Jacob Thomson Official Website

Welcome to the official Jacob Thomson website. Jacob Thomson is the pen name of a retired clergyman with a remarkable talent for writing horror and mystery fiction. His first novel, The Alukam, is a wonderful combination of several genres that, at first glance, might seem an unlikely mix, but here join together in a critically acclaimed "must read" blend of the police procedural, erotica, and vampire genres. Where else can the reader find a Jewish vampire being chased by an Orthodox detective who also happens to be one of the vampire's relatives (a multi-great-grand-nephew).

Dr. Thomson (he holds a PhD in English Literature in addition to rabbinic ordination) is an intensely private person, carefully guarding his true identity. "I wouldn't want to embarrass any old congregants if it got out their retired rabbi was writing 'dirty' stories," he says. For this reason, a "virtual Thomson" appears on this site instead of photographs. "He looks a little like me," Thomson says, "but he's probably in better physical shape. In real life, I'm 82 and I look like it."

The biography contained on this website is mostly accurate, though it is also deliberately a little vague. But there's enough there to see that Thomson has led a remarkable life, growing up on New York's Lower East Side, and serving as a bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress in the Eighth Air Force during World War II, before returning to school and then embarking on a life filled with scholarship, service, and literature.

As to what he's doing now, Thomson, a widower living on Florida's Gulf Coast, tells us, "I try to keep busy. Besides my novel, I've published a number of articles under my real name, which won't be mentioned here, and continue to work on more horror fiction. My publisher also tells me that he plans to bring out a print version of his company's original eBook edition of Dracula, for which I provided the Introduction and notes. At this point he's asked me to do more extensive notes, but I haven't received a definite publication date." (Summer 2006, Pub.)

On this site the visitor will find pages for each of Thomson's books, that slightly fudged biography, links to some sites and other things he's found interesting, and some forums with an emphasis on literature and horror. Naturally enough, as we're setting up this site for Dr. Thomson, there are also some links to our other authors and books.

What's New:

12/25/05:The Jacob Thomson edited Riverdale Short Story Annual 2005 was released for sale. Available now from
Barnes&Noble.com, and shortly from Amazon.com.

12/14/04:  Added new article, "From Book to Movie, and why author's frequently hate the results." Thomson muses on what's wrong with screen adaptations of some books, and sometimes what's right.

12/7/04:  Added two new articles, "So What's Wrong With CGI?" and "Are There No Limits?" in which Thomson takes on computerized special effects and the tendency of television to screw around with old programs.

12/4/04:  Added new section "Favorites," listing some of Thomson's favorite books, music, and other things.

11/28/04:  Added new article "Mission Twenty-Five." In this article, Thomson recalls his crew's last bombing mission over occupied France.

11/25/04:  Added a new short story, "Castle Grosshelm." A story in which some not-so-nice people learn why digging up a hidden treasure in a ruined Romanian castle isn't such a great idea.

10/28/04:  Added new article "Reality and Illusion." Jacob Thomson waxes philosophical on the importance of perception in both fiction and real life, wandering into Jewish mysticism in the process.