David A. Riley's Blog, page 95

Ginger Nuts of Horror - The Book That Made Me

I had the privilege today to have the "Book That Made Me" slot on The Ginger Nuts of Horror website. 
w these days the Pan Horror series is often associated with over the top horror, much of it written under a variety of pseudonyms, but the first volume – and the largest in the series by far – has some of the biggest names in English literature in it, including Joan Aiken, Peter Fleming, C. S. Forester, L. P. Hartley, Noel Langley, Muriel Spark, and Angus Wilson, the like of which you would be unlikely to find today. There are also stories by Nigel Kneale - famous for his TV dramas such as Quatermass or The Stone Tapes and many others - and Hazel Heald, whose story I later learned was revised by none other than H. P. Lovecraft.

Heald’s story, The Horror in the Museum, was the first time I came across the Cthulhu Mythos, including the dread Necronomicon and some of the usual outlandish names of the “gods” or “demons” included in it, such as Shub-Niggurath, the Goat with a Thousand Young, and Yog-Sothoth. Of course, at the time, I had no idea who Lovecraft was nor any inkling of the Mythos, though it was a story that made a lasting impression on my eleven year old mind.

These were powerful stories. Angus Wilson, perhaps at the height of his literary fame, produced a memorably gruesome story, Raspberry Jam – and who could forget Oscar Cook’s His Beautiful Hands?

Part of the attraction then was the shared pleasure many of us in my form at school derived from stories which we knew were strenuously disapproved by our teachers – who would unhesitatingly confiscate any copy of the book they saw, though for every copy “nabbed” by the staff, others would appear as if by magic – even if they always somehow seemed to be in the same dog-eared state!

Though I was fascinated by most of the stories in this book – most of which stayed as fond memories in my mind – one of them actually put me off reading any more horror for quite some time. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to claim it could have put me off the genre for good. Luckily, like now, I rarely read stories in the order in which they appear in a book, as this was only the fourth one in. George Fielding Elliot’s The Copper Bowl appalled me. I felt sickened by what I read and I couldn’t believe what happened at the end. I still feel a bit of this to this day, and it’s not a story I can fully enjoy reading, though I have reread it since to see how horrifying it really is. To be honest, I have never had any great fondness for stories of this sort, which I suppose could be called a conte cruel – or maybe more accurately torture porn! And, though I nowadays appreciate the stories of writers like of Charles Birkin, I do prefer my horror to have a supernatural basis somewhere in it. Similarly in films I have no enthusiasm for the likes of Hostel or slasher movies in general.

After my imitation into horror with the Pan Book of Horror Stories I reverted back to science fiction. But that didn’t last – and in the next few years my interest was revived by anthologies like Vadim’s The Vampire and a chance, second-hand copy of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cry Horror! My fate was sealed.  - See more at: http://gingernutsofhorror.com/10/post... I came across a dog-eared copy of this book, furtively passed round hand to hand during my first years at Accrington Grammar School, I had been an avid visitor to my local children’s library, where I devoured every copy of Captain W. E. Johns’ Biggles books – and his far less well-known science fiction stories too, before reading proper science fiction when I moved on to the adult library. At the time science fiction was the only genre I read till I came across van Thal’s book........ I know these days the Pan Horror series is often associated with over the top horror, much of it written under a variety of pseudonyms, but the first volume – and the largest in the series by far – has some of the biggest names in English literature in it, including Joan Aiken, Peter Fleming, C. S. Forester, L. P. Hartley, Noel Langley, Muriel Spark, and Angus Wilson, the like of which you would be unlikely to find today. There are also stories by Nigel Kneale - famous for his TV dramas such as Quatermass or The Stone Tapes and many others - and Hazel Heald, whose story I later learned was revised by none other than H. P. Lovecraft.

Heald’s story, The Horror in the Museum, was the first time I came across the Cthulhu Mythos, including the dread Necronomicon and some of the usual outlandish names of the “gods” or “demons” included in it, such as Shub-Niggurath, the Goat with a Thousand Young, and Yog-Sothoth. Of course, at the time, I had no idea who Lovecraft was nor any inkling of the Mythos, though it was a story that made a lasting impression on my eleven year old mind.

These were powerful stories. Angus Wilson, perhaps at the height of his literary fame, produced a memorably gruesome story, Raspberry Jam – and who could forget Oscar Cook’s His Beautiful Hands?

Part of the attraction then was the shared pleasure many of us in my form at school derived from stories which we knew were strenuously disapproved by our teachers – who would unhesitatingly confiscate any copy of the book they saw, though for every copy “nabbed” by the staff, others would appear as if by magic – even if they always somehow seemed to be in the same dog-eared state!

Though I was fascinated by most of the stories in this book – most of which stayed as fond memories in my mind – one of them actually put me off reading any more horror for quite some time. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to claim it could have put me off the genre for good. Luckily, like now, I rarely read stories in the order in which they appear in a book, as this was only the fourth one in. George Fielding Elliot’s The Copper Bowl appalled me. I felt sickened by what I read and I couldn’t believe what happened at the end. I still feel a bit of this to this day, and it’s not a story I can fully enjoy reading, though I have reread it since to see how horrifying it really is. To be honest, I have never had any great fondness for stories of this sort, which I suppose could be called a conte cruel – or maybe more accurately torture porn! And, though I nowadays appreciate the stories of writers like of Charles Birkin, I do prefer my horror to have a supernatural basis somewhere in it. Similarly in films I have no enthusiasm for the likes of Hostel or slasher movies in general.

After my imitation into horror with the Pan Book of Horror Stories I reverted back to science fiction. But that didn’t last – and in the next few years my interest was revived by anthologies like Vadim’s The Vampire and a chance, second-hand copy of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cry Horror! My fate was sealed.- See more at: http://gingernutsofhorror.com/10/post... I came across a dog-eared copy of this book, furtively passed round hand to hand during my first years at Accrington Grammar School, I had been an avid visitor to my local children’s library, where I devoured every copy of Captain W. E. Johns’ Biggles books – and his far less well-known science fiction stories too, before reading proper science fiction when I moved on to the adult library. At the time science fiction was the only genre I read till I came across van Thal’s book........ I know these days the Pan Horror series is often associated with over the top horror, much of it written under a variety of pseudonyms, but the first volume – and the largest in the series by far – has some of the biggest names in English literature in it, including Joan Aiken, Peter Fleming, C. S. Forester, L. P. Hartley, Noel Langley, Muriel Spark, and Angus Wilson, the like of which you would be unlikely to find today. There are also stories by Nigel Kneale - famous for his TV dramas such as Quatermass or The Stone Tapes and many others - and Hazel Heald, whose story I later learned was revised by none other than H. P. Lovecraft.

Heald’s story, The Horror in the Museum, was the first time I came across the Cthulhu Mythos, including the dread Necronomicon and some of the usual outlandish names of the “gods” or “demons” included in it, such as Shub-Niggurath, the Goat with a Thousand Young, and Yog-Sothoth. Of course, at the time, I had no idea who Lovecraft was nor any inkling of the Mythos, though it was a story that made a lasting impression on my eleven year old mind.

These were powerful stories. Angus Wilson, perhaps at the height of his literary fame, produced a memorably gruesome story, Raspberry Jam – and who could forget Oscar Cook’s His Beautiful Hands?

Part of the attraction then was the shared pleasure many of us in my form at school derived from stories which we knew were strenuously disapproved by our teachers – who would unhesitatingly confiscate any copy of the book they saw, though for every copy “nabbed” by the staff, others would appear as if by magic – even if they always somehow seemed to be in the same dog-eared state!

Though I was fascinated by most of the stories in this book – most of which stayed as fond memories in my mind – one of them actually put me off reading any more horror for quite some time. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to claim it could have put me off the genre for good. Luckily, like now, I rarely read stories in the order in which they appear in a book, as this was only the fourth one in. George Fielding Elliot’s The Copper Bowl appalled me. I felt sickened by what I read and I couldn’t believe what happened at the end. I still feel a bit of this to this day, and it’s not a story I can fully enjoy reading, though I have reread it since to see how horrifying it really is. To be honest, I have never had any great fondness for stories of this sort, which I suppose could be called a conte cruel – or maybe more accurately torture porn! And, though I nowadays appreciate the stories of writers like of Charles Birkin, I do prefer my horror to have a supernatural basis somewhere in it. Similarly in films I have no enthusiasm for the likes of Hostel or slasher movies in general.

After my imitation into horror with the Pan Book of Horror Stories I reverted back to science fiction. But that didn’t last – and in the next few years my interest was revived by anthologies like Vadim’s The Vampire and a chance, second-hand copy of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cry Horror! My fate was sealed.- See more at: http://gingernutsofhorror.com/10/post... I came across a dog-eared copy of this book, furtively passed round hand to hand during my first years at Accrington Grammar School, I had been an avid visitor to my local children’s library, where I devoured every copy of Captain W. E. Johns’ Biggles books – and his far less well-known science fiction stories too, before reading proper science fiction when I moved on to the adult library. At the time science fiction was the only genre I read till I came across van Thal’s book........ I know these days the Pan Horror series is often associated with over the top horror, much of it written under a variety of pseudonyms, but the first volume – and the largest in the series by far – has some of the biggest names in English literature in it, including Joan Aiken, Peter Fleming, C. S. Forester, L. P. Hartley, Noel Langley, Muriel Spark, and Angus Wilson, the like of which you would be unlikely to find today. There are also stories by Nigel Kneale - famous for his TV dramas such as Quatermass or The Stone Tapes and many others - and Hazel Heald, whose story I later learned was revised by none other than H. P. Lovecraft.

Heald’s story, The Horror in the Museum, was the first time I came across the Cthulhu Mythos, including the dread Necronomicon and some of the usual outlandish names of the “gods” or “demons” included in it, such as Shub-Niggurath, the Goat with a Thousand Young, and Yog-Sothoth. Of course, at the time, I had no idea who Lovecraft was nor any inkling of the Mythos, though it was a story that made a lasting impression on my eleven year old mind.

These were powerful stories. Angus Wilson, perhaps at the height of his literary fame, produced a memorably gruesome story, Raspberry Jam – and who could forget Oscar Cook’s His Beautiful Hands?

Part of the attraction then was the shared pleasure many of us in my form at school derived from stories which we knew were strenuously disapproved by our teachers – who would unhesitatingly confiscate any copy of the book they saw, though for every copy “nabbed” by the staff, others would appear as if by magic – even if they always somehow seemed to be in the same dog-eared state!

Though I was fascinated by most of the stories in this book – most of which stayed as fond memories in my mind – one of them actually put me off reading any more horror for quite some time. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to claim it could have put me off the genre for good. Luckily, like now, I rarely read stories in the order in which they appear in a book, as this was only the fourth one in. George Fielding Elliot’s The Copper Bowl appalled me. I felt sickened by what I read and I couldn’t believe what happened at the end. I still feel a bit of this to this day, and it’s not a story I can fully enjoy reading, though I have reread it since to see how horrifying it really is. To be honest, I have never had any great fondness for stories of this sort, which I suppose could be called a conte cruel – or maybe more accurately torture porn! And, though I nowadays appreciate the stories of writers like of Charles Birkin, I do prefer my horror to have a supernatural basis somewhere in it. Similarly in films I have no enthusiasm for the likes of Hostel or slasher movies in general.

After my imitation into horror with the Pan Book of Horror Stories I reverted back to science fiction. But that didn’t last – and in the next few years my interest was revived by anthologies like Vadim’s The Vampire and a chance, second-hand copy of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cry Horror! My fate was sealed.- See more at: http://gingernutsofhorror.com/10/post...

The book I chose was the Pan Book of Horror edited by Herbert van Thal:
 

"Before I came across a dog-eared copy of this book, furtively passed round hand to hand during my first years at Accrington Grammar School, I had been an avid visitor to my local children’s library, where I devoured every copy of Captain W. E. Johns’ Biggles books – and his far less well-known science fiction stories too, before reading proper science fiction when I moved on to the adult library. At the time science fiction was the only genre I read till I came across van Thal’s book...
I know these days the Pan Horror series is often associated with over the top horror, much of it written under a variety of pseudonyms, but the first volume – and the largest in the series by far – has some of the biggest names in English literature in it, including Joan Aiken, Peter Fleming, C. S. Forester, L. P. Hartley, Noel Langley, Muriel Spark, and Angus Wilson, the like of which you would be unlikely to find today. There are also stories by Nigel Kneale - famous for his TV dramas such as Quatermassor The Stone Tapes and many others - and Hazel Heald, whose story I later learned was revised by none other than H. P. Lovecraft.

Heald’s story, The Horror in the Museum, was the first time I came across the Cthulhu Mythos, including the dread Necronomicon and some of the usual outlandish names of the “gods” or “demons” included in it, such as Shub-Niggurath, the Goat with a Thousand Young, and Yog-Sothoth. Of course, at the time, I had no idea who Lovecraft was nor any inkling of the Mythos, though it was a story that made a lasting impression on my eleven year old mind.

These were powerful stories. Angus Wilson, perhaps at the height of his literary fame, produced a memorably gruesome story, Raspberry Jam – and who could forget Oscar Cook’s His Beautiful Hands?

Part of the attraction then was the shared pleasure many of us in my form at school derived from stories which we knew were strenuously disapproved by our teachers – who would unhesitatingly confiscate any copy of the book they saw, though for every copy “nabbed” by the staff, others would appear as if by magic – even if they always somehow seemed to be in the same dog-eared state!

Though I was fascinated by most of the stories in this book – most of which stayed as fond memories in my mind – one of them actually put me off reading any more horror for quite some time. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to claim it could have put me off the genre for good. Luckily, like now, I rarely read stories in the order in which they appear in a book, as this was only the fourth one in. George Fielding Elliot’s The Copper Bowl appalled me. I felt sickened by what I read and I couldn’t believe what happened at the end. I still feel a bit of this to this day, and it’s not a story I can fully enjoy reading, though I have reread it since to see how horrifying it really is. To be honest, I have never had any great fondness for stories of this sort, which I suppose could be called a conte cruel – or maybe more accurately torture porn! And, though I nowadays appreciate the stories of writers like Charles Birkin, I do prefer my horror to have a supernatural basis somewhere in it. Similarly in films I have no enthusiasm for the likes of Hostel or slasher movies in general.

After my initiation into horror with the Pan Book of Horror Stories I reverted back to science fiction. But that didn’t last – and in the next few years my interest was revived by anthologies like Vadim’s The Vampireand a chance, second-hand copy of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cry Horror! My fate was sealed."
Before I came across a dog-eared copy of this book, furtively passed round hand to hand during my first years at Accrington Grammar School, I had been an avid visitor to my local children’s library, where I devoured every copy of Captain W. E. Johns’ Biggles books – and his far less well-known science fiction stories too, before reading proper science fiction when I moved on to the adult library. At the time science fiction was the only genre I read till I came across van Thal’s book........ I know these days the Pan Horror series is often associated with over the top horror, much of it written under a variety of pseudonyms, but the first volume – and the largest in the series by far – has some of the biggest names in English literature in it, including Joan Aiken, Peter Fleming, C. S. Forester, L. P. Hartley, Noel Langley, Muriel Spark, and Angus Wilson, the like of which you would be unlikely to find today. There are also stories by Nigel Kneale - famous for his TV dramas such as Quatermass or The Stone Tapes and many others - and Hazel Heald, whose story I later learned was revised by none other than H. P. Lovecraft.

Heald’s story, The Horror in the Museum, was the first time I came across the Cthulhu Mythos, including the dread Necronomicon and some of the usual outlandish names of the “gods” or “demons” included in it, such as Shub-Niggurath, the Goat with a Thousand Young, and Yog-Sothoth. Of course, at the time, I had no idea who Lovecraft was nor any inkling of the Mythos, though it was a story that made a lasting impression on my eleven year old mind.

These were powerful stories. Angus Wilson, perhaps at the height of his literary fame, produced a memorably gruesome story, Raspberry Jam – and who could forget Oscar Cook’s His Beautiful Hands?

Part of the attraction then was the shared pleasure many of us in my form at school derived from stories which we knew were strenuously disapproved by our teachers – who would unhesitatingly confiscate any copy of the book they saw, though for every copy “nabbed” by the staff, others would appear as if by magic – even if they always somehow seemed to be in the same dog-eared state!

Though I was fascinated by most of the stories in this book – most of which stayed as fond memories in my mind – one of them actually put me off reading any more horror for quite some time. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to claim it could have put me off the genre for good. Luckily, like now, I rarely read stories in the order in which they appear in a book, as this was only the fourth one in. George Fielding Elliot’s The Copper Bowl appalled me. I felt sickened by what I read and I couldn’t believe what happened at the end. I still feel a bit of this to this day, and it’s not a story I can fully enjoy reading, though I have reread it since to see how horrifying it really is. To be honest, I have never had any great fondness for stories of this sort, which I suppose could be called a conte cruel – or maybe more accurately torture porn! And, though I nowadays appreciate the stories of writers like of Charles Birkin, I do prefer my horror to have a supernatural basis somewhere in it. Similarly in films I have no enthusiasm for the likes of Hostel or slasher movies in general.

After my imitation into horror with the Pan Book of Horror Stories I reverted back to science fiction. But that didn’t last – and in the next few years my interest was revived by anthologies like Vadim’s The Vampire and a chance, second-hand copy of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cry Horror! My fate was sealed.- See more at: http://gingernutsofhorror.com/10/post...

The Following - Series One

Watched the final episode of the first series of The Following last night. Good performances throughout the series by both Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy and the rest of the cast. And the final episode contained some horrifying and unexpected deaths. It finished on a cliffhanger - and, thankfully, there is a second series. I enjoyed it, though the violence throughout is quite strong and the atmosphere is unremittingly dark, which may not suit everyone. Neither is there much humour in it - if any! The storyline is, I must admit, farfetched, but that doesn't bother me. At least it's consistent and once you accept the basic premise that a highly intelligent psychopath could instil a devout willingness in his followers to do what he demands without question (most of the time) and be willing to sacrifice themselves on his behalf, then the whole thing works. Unlike Dexter, both the main villain and his followers are thorough going psychopaths and kill without remorse or hesitation and, for the most part, without regret. Mind you, neither is Kevin Bacon, our main protagonist, without his darker side and he too can torture and kill without hesitation if he decides that this is what he should do. An interesting scenario.

Parallel Universe Publications to publish paperback version of The Heaven Maker and Other Gruesome Tales by Craig Herbertson

After discussions with author Craig Herbertson we have decided to published a paperback copy of his short story collection, The Heaven Maker and Other Gruesome Tales. This will be available both direct from Parallel Universe Publications as well as from Amazon and other outlets.

It is planned to publish this book in late August, in time for Fantasycon.

Nunkie Audio Presents

I first watched Robert Lloyd Parry at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton in 2013 when he did two one man performances of M. R. James' ghost stories to a packed audience late one night in the convention hotel. Never have I seen James' stories brought to life more effectively nor as dramatically. It was absolutely superb and there wasn't a single member of the audience who didn't enjoy it enthusiastically.

So, when I discovered, that Robert Lloyd Parry, under his Nunkie Audio imprint, has audio versions of his performances available, I couldn't wait to get hold of some.

The first I ordered are Curious Creatures: The Shorter Horror of M. R. James and Two Strange Tales by Lucy M. Boston. Curious Creatures includes A Livermere Poem, A School Story, A Night in King's College, The Malice of Inanimate Objects, There Was a Man Dwelt by a Churchyard, After Dark in the Playing Fields, Stories I Have Tried to Write, Rats, and A Vignette. These come on two CDs. Two Strange Tales by Lucy M. Boston includes The Tiger-Skin Rug and Curfew. Lucy M. Boston (1892-1990) was the author of the acclaimed Green Knowe novels for children.

The quality of these CDs is absolutely top notch. As is Robert Lloyd Parry's performance, bringing the written word to life as I have rarely heard it before. Even if you are completely familiar with any or all of these stories, I can guarantee they will sound fresh again as you probably thought they never would. Parry's performance, the way he uses his voice, not only creates an intense atmosphere, he also adds or highlights with impeccable skill any hints of humour in the tales without at all diminishing the impact of their climax. Stunning.

The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug

We went to watch The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug at the Vue cinema in Accrington yesterday - and thoroughly enjoyed it. A long film but, apart from some of the chase sequences perhaps going on just a little too long, far from boring. The special effects were superb and Smaug the most impressive dragon I have seen so far in any movie. I feel a bit sorry for the orcs, mind. Not only are they cursed by being ugly but are the worst fighters anywhere. For all their aggression they don't seem able, whatever their numbers, to kill even one dwarf, hobbit or elf in any of their fights, at least onscreen. If I were them I'd give up any hopes of martial victory and take up farming instead. Or wrestling. As warriors they're rubbish.

Deadwood

Watched the very last episode of Deadwood today. Sheer quality right to the very end - though I wish it had not finished mid-season. So many ongoing storylines left unresolved. Mind you, (Spoiler Alert, maybe) Ian McShane had a great last line to finish on as he's busily scrubbing away at blood (yet again).

I'll miss all the characters created in this series - and the moral ambiguity that played such a major part in it and helped to make it so realistic.

Copies of The Return arrive via UPS

My author's copies of my novel The Return arrived via UPS today from my publisher Blood Bound Books. My first copies were lost en route so Marc Ciccarone kindly arranged for a second batch to be shipped to me.

Back from the Dead - back again!

I have been informed by Johnny Mains, who edited and published the award-winning anthology, Back from the Dead in a limited 150 edition hardcover in 2010, that it will be reprinted this year in paperback format by Spectral Press, probably in September. Although there will be a few alterations to the original anthology, my story, The True Spirit, will again be in it.

This is what I have been told will be the cover art for the book:

FantasyCon 2014

Well, that's not only the convention booked, but we have also booked our room at the convention hotel for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

The Smell of Evil by Charles Birkin

THE Smell of Evilby Charles Birkin
Published by Valancourt BooksISBN: 976-1-939140-74-6December 2013, £11.99 PB
Dennis Wheatley is quoted on the back cover as stating “More than a definite touch of the great master, Edgar Allan Poe.”  Well intentioned though that comparison may have been, it is totally misleading. Birkin’s style is as far from Poe’s as it could possibly be. You’ll rarely find anything approaching the Gothic horror’s of Poe within the dark tales of human evil in Birkin’s stories. Invariably set within the contemporary world the characters in these thirteen tales are firmly based on reality, whether they be self-deceived German gardeners working within the shadow of Second World War concentration camps or young tearaways escaping from a race riot in 1960s London, the horrors within these stories are of man’s (or woman’s) own making.
With an elegant writing style, Birkin shows his complete mastery of the conte cruel, leading the reader on to some of the most sadistic climaxes in literature. He rarely uses the supernatural, though when he does, as in “Little Boy Blue”, he is as proficient in this as in his more usual kind of story.
Born in 1907, Charles Birkin (later Sir Charles Birkin) had a long literary career, editing the Creepsseries for Philip Allan in the 1930s, as well as an inaugural collection of his own stories, Devil’s Spawn (1936), before laying his writing to one side during the Second World War when he served in the Sherwood Foresters. Many of his most infamous stories stem from his experiences towards and just after the end of the war when he witnessed first hand what men were really capable of doing. It was not till the 1960s, though, that he began writing again with the encouragement of his friend, Wheatley. The Smell of Evil was the first of seven collections published during that decade, culminating in Spawn of Satan in 1970. After living in Cyprus for several years he died in the Isle of Man in 1985.
Long out of print, other than for several hard cover, now collectible volumes from Midnight House, it is wonderful  to see Valancourt Books at last bringing an easily affordable collection to a new reading public. It would be even more wonderful if over the next few years if the rest of Birkin’s collections are brought back into print.
This volume is rounded out with an insightful introduction by John Llewellyn Probert.