|
About the Blog
Hi, folks. I’m Bill Gillard, author of Psycho Century (University Press of Mississippi, October 2026) a literary biography of Robert Bloch. Some friends and I last year did a slow walk through HP Lovecraft’s stories. It was a fun ride from chronological start to finish of HPL’s career. It wasn’t exactly literary criticism, although two of us are university professors of English. |
About Bill
Bill Gillard is the Alberta Kimball Foundation Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, a campus that is only about thirty minutes from 205 Ann St. in Weyauwega where Robert Bloch wrote Psycho. He is the author of the literary biography Psycho Century: Robert Bloch, American Horror Master (University Press of Mississippi, October 2026). He lives in Appleton, Wisconsin. BillGillard.com |
|
(About the Blog cont.) It allowed us to bring both our careful reading eye as well as personal perspectives as readers and thinkers to the project. We ended up with a document of a little more than a year of our lives through the lens of HPL’s majestic work. So, then I thought, well, if HPL’s several dozen stories were fun, what would happen if I read Bloch’s entire catalogue in chronological order by publication date and blogged about it?
I have read a ton of Bloch, especially when I was writing Psycho Century, but I have not captured impressions of most of the stories I have read. Only a few of the hundreds made it into my literary biography. Not only that, but I am hopeful that this project might result in a useful resource for future researchers on Bloch’s writing.
Although I gave him every opportunity, Jim Nemeth did nothing to talk me out of this crazy project, and so here we are. I am aiming to complete two stories per week and write about them. I’ll get a little bit ahead with stories and maybe fall behind a little bit with the novels. I’ll also write about the screenplays and teleplays that have Bloch’s name on them as the writer.
I won’t include references with each entry; instead, we’ll keep a running total in the next column. ISFDB is a great resource for the publication history for each story. If you see that I have missed something, please let me know. And please please please chime in with your thoughts about stories along the way. This is all about community and the power of great writing to bring people together.
I have read a ton of Bloch, especially when I was writing Psycho Century, but I have not captured impressions of most of the stories I have read. Only a few of the hundreds made it into my literary biography. Not only that, but I am hopeful that this project might result in a useful resource for future researchers on Bloch’s writing.
Although I gave him every opportunity, Jim Nemeth did nothing to talk me out of this crazy project, and so here we are. I am aiming to complete two stories per week and write about them. I’ll get a little bit ahead with stories and maybe fall behind a little bit with the novels. I’ll also write about the screenplays and teleplays that have Bloch’s name on them as the writer.
I won’t include references with each entry; instead, we’ll keep a running total in the next column. ISFDB is a great resource for the publication history for each story. If you see that I have missed something, please let me know. And please please please chime in with your thoughts about stories along the way. This is all about community and the power of great writing to bring people together.
References
Asimov, Isaac. “Marooned Off Vesta.” Amazing Stories, March 1939. pp. 66-77. https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v13n03_1939-03/page/n65/mode/2up
Barber, Paul. Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality. Yale University Press, 1988.
Bloch, Robert. “Faceless God, The.” Weird Tales, May 1936. https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tales_v27n05_1936-05_sas/page/n53/mode/2up
---. “From Robert Bloch.” Weird Tales, June 1937, pp. 763-764. https://archive.org/details/WeirdTalesV29N06193706/page/762/mode/2up
---. “Lizzie Borden Took and Axe.” Weird Tales, November 1946, pp. 67-73. https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tales_v39n08_1946-11/page/n67/mode/2up?view=theater
---. Psycho. Simon and Schuster, 1959.
---. Once Around the Bloch. Tor, 1993.
---. “Ultimate Ultimatum, The.” Fantasy Magazine, August, 1935. https://www.zomboscloset.com/zombos_closet_of_horror_b/2016/12/fantasy-magazine-vol-5-no-3-1935.html
---. “On ‘The Feast in the Abbey.’” https://www.robertbloch.net/on-the-feast-in-the-abbey.html
---. Robert Bloch. Starmont House, 1986.
Drabble, Margaret. “Grand, Sarah.” The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 426. https://ia801803.us.archive.org/18/items/the-oxford-companion-to-english-literature-6th-edition/The%20Oxford%20Companion%20to%20English%20Literature%2C%206th%20Edition.pdf
Gardner, Benjamin, and Amanda Rebar. “Most of Your Actions Are Driven by Habit, Not Thought.” The Conversation, 2 October 2025. https://sc.edu/uofsc/posts/2025/10/10-convo-rebar-habits.php
Gillard, Bill. “Enter the HyperZombie: Anticipating Romero's Land of the Dead.” Leading Edge, 49, 2005.
Haffner, Stephen, editor. The Vampire Stories of Robert Bloch. Haffner Press, 2026
Joshi, S. T. “A Literary Tutelage.” The Man Who Collected Psychos: Critical Essays on Robert Bloch, edited by Benjamin Szumskyj, McFarland, 2009, pp. 23-40.
Langford, David. “Identity Exchange.” Science Fiction Encyclopedia, 29 July 2024. https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/identity_exchange
Larson, Randall. Complete Robert Bloch, The. Fandom Unlimited Enterprises, 1986. “List of Cthulhu Mythos Books.” Wikipedia, 16 May 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cthulhu_Mythos_books#N. Accessed: 18 June 2026.
Moss, Marcia. “A Catalogue of Thoreau’s Surveys in the Concord Free Public Library.” Thoreau’s Chronological Atlas. Accessed 7-August 2026. https://aschmidt01742.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/a-catalog-of-thoreaus-surveys-in-the-concord-free-public-library/
Nadis, Fred, The Man from Mars: Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey, Penguin, 2013.
Nemeth, Jim. Robert Bloch: An Unconventional Bibliography. 2025.
“Milwaukee Youth Writes Horror Tales, Sells ’em.” Milwaukee Journal, April 6, 1935.
https://www.robertbloch.net/milwaukee-youth-writes-horror-tales.html
Robichaud, Daniel. “Are You Not Entertained? Robert Bloch’s Midnight Pleasures.” Considering Stories, 26 June 2025. https://consideringstories.wordpress.com/2025/06/26/midnight-pleasures-book/
Roza, Mathilde Helene. Following Strangers: The Life and Literary Works of Robert M. Coates. Univ. of South Carolina Press, 2011.
Smollett, Tobias. The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle. Self-published, 1751. https://archive.org/details/smollettperegrinepickle01/page/112/mode/2up
“Tawusi Melek.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 17 June 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taw%C3%BBs%C3%AE_Melek. Accessed 5 July 2026.
Wiederhorn, Jon. “Black Sabbath Bassist Geezer Butler Gets Paranoid.” Noise Creep, 30 July 2010. https://noisecreep.com/black-sabbath-bassist-geezer-butler-gets-paranoid/
Weinberg, Robert. “Strange Tales.” Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines, edited by Marshall B. Tymm and Mike Ashley, Greenwood Press, 1985, pp. 626–628.
Asimov, Isaac. “Marooned Off Vesta.” Amazing Stories, March 1939. pp. 66-77. https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v13n03_1939-03/page/n65/mode/2up
Barber, Paul. Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality. Yale University Press, 1988.
Bloch, Robert. “Faceless God, The.” Weird Tales, May 1936. https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tales_v27n05_1936-05_sas/page/n53/mode/2up
---. “From Robert Bloch.” Weird Tales, June 1937, pp. 763-764. https://archive.org/details/WeirdTalesV29N06193706/page/762/mode/2up
---. “Lizzie Borden Took and Axe.” Weird Tales, November 1946, pp. 67-73. https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tales_v39n08_1946-11/page/n67/mode/2up?view=theater
---. Psycho. Simon and Schuster, 1959.
---. Once Around the Bloch. Tor, 1993.
---. “Ultimate Ultimatum, The.” Fantasy Magazine, August, 1935. https://www.zomboscloset.com/zombos_closet_of_horror_b/2016/12/fantasy-magazine-vol-5-no-3-1935.html
---. “On ‘The Feast in the Abbey.’” https://www.robertbloch.net/on-the-feast-in-the-abbey.html
---. Robert Bloch. Starmont House, 1986.
Drabble, Margaret. “Grand, Sarah.” The Oxford Companion to English Literature, Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 426. https://ia801803.us.archive.org/18/items/the-oxford-companion-to-english-literature-6th-edition/The%20Oxford%20Companion%20to%20English%20Literature%2C%206th%20Edition.pdf
Gardner, Benjamin, and Amanda Rebar. “Most of Your Actions Are Driven by Habit, Not Thought.” The Conversation, 2 October 2025. https://sc.edu/uofsc/posts/2025/10/10-convo-rebar-habits.php
Gillard, Bill. “Enter the HyperZombie: Anticipating Romero's Land of the Dead.” Leading Edge, 49, 2005.
Haffner, Stephen, editor. The Vampire Stories of Robert Bloch. Haffner Press, 2026
Joshi, S. T. “A Literary Tutelage.” The Man Who Collected Psychos: Critical Essays on Robert Bloch, edited by Benjamin Szumskyj, McFarland, 2009, pp. 23-40.
Langford, David. “Identity Exchange.” Science Fiction Encyclopedia, 29 July 2024. https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/identity_exchange
Larson, Randall. Complete Robert Bloch, The. Fandom Unlimited Enterprises, 1986. “List of Cthulhu Mythos Books.” Wikipedia, 16 May 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cthulhu_Mythos_books#N. Accessed: 18 June 2026.
Moss, Marcia. “A Catalogue of Thoreau’s Surveys in the Concord Free Public Library.” Thoreau’s Chronological Atlas. Accessed 7-August 2026. https://aschmidt01742.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/a-catalog-of-thoreaus-surveys-in-the-concord-free-public-library/
Nadis, Fred, The Man from Mars: Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey, Penguin, 2013.
Nemeth, Jim. Robert Bloch: An Unconventional Bibliography. 2025.
“Milwaukee Youth Writes Horror Tales, Sells ’em.” Milwaukee Journal, April 6, 1935.
https://www.robertbloch.net/milwaukee-youth-writes-horror-tales.html
Robichaud, Daniel. “Are You Not Entertained? Robert Bloch’s Midnight Pleasures.” Considering Stories, 26 June 2025. https://consideringstories.wordpress.com/2025/06/26/midnight-pleasures-book/
Roza, Mathilde Helene. Following Strangers: The Life and Literary Works of Robert M. Coates. Univ. of South Carolina Press, 2011.
Smollett, Tobias. The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle. Self-published, 1751. https://archive.org/details/smollettperegrinepickle01/page/112/mode/2up
“Tawusi Melek.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 17 June 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taw%C3%BBs%C3%AE_Melek. Accessed 5 July 2026.
Wiederhorn, Jon. “Black Sabbath Bassist Geezer Butler Gets Paranoid.” Noise Creep, 30 July 2010. https://noisecreep.com/black-sabbath-bassist-geezer-butler-gets-paranoid/
Weinberg, Robert. “Strange Tales.” Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines, edited by Marshall B. Tymm and Mike Ashley, Greenwood Press, 1985, pp. 626–628.