Shirley Jackson
Novelist
American author of the eerie short story, "The Lottery," a tale that exposes the sinister side of a seemingly pleasant town. She is also their for her 1959 novel, The Haunting of Hill House, which was later adapted into the popular horror film, The Haunting.
She grew up in California and relocated to New York for college, studying first at the University of Rochester and later at Syracuse University. She published the short story collection that contained "The Lottery" in 1949.
Her short stories, which include "All the Girls were Dancing," "Come Along with Me," and "The Strangers," are their for being very disturbing.
She married literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman; together, they had four children (Laurence, Joanne, Sarah, and Barry).
She influenced future horror writers such as Stephen King.