It’s now Halloween month, so it’s time to discuss some of the scariest and spookiest literature around. I’m talking about literature featuring frightening stuff such as ghosts, haunted houses, cemeteries and things that go bump in the night – including hardcover horror books that crash from your hands to the floor when you fall asleep. Fiction With a Fear Factor
You may think that Tim Burton’s acclaimed new animated movie Frankenweenie is just a comedic riff on the classic horror novel Frankenstein, and it certainly is, but the reanimation of dead dogs has some basis in scientific history. This article at io9 mentions two 20th century scientists – Robert Cornish and Sergei Bryukhonenko – who each dabbled in bringing deceased canines back to life, but with far less success than Burton’s Victor Frankenstein enjoyed. The Gruesome Stories of a Real-Life Frankenweenie
Welcome to 31 Days of Horror, where I’ll cover two noteworthy horror films a day for the entirety of the month. That’s 31 Days of Horror and 62 Films perfect for watching on a cold, dark October night. Be sure to visit Geeks of Doom every day this month for a double-shot of chills and thrills! 31 Days of Horror: Bride of Frankenstein / The Mummy
Amazon Studios is pleased to announce that it has optioned Seed, a gothic horror novel by acclaimed author Ania Ahlborn. This is a first for Amazon Studios, which up to this point has optioned only movie scripts and episodic series projects. Seed is a top-selling title of 47North, the science fiction, fantasy, and horror imprint of Amazon Publishing. It’s the story of a man who miraculously survives a violent car crash only to face a profound evil from his past — a dark force hungry for his angelic youngest daughter. Amazon Studios Adds a Horror Novel to Its Movie Development Slate
Now there is another reason to count the days to Halloween! To celebrate horror fans’ favorite month of the year, KHP Books will be giving away twenty of their titles in Kindle format on October 30th and 31st. You read that correctly. No contests or hassles. All you have to do is stop by the KHP website and pick them up, like a virtual trick-or-treater! KHP Books Celebrating Halloween with a Huge Horror Book Giveaway
Here’s how Devin O’Bannon, one of the protagonists in the newest Goosebumps novel, knows the pumpkin farm he’s staying at is haunted. After a night of bad dreams, he wakes, stretches, and lowers his feet to the floor. “I expected to feel the hard floorboards,” he tells us. “But instead, my bare feet sank into something warm and squishy,” a “round puddle” of “drippy orange-yellow goo.” Pumpkin guts! A loony rewrite of Kafka! Classic Goosebumps: funny, icky, and just a bit menacing. Giving 11-Year-Olds Nightmares Since 1992
Not only is Alan Robert known as the bassist/songwriter of Life of Agony the Brooklyn, the N.Y. native is also causing waves in the comic book and horror fiction worlds. Robert’s 2011 graphic novel, Crawl to Me, was a critical triumph which eventually lead to a special hardcover pressing entitled Crawl to Me: Evil Edgar Edition. In addition, the groundwork for a live-action, big screen adaptation of Crawl to Me is already on its way. Life of Agony’s Alan Robert Teams Up With Gangster Film Icon in Killogy
Reduxion Theatre Company is starting the revolution, and make no mistake, it will be bloody. For its fifth anniversary season, the Oklahoma City company that specializes in revisiting the classics is adopting the theme “Reduxion Revolution.” In keeping with the imminent arrival of Halloween, the season will open this weekend with what is billed as Oklahoma City’s first-ever Grand Guignol performances. Reduxion Theatre Company launches Revolution season with bloody opening production Night of the Grand Guignol
This year’s Fandemonium featured horror author Michaelbrent Collings. His books include Billy: Messenger of Powers, RUN, The Loon, and Rising Fears. At the three day celebration of all things media culture, Collings’ powerful reading of his novel Apparition, was the highlight. Michaelbrent Collings Horror Novel Apparition Highlights Fandemonium
Speculative fiction and horror writer Sean Adkins is ‘fresh off the campaign trail’ after his tour of Maryland | Pennsylvania horror events. While politicians run up and down the countryside promoting stars and their stripes; Adkins remains busy promoting his worldview delivered between the covers of Wolfen: Bloodlines. Horror Author Sean Adkins meets great success at Horrorfind and MonsterMania Convention
Cruentus Libri Press has announced its forthcoming anthology, now open for submission. Horror-tica is an anthology for stories that combine horror and erotica into a seamless whole – voluptuous vampires, sensual succubi, well-hung werewolves or any other combination of blood and lust that comes into the dark and sordid back alleys of your mind. Submission Guidelines
A few years back, Clive Barker made a short that blended practical and special effects to create a creepy tale of an alien attack on an airplane. That short, titled Vessel, went on to win critical praise for its ambition and solid scares from /Film, Shock Til You Drop, Film School Rejects and Film Threat, and caught the attention of Paramount, which has now acquired Vessel to spin it into a full-length feature. Blogger’s Celebrated Horror Short Gets Feature Deal At Paramount
There are many messages that writer John August plays with in the new movie Frankenweenie, from the value of science and progression to the necessity to love your experiments. There are many crazy characters, homages to classic horror movies and classic Tim Burton world building. But at the core of it all, really, is the story of a young kid and his love for his loyal, friendly pup Sparky. And for August that was the part of the script that came before everything else. Frankenweenie Writer John August Talks About Crafting The Story Of A Boy And His Dog
Let sleeping dogs lie, or prepare to be bitten. That’s the underlying message of Sinister, a supernatural horror about a true crime writer, whose obsession with unearthing the past puts his loved ones in jeopardy. The plot of Scott Derrickson’s unsettling film necessitates an acrimonious divorce from common sense. Few people would willingly move into a house where four members of a family were found hanged by the neck from a gnarled tree in the back garden. Film: Sinister
Alexander S. Brown is another new author on the writing scene with a penchant for horror and steampunk. He agreed to do an interview for National Book Month. Alexander S. Brown: I began reading massive books at an early age and it just seemed natural to me to become an author. I remember being in fifth grade and having already read quite a few books by Stephen King, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, and Clive Barker. Near the time I entered high school, I found that my love for horror was so deep that I wanted to contribute to the literary world as well. I began sharing my short stories my freshman year but didn’t work up the courage to read my work aloud until I took a creative writing class my senior year. Soon after graduation, I began planning for a horror collection. Years later, my vision came to be when I published Traumatized. Interview with steampunk author Alexander S. Brown
Creepy #10 is an endearing collective tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, one of the most influential and greatest horror authors. This issue contains a series of Lovecraftian tales that dive headfirst into the macabre and suspense. Each creative team-up finds inventive ways of bringing Lovecraft’s famous name and influential works into the spotlight of popular culture. If you have never read Lovecraft (you call yourself a horror fan? Shame on you!), this issue will inspire you to buy one of his books to see what all the hype is about. Review: Creepy Comics #10 The Lovecraft Edition
13 Frights is a collection of previously published short stories that range from quiet, suggestive horror to all out, splatter on the walls gore-o-rama. Each is different in tone and for some I was experimenting with the different ways of telling a story. When I read them now I can remember what was going on in my life when I wrote them. There is something in there for every horror fan. An Interview With Robert Freese
Recently, we spoke with young adult novelist Gretchen McNeil. In September, HarperCollins Children’s Books published McNeil’s latest novel. When Barnes & Noble decided not to carry this title in their stores, she launched an internet marketing campaign called the “Army of TEN” and offered incentives for readers who helped to promote the book. Gretchen McNeil: ‘The setting of a horror story is as important as the plot.’
In The Bone Forge, there is a level of class but it is also graphic. Max Ingram is able to tell a story that is vivid and deep, even though it is only the length of a page. I found that certain poems within this book really triggered elements of my own personality and perhaps this is just one horror fan reaching another, but it clicked. I got what Max was putting out there. The Bone Forge – Horror, Monsters & More – Book Review
Providence native and cult horror writer H.P. Lovecraft will be the subject of the popular annual walking tour and film series during the annual Flickers: RI International Horror Film Festival, Oct. 25 to 28. The life and work of Providence’s best-known fantasy and horror author, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, will provide the backdrop for the tour, which will be lead by the Rhode Island Historical Society. H.P. Lovecraft walking tour set for Oct. 28 in Providence
The Night of the Hunter is a gorgeous gut-punch of a book, a crime novel and ghost story and morality tale all rolled into one, an ugly-beautiful book that makes you leap at shadows and shudder when the sun goes down. Its style is earthy and visceral. It pays scant attention to narrative niceties like punctuation. It is rough-hewn, wildly over the top and fiendishly entertaining, with some crucial social commentary tucked in there as well, like a precious coin smuggled in a raggedy old sock. Depression-Era Evil: Gothic Horror In A Haunted Land
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett is making a tour stop in San Francisco — this time as an author. An avid collector of horror memorabilia, Hammett celebrates the release of his newly published book Too Much Horror Business — The Kirk Hammett Collection with a special Day of the Dead event at San Francisco’s Public Works at 9 p.m. on November 1. Kirk Hammett Hosts Day of The Dead
Actor Elijah Wood is indulging his love of horror movies by setting up a production company dedicated to making scary films. The Lord Of The Rings star has teamed up with producer Josh C. Waller and writer Daniel Noah to form The Woodshed, an independent production company focusing on frightening features.
Writer/director Jeremy Wechter is working hard to get his supernatural horror movie Evil Alive made. He’s got the cast, crew, location and the screenplay — he’s just a little short in the budget department. Kickstarting A Horror Flick
They spend their weekends ghost-hunting, share the same ‘goth’ wardrobe and have just released their first horror novel called Soul Asylum. Meet twins Cathryn and Lynsey Davies, 29, who start celebrating Halloween every October 1 and have put their heads together to create their debut novel. Spooky sisters Cathryn and Lynsey Davies release their debut horror story
