Shirley Jackson

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American Gothic novelist, known as the "Virginia Werewolf of séance fiction," a prolific and disciplined writer whose typewriter kept going from day into night. Along with her haunting fictions, she wrote humorous domestic works as well as contributing articles to "Woman's Home Companion" and "The Saturday Evening Post" in the 1950s. Jackson enjoyed a tremendous following of horror fans delighted with her chilling thrillers. In 1961, she was award the Edgar Allen Poe Award for the story, "Louisa, Please." Jackson studied at the University of Rochester from 1934 to 1936. She went to Syracuse University and earned her B.A. in 1940. At her home in North Bennington, Vermont, she hammered out her works. She was first published with her book, "The Road Through the Wall" in 1948. She gained many fans with her short story classic about small-town evil in "The Lottery" in 1948. She followed with her most noted novel, "The Haunting of Hill House" published in 1959 and made into a feature film in 1963. She also wrote her autobiography, "Just an Ordinary Day." Jackson was married to literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman. Her husband, a compulsive skirt-chaser, kept their marriage tempestuous and troublesome. The couple had four children and remained married until Jackson's death in 1965. Jackson was an alcoholic who took tranquilizers and Dexedrine. She suffered from agoraphobia and occasional bouts of severe depression. She died of a heart attack 8/08/1965 at the age of 48 in North Bennington, VT. Link to Wikipedia biography