Got my 2013 Halloween all planned out. Like most years I'm gonna have a few beers and watch some good ole fashioned movies. This year the roster is:
Halloween
Friday the 13th
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Evil Dead 1 & 2
The Exorcist
The Blair Witch Project
and maybe Creepshow if I haven't passed out by then.
Except for Creepshow I'm goin back in time and watching the VHS tapes. That also means that every freakin movie on this list is an original film not a remake (obviously since all the remakes on that list came out after VHS tapes were no longer being released). Happy Halloween everybody!
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Monday, October 28, 2013
More Anthologies
I didn’t realize
this until I was preparing to write this post but I bought a lot of anthologies
this year. While I’ve read a bunch of
different stories out of each one of them I haven’t read any of them in their entirety. Because I have so many of these damned things
I tend to bounce around from one to the other.
Unlike last year I’m not going to review any of these anthologies but
instead describe some of the stories I’ve read and the reasons why these
anthologies were must haves for my collection.
The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
If you’ve seen the
1980’s Conan movies or read the comics you know these stories aren’t
horror. It should be noted though that
Robert E. Howard appeared in some of the same pulp magazines that H.P.
Lovecraft did. The stories compiled here
are arranged in the order they were written which can be quite confusing. From one story to the next Conan can be a
middle aged king, or a young thief, or a mercenary, or a pirate. The way Howard explained it was when you talk
to a great adventurer he relates stories out of sequence. I’ve been meaning to pick up this book for years
now and all I can say is it was worth the wait.
Shadows 3
I’ll admit I
judged a book by its cover, but I didn’t just buy this book because I thought
it had a cool green skull on its cover. I’ve
read the odd Charles L. Grant story in different anthologies and I was curious
about the kind of stories he liked or found scary. I was also intrigued by his self-described “quiet
horror” that he reserved both for his stories and the stories he collected
here. It didn’t hurt that it was really
cheap either. I paid 1 penny for the
book and 4 dollars for the shipping.
I’ve only read
two stories so far. “The Brown Recluse” by
Davis Grubb is a Sherlock Holmes pastiche.
It was okay if not a little long and boring at times. I did however enjoy “The Ghost Who Limped” by
R. Chetwynd-Hayes. The story has a twist
that I saw coming a mile away but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it.
The Year’s Best Horror Stories VIII
Might as well get
these out of the way. Karl Edward Wagner
was not exactly what you’d the most prolific writer but he still remains my
favorite. It’s a quality over quantity
thing. I didn’t technically buy vol. VIII
this year (I bought it at the tail end of last year) but I’m including it here
because ya know what? I didn’t talk
about it last year and I figured since I’m featuring the other ones might as
well feature this one. I obviously
bought these books to complete my Karl Edward Wagner collection. Also as a lover of horror anthologies I
wanted the see what he thought the best ones were of any given year. Turns out me and Mr. Wagner disagree on some
things but it’s not a bad anthology especially for his debut on the series.
Later on in this
list you’ll see Dennis Etchison’s “The Dead Line” and Hugh B. Cave’s “From the
Lower Deep” in “Whispers I and II” and both are great stories and just goes to
show how good this anthology is. Also
collected is two stories by Harlan Ellison and “Needle Song” by Charles L.
Grant. As with many editors Wagner was a
little biased towards his friends.
Ramsey Campbell, Dennis Etchison, and Hugh B. Cave are regulars in this
series but what sets these books apart from other anthologies is what and who
Wagner picked. You’ll see famous names
like Stephen King but at the same time you’ll see an author who hadn’t written
anything before or since his appearance in this series. I would like to note that this book is in
excellent condition despite its age not that that has anything to do with
anything. I just appreciate it when
online sellers are honest about what they are selling.
The Year’s Best Horror Stories IX
So far this is my
least favorite volume in the series.
Some of the stories are a lot longer so you don’t get as many of them. The first story in this volume is “The Monkey”
by Stephen King, which I read a long time ago but you can’t fault a 30+ year
old anthology for that. It also contains
a story by Basil A. Smith called “The Propert Bequest”. I wasn’t able to find any information online
about him but Wagner says in his introduction to the story that it “may seem at
first a contradiction for a best-of-the year anthology to include a story by an
author who has been dead for a number of years,” and describes him a clergyman
who died in 1969. After his death
several manuscripts were found and later published. As fascinating as that is the story itself is
a little long winded and boring. The
copy I have is a first edition (also in great condition) and I did spot a
rather amusing typo. In the copyright
page Ramsey Campbell’s story “The Gap” is listed as “The Gay”.
The Year’s Best Horror Stories X
As of this date I haven’t cracked this book open yet. I bought it when I was out of town for a long
time and had it sent to my address so it was months before I was able to
recover it. That coupled with the fact
that I collect so many of these things I often forget to read them, at least
for a time. I’ll get to this one
eventually though. Once again we have
Harlan Ellison, Ramsey Campbell (2 stories), and Charles L. Grant. Dennis Etchison is for some reason absent
from this volume. My copy of volume X is
in pristine condition, so much so I’m a little afraid to read it. The binding is very tight and looks to never
have been read. You may have noticed
that I keep these books wrapped in plastic.
I do this to preserve their condition, which brings me to my next
anthology.
The Year’s Best Horror Stories XV
As a collector I
was furious when I received this one through the mail. Just look at it, it’s in terrible condition
and it was not listed as such. The cover
is absolutely trashed, there’s even a chunk missing from it. The inside cover is filled with library
stamps and stickers including a stamp that states: This Book Has Been Discarded
By The Richland Public Library.
On the side of the book is also a stamp that says Westover Hills. I can only imagine that this book was discarded by two different libraries before it was sold by an unscrupulous seller on amazon. I’m ashamed to have it next to the other three in the series but however bad the condition is it remains readable. So I’m cheating again. I ordered this the same time I ordered volume VIII but have yet to talk about it on this blog. I ordered a book later in the series because I was more familiar with both the stories and the authors. My biggest reason for buying it was the Joe R. Lansdale story. It also has Robert Bloch and Charles L. Grant stories that can be found in “The Mammoth Book of Terror”. All around it’s a good collection in very poor condition.
On the side of the book is also a stamp that says Westover Hills. I can only imagine that this book was discarded by two different libraries before it was sold by an unscrupulous seller on amazon. I’m ashamed to have it next to the other three in the series but however bad the condition is it remains readable. So I’m cheating again. I ordered this the same time I ordered volume VIII but have yet to talk about it on this blog. I ordered a book later in the series because I was more familiar with both the stories and the authors. My biggest reason for buying it was the Joe R. Lansdale story. It also has Robert Bloch and Charles L. Grant stories that can be found in “The Mammoth Book of Terror”. All around it’s a good collection in very poor condition.
Whispers
Because there are
six volumes in the series I often refer to this as Whispers I, but the title on
the spine of the book simply reads Whispers.
This anthology takes some of the stories published in the “Whispers”
fanzine and also adds a few new ones.
Collecting Karl Edward Wagner, Robert Bloch, Fritz Leiber, Dennis
Etchison, Brian Lumley, Hugh B. Cave, and Manly Wade Wellman “Whispers” is a
powerhouse. It is an excellent
anthology. Once again I was screwed by
amazon. I should have known from last
time but I stupidly ordered this one and “Whispers II” from the same
seller. They were listed in Very Good
condition for $0.01 and since I wanted to add as many as possible to my
collection I figured why not. Once again
I got discarded library books. Both are
first editions which means they were in circulation for a very long time. Volume one doesn’t even have a dust cover and
still has the library card slip in the back.
Because this has already happened before I wasn’t as pissed as I was with “The Year’s Best…” but I am curious about this book’s history, the places it’s been and the stories it could tell. It’s in okay condition more or less. It’s still readable and most of the pages are intact(the last page was torn out, the best I can tell it was an about the artist section that described the artists for some of the drawings from the magazine and book).
Because this has already happened before I wasn’t as pissed as I was with “The Year’s Best…” but I am curious about this book’s history, the places it’s been and the stories it could tell. It’s in okay condition more or less. It’s still readable and most of the pages are intact(the last page was torn out, the best I can tell it was an about the artist section that described the artists for some of the drawings from the magazine and book).
Whispers II
Another discarded
library book. It has a dust cover (wrapped
in protective mylar, you can see indentions where someone tried to trace the
cover art) but is in even worse condition than its predecessor. The binding is coming loose in some
places. Quality aside we have another
great “Whispers” anthology consisting of Karl Edward Wagner, Charles L. Grant,
Hugh B. Cave, Dennis Etchison, and Manly Wade Wellman.
Whispers III
“Whispers III” is
in decidedly better condition (and I ended up paying a lot more for this one
but hell it was worth it) than the previous two books and the seller saw to it
to include a mylar bag to preserve it. The
cover is also intact and beautifully colored.
Once again I am wary of reading this because it is such good
condition. As luck would have it I have
already read a few of the stories in different collections. I’ve obviously read Karl Edward Wagner’s “The
River of Night’s Dreaming”, (I’ve achieved that accomplishment in two books
now, why not a third?) and Dennis Etchison’s “The Dead Line”. I have David Campton’s “Firstborn” collected
in “The Mammoth Book of Terror”. The
rest are “Whispers” standards such as Hugh B. Cave and Fritz Leiber.
As good condition
as 3 was in somehow 4 is in better condition.
This book is like new. I’ve never
bought a used book with tighter binding and the pages are bleach white. It’s like this book was never read. Unlike volume 3 most of the stories collected
here I don’t have in other anthologies, except for Karl Edward Wagner’s “Into
Whose Hands” which I only have because it’s in Wagner’s Centipede
collections. “Whispers IV” is a
beautiful book and welcomed edition to my collection.
New Terrors II
Not sure what
possessed me to buy this book. I don’t
like Ramsey Campbell as an author so I have no idea why I thought he’d be a
good editor. I’m sure it was the cover
that got my attention and the fact that it’s an early 80’s horror anthology. Staring at that cover I could only imagine what
the story which it’s connected to could be about. The story titled “The Ice Monkey” by M. John
Harrison is about a cursed object that may cause someone close to you to die in
a horrible accident. It wasn’t a bad
story but at the same time it wasn’t great.
I’ve already talked about Robert Bloch’s “The Rubber Room” in the entry
that precedes this one. “Symbiote” by
Andrew J. Offutt is a great story about a parasite that causes to a man fulfill murderous and sexual
impulses. Also included here is Charles
L. Grant and Graham Masterton but I haven’t read their stories yet. Finally R. A. Lafferty’s “The Funny Face
Murders” has now taken the mantle as the worst story I have ever read
anywhere. After 31 grueling pages of
nonsense I kept hoping it would start making sense but it never did.
Borderlands 2
“From the
Borderlands” is one of my favorite anthologies and I’ve always wanted to get
more in the series. I haven’t read that
many stories from this one yet but the ones I have read are definitely very
weird. F. Paul Wilson, Charles L. Grant,
and Joe R. Lansdale make appearances. The
book itself was reasonable priced and in great condition. I bought this one from the same seller that I
bought “Whispers III and IV”. The pages
are a little yellowed but other than that the binding is tight.
This is another book I
bought late last year and have yet to include it on this blog. I bought this brand new at a second hand
bookstore. I believe it must have been
an overstock from a firsthand store because there were a few other copies. This one collects what Stephen Jones
considers to be the best stories he’s collected editing “The Mammoth Book of Best
New Horror” series. I picked it up
because I don’t have the full series (I do have 15, 16, 17, and 18 but I can’t
say I have much interest in having a full collection) and I wanted to read some
of the stories from volumes I don’t have.
Here we have Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, Harlan Ellison, Christopher
Fowler, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Joe Hill, Kim Newman, and Peter
Straub. A great collection but I tend to
disagree with his idea of “best” with some of the volumes I own even though
Stephen Jones tries to negate that title in his introduction. If you’re interested the series is ongoing
and still being edited by Jones, it should be on the 24th volume.
In the Flesh and The Inhuman Condition
I’ve got all the
various authors anthologies out of the way so now it’s time for the singular
author collections. I acquired these
books on a very fun and eventful day. My
great aunt had passed away and it was up to me and some other family members to
claim and pack up her belongings from her house. My aunt lived in a small town and I still
have some family and friends there even though many of them have either died or
moved away. A cousin of mine was still
living there and while we were working she mentioned a pawn shop where she buys
movies and a used bookstore. I didn’t
have much cash on me but I told her the last day I was there that we should go
to both places. I’m an old school gamer
and when I spotted a used Nintendo 64 I knew I just had to have it. As it turns out after the 40 bucks I dropped
on the 64 and a game I only had 3 bucks in my pocket. At the used bookstore I went over to see if
they had any Star Trek books I wanted to buy.
This is usually my first stop at any secondhand bookstore. In a cardboard box I found a novelization of
Batman’s legendary fight with Bane (the comic book version not the movie
version) that I wanted but under it were two Clive Barker books. Each book was in good condition and had a
sticker over the barcode that read “Please Scan Inside Cover”. I went over to the counter and asked the guy
how much the books cost because I only had 3 bucks and he answered me back 3
bucks.
Although I already
read “The Forbidden” in “In the Flesh” I’ve only read two other stories from “The
Inhuman Condition”. “The Age of Desire”
is about a failed medical experiment involving aphrodisiacs that causes an
ordinary man to turn into a crazed rapist and murderer. It was very good and among the best Clive
Barker stories I’ve read. It’s more of a
sci fi story than horror though. “Revelations”
is a quirky ghost story set in an Amarillo motel in Texas featuring two bitter
ghosts who killed each other and an evangelist preacher, his wife, and
associate. It was okay but not quite
what I expected.
House of the Restless Dead and Other Stories by Hugh B. Cave
I am a great
admirer of Hugh B. Cave’s work and that’s exactly why I bought this book… well
not exactly. Yes it’s true I’ve been
wanting to buy this book for a while now but if I didn’t need a couple bucks to
be eligible for free shipping on amazon I might not have bought it all. It also took forever and a day to be delivered. Looking at the very last page I think I know
why. The books copyright proclaims 2011
but at the very last page of the book is a barcode and a message that says “Made
in the USA/ Lexington, KY/ 31 August 2013.
If this is true it is the only book I own that was made to order. I never imagined a publisher would do that
and my only guess is that they’re a small independent press that can’t afford
to print books and have them lying around until someone orders one.
The book collects
Cave’s early and previously unpublished works from the pulps. I’ve only read two stories so far. The first story I read, “Daughters of Dark
Desire”, had more typos than any story I have ever read. I ignored the first two thinking they were
simple mistakes but then started writing down the mistakes and their locations on
an index card. I noticed 9 more mistakes
including the title which read “Daughter of Dark Desire” instead of daughters
which is how it is presented on the index as well as at the top of every other
page of the story. Typos aside it’s a
great story. The book also features an
informative introduction which talks about Cave’s life during and after the
pulps.
Remember Why You Fear Me: The Best Dark Fiction of Robert Shearman by
Robert Shearman
Out of all my new
anthologies I’ve read the most out of this one.
It is just that good. Each story
I’ve read is creative, original, and downright bizarre which makes setting down
the book and leaving it alone very difficult.
I’ll bet if you buy this book and begin to read it you’ll agree you’ve
never read anything or anybody that even closely resembles it. There’s story about homicidal cherubs, very
weird grandmas, odd Lovecraftian creatures that shouldn’t exist, Adolf Hitler’s
favorite dog, and a man mourning the death of his wife who believes she’s
coming back through his own face.
To check out my anthology post from last year go here: last year's anthologies
To check out my anthology post from last year go here: last year's anthologies
Saturday, October 12, 2013
The Creep's Nightmares Vol. 1
Taking inspiration from another blogger (you can find his
blog here: Singular Points) I’ve decided to compile my favorite short horror stories into a
hypothetical anthology. It should be no
secret by now that there’s nothing I love more than a great short horror story. Last year around this time I published a
selection of my favorite short horror anthologies so likewise it should be no
surprise that I have a ton of these books(go here:My Anthologies). It’s always been a dream of mine to edit my
own anthology so without further stalling here is
The
Creep’s Nightmares Vol. I
1. Custard Cream by Robert Shearman
(Early this year I bought a book that was suggested to me by
Barnes & Noble on a whim from an author I had never heard of. This time it paid off but I can’t tell you
how many times I’ve been sorely disappointed.
I bought the trade paperback but it is also available in ebook form and
that edition contains a few stories not featured in the trade. The following story can be found in “Remember Why You Fear Me” by Shearman
himself. “Custard Cream” effectively
draws the reader in by use of second person perspective making you the subject
of the story. Having watched and read
horror all my life it’s not easy to scare me.
With that said I was already terrified of spiders and this story doesn’t
ease my mind one bit.)
2. Foet by F. Paul Wilson
(Pronounced feet as in fetus, you can only imagine what this
story is about. Wilson claims the story
originated from an encounter with a female friend wearing a fur coat. Wilson, offended by her poor taste argued she
“would wear human skin if it were in vogue”.
You can find this one in Stephen Jones’ “Mammoth Book of New Terror” and Thomas Monteleone’s “Borderlands 2”.)
3. The Late Shift by Dennis Etchison
(This story shouldn’t be missing from any anthology. In fact I have it collected in two volumes
and can’t remember which I read it from first.
You can find it in Kirby McCauley’s “Dark
Forces” as well as Stephen Jones’ “Mammoth
Book of Terror”. Without giving away
too much about the story it involves some very unconventional zombies and is
hands down one of my favorite short stories.)
4. Obsequy by David J. Schow
(Following one unorthodox zombie story with another, Obsequy
poses the question, what if our dead loved ones rose? Not what if our dead loved ones rose mindless,
violent, eating machines, but just what if they remained what they were in
life. Although I read it in “The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 18”
it feels like more of a drama than horror to me. That could be an all new niche all to itself,
the zombie drama.)
5. Time Was by David Morrell
(Short horror fiction often explores different themes. While some are more graphic and brutal others
are more cerebral. I can’t help but
think of “The Twilight Zone” whenever I read one of these stories. This one reminds me of a season 3 episode
called “Person or Persons Unknown”. In
the episode a man wakes up next to his wife but when she wakes up she claims
she’s never seen him before. And so it
goes with everyone he knows. A similar
set of circumstances happens in “Time Was”.
A man on his way home from the office experiences some strange weather
patterns out in the desert. He then ends
up at an old wild west saloon. He buys a
case of sarsaparilla and then drinks one.
The next thing he knows he’s waking up in the sand. He goes back to his wife and she claims he’s
a stranger as does everyone else he knows including bosses and coworkers. This story can be found in “The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 17”
edited by Stephen Jones.
6. The Silence of Falling Stars by Mike O’Driscoll
(Like the previous story this one is cerebral and explores
themes of isolation, loneliness, and sensory deprivation. The Death Valley setting only adds to the
atmosphere. This story can be found in “The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 15”)
7. The Rubber Room by Robert Bloch
(Following two psychological horror stories is another one
by the father of the genre. This story
takes an in depth first person view inside the mind of a homicidal maniac. Why he did what he did and the rationale that
led up to it. You can find this one in
Ramsey Campbell’s “New Terrors II”)
8. Churches of Desire by Philip Nutman
(I’m just going to put all the psychological horror together
in the middle of this anthology. Why bother
breaking the trend once I’ve started it.
While so far this anthology is filled with what you might call strange
tales this one certainly is the sleaziest.
The story revolves around a struggling, desperate, broke, alcoholic horror
writer when he travels to Rome in order to get an interview that may get him
some recognition. He spends a bulk of
the story in dingy porn theaters and thinking to himself. This story can be found in Thomas Monteleone’s
“Borderlands II”)
9. Ladies In Waiting by Hugh B. Cave
(This creepy little ghost story signified a comeback for
Hugh B. Cave. After reading an article
in a women’s magazine by a Hugh Cave, Karl Edward Wagner contacted the magazine
asking if that was the same Hugh B. Cave of Weird Tales. When the response came back he corresponded
with Cave and then released an anthology of his earlier works through his own
independent press. When nostalgia for
weird tales came back in the 70’s Cave began writing horror again. This story was first published in the “Whispers” fanzine and later in the
first “Whispers” anthology.)
10. Ever the Faith Endures by Manly Wade Wellman
(It seems only appropriate that I put these two veterans of
the weirds back to back. Most of what I’ve
read of Wellman is his John the Balladeer stories, but I came across this one
that I totally forgot I read in “The
Best Horror from Fantasy Tales”. The
story begs the question what happens to a god when people stop worshipping it.)
11. Pig’s Dinner by
Graham Masterton
(“After a brief detour we’re back to the visceral. “Pig’s Dinner” is about two pig farming
brothers. One mistakenly dismembers the
other when he turns on a feed grinder. The
mutilated brother insists that’s he’s dead already so he may as well turn the
feed grinder back on and finish the job.
Rather than ruin the rest of the story I think I’ll just tell you to
look for it in Stephen Jones’ “Mammoth
Book of Terror”.)
12. Dead to the World by Allen Ashley
(To some there is nothing more horrifying than the mysteries
our own bodies possess. These types of
stories are among my favorites. This one
involves a man whose orifices are slowly closing up day by day. You can find this one in “The Best Horror from Fantasy Tales”)
13. The Forbidden by Clive Barker
(No horror anthology is complete without a story from Clive
Barker. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Candyman”
then you should be very familiar with this story as it is the basis for that
movie. If you haven’t seen the movie
quickly read this story then see the movie and let me know which you thought
was better. You can find this one in
Barker’s own “In the Flesh” or in “The Best Horror from Fantasy Tales”)
14. Where There’s a Will by Richard Matheson and Richard
Christian Matheson
(A father and son who are both accomplished authors came
together to write this one.
Unfortunately I can’t describe much about it without giving away the
twist. All I can really say is it
involves a man digging out of a grave.
This is the second to last story in Kirby McCauley’s “Dark Forces”.)
15. Sticks by Karl Edward Wagner
(There’s a reason this one has made it into so many
different anthologies. It is Karl Edward
Wagner at his absolute best and I’ve saved the absolute best for the absolute
last. All I can say is it’s moody, atmospheric,
and tends to stay with you long after you’ve read it. The only reason it’s so far down on this list
is because I think it’s a story you need to ease yourself into not read right
off the bat. You can find it in “Whispers”, “The Mammoth Book of Zombies”, and Wagner’s own Centipede Press
edition of “Where the Summer Ends”.)
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