Scared Stiff: Tales of Sex and Death is a collection of horror stories on sexual themes by Ramsey Campbell

Ramsey Campbell

John Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction author.Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field: T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today", while S. T...

, first published in the United States in 1987 by Scream/Press. The first British edition was published in 1989 by Macdonald. The book includes an introduction by Clive Barker

Clive Barker

Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...

 and an afterword by the author, and is illustrated by J. K. Potter.

The stories included are:

• "Dolls" (1974)
• "The Other Woman" (1974)
• "Lilith's" (1976)
• "The Seductress" (1976)
• "Stages" (1987)
• "Loveman's Comeback" (1977)
• "Merry May" (1986)

Some of the earlier stories were previously included in anthologies compiled by Michael Parry.

Critical reception

The book was described by J.K. Potter as "the most disturbing book I ever worked with". In Michael A. Morrison's review of the book in Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review Annual 1988, he regarded the collection as "something special", and that Cambell had "gained entry to a vein of nihilism darker than any he had heretofore tapped". S.T. Joshi considered this one of Ramsey's finest collections, with the tales "among his most affecting stories".

The collection was nominated for a World Fantasy Award

World Fantasy Award

The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...

in 1988.