Cara Gasper Memorial Art Auction
By · CommentsFebruary marks the inaugural Women in Horror Month, and female horror artists and icons will be the theme of the second annual Cara Gasper Memorial Art Auction.
The event will be held February 27 from 7 pm to 10 PM at Human Production Gallery in Bethel Park, PA. Net proceeds will benefit the Animal Rescue League of Western PA. Admission is free and there will be complimentary refreshments. The event is open to all ages.
Auction items will be donated by friends of Cara, a local artist who passed away in 2008, and members of the local arts and crafts community. The main focus is women in horror but all donations regardless of genre will be accepted. The format will be a silent auction with “buy now” pricing for patrons wishing to bypass the bidding process. Buy Now will end at 8:30 pm and the silent auction bidding will close at 9:30 pm.
Artists wishing to donate auction items should contact Andrea Parkowski. Submissions are due by February 20 and must be ready to hang or display.
In addition, raffle tickets will be sold at the event for prize drawings including horror themed items such as DVD’s and books as well as a pair of weekend passes to Horror Realm™, Pittsburgh’s modern horror convention which takes place September 17-19, 2010.
Cash or product donations such as toys, blankets or pet food will also be accepted on behalf of ARL – however, due to space limitations, it is suggested that large items (such as bags of dry food more than 10 pounds) be taken directly to the ARL at 6620 Hamilton Avenue in East Liberty (15206).
Human Production Gallery is located at 2704 South Park Road in Bethel Park (15102). There is free off street parking located behind the building and the venue is less than one block from the South Park Road light rail transit (“the T”) stop.
For more information on the auction, visit: Horror Realm Con
Ron Breznay’s Old Masters of Horror: Benson Brothers
By · Comments[The following is a reprint of a column which originally appeared in the March 23, 2006, issue of Hellnotes.]
A.C., E.F., and R.H. Benson, who all wrote weird fiction, were three brothers who lived in Victorian England. Their father was Edward White Benson, an Archbishop of Canterbury. He was an authority on ghosts and other psychic matters and founded the Ghost Society, which later became the Society for Psychical Research. The family’s social circle included Henry James and M.R. James. Edward most likely told his sons ghost stories as they were growing up, thus fueling their interest in the supernatural. The family also included their mother, Mary Sidgwick; another brother, Martin; and two sisters, Nellie and Maggie.
A.C. Benson
Arthur Christopher Benson was born on April 24, 1862, and was the first of the brothers to write supernatural stories. He was educated at Eton and King’s College, and he later became a schoolmaster at Eton and a fellow at Magdalene College.
His first book was an thinly veiled autobiographical novel entitled Memoirs of Arthur Hamilton (1886). Most of his subsequent writing was non-fiction.
While headmaster at Eton, he regaled the boys with stories, which he eventually published in the collections The Hill of Trouble (1903) and The Isles of Sunset (1904) (combined into the omnibus Paul the Minstrel in 1911). Some of these stories dealt with the supernatural, many of which were inspired by the vivid nightmares he endured throughout his life. Among these are “The Gray Cat,” a tale of a dark pool in the hills that causes a young man to be plagued by dreams, and “The Closed Window,” which opens onto a dark, bleak landscape and the shape of a crouching man that beckons the protagonist. In 1911 to 1914, seven of his ghost stories, credited to “B,” appeared in the Magdalene College Magazine.
His other literary endeavors included poetry, essays, biographies, and an extensive diary. He earned renown for composing the lyrics for “Land of Hope and Glory,” the national anthem of England, and for editing Queen Victoria’s correspondence.
At various periods in his life, Arthur suffered from depression, which he expressed in his poetry. He died on June 17, 1925.
E.F. Benson
Edward Frederic Benson, known as Fred, was born on July 24, 1867. He was the most prolific of the brothers and is now the best known of the three. Fred did not do well in his early school years as he was the “class clown,” though he excelled at sports. He attended King’s College, where he was graduated with honors in archaeology. In the 1890s, he worked as an archaeologist in Greece and Egypt.
His first book, Sketches from Marlborough (1888), is a memoir of his school days. He was inspired to write fiction when he sat in on the stories Arthur told at Eton. Fred’s first novel was Dodo (1893), the central character of which is a charming but devious woman. This novel brought him acclaim and success. Most of his supernatural stories were published in the collections The Room in the Tower (1912), Visible and Invisible (1923), Spook Stories (1928), and More Spook Stories (1934). Others appeared in magazines.
Like Arthur, his dreams inspired his stories, and like Hugh, his psychic experiences provided fodder for his pen. He wrote prolifically, but he tended to use the same ideas repeatedly, and his writing varied in quality.
One of his best stories is “The Room in the Tower,” in which the main character has recurrent dreams of entering a room, but the dreams never reach a conclusion. Eventually, he actually finds himself in such a room and, during flashes of lightning, sees a hideous creature watching him. Another is “How Fear Departed from the Long Gallery,” a humorous tale of a family that moves into a haunted house and is delighted by the ghosts living there – until they encounter two cursed ghosts. Fred did not shy away from the gruesome in his stories. Giant worms and slugs populate many tales, including “And No Bird Sings,” “The Thing in the Hall,” and “Caterpillars.”
Among his novels are Colin (1923) and Colin II (1925), which tell of the descendants of a man who had made a pact with the devil to obtain worldly power. A similar story unfolds in The Inheritor (1930), with alternate generations having cloven-hoofed, misshapen children. His last supernatural novel was the demonic Ravens’ Brood (1934).
Besides his supernatural work, he is best remembered for his comic series featuring mischievous social rivals Elizabeth Mapp and Emmeline Lucas (Lucia). Altogether, he wrote about a hundred books, dozens of short stories, articles, and pamphlets. Besides supernatural fiction, his subject matter included humor, history, biography, and sports.
From about 1920 until his death, Fred lived in Rye, in the former house of Henry James. In the 1930s, he served three terms as mayor of Rye. He died in London on February 29, 1940.
R.H. Benson
Robert Hugh Benson, who went by Hugh, was born on November 18, 1871. He was the last of the three to start writing, but his writing is considered to be the best. He was schooled at Eton and Trinity College, where he studied Classics and Theology.
He was ordained an Anglican priest by his father in 1894. He later questioned the Anglican religion and converted to Roman Catholicism. In 1904, he was ordained a Catholic priest, and in 1911, Pope Pius X elevated him to monsignor.
He actively explored the psychic realm, attended séances, performed exorcisms, and practiced hypnotism. It was rumored that he experimented with drugs. While living in an Anglican community at the dawn of the twentieth century, he was inspired by Arthur’s stories and started composing his own, enriched by his psychic experiences. His stories were published in the collections The Light Invisible (1903) and The Mirror of Shallot (1907). He wrote several other books, including supernatural novels, religious fiction, and non-fiction.
The Necromancers (1909) is considered by many to be his best work. This novel tells of a young man whose fiancé dies before their wedding. He joins a group of spiritualists to try to regain her but becomes possessed by an evil spirit.
Hugh died on October 19, 1914, in Salford, England. He was only 42.
One Minute Weird Tales – Market Report
By · CommentsThe folks at Weird Tales are looking for One-Minute Weird Tales. “Take a look at the video clip on our web site, and you’ll get the idea. These are sharp little micro stories of 20 to 150 words, presented in a quick sequence of brief one screen chunks – sort of a funky hybrid of a movie trailer, a Zen koan, and an Adult Swim between show bumper. They don’t necessarily have to be funny – but they do have to be immediately grabbing and viciously memorable.”
Pays $25 for online/video rights. “Send your scripts – that is, your stories demarcated with individual screen breaks – within the body of E-mail to weirdtales@gmail.com.”
Courtesy of The Gila Queen’s Guide to Markets. Hellnotes special: 20 issues for only $18. Just mention Hellnotes to get this great deal.
Dorchester Announces Its New Pledge
By · CommentsDorchester Publishing has introduced its Publisher’s Pledge program, a bold, new marketing initiative created to launch the careers of the next generation of genre superstars. A privately owned publisher of mass-market original fiction, Dorchester has a long, storied history of discovering the most exciting names in genre fiction, including Victoria Alexander, Christine Feehan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Katie MacAlister and Lynsay Sands.
Next year marks the firm’s 40th anniversary, which prompted the company to redouble its commitment to the discovery and nurturing of the needs of new authors, thus reinforcing its founding philosophy.
“Publisher’s Pledge is a reaffirmation of the business model Dorchester has always prided itself on,” stated Brooke Borneman, Director of Sales and Marketing. “Our strength has been identifying emerging voices and trends in the industry rather than chasing bestsellers. Our intent is to reestablish ourselves in the market as the publisher authors and agents turn to first to introduce new talent. Dorchester has proven countless times — through our innovative marketing, tireless dedication and willingness to take chances — that we are uniquely qualified for this special and vital niche. This program represents our commitment — our pledge, if you will — to everyone in the book publishing community.”
Launching in April 2010, the Publisher’s Pledge program will be supported by online and national print advertising; bookstore mailings; press release and ARC campaigns to media, reviewers, bloggers, retailers, libraries and consumers; lead features in bookseller, library and consumer e-newsletters; consumer contests and buzz campaigns through social networking sites; and a money-back guarantee for readers.
The first Publisher’s Pledge title will be Barbara Monajem’s Sunrise in a Garden of Love & Evil (April 2010), an erotically charged urban fantasy in the same vein as Charlaine Harris. Additional titles include Elisabeth Naughton’s Marked (May 2010), a darkly sensual paranormal romance inspired by Greek mythology that will appeal to fans of Sherrilyn Kenyon; Christie Craig’s Shut Up and Kiss Me (June 2010), a delightfully quirky romantic mystery that will appeal to fans of Janet Evanovich; and Erin Kellison’s back-to-back debuts Shadow Bound (July 2010) and Shadow Fall (August 2010), the first two releases in a riveting post-apocalyptic series that fuses dark fantasy, science fiction, horror and romantic suspense.
Additional information about the books selected for Dorchester’s Publisher’s Pledge program will be available on Dorchester Publishing in March 2010.











