Will Errickson's Blog, page 7
October 29, 2020
Favorite Horror Stories: "Shambleau" by Catherine L. Moore (1933)
One of horror's great scenes is when Jonathan Harker is confronted by three vampire women—the "weird sisters"—in Dracula. As one of them kneels at Harker's side, he hears the churning sound of her tongue as it licked her teeth and lips, then he closes his eyes in langourous ecstacy, waiting for the moment when her sharp white teeth will pierce the flesh on his neck... Wonderful stuff (till of
October 22, 2020
Favorite Horror Stories: "The Chimney" by Ramsey Campbell (1977)
"Deep down, we are all still as vulnerable as we were in childhood; sometimes it takes very little to break through our defenses," states Ramsey Campbell in his introduction to the 1982 collection of his short stories, Dark Companions. If there's anyone who's developed a mastery of breaking through our adult defenses, it's Campbell with his vast output of short stories and novels since the
October 17, 2020
Favorite Horror Stories: “The Answer Tree" by Steven R. Boyett (1988)
It started with weirdo flicks in the early Seventies, they had titles like El Topo and The Holy Mountain, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Flesh for Frankenstein, Multiple Maniacs and Eraserhead, They Came from Within and Salo: 120 Days of Sodom. Midnight movies, they were called, shown in disreputable theaters, premiering at the stroke of 12 and playing all night long, attracting hardcore
October 10, 2020
Favorite Horror Stories: "Blood Son" by Richard Matheson (1951)
Until he was twelve Jules kept pretty much out of trouble.Of course there was the time they found him undressing Olive Jones in an alley. And another time he was discovered dissecting a kitten on his bed.How about that for a creepy kid? I mean, that is just textbook. Red flag and three-alarm fire. Get this kid into a psych ward posthaste. But in Richard Matheson's telling, "Those scandals were
October 9, 2020
Favorite Horror Stories: "Miss Mack" by Michael McDowell (1986)
Do you wish it could be Halloween all year long? Have I got a story for you!There's no doubt that the king of the horror paperback original is Alabama-born Michael McDowell. His Avon titles from the early 1980s are all must-reads, and I'm sure you know them (and if you don't, fix that posthaste!): The Amulet, The Elementals, the six-volume Blackwater series, and more, and even wrote the original
October 7, 2020
Favorite Horror Stories: "The Night Ocean" by R.H. Barlow & H.P. Lovecraft (1936)
I believe it's common knowledge among fans of weird horror fiction that H.P. Lovecraft spent an inordinate amount of time writing letters, collaborating with other writers, and revising/editing their in-progress works. In 1936, they year before his death, Lovecraft assisted with the manuscript of his friend, young R.H. Barlow (1918-1951), a budding writer who entered the fabled "Lovecraft Circle"
October 6, 2020
October 3, 2020
Favorite Horror Stories: "Charles" by Shirley Jackson (1948)
Before there was The Bad Seed or Damien, there was "Charles." The esteemed Shirley Jackson's other famous short story, "Charles" first appeared in the fancy ladies' magazine Mademoiselle in the summer of 1948. It was next included in her landmark short story collection the following year, titled The Lottery: The Adventures of James Harris, and most likely has never been out of print; it is taught
September 27, 2020
Night, Winter, and Death by Lee Hawks (1990): Of Wolf and Man
One of the most popular subgenres of crime fiction is what's known as the "cozy mystery." Authors like Lilian Jackson Braun, Diane Mott Davidson, and even good old Agatha Christie with her Miss Marple series, as well as a television show like "Murder, She Wrote," are prime examples of this style, in which graphic sex and murder are "off-stage," the setting is an inviting village, and the cast of
September 22, 2020
Stephen King: The 1980s Signet Reprints
Stephen King's 73rd birthday this week put me in mind of my first collection of his paperbacks: these reprintings of his classic '70s and early '80s titles. I unfortunately don't own them any more, and haven't for decades. Since I began this blog I've amassed most first printings of his original Signet editions, but I can't quite forget my first true loves... That famous, eye-catching “Stephen
