Robin Spriggs (born April 1, 1974) is an American writer, actor, and poet. Known primarily as a dark fabulist, he is the author of the critically acclaimed ''The Untold Tales of Ozman Droom,'' ''Diary of a Gentleman Diabolist,'' and ''Wondrous Strange: Tales of the Uncanny.

He is the co-author of ''The

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

Poems: A Poetic Encounter with the Lord of Vampires'' and the creator of '' Capes & Cowls: Adventures in Wyrd City,'' a "book-in-a-box"

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

board game based on his illustrated series, ''Capes & Cowls: The Wyrd City Chronicles.''

Overview

Spriggs holds degrees in both English and Theatre. He has been nominated for a

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

, a

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since 1 ...

, a

Rhysling Award __NOTOC__ The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. Unlike most literary awards, which are named for the creator of the award, the subject of the award, or a noted member of t ...

, and received honorable mention in ''The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror''. His fiction and poetry have appeared in such publications as ''Beyond,'' ''The Rhysling Anthology,'' '' Cemetery Dance,'' ''Going Postal,'' ''Space & Time,'' ''Terminal Fright,'' ''A Season in Carcosa,'' and the

Shirley Jackson Award The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented ...

-winning anthology ''The Grimscribe's Puppets.'' The literary offerings of Robin Spriggs have been well received by critics. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

,'' in its review of ''The Untold Tales of Ozman Droom,'' observed, "Spriggs evokes terror and awe," and "Medium is the message in this dazzling anti-story, a love letter to the weird." '' Rue Morgue'' declared ''The Untold Tales of Ozman Droom'' "A hard-to-describe yet highly entertaining compilation . . . an experience weird fiction fans should not pass up." According to '' Cemetery Dance'' magazine, "Spriggs displays a wide range of talents in both form and substance. He's equally comfortable in the short story, short-short and novella lengths. His tone varies from the gently whimsical to the truly nasty. He crosses genre lines with ease, showing strength in all forms of the fantastic, from horror to fantasy to science fiction." His

lyrical Lyrical may refer to: *Lyrics, or words in songs *Lyrical dance, a style of dancing *Emotional, expressing strong feelings *Lyric poetry, poetry that expresses a subjective, personal point of view *Lyric video A music video is a video of variab ...

prose, with its dreamlike and often frightening depiction of reality, has been compared to the work of such writers as

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

, Robert Walser,

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

Robert Aickman Robert Fordyce Aickman (27 June 1914 – 26 February 1981) was an English writer and conservationist. As a conservationist, he co-founded the Inland Waterways Association, a group which has preserved from destruction and restored England's inl ...

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often ...

, and

Lord Dunsany Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dunsany) was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. Over 90 volumes of fiction, essays, poems and plays appeared in his lifetime.Lanham, M ...

. Much of Spriggs's work, in fact, falls into the category of

prose poetry Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form, while preserving poetic qualities such as heightened imagery, parataxis, and emotional effects. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associ ...

, prompting thriller author Harry Shannon to refer to him as "a linguistic acrobat who works without a net." Noted editor and anthologist

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

, in volume 3 of her ''The Best Horror of the Year,'' wrote: "''Diary of a Gentleman Diabolist'' by Robin Spriggs is a series of well-wrought interconnected prose poems of the ghostly and uncanny."''Best Horror of the Year, Volume 3, (Nightshade Books) Internationally distributed fan magazine ''

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...

'' referred to the same collection as "a rather ingenious little grimoire charting—in fractured, dreamlike form—the trip of a seeker, someone who dives head first into the fevered realms of black magic and beyond, encountering all manner of arcane horror and supernatural phenomena." Due to the

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

popularity of his aforementioned ''Dracula Poems,'' the long out-of-print book often commands inordinately high price

As an actor, Spriggs is best known for his portrayal of Morrison, aka The Ghost, on the second season of

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

crime series, '' Powers'', based on the comic book by

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ' ...

and

Michael Avon Oeming Michael Avon Oeming is an American comic book creator, both as an artist and writer. Career Oeming is a fan of ancient mythology, having written or drawn several projects centering on the Norse gods. He frequently collaborates with long-time fr ...

. Spriggs has also appeared as Captain Franco in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

science-fiction series ''

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'', created by

Eric Kripke Eric Kripke (born 1974) is an American writer and television producer. He came to prominence as the creator of the fantasy drama series ''Supernatural'' (2005–2020) which aired on The CW. He served as the showrunner during the first five seasons ...

and produced by

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

, as Chris Amante in the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

drama series '' Necessary Roughness'', and as Harley in

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

TV miniseries

Containment Containment was a geopolitical strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War to prevent the spread of communism after the end of World War II. The name was loosely related to the term ''cordon sanitaire'', which was ...

. His performance in the rural noir ''Sinkhole'' was called "terrific" by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

Bibliography

Partial list: * ''The Dracula Poems: A Poetic Encounter with the Lord of Vampires'' (1992) * ''Wondrous Strange: Tales of the Uncanny'' (2001) * ''Capes & Cowls: Adventures in Wyrd City'' (2006) * ''Diary of a Gentleman Diabolist'' (2010) * ''The Untold Tales of Ozman Droom'' (2014)

References

External links

* *
Robin Spriggs at Hollywood Reporter

*
House of Nine
- Fan site dedicated to Robin Spriggs
Interview with Robin Spriggs at ''Read Horror''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spriggs, Robin Living people American short story writers American male poets American fantasy writers American horror writers American male film actors American occultists 1974 births American male novelists American male short story writers 21st-century American poets 21st-century American male writers