Richard Gavin's Blog, page 30

Early Fears: Famous Ghost Stories

I thought I would begin a series of periodic posts which highlight the various works of Horror that moulded (re: knotted) my young psyche; creations that led me to become the writer that I am.

The first of these is Famous Ghost Stories.

This 1975 album was an object of childhood obsession with me. My mother bought me a copy for Hallowe'en when I was in kindergarten (and eager to unleash my custom-made Count Dracula costume on the neighbours). I spun this record on the portable turntable in our basement until the disc sounded like sandpaper. The readings were done by a voice actor named Wade Denning, who, as you can hear in the attached Youtube clip, really lets loose with these stories.

At the time I had no idea that this novelty album was actually giving me an education in classic Horror fiction: the tales of Poe, Maupassant, Washington Irving, etc.

This clip features Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Signal-Man" by Charles Dickens; two tracks I used to listen to while cowering behind the sofa. The power of the spoken word.

I still have my copy.

Uncle Nathaniel's Advice to Writers

"The only sensible ends of literature are, first, the pleasurable toil of writing; second, the gratification of one's family and friends; and lastly, the solid cash."
--- Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Samhain

A very happy Eve of the Dead to one and all... For more breathtaking Samhain art like that pictured above, please visit Pumpkinrot.

CHILLING TALES

Chilling Tales, edited by my good friend and award-nominated editor/author Michael Kelly, is an anthology of Horror fiction by a stellar set of Canadian authors. The anthology will be published by EDGE Publishing and will be launched at the World Horror Convention 2011 in Austin, TX.

My story "King Him" is part of this wonderful Table of Contents:

"Stay" by Leah Bobet
"Blacklight" by Michael Colangelo
"The Needle's Eye" by Suzanne Church
"The Shrines" by Gemma Files
"King Him" by Richard Gavin
"The Carpet Maker" by Brent Hayward
"Foxford" by Sandra Kasturi
"Sympathy For the Devil" by Nancy Kilpatrick
"Dead" by Claude Lalumière
"Cowboy's Row" by Christopher K. Miller
"Looker" by David Nickle
"Last Waltz" by Jason S. Ridler
"404" by Barbara Roden
"My Body" by Ian Rogers
"Safe" by Brett Alexander Savory
"The Deafening Sound of Slumber" by Simon Strantzas
"The Weight of Stones" by Tia V. Travis
"Tom Chestnutt's Midnight Blues" by Robert J. Wiersema

In other news, book reviewer Colleen Wanglund has posted a very nice review of The Darkly Splendid Realm on The Monster Librarian.

H.H.E.

Hanns Heinz Ewers (1871 - 1943) was many things: philosopher, Diabolist, nudist, nationalist, Decadent, mystic, drug fiend, actor. But beyond any of these, Ewers left his most indelible mark on history with his strange and grotesque fiction. His 1908 story "The Spider" and 1911 novel Alraune are considered classics of Horror. Yet the weird life of Ewers, coupled with the cultural climate of his beloved Germany during the 1930s and '40s, resulted in Hanns Heinz Ewers coming dangerously close...

DARK AWAKENINGS by Matt Cardin

To be genuinely inspired by a work of Horror is a fairly rare occurrence for me. Rarer still is my being left awe-struck after discovering a book with which I resonated so deeply that I felt an instant kinship with its author. Such a delightful reaction has happened only a handful of times in my life: when I first discovered H.P. Lovecraft and Thomas Ligotti, when I read the first book-length collections by Simon Strantzas and Mark Samuels, and now with Dark Awakenings, the latest book by Mat...

MythosCon

January 6th -9th, 2011 marks the inaugural MythosCon, a conference dedicated to the work and legacy of H.P. Lovecraft.

As a lifelong devotee of Lovecraft's strand of cosmic Horror, I am proud to announce that I will be a participant at this event, which is being held at the Mission Palms Hotel in Tempe, AZ. I encourage anyone with an interest in HPL or weird tales in general to join us. The roster of attending writers is truly impressive.
I'm very much looking forward to meeting up with old f...

The Captured Bird

Sometimes the only thing better than seeing one of your own creative visions realized is seeing people you admire realizing theirs. With the announcement of the forthcoming short film The Captured Bird I am enjoying just that.

This film unites two of my favourite people in the Horror field: Jovanka Vuckovic and Guillermo del Toro.

Guillermo del Toro, the film's Executive Producer, is someone I've never had the pleasure of meeting, but I have been enamoured with his work since I first saw Cronos...

Best New Vampire Tales

I'm happy to report that James Roy Daley has chosen my story "The Pale Lover" (from Omens ) for his Best New Vampire Tales anthology series. I gather that my contribution will be appearing in the second volume, to be published by Books of the Dead Press in the near future.

In other vampiric news, those of you who purchased a copy of Charnel Wine: Memento Mori Edition will be able to read the only other vampire tale I've written, "The Alchemy of Slumber."

Charnel Wine Trade Paperbacks Now Available

If you were unable to obtain one of the 26 Deluxe copies of Charnel Wine: Memento Mori Edition, I am happy to report that the trade paperbacks are now in stock at Dark Regions Press and can be ordered here.