40. Peter Straub
Consistently listed among the top ten horror novels of all time, Peter Straub's Ghost Story is a terrifying tale for the ages. But Straub is no one-trick pony--his bibliography is full-to-brimming with stories that cover the wide gamut of sub-genres that live under the horror umbrella. Some required reading assignments for any true fan of fear from his oeuvre include: Koko, The Hellfire Club, Mr. X, the aforementioned Ghost Story, and his duology of fantasy, adventure, and horror: The Talisman and Black House, co-written with Stephen King.
39. Guillermo Del Toro
His movies tend to fall under the "dark fantasy" umbrella more so than flat-out "horror", but the directorial work of Guillermo Del Toro is certainly no less than a thorough examination of fear. Del Toro's many dark visions of heroism in the face of terror are positively thrilling and absolutely mesmerizing. Looking for a daylong marathon of beautifully rendered black enchantment? Look no further than a slice of the Del Toro filmography: The Devil's Backbone, Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, and The Orphanage. And do not miss his already critically-acclaimed Pacific Rim, which premieres this July and is sure to feature a hair-raising scene or two (or three or more).
38. Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson has become synonymous with all things Tolkien, but he has strong roots in blood and guts. And even with the more family-friendly fantasy fare he's become focused on over the last decade, he still finds plenty of opportunities to goose his audience with some solid scares. Before he was Mr. Middle Earth, though, Jackson was the king of cinematic slapstick slaughter with such cult classics as Dead Alive (aka Brain Dead), Bad Taste, and Meet the Feebles. He's also been able to present us the face of fear in much lighter (the totally wonderful The Frighteneners) and more adult (Heavenly Creatures and The Lovely Bones) films. The man is still buried up to his neck in hobbits and entwives, but we can expect a long career after that's all said and done, and there is sure to be much more bloody good fun to be had before he hangs up his director's hat for good. He's sure lost some pounds over the last few years, but he's still very much a heavy-weight Master of Fear.
37. Stan Winston
In collaboration with such masterful directors as Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Tim Burton, Robert Zemeckis, and John Carpenter, this legend of cinematic special effects has scared the bejeezus out of us with his visions of otherworldly terror. From the robotic psychopaths of The Terminator series to the blood-thirsty dinos of Jurassic Park to the multi-mouthed extra-terrestrials of Aliens and the absurdly-mandibled space killers of Predator, Stan Winston has given us all faces to go with our fears of The Monsters in Our Closets. When things go bump in the night, we can envision just exactly what they are, thanks to the tireless genius of Winston and his frightening imagination.
36. Linda Blair
In 1973, the then-tweenager Linda Blair gave all new meaning to the phrase "f**k me, Jesus." Well, okay, maybe we didn't have meaning for that at all, until the little girl with the demon co-habitant shocked us all with those fiery words€ Blair was one of those unfortunates who became type-cast at such an early age and, instead of embracing it the way Robert Englund happily did, nearly destroyed her career with drugs and run-ins with the law. She was a young actor with a huge talent, and no matter how her career progressed from 1973 (if, that is, you can say it progressed at all), she certainly earned her spot on this list of Masters of Fear. Her character in The Exorcist, Regan, was a terrifying display of demonic evil and she had to mine some dreadful depths of emotion and psychosis to give us that horrific and lasting vision.