31 horrors (part 2)

Surpassed 31.

A lot of Bloch because I was mainly working my way through (the new Valancourt Books reissue of ) THE OPENER OF THE WAY, with random choices tossed in.

"Tighter" by Christa Faust

"The Way Station" by Nathan Ballingrud

"The Faceless God" by Robert Bloch

"Remnants" by Tim Lebbon

"House of the Hatchet" by Robert Bloch

"The Opener of the Way" by Robert Bloch

"Return to the Sabbath" by Robert Bloch

"One Way to Mars" by Robert Bloch

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson

"Lilies" by  Iain Rowan

"The Body Snatcher" by Robert Louis Stevenson

"Waxworks" by Robert Bloch

"The Mandarin's Canaries" by Robert Bloch

"The Feast in the Abbey" by Robert Bloch

"Slave of the Flames" by Robert Bloch

"The Shambler from the Stars" by Robert Bloch

"Mother of Serpents" by Robert Bloch

"The Secret of Sebek" by Robert Bloch 

"The Eyes of Mummy" by Robert Bloch

"Polyphemus" by Michael Shea

31 horrors (part 1)

I am trying to read 31 horror short stories in this month of October.

Half way report.

"The Cloak" by Robert Bloch

"Beetles" by Robert Bloch

"The Fiddler's Fee" by Robert Bloch

"You Go Where It Takes You" by Nathan Ballingrud

"The Mannikin" by Robert Bloch

"The Strange Flight of Richard Clayton" by Robert Bloch

"Wild Acre" by Nathan Ballingrud

"Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" by Robert Bloch

"Hurst of Hurstcote" by Edith Nesbit

"Plague Pit" by Charles R. Rutledge

"The Seal of the Satyr" by Robert Bloch

"The Dark Demon" by Robert Bloch

"North American Lake Monsters" by Nathan Ballingrud

"The Crevasse" by Nathan Ballingrud & Dale Bailey

"Sunbleached" by Nathan Ballingrud

"The Case of Lady Sannox" by Arthur Conan Doyle 

recent reads; The haunts of Christopher Golden

 It's autumn. It's October. The time for spooky reads has arrived.

I thought I might again try for 31 short stories read in the month. The issue (not really an issue but, you know, *raises hand* reader-type here) with that is that I hop around various collections & anthologies and while I reach my month goal, my goodreads reading challenge invariably slips because it tallies complete books.

So, this year I decided to read short stories but stick with the book(s), as well. Pick one and read it through. Repeat.

Christopher Golden has a new collection out, THE GHOSTS OF WHO YOU WERE. Before getting to that book, I decided to dig into my TBR piles and pull out two older collections; TELL MY SORROW TO THE STONES and DON'T GO ALONE. The latter features co-writes.

Both collections were fun reads. Chris's short story telling has only gotten better over the years. The man can write a ghost story, among all the other weird and haunting tales.

 One tale was a co-write with Thomas Sniegoski, and was set in their The Menagerie series. It was a good calling card. I decided to take a detour and read the first novel, THE NIMBLE MAN. If you want wall-to-wall monster killing and fast-paced urban/dark fantasy action, you should give it a read. I'll be getting back to the series soon.

Great stuff for October!

Happy Halloween!

This year's October flashed me by awfully quick. Despite a welcome and fun visit from Charles Rutledge, and the Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival, I had personal distractions keeping me from the Halloween spirit most of the month.

I did manage a viewing of SON OF DRACULA, recorded a few movies off TCM (which I won't get to until November, if that,) and read a few spooky comics and stories.

Here are some quick scary tales from my neck of the woods for you.

HAUNTED NEW ENGLAND

More October frights

"Doctor Porthos" by Basil Copper

"Stragella" by Hugh B. Cave

"A Place Where There Is Peace" by James A. Moore

"Human Remains" by Clive Barker

"A Week in the Unlife" by David J. Schow

"The House at Evening" by Frances Garfield

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (movie)

One Million B.C. (1940) (movie)

The Mummy's Shroud (movie)

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

FYI;
There will be a night of anthology horror movies coming up on TCM, on Oct 28th, not Halloween (oh, they have other horrors for Halloween.) Dead of Night, Twice Told Tales, Kwaidan, The House That Dripped Blood and Torture Garden (screenplay by Robert Bloch.)  I'll be recording them all except ...House.., as I've already seen it.

Tis the season

I could blame all these recent horrific acquisitions on the Autumn/Halloween season, but I started earlier this year. We'll blame Charles Rutledge, Jim Moore and NECON in general.

The Drums of Chaos by Richard Tierney

The Dracula Tape by Fred Saberhagen

The Night of the Ripper by Robert Bloch

The Monster's Corner, anthology, edited by Christopher Golden

Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 23, anthology of stories from 2011

B.P.R.D. (Volume 3, Plague of Frogs)

Afterlife with Archie

I've bought some other stuff, too, of course, but they aren't horror titles.

Halloween leftovers

I managed to squeeze in quite a bit of media consumption over the weekend.

I watched Boris Karloff ham it up in The Mask of Fu Manchu, and rewatched it with commentary.  I listened to the commentary on The Mark of the Vampire - the movie itself I had watched last week.

I (re)watched Things That Go Bump in the Night,  a documentary on haunted New England tales & folklore.  (It was produced by the PBS station from western Massachusetts.)  I learned a few new stories, but mostly I'd read about everything they covered.  I do have a large collection of local press New England occult folklore books, so that's not surprising.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

You can watch the entire thing online if you have an hour and are interested.

I finished reading the story, "Children of the Kingdom", by T. E. D. Klein (in his Dark Gods collection.)  Another tale of the lost subterranean race(s), but this time they are moving through the underbelly of NYC.

I also read the Dynamite trade paperback collection of Army of Darkness: Ash vs. the (Classic) Monsters.  I hadn't tried any of the AoD comics and I was disappointed.  They overplayed "Ash is a horndog" and "Ash gets people's names wrong" until it was tedious.  And the Monsters - aside from a thinking Frankenstein monster - didn't feel special or Universal whatsoever.

Finally, I started reading the second Titus Crow novel, The Transition of Titus Crow.  I wasn't expecting to return to Crow so soon, but seeing as how the novel is the second-half of the omnibus, I decided to finish it off.  So far, it's another occult adventure as opposed to atmospheric Mythos horror, but it's a fun romp.

The Transition of Titus Crow

The Halloween Haunted Viewings so far

I've squeezed in a smattering of horror viewings over the past couple of weeks.  Here are some quick thoughts.

Mark of the Vampire

I'd always heard of this one, and finally got around to watching it.  Quirky, at best.  Some good visuals.  Some moments that made little sense.  Lugosi has no dialog until the very end.  And (spoiler) if you didn't know - it all turns out to be non-supernatural; a very elaborate sting operation.  Caroll Borland made for a fine vampire bride, though.  One does wonder if the lost film, London After Midnight (of which Mark of the Vampire is a loose remake) was better executed.

Night Gallery:  The House

An odd tale of a haunted house, dreams and potential madness.  It might have been atmospheric, but the bright California sunshine and color wash out any visual sense of dread on this one.

Night Gallery: Certain Shadows on the Wall

This was the second half of the same episode.  Much better creep factor as three siblings who loathe each other await for the fourth to die.  And when she does, her shadow appears on the wall permanently.

THRILLER: The Watcher

A serial killer is on the loose, and he is a quiet face among his own neighbors in a coastal tourist town.  Perhaps most enjoyable for the sheer irony of Richard Chamberlain not only playing the leading ladies' man, but also for the villain trying to "protect" Chamberlain's character's innocence from the charms of women. (Chamberlain came out of the closet awhile back, but during the 1960s his homosexuality was a well-kept secret.)

THRILLER: The Grim Reaper

A cursed painting is acquired by a fading Hollywood star.  Her nephew tries to warn her of impending personal doom.  Starring William Shatner, screenplay by Robert Bloch (adapted from a Weird Tales story by Harold Lawlor) and music by Jerry Goldsmith.  This was one tour de force of old suspense/horror television!

Halloween Month Plans

Well, it is mid-month.  Mostly, the Halloween plans have gone off the rails.  After last year's triumphant read of 31 horror short stories and novellas, I thought I would switch to the visual medium and try for 31 episodes of horror television.  Night Gallery, THRILLER, Hammer House of Horror and The Outer Limits (original, of course!)

I am way behind on my viewing already.  Plus the Red Sox are in the playoffs, and the further they go, the fewer nights for horror viewing.

Maybe I can do a marathon, but that's a long shot.

Perhaps a combination of reads, shows and movies will do the trick this year.

Not to say the genre is lacking for me this month.  I did read Lumley's The Burrowers Beneath.  I've seen a couple of THRILLER episodes and one Night Gallery episode.  I am half-way through Blind Shadows by Charles R. Rutledge & James A. Moore. (And it is very good, btw.)

I'm still having fun with the Halloween spirit, and that's what counts.

recent read(s); Wrapping up the Halloween reads

To round out my 31 reads for October, I turned to my Kindle while flying cross-country.  The plane ride gave me time for some novellas.

I've been curious about Brian Lumley, especially after learning he's written some sword-&-mythos tales.  As he describes it, he writes Lovecraftian tales, but his protagonists fight back (rather than faint.) Recently, some of his Cthulhu Mythos collection e'books went on sale.

I read two novellas, found in the collection, The Taint and Other Novellas.

"The Horror at Oakdeene" - early effort in a strong Lovecraft mold, but with enough original touches to  have its own voice.  A writer who moonlights at a sanatorium finds himself drawn into the madness of a patient who dealt a little too closely with the occult.

"Born of the Winds" - this tale, though having a very convenient setup, was a good blend of the Wendigo legend with other Lovecraftian elements.

A few tales from Wildside Press e'book, The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack.

"The Graveyard Rats" by Henry Kuttner - I have read this before, but I want to get more Kuttner in my diet.  An unscrupulous Salem grave digger meets his fate at the hand of body-thieving rats - big rats.

"Envy, the Gardens of Ynath, and the Sin of Cain" by Darrell Schweitzer - this one surprised me, it is very good.  A lyrical tale of a domineering friendship gone bad.  A "black stone" even makes an appearance.

"Toadface" by Mark McLaughlin - somewhat humorous take on what happens when you displease the locals of Innsmouth.

That makes 31.

(For those interested, the megapack also includes "The Events at Poroth Farm" by T. E. D. Klein.)

Bonuses;

I finally watched the THRILLER episode of "Pigeons from Hell."  Currently, you won't find a more faithful Robert E. Howard adaptation.  My only dislike (and it is a small one) is that their twist ending was somewhat different, telegraphed a bit too early, and wasn't delivered with the same punch as the original story.

I read Karl Edward Wagner's "The River of Night's Dreaming", and then watched the episode of the old cable erotica series THE HUNGER, which adapted it.  I enjoyed the story which had a lot going on, and is one of those surreal stories where you can connect some of the threads, but nothing is spelled out.  It seems a lot of readers focus on the kinkier elements and miss the strong element of The King in Yellow being involved.  Predictably, the t.v. episode has no mention of The King in Yellow and is only tangentially related to the source material - and it is bland.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

recent read; American Supernatural Tales

I bought this anthology a while ago, mostly because it contains "The Events at Poroth Farm" by T. E. D. Klein.  I read The Ceremonies years ago, and it is one of my favorite horror novels.  I have always wanted to read the original novella he rewrote into the novel.  This anthology also has a skewed selection - in a good way.  The stories here aren't the typical classics that you find in any given anthology, and I appreciate that.  Though, some selections did leave me a bit mystified.

Anyone who has read around Robert E. Howard circles, or H. P. Lovecraft circles, knows that Joshi doesn't have a lot positive to say about Howard (especially over Lovecraft.)  It's clear from the introduction and some of the story notes that some other authors are also worthy of his sneer.  Frankly, Joshi should leave his editorializing for critical writings.

While I didn't feel he maligned Howard too much this time around, he certainly has no love for Dean Koontz, and almost begrudgingly includes Stephen King (without reading more Joshi, though, I must admit his introduction to the King story is ambivalent at best.)

Anyway, taking Joshi comments with a grain of salt, I can appreciate this anthology he put together on the strength of its contents.

For those curious, here are the stories with dates of original publication; (I am including the list for those curious about my October reading goal.)

"The Adventure of the German Student" (1824) by Washington Irving
"Edward Randolph's Portrait" (1838) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
"The Fall of the House of Usher" (1839) by Edgar Allan Poe
"What Was It?" (1859) by Fitz-James O'Brien
"The Death of Halpin Frayser" (1891) by Ambrose Bierce
"The Yellow Sign" (1895) by Robert W. Chambers
"The Real Right Thing" (1899) by Henry James
"The Call of Cthulhu" (1928) by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Vaults of Yoh-Vombis" (1932) by Clark Ashton Smith
"Old Garfield's Heart" (1933) by Robert E. Howard
"Black Bargain" (1943) by Robert Bloch
"The Lonesome Place" (1948) by August Derleth
"The Girl With the Hungry Eyes" (1949) by Fritz Leiber
"The Fog Horn" (1951) by Ray Bradbury
"A Visit" (1952) by Shirley Jackson
"Long Distance Call" (1953) by Richard Matheson
"The Vanishing American" (1955) by Charles Beaumont
"The Events at Poroth Farm" (1972) by T. E. D. Klein
"Night Surf" (1974) by Stephen King
"The Late Shift" (1980) by Dennis Etchison
"Vastarien" (1987) by Thomas Ligotti
"Endless Night" (1987) by Karl Edward Wagner
"The Hollow Man" (1991) by Norman Partridge
"Last Call for the Sons of Shock" (1994) by David J. Schow
"Demon" (1996) by Joyce Carol Oates
"In the Water Works (Birmingham, Alabama 1888)" (2000) by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Rather than review them all, I'll just drop some thoughts here.

Happy Halloween!

Man, I don't think I've ever been as blind-sided by Halloween's arrival as this year!

Between the crazy 80degree(F) weather early in the month, and now a power-crippling snow-storm, it never even felt like autumn.  Most towns have also rescheduled trick'or'treat and other holiday events for later days, too.

 Busy month personally, too.

My kids did attend a couple of events in costume, at least.

I didn't even get around to reading a horror short story or picking a horror movie.  I don't think I'll be awake enough tonight to watch anything.  I spent the first half of last night tending the fire in the wood stove until power came back.

Happy Halloween!