Let's Talk About Horror Fiction and Film

[Robotpo]

That actually looks pretty intriguing. "Hell House" has never had a really good visual adaptation, so these might the closest things we ever get. Thanks for the link.

Also, I'm not sure if anyone's heard of this guy:
http://www.briankeene.com/

I've only read one of his books, "Ghoul," but it was decent. It basically came off as "Stephen King-lite," but he has two new books coming out which will probably feature more of his original voice, and still be as readable as "Ghoul" was...
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Hollow-Brian-...2047&sr=8-2
http://www.graemesfantasybookreview....ian-keene.html

I'd also have to recommend Robert McCammon, especially his "Usher's Passing," based on Edgar Allen Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." More creepy creepyness...
http://www.amazon.com/Ushers-Passing.../dp/0671769928

[Spaceman Spiff]

I've read The Rising by Keene, which was a decent zombie book, and got Keene a Stoker Award. But the best thing about it was that it introduced me to Leisure Books' horror book club, which I'm enjoying.

It's funny that you mention Robert McCammon. This October I re-read Halloween Horrors, which is probably one of my favorite anthologies for that time of year, and McCammon's got my favorite story in it.

I decided to look up more of his stuff, and after many rave reviews, I picked up Boy's Life (I can't get over that average on Amazon), Swan Song and Speaks the Nightbird.

I haven't read any of them yet (the list is getting ridiculous at this point), but I'm looking forward to it.

[Hobs202]

^ I've heard about "The Rising" and based on what little I've read, I thought it was pretty interesting. However, its sequel "City of the Dead" had a really anti-climatic, sort-of-lame ending. Of course that all might change depending on what happens in the upcoming "Labyrinth" series (which is supposed to be a sort of mass sequel to a lot of Keene's novels including "The Rising" series).

[RJDiogenes]

Spaceman Spiff said:
I had to look it up after reading this. Interesting. Each is listed as having 48 pages, and they're published by IDW Publishing, which is an independent comic book publisher. (They've recently acquired the Star Trek license, incidentally, and have started putting out new Trek comics.)

Oops. Didn't look that closely.

Speaking of Matheson, a couple of years ago I got a nice hardcover edition of his three Kolchak scripts. Yes, three, because he wrote a third story called The Night Killers which was never produced because they went to series instead (it probably would have been used as the second season premiere). I had been dying to read this since the early 80s when he mentioned it in an early issue of Twilight Zone magazine. It was expensive but worth it; and it turned out to be signed and numbered, which I didn't even know when I ordered it.

I've just started Bride of Frankenstein: Pandora's Bride; I'm rolling my eyes just a little, but we'll see. Also, I was amused that there are two Chapter Threes and no Chapter Four.

[Robotpo]

^^ I actually just found out the Universal "Classic Monster" line today. I think I'm gonna try to get my hands on "Creature from the Black Lagoon: Time's Black Lagoon," and "Dracula: Asylum," as they sound like they could be worthwhile...

[RJDiogenes]

I plan to read them all. The ones I've read so far all have merit, although they were not what I expected or hoped for. If I were assigned the task of sequelizing the Universal Monsters, I would have taken a very different approach.

[Spaceman Spiff]

The Bride of Frankenstein one kind of annoys me, just by being so short after over a year of delays. It's probably next on my reading list (I'm still savoring A Winter Haunting; Dan Simmons may be a new favorite), so we'll see how it goes.

I had to check and have a laugh at the two "Chapter 3"s. I think authors and editors are relying a bit too heavily on spell check these days.

I plan to read all of these Universal Monsters books, but the results have been fairly mixed. So far, I've read the Frankenstein, Dracula and Wolf Man novels.

As I said earlier in the thread, the Wolf Man one is a bit dull; not much happens in it. I'd only recommend it if you're a pretty die-hard Wolf Man fan. I couldn't not read it, but I won't be re-reading it at any point.

The Dracula one is well-written, but it's an odd little book. I won't get too into it, as I don't want to spoil anything for Robotpo, but it's almost more a sequel to Stoker's novel than to the film, even though some of the names and such ("Lucy Weston") imply otherwise.

The Shadow of Frankenstein is the first one I read, and I enjoyed it the most, so far. Stefan Petrucha gets the voices of the characters right; you can easily imagine Colin Clive delivering his lines, for example. It also features Jack the Ripper coming out of retirement and encountering the characters, which is fun. It's got some surprisingly dark and brutal moments, which might take you out of the "Universal-verse" here and there, but it's a good read. It's also got the best ending of these three books.

[Robotpo]

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna check the series out.

Also, I've heard good things about Simmons. He wrote "The Terror," didn't he?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yep. It's getting a lot of praise. I got it for Christmas, but I'm going to hold off on it for a while.

I really, really recommend Summer of Night, in case that's not coming across clearly enough.

[Brendan Moody]

Most of my recent horror reading is authors I've already mentioned upthread- more Ramsey Cambell (including The Overnight, a menacingly enjoyable if somewhat repetitive novel about a haunted bookstore), more T.E.D. Klein, more Thomas Ligotti. I did read the latest Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. As usual most of the entries, though technically well-done, weren't to my taste, but I did quite enjoy a few of the subtler stories, especially Christopher Harman's "The Last to be Found," Stephen Graham Jones's "Raphael," and Glen Hirshberg's "The Muldoon." Based on that last story I picked up Hirshberg's two ghost story collections (The Two Sams and American Morons) from the library. Both are excellent and earn my highest recommendation. Hirshberg's stories are modern and unusual in their settings and characterizations, but achieve traditional terror in the best style of M.R. James and other classic writers.

Today I bought Inferno, a new horror anthology by Ellen Datlow. Datlow usually does theme anthologies, which I steer clear of because I think they're a bit cute, but her only requirement for this volume was that the stories be so terrifying as to be physically unsettling for the reader. A rough task for even the best writer, but I have high hopes. There's a new Hirshberg story too, which is something to look forward to.

[RJDiogenes]

Spaceman Spiff said:
The Bride of Frankenstein one kind of annoys me, just by being so short after over a year of delays. It's probably next on my reading list (I'm still savoring A Winter Haunting; Dan Simmons may be a new favorite), so we'll see how it goes.

Well, I won't spoil anything. I want to see what you think. And, actually, I'm not sure if it is shorter than the others; but the typeface is tiny. My poor aging eyes.

I had to check and have a laugh at the two "Chapter 3"s. I think authors and editors are relying a bit too heavily on spell check these days.

Or not relying on it, as the case may be. Flip through Marv Wolfman's novelization of Crisis On Infinite Earths sometime. There has to be a typo, sometimes multiple typos, on every page. Not to mention chapter "Froty Three."

As I said earlier in the thread, the Wolf Man one is a bit dull; not much happens in it. I'd only recommend it if you're a pretty die-hard Wolf Man fan. I couldn't not read it, but I won't be re-reading it at any point.

It's true (although, I think at the end too much happened ), but I enjoyed it; The Wolf Man is my favorite of the old Universals. And I think the writer really did a good job of capturing Larry Talbot's character.

[RJDiogenes]

RJDiogenes said:
Not to mention chapter "Froty Three."

My eyes aren't the only things that are aging; I double checked on this and it's actually chapter "Thrity Nine."

[Spaceman Spiff]

I've been meaning to ask if you get Cinema Insomnia with Mr. Lobo. I record it every week, and while some of the movies will test your stamina, the bits between segments are fun.

Since it airs on PBS, the commercials are usually old ones from the '50s-'80s, with random bits of pop culture junk here and there.

Plus, c'mon, how many horror hosts do we have these days?

This weekend's offering is Japan's Monster from a Prehistoric Planet, but next week is Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove, which I know you like.

I'm looking forward to it, just to see the between bits, and to see if I like the movie better without the stripping scenes.

[RJDiogenes]

Spaceman Spiff said:
I've been meaning to ask if you get Cinema Insomnia with Mr. Lobo. I record it every week, and while some of the movies will test your stamina, the bits between segments are fun.

Since it airs on PBS, the commercials are usually old ones from the '50s-'80s, with random bits of pop culture junk here and there.

I'll have to check. I hope so. That looks fantastic!

Plus, c'mon, how many horror hosts do we have these days?

Funny you should ask. That's kind of a nostalgic interest of mine. We used to have the Ghoul here in Boston when I was a kid. But there are still a few out there. Check out these links:

E-Gor

Horror Hosts

And an on-line Horror Host:

Count Gore de Vol

I'm looking forward to it, just to see the between bits, and to see if I like the movie better without the stripping scenes.

Is that even possible?

[RJDiogenes]

Well, I finished Pandora's Bride. There's a rather remarkable plot development about halfway through the book that I can pretty much guarantee that nobody will see coming.

And I wonder what people will think about the ending....