Horowitz's father was a "fixer" for prime minister Harold Wilson. Because he was nearly bankrupt, he moved his money into Swiss bank accounts. He died from cancer when his son, Anthony, was 22. The family was never able to find the missing money, even though they had tried for years. Horowitz loved his mother. She showed him "Frankenstein" and "Dracula". She also gave him a human skull for his 13th birthday. Horowitz said in an interview once that it reminds him to get to the end of each story because he will soon look like the skull. From the age of eight, Horowitz knew he wanted to be a writer, realising "the only time when I'm totally happy is when I'm writing". He graduated from the University of York with a BA in English literature in 1977.