He wrote several reference books on Doctor Who, including the 20th anniversary special Doctor Who: A Celebration Two Decades Through Time and Space (1983), and also wrote the definitive study of Sherlock Holmes on the screen, The Television Sherlock Holmes (1991) and several other television tie-ins featuring famous literary characters, including Maigret, Poirot and James Bond. Strong reservations have also been expressed regarding the reliability of another of Haining's influential non-fiction works, The Legend and Bizarre Crimes of Spring Heeled Jack.

Joseph Wall who was hanged 28 January 1802 for killing a Benjamin Armstrong 10 July 1782 in 'Goree' Africa and the discharge of a Humphrey White in January 1802. A check of the website Old Bailey at for 'Associated Records 1674-1834' for an alleged trial in December 1801 and hanging of Sweeney Todd for January 1802 show no reference in fact the only murder trial for this period is that of a Governor/Lt Col. However, other researchers who have tried to verify his citations find nothing in these sources to back Haining's claims. In two controversial books, Haining argued that Sweeney Todd was a real historical figure who committed his crimes around 1800, was tried in December 1801, and was hanged in January 1802. In the Seventies he wrote three novels, including The Hero (1973), which was optioned for filming. He edited a large number of anthologies, predominantly of horror and fantasy short stories, wrote non-fiction books on a variety of topics from the Channel Tunnel to Sweeney Todd and also used the pen names 'Ric Alexander' and 'Richard Peyton' on a number of crime story anthologies. Haining achieved the position of Editorial Director before becoming a full time writer in the early Seventies.

Born in Enfield, Middlesex, he began his career as a reporter in Essex and then moved to London where he worked on a trade magazine before joining the publishing house of New English Library. Peter Alexander Haining (Ap– November 19, 2007) was a British journalist, author and anthologist who lived and worked in Suffolk.

The Compleat Birdman by Peter Haining