Whatever Happened to T.E.D. Klein?
Back in the 1980′s, when I was a starving young writer, there was a magazine called Twilight Zone, after the old Rod Serling TV Show. It had cheesy covers and a lot of shudder-making TZ fanboy stuff. But it also had a monthly selection of some of the best new and old fantasy/horror fiction available. (I first read Stephen King’s terrifying “The Raft” in TZ, though it may have been a reprint, I don’t know.) The magazine was edited by a guy named T.E.D. Klein.
I went in to the magazine offices once, looking for work. T.E.D. himself came out and sat with me in the lobby and spoke with me. He seemed a shy, intellectual type, five or ten years older than me. He was very kind and took a good deal of time with a dude who had literally walked in off the streets of Manhattan. I didn’t get a job, but I always appreciated his decency.
Klein went on to write several well-regarded horror stories of his own and a well-regarded novel called The Ceremonies, which came out around 1985. One of his spooky stories, The Events at Poroth Farm, is included in the American Library’s 2-volume anthology of Fantastic Tales edited by Peter Straub. I reread the story over the past weekend. It’s wonderful and scary as hell. (The pamphlet at the link costs over 200 bucks! but you can get the story in the H.P. Lovecraft mega-pack for .99 cents at the I-reader store.)
Klein was rumored to have another novel in the works but it never showed up. In fact, he wrote very little else after the ’80′s, as far as I can see. His Wikipedia entry says he suffered from writer’s block. He seems to still be alive. Does anyone know what he’s doing these days?
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I submitted a short story to TZ back in ’87 and received a personally-written, hand-signed rejection letter from Mr. Klein. He was complimentary and encouraging. The magazine folded about six months later. There was some great stuff in it. My favorite was “The River Styx Flows Upstream” by Dan Simmons, and I’ve been a huge fan of his since then.
From Brian Ross at ABC News:
“There’s a Ted Klein of Austin, Texas, page on the Colorado Tea party site as well, talking about him joining the Tea Party last year. Now, we don’t know if this is the same T.E.D. Klein. But it’s Ted Klein of Austin, Texas.”
I first became aware of Mr. Klein’s work through his chilling four-story anthology, “Dark Gods”:
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Gods-T-E-D-Klein/dp/0670805904
It is work of masterful artistry, and such a varied palette! Wherever he is, I hope Mr. Klein is well and happy. =^[.]^=
Ah, my mistake. I FIRST encountered Mr. Klein in an anthology, “Dark Forces”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Forces_%28book%29
It includes his story, “Children of the Kingdom,” but there are other tales within which are also worthy of examination, and may lead a reader to discover authors previously unknown. =^[.]^=