I have just learned from
Valancourt Books that British horror author
Bernard Taylor, author of vintage classics like
Sweetheart, Sweetheart and
The Reaping, has died at age 91. Apparently he died in December 2025, and the publisher only heard about it very recently from Taylor's agent. No other details are available.
Taylor's first novel was
The Godsend in 1976, which I reviewed
here. All of his paperbacks were adorned with covers that perfectly define the
Paperbacks from Hell era, rife with creepy kids (and fetuses!), bloody typefaces, and comparisons to, as you can see above, the unholy trinity of bestselling horror novels
The Exorcist,
The Other, and
Rosemary's Baby.
As a writer, Taylor's prose style was smart and understated, with well-drawn modern characters slowly immersed into a world of unknown horrors... unknown till it is too late. Slow burns, they call 'em, but I prefer to use Peter Straub's own descriptor, a long fuse. In 2019 was honored to write the introduction—and choose the cover art!—for his 1980 novel
The Reaping, as part of Valancourt's
Paperbacks from Hell reprint line.
Perhaps his most well-known novel is his second, the erotically haunting
Sweetheart, Sweetheart, from 1977, which I enjoyed and reviewed
here. Other novels and short stories followed, as well as various reprints both in the States and the UK. The later UK editions often had tremendously striking cover art by the incredible
Steve Crisp.
While I haven’t read all of his books, I do look forward to reading the ones I have in my collection. And I am certainly happy to have played a small part in getting his work reprinted and read again these many decades later.
Bernard Taylor’s horrors were thoughtful, unhurried, yet still retained a pulpy sensibility, anchored by a good sense of locale and character, with suspense tightening the screws to the very end. I can’t be too sad about an author I liked who dies at the age of 91; we should all be so lucky to live such a long and creative life!
See more of his mass market paperback covers
here.
