thomas ligotti (born july 9, 1953) is a contemporary american horror writer. his writings have been noted as being rooted in several literary genres – most prominently weird fiction – and have overall been described by many critics as works of "philosophical" horror, often formed into short stories and novellas in the tradition of gothic fiction. the worldview espoused by ligotti in his fiction and non-fiction is pessimistic and nihilistic. "the washington post" called him "the best kept secret in contemporary horror fiction."