Michael McDowell (Author) MICHAEL MCDOWELL was born in 1950 in Alabama. His notable books include the gothic novels Gilded Needles, The Elementals, Katie, and the gothic horror saga, Blackwater, which has become a phenomenal bestseller across Europe and elsewhere. He was also a successful screenwriter for film and TV, including his scripts for Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, Tales from the Crypt and The Nightmare Before Christmas. McDowell died in 1999. Tabitha King, wife of author Stephen King, completed his unfinished novel, Candles Burning.