THREE of the world’s leading horror authors will be at a glamorous evening at Bournemouth’s Print Room restaurant.

The event, on Friday October 7, is being staged by the Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival as part of its Horrorlitic programme of horror in the arts.

Attending the dinner will be Ramsey Campbell, Graham Masterson, Chris Priestley, Stephen Laws and Christopher Fowler.

They will share their thoughts about the future of the genre and the work of other writers, while guests enjoy a specially themed three-course meal created by the Print Room.

Graham Masterton wrote the best-seller The Manitou, which became a film starring Tony Curtis, as well as thrillers, short stories, historical romances and sex instruction books such as How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed.

He said: “The main thrust of what I will be talking about at Horrorlitic is that horror should take readers to the very edge of taste and terror and even beyond.

“Throughout my career I have continually experimented with stories that cross the line in every sense, to see how far one can shake the readers’ sense of security and their preconceptions of the world around them. That is what I consider the job of horror writing to be.

“It is possible that I may read excerpts from some of my stories at the Horrorlitic Dinner, including The Secret Shih-Tan, which was filmed for Tony Scott’s Hunger TV series. Just to put everybody off their food.”

Ramsey Campbell, the only living horror writer to appear in the Oxford Companion to English Literature, said: “Horror fiction is often treated as the disreputable relative of literature – the monster that should be kept locked u in the attic. In fact it’s a branch of literature with a long an honorable tradition and these days it’s out in the open, looking at the truth of how we live.”

Kerry Curtis from Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival, said: “Bournemouth has a wealth of horror literary connections and we’ve incorporated an exciting horror arts element into the October programme of the festival, including talks, theatre, films, and walks.

“The author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, is buried in St Peter’s Church. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde from his house Skerryvore on the West Cliff and Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, frequented the Royal Bath Hotel.”

Tickets are £35 per person including a complimentary drink and three-course meal. For a reservation, call 01202 789669.

Horrorlitic events include:

• Who Deliberately Tried to Run Over Stephen King?, a panel discussion on Saturday October 8, 2pm, at Bournemouth Library followed by a Horror Novel Tea

• Evening Walk With Robert Louis Stevenson’, right, October 8, 6pm.

• Five Go Killing – a darkly powerful new drama by playwright John Foster inspired by actual events in Bournemouth on Sunday, October 9. There is also a host of children’s events and workshops. Details at artsbournemouth.org.uk/horrorlitic. The theme continues with the British Horror Film Festival on October 14-15 and a Zombie Walk on October 15.