1990), The Modern Weird Tale (2001), and Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction (2012). His award-winning biography H. P. Lovecraft: A Life (1996) was later expanded as I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft (2010).

Roger Luckhurst is a cultural historian who specialises in the Gothic and science fiction. He writes and teaches in London, and his most recent book is Gothic: An Illustrated History (Thames and Hudson, 2021).

Mike Ashley has compiled or edited over 100 books including reference works for children, the biography of Algernon Blackwood and a five-volume series on the history of the science-fiction magazine. Having retired from local government in 1998, he has still managed to spend over 50 years collecting, reading and researching popular fiction, especially fantasy, supernatural, crime and science fiction. He received the Pilgrim Award for Lifetime Achievement in science-fiction scholarship in 2002 and the Edgar Award for The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction in 2003.

Michael Kerrigan has written widely on both the history of art and literature. Recent books on the English tradition include Paul Nash: Masterpieces of Art. A longstanding interest in the mythic and mystic traditions has given rise to books including Celtic Legends and The Bible: A Dark History, and a chapter on ‘Inklings of Other Worlds, 1946–59’ in The Astounding Illustrated History of Fantasy & Horror. A regular contributor to the Times Literary Supplement, he lives with his family in Edinburgh.

Matt Cardin (chapter 4) is the author of the supernatural horror collections Divinations of the Deep and Dark Awakenings (2010) and the editor of, among others, the two-volume reference work Horror Literature through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories That Speak to Our Deepest Fears (2017). His work has appeared in many anthologies, magazines, websites, and specialized reference works, and has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award and recommended for the British Fantasy Award and Bram Stoker Award. He resides in North Texas, where he works as Associate Vice President of Instruction at Ranger College.

Former writer and editor of leading science fiction magazine SFX and Comic Heroes magazine, Dave Golder currently divides his time between editing geek entertainment website MyM BUZZ and trying to write a sitcom about Cornish zombies. He is author of the books Science Fiction Movie Posters: The Fantastic Chronicle of Movie Posters and Dystopia: Post-Apocalyptic Art, Fiction, Movies & More and contributor to Sci-Fi Chronicles.

As a boy, Russ Thorne loved reading Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, playing Hero Quest and poring over issues of 'White Dwarf', admiring the cover art in the process. Later he studied English Literature and got to know Homer's heroes and a bit of Beowulf, before beginning a career as a writer and editor. Since then he's published books on tattoo art, body piercing and vampires and writes regularly for national newspapers including the Independent.

Rosie Fletcher (chapters 7 & 8) is the Movies Editor at Digital Spy. An entertainment journalist for more than a decade, she was staff on Total Film magazine for six years and is a regular columnist and reviewer of books, films and television shows for SFX magazine. A horror specialist, Rosie has presented films and panels at FrightFest and for The Final Girls. As well as her work as a journalist Rosie is also a script development consultant, working with filmmakers and screenwriters to help bring their movies to the screen.