The Grin of the Dark — Ramsey Campbell

A former professor offers film critic Simon the chance of a lifetime―to write a book on one of the greatest long-lost comedians of the silent-film era, Tubby Thackeray. Simon is determined to find out the truth behind the jolly fat man's disappearance from film―and from the world.

Tubby's work carries the unmistakable stamp of the macabre. People literally laughed themselves to death during his performances. Soon, wherever Simon goes, laughter―and a clown's wide, threatening grin―follow. Is Simon losing his mind? Or is Tubby Thackeray waiting for him to open the door back to the world?
Ramsey Campbell has won a dozen British Fantasy and World Fantasy Awards and three Bram Stoker Awards. A new Campbell novel is an opportunity to delight in the craftsmanship of an extraordinary writer.