Joyce Carol Oates. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/oat0bio-1

A favorite of mine from when I was first introduced to her writing in
College I consider her one of the great dark geniuses of American Gothic fiction. I find all of her books truly horrifying in their depiction of the dark inner life. For me no other writer has come closer to writing a nightmare. Books like 'Wonderland', 'Them', 'Son of the Morning', 'Bellefleur', 'Bloodsmoor Romance', as well as her short fiction are the very definition of haunting.