If you googled ‘African horror’ when I started writing, what you would find was Aids, war, and famine. However, now you can get books and films. She tells Focus on Africa that they are part of the literary genre pool.

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) presented Onoh with the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award in June. Her writings demonstrate both the beauty and horror of African culture. She is considered a pioneer of the African horror literary genre.

Many household names in horror fiction have won this award, including Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Christopher Lee, who played Dracula in numerous films.

Onoh was born in the Igbo community of Enugu in south-eastern Nigeria.

A Dance for the Dead, her most recent book, draws heavily from Igbo culture.

Diké, first son of the fictional Ukari king and heir to the throne, is on a journey of redemption.