Thomas Ligotti is often cited as the most curious and remarkable figure in horro
r literature since H. P. Lovecraft.
His work is noted by critics for its disp
lay of an exceptionally grotesque imagination and accomplished prose style. In h
is stories, Ligotti has followed a literary tradition that began with Edgar Alla
n Poe, portraying characters that are outside of anything that might be called n
ormal life, depicting strange locales far off the beaten track, and rendering a
grim vision of human existence as a perpetual nightmare. The horror stories coll
ected in Teatro Grottesco feature tormented individuals who play out their doom
in various odd little towns, as well as in dark sectors frequented by sinister a
nd often blackly comical eccentrics.
