William Schoell (1951-) Biography

Surname is pronounced "shole"; born 1951, in New York, NY; Education: Castleton State College, B.A., 1973. Hobbies and other interests: Opera, classical music, film, theater.

Addresses

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Morgan Reynolds Publishing, 620 South Elm St., Ste. 223, Greensboro, NC 27406.

Career

Writer.

Writings

NONFICTION

Stay out of the Shower: Twenty-five Years of Shocker Films Beginning with "Psycho," Dembner (New York, NY), 1985, published as Stay out of the Shower: The Shocker Film Phenomenon, [London, England], 1988.

Comic Book Heroes of the Screen, Carol Publishing (New York, NY), 1991.

(With James Spencer) The Nightmare Never Ends: The Official History of Freddy Krueger and "The Nightmare on Elm Street" Films, Carol Publishing (New York, NY), 1992.

The Films of Al Pacino, Carol Publishing (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Lawrence J. Quirk) The Rat Pack: The Hey Hey Days of Frank and the Boys, Taylor Publishing (Dallas, TX), 1998.

Magic Man: The Life and Films of Steven Spielberg, Tudor Publishers (Greensboro, NC), 1999.

Martini Man: The Life of Dean Martin, Taylor Publishing (Dallas, TX), 1999.

Heartbreaker: The Dorothy Dandridge Story, Avisson Press (Greensboro, NC), 2002.

Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography, University Press of Kentucky (Lexington, KY), 2002.

Remarkable Journeys: The Story of Jules Verne, Morgan Reynolds Pub. (Greensboro, NC), 2002.

"I Can Do Anything": The Sammy Davis, Jr. Story, Avisson Press (Greensoro, NC), 2004.

H. P. Lovecraft: Master of Weird Fiction, Morgan Reynolds (Greensboro, NC), 2004.

Mystery and Terror: The Story of Edgar Allan Poe, Morgan Reynolds (Greensboro, NC), 2004.

FICTION

Spawn of Hell, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 1984.

Shivers, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 1985.

Late at Night, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Bride of Satan, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Saurian, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 1988.

The Pact, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1988.

The Dragon, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Fatal Beauty, St. Martin's (New York, NY), 1990.

Author of "Hidden Horrors," a column in Scream Factory, c. 1980s. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Writer, Writer's Digest, Paris Notes, Off Duty, and BBC Music. Editor and publisher, High and Low online entertainment newsletter.

Sidelights

Film historian and biographer William Schoell published his first novel, Spawn of Hell, in 1984. Since then he has gone on to write over 500 articles and stories, as well as a number of biographies, including Mystery and Terror: The Story of Edgar Allan Poe, Remarkable Journeys: The Story of Jules Verne, and H. P. Lovecraft: Master of Weird Fiction.

In Mystery and Terror Schoell provides readers with an in-depth look into the life of Poe, the nineteenth-century American writer known for his distraught psychology. In the biography Schoell chronicles Poe's life from childhood on and discusses the writer's attitudes toward his family as well as his troubled mental state and behavioral problems. "Clearly written and insightful, this biography is frank about Poe's faults and failings as well as his talents and achievements," commented Carolyn Phelan in a review for Booklist. Marilyn Fairbanks, a reviewer for School Library Journal, also enjoyed the biography, stating that "this is not just the usual time-line-led biography, but rather a deeper look into Poe's life and personality as reflected in his work."

Schoell once noted: "I write because it is a joy to do so, and I have never been interested in doing anything else. At the beginning of my career I wrote horror and suspense novels because I loved the genre and it was then enjoying unprecedented popularity. (It is unfortunate that publishers often gave my novels such stupid and often inappropriate titles as Spawn of Hell and Bride of Satan.)

"My nonfiction projects are dictated by my own interests primarily and commercial considerations secondly. There are things and people I would love to write about that aren't 'commercial' enough, so I somehow insert them into stories and articles anyway. Sometimes my characters have interests that are similar to my own.

"Recently I have done a number of biographies, and I greatly enjoy the challenge of finding the drama—the true story—of a famous individual's life. I want to present this real-life 'character' as colorful, while always maintaining a proper balance and fair perspective. I have found that discovering the right style and approach to your subject is as important as the research you do.

"My writing day actually starts late in the afternoon or early in the evening, and it goes on until the wee hours of the morning. Some writers keep bankers' or farmers' hours, but I'm a night owl. Writing is so much more romantic that way. Nowadays, when most published writers are actually celebrities, television stars, standup comics, politicians, judges, chefs, and so on, I take enormous pride in simply being a writer: a real, honest-to-goodness writer!"