Fritz Leiber Jr.

Fritz Leiber Jr., man, what a character. Born smack in the middle of a freezing Chicago winter, December 24, 1910, he popped up in the world with storytelling basically dripping from his DNA. The guy didn’t just write—he lived and breathed stories, and you can see that in the wild mix of stuff he tackled. He wasn’t just a pen-and-paper guy either; acting was in the blood, with his folks being legit stage pros. Maybe that’s why he could nail that whole dramatic tension thing on the page—dude knew how to work an audience. You probably know his name if you’re into the old-school weird, spooky, or just straight-up mind-bending stuff. “Night of the Eagle” in 1962? That’s him, weaving that creepy academic horror vibe before it was even cool. “A Pail of Air” is another gem, a chilling little sci-fi tale that’ll make you want to double-check your thermostat. And “Game for Motel Room”? Not one of those big blockbusters, but if you’re into the odd and slightly off-kilter, it’s got his fingerprints all over it. Leiber’s personal life? Oh, it was a rollercoaster. Married to Margo Skinner, then Jonquil Stephens—guy had a thing for unique names, apparently. Eventually he wound up in San Francisco, the city of fog and weird vibes, which honestly suits him to a T. That’s where his story wrapped up, September 5, 1992. But if you’re poking around the dusty corners of genre fiction, his influence is still hanging out, smirking at you from the shadows.