Reddit mentions: The best horror reference books

There is a fantastic book by the title Encyclopedia Cthulhiana that has a bibliography with almost every single bit of mythos literature written up to 1998. Not only that, but it's a great reference guide to authors, places, creatures, books and really everything Mythos.

If you want a quick recommendation though, I loved Robert Howard's mythos stories. TED Klein wrote a fantastic novel called "The Ceremonies." and Brian Lumley's "Goatwood", "Necroscope" and "Titus Crow" books are all either very Lovecratian or a continuation of the Mythos.

For criticism of HPL's works i would highly recommend:

Dissecting Cthulhu

A Subtler Magick: The Writings and Philosophy of H.P. Lovecraft

Lovecraft: Disturbing the Universe
or any volume in the Lovecraft Annual




For Biography on Lovecraft:

H.P. Lovecraft: A Life

...or the expanded version of the above I Am Providence




And Lovecraft's letters (edited and compiled by Joshi) are really the best way to get deep into Lovecraft, although I'll warn you, you really are reading HPL's conversations with his friends, so there is a tremendous amount of biographical detail, but not a terrible amount in the way of talk about his own work. Some of the best:

Letters to James F. Morton

A Means to Freedom: The Letters of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard

O Fortunate Floridian: H.P. Lovecraft's Letters to R.H. Barlow

Mmmm, I think he's a reasonably good writer who can structure stories very well. I doubt he will be remembered particularly for his literary merit.

Dance Macabre is a good read if you're interested in the genre, though.
http://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Kings-Danse-Macabre-King/dp/0425104338

There were a few books of collected interviews with King published in the '80s - Bare Bones is possibly the best of these, though the same editors' Kingdom of Fear and Feast of Fear are as good. Most of the pre-2000 interviews were with print magazines and don't exist online, so these collected books are maybe your only bet for older interviews.

... Possibly. My memory is that I read the book I'm thinking of back at the end of the 1980s - googling around, I think it was probably Danse Macabre

The clearest memories I have of the book are (1) the first discussion I ever read of the "it's so bad that it's cool" concept where he talks about watching a Godzilla movie and seeing the word "TONKA" on the hood of a truck that Godzilla was stomping on and (2) talking about how if he and Zane Grey were standing next to a water hole in the desert, and inspiration struck them both, how different the two books would be.

If that's the kind of thing your friend wants to read about:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/8497593790/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1427078043&sr=1-2

It's not cheap but isn't this it on Amazon? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/8497593790/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505678222&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=eso+stephen+king+spanish+edition&dpPl=1&dpID=41E-9ojUmJL&ref=plSrch

I just searched for "eso stephen king spanish edition"

You can find the Spanish-language paperback version on the US Amazon site here (pricey!):

https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Stephen-King/dp/8497593790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505584429&sr=8-1&keywords=stephen+king+It+spanish

https://www.amazon.com/ESO-EDICION-PELICULA-STEPHEN-KING/dp/6073156618/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505584429&sr=8-2&keywords=stephen+king+It+spanish

If you want Lovecraft ones there is The Encylopedia Cthulhiana.

Probably Bare Bones

http://www.amazon.com/Bare-Bones-Conversations-Terror-Stephen/dp/0446390577

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^cuac Amazon.

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/8497593790/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1427078043&sr=1-2

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

On that subject his book, Danse Macabre, is a very well written treatise on horror. It has a similar style to On Writing, just directed to King's view on horror.