After changing horror for ever with his TV series Darkplace, the dream weaver and novelist disappeared for two decades. Now he returns with a chilling new novel, TerrorTome, and some strong words for pretenders to his crown (back off, Richard Osman)
Horror writers don’t come much more elusive than Garth Marenghi, AKA “the dream weaver”, AKA the “titan of terror”. The author (who bears an uncanny resemblance to comedian Matthew Holness) is best known for his 1980s hospital horror “dramamentary” Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, starring Marenghi himself and featuring actors also bearing uncanny resemblances to comedians Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry and Alice Lowe. Assumed lost for decades, the series eventually surfaced on Channel 4 in 2004, as a result of the “worst artistic drought in broadcast history”. While some incorrectly assumed it was a spoof, for Marenghi the world of horror fiction remains an extremely serious business. As of 2006, he had personally written 436 horror novels, but since the release of Darkplace, we’ve heard next to nothing from the author/shaman. Now he’s back with a brand new book, TerrorTome – a horror tale in three parts – for which he has been contractually obliged by his publishers to complete a single piece of press, not of his choosing: this one. We caught up at a top-secret location (though I can reveal the No 36 bus went all the way there) to find out just how 2022 is about to get a whole lot horrible-er …
Hi Garth! Lovely to meet you [proffers handshake] …
[Abruptly] I think I’ll decide that … Have you washed your hands?
