Prolific horror novelist and Brooklyn resident Peter Straub died in September at age 79.

“It’s a sad day because my good friend and amazingly talented colleague and collaborator, Peter Straub, has passed away,” wrote Stephen King on Twitter. “Working with him was one of the great joys of my creative life.”

In celebration of his life — and, of course, Halloween — there’s no better time to reflect on his storied career in supernatural fiction. Born in Milwaukee in 1943, Straub was struck by a car at age 7 — and it was this encounter with fate that launched a decades-long fascination with the supernatural.

“It left me with a premature bolt of awareness of my own mortality, my physical fragility, and a sense that the world was not benign,” he said in a 2022 interview. Straub wrote more than a dozen novels, three of which were adapted into films, and he is the author of countless other novellas, short stories, and poems.

Here are five of his most famed — and spookiest — works:

Julia (1975)

Straub’s first supernatural novel follows the story of Julia Lofting, who left her husband and bought a home in London to start anew following the death of her nine-year-old daughter. But soon, Julia begins seeing a little girl who reminds her of her daughter. She quickly discovers there’s another presence in her home — and it’s not friendly. The book was later made into the 1977 film Full Circle starring Mia Farrow. 

Ghost Story (1979)

Straub’s 1979 novel tells the tale of a ghost story that comes to life. Four old men who swap spooky tales as a pastime in Millburn, New York, are confronted with a terrifying reality when one story turns out to be more fact than fiction. The group unearth a chilling secret their small town is quite literally haunted by. “Ghost Story” was an instantaneous national best-seller, putting Straub on the map as a household name. It was dubbed one of the quintessential horror novels of the late 20th century by Stephen King, and later was made into a feature-length movie by the same name. 

Koko (1988)

“Koko” follows four Vietnam veterans from the same platoon who cross paths years later at the opening of the Vietnam Memorial. Despite the years that have passed since their deployment, the group discover they’re still haunted by the same memory of serial murders in Vietnam at the hands of a mysterious Koko. They embark on a journey to hunt down the killer and reveal a terrifying secret. Straub was awarded the 1989 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for “Koko,” a book which took him four years to complete.

The Talisman (1984)

Co-authored with acclaimed horror writer Stephen King, “The Talisman” follows the story of Jack, a young boy on a frantic journey to save his mother’s life. In a desperate attempt to escape a sinister force, the two leave home on Rodeo Drive for New York City, then find themselves in a decrepit New Hampshire amusement park — and ultimately a parallel universe. Straub and King’s collaboration spent twelve weeks at #1 on the New York Times’ Best Seller List and was adapted into a short film in 2008. A full-length film has been in the making for years, and a Netflix series based on the book is also reportedly in development.

Black House (2001)

In their sequel to “The Talisman,” King and Straub joined forces once again in 2001. Set in Straub’s native Wisconsin, “Black House” follows Jack — now a retired detective, twenty years on — as he investigates a series of cannibalistic child murders ravaging the small town. Jack leaves retirement to get to the bottom of the mystery. The novel was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award and lauded by The Washington Post as the genius of “two master craftsmen, each at the top of their game.”