Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction written in the late 19th and early 20th century. It can be said to encompass the ghost story and other tales of the macabre. Weird fiction is distinguished from horror and fantasy in that it predates the niche marketing of genre fiction. Because genre or stylistic conventions had not been established, weird tales often blend the supernatural, mythical, and even scientific. British "weird" authors, for example, published their work in mainstream literary magazines even after American pulp magazines became popular. Popular weird fiction writers included H. P. Lovecraft,Lord Dunsany,Arthur Machen, and M. R. James.

Although "weird fiction" is chiefly a historical description for works through the 1930s, the term has also been used since the 1980s, sometimes to describe slipstream fiction that blends horror, fantasy, and science fiction.

H. P. Lovecraft adopted the term from Sheridan Le Fanu and popularized it in his essays. In "Supernatural Horror in Literature," Lovecraft defines the genre:

Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. (December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer (of German extraction) of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theatre and films, playwright, expert chess player and a champion fencer. Possibly his greatest chess accomplishment was winning clear first in the 1958 Santa Monica Open. With writers such as Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber can be regarded as one of the fathers of Sword and Sorcery fantasy. But he excelled in all fields of speculative fiction, writing award-winning work in horror, fantasy and science fiction.

Leiber (first syllable sounds like "lye") was born December 24, 1910, in Chicago, Illinois, to the actors Fritz Leiber, Sr. and Virginia Leiber, and, for a time, he seemed inclined to follow in his parents' footsteps (Theater and actors were prominently featured in his fiction). He spent 1928 touring with his parents' Shakespeare company before studying philosophy at the University of Chicago, where he graduated with honors (1928–32). In 1932, he studied at General Theological Seminary and worked for a time as a lay preacher. In 1934, he toured with his parents' acting company, Fritz Leiber & Co.

Phillip "Phil" LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction. He has an extensive voice acting career, with major roles spanning animated series Futurama, Static Shock, Samurai Jack, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and Transformers Animated, and video games Metal Gear Solid 2 and 4, the Jak and Daxter series, Darksiders, Final Fantasy XII, inFAMOUS, Dead Island and the Mercenaries series.

LaMarr was born in Los Angeles, California. He is a graduate of Harvard High School in North Hollywood, and Yale University, where he helped found the improv comedy group Purple Crayon. One of his biggest roles at Yale was the title character in the British comedy Trevor. After graduating in 1989, LaMarr became a member of the award-winning sketch and improv comedy group The Groundlings. He also studied improv at The Second City and at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago with Del Close. He has also improvised with Cold Tofu and Off the Wall. His early film jobs arose from connections from his improv and college years. For example, LaMarr appeared in the film It's Pat (1994), written by friends from the Groundlings, and he appeared in Bio-Dome because the director was a friend from college. However, his big break came in a small but memorable role in Pulp Fiction as Marvin (he would later reprise the role in a MADtv sketch parodying the film).