Alan Toner's Blog, page 15
May 9, 2017
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Rebecca, published in 1938, is probably Daphne Du Maurier’s most loved and most famous novel. I read it a few years ago and, along with the many thousands of other Du Maurier fans, enjoyed it immensely.
Rebecca is still … Read More
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5 Classic 80s Horror Movies You Must Own
If you are as big an 80s horror movie fan as I am (and I don’t just mean the slashers that were so rife in that decade), then here is a list of 5 classic 80s horror films you should … Read More
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May 8, 2017
Ripper – The Worst Jack The Ripper Movie I Have Ever Seen
I have just watched what must be the worst – and I mean the WORST – Jack The Ripper movie I have ever seen.
The movie is called Ripper and it’s basically about a young writer, Ruth Walker, who is … Read More
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April 30, 2017
The Writer’s Idea Thesaurus
I have just come across this book by award-winning author Fred White, The Writer’s Idea Thesaurus, on Amazon. To judge by its description, the … Read More
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April 26, 2017
Top 5 Stephen King Books
I’ve been a big fan of Stephen King ever since the mid-seventies, when he published his first novel, Carrie, about a young girl with incredible telekinetic powers. King has, of course, since gone on to write many more chilling novels. Here are my own top 5 Stephen King books:
1. Salem’s Lot – Without a doubt, my all time favourite Stephen King book. This spine chilling classic – King’s second book after Carrie – about a Dracula-like vampire by the name of Kurt Barlow, who spreads his plague of vampirism through a small Peyton Place-style town just oozes sheer horror and menace from every page. And being a BIG fan of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, well, what can I say? Salem’s Lot ticks all the right boxes for me. A true horror classic, and my second all time favourite vampire novel after Dracula.
2. The Shining – The ultimate haunted hotel story. King does a brilliant job here in telling the story of Jack Torrance, who carries much emotional baggage with him (triggered by his torturous relationship with his father) as takes up a job as winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, accompanied by his wife Wendy and son Danny. The Overlook is truly the hotel of your worst nightmares, and as all its resident ghosts and malevolent atmosphere begin to manifest into the Torrance’s lives, you can really feel the claustrophobic sense of horror that the snowed-in family begins to experience. The Shining is a veritable masterpiece of creepy fiction.
3. Misery – Stephen King really created a terrifying and unforgettable character in Annie Wilkes, the psychotic nurse who holds writer Paul Sheldon prisoner in her secluded cottage after pulling him out of a car accident in which he broke both legs. You can just cut the tension with a knife as Annie, enraged on discovering that Paul has killed off her favourite character, Misery Chastain, forces him to bring her back in a new novel. And nowhere is her insane wrath made more starkly evident than in the notorious hobbling scene. Annie Wilkes really is the crazed fan from hell.
4. Pet Sematary – My favourite back-from-the-dead story. There is certainly a valuable lesson to be learned here for anybody who might harbour wild ideas about attempting to resurrect a deceased pet or loved one: never EVER bury their corpse in an old Indian burial ground. You might be sorry, as the protagonist of this novel, Louis Creed, certainly was in this truly terrifying novel. Loved the movie version too.
5. IT – What could be more horrifying and disturbing than encountering a shapeshifting entity that can take on the form of our worst fear? Well, meet Pennywise, the demonic clown who does just that in King’s epic novel of a small town intermittently terrorised by a monster as old as even time itself. IT is a truly fantastic read, and such a huge doorstopper of a novel too. Right from the moment when the evil Pennywise makes his first appearance down in the storm drain and taunts – and eventually kills – poor little Georgie, I was utterly hooked from start to finish. And when I finally finished the book, I enjoyed it so much that I STILL felt like I could go on reading more of it. It really was that good. I especially loved all the little homages to classic horror monsters, like the vampire and the werewolf that King peppered into his story. So if you want to get stuck into IT, my advice is to read the novel and shun the three-hour TV movie, which was nowhere near as good.
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The House On Cold Hill by Peter James
The House On Cold Hill by Peter James is one of the most entertaining and spooky haunted house novels I have ever read. I enjoyed it so much that I would rank it right up there with the classic novels of my all time favourite horror author, James Herbert.
The House On Cold Hill tells the story of Ollie and Carol Harcourt and their 12-year-old daughter Jade, as they relocate from the heart of Brighton to live in a big old dilapidated mansion deep in the Sussex countryside. Although it’s a big step, Ollie is instantly filled with delight once he claps eyes on their grand new country home. Despite the big cost of moving house, he has always harboured a dream to live in the country, and so he looks upon Cold Hill as the ideal place for his animal-loving daughter, the perfect place to work on his web design business, and a fabulous long-term investment.
But they are only in Cold Hill for a few days before strange things start to happen, things which set the alarm bells ringing so much that they soon begin to wonder if they have taken the right step by uprooting out to this mansion. Jade’s friend is the first one to see the ghostly woman, standing right behind her as the pals communicate on Facetime. More eerie sightings soon follow, in addition to a string of unexplainable occurrences in the house.
As the hauntings become more and more ominous and threatening, and the house itself begins to turn on the Harcourts, the disturbed family uncover Cold Hill’s dark history… and the terrifying truth about what it could spell for them.
The House On Cold Hill is just brilliant, as it contains all the traditional hallmarks you come to expect of the perfect English ghost story: creepy atmosphere, supernatural occurrences, unexpected plot twists, tragic deaths, and plenty of ghosts to chill your spine (to the extent that I eventually found myself wondering who was a ghost and who wasn’t). I also love all the characters and the way they interact with each other. And the ending was just… well, I won’t spoil it for you by revealing what happens. You’ll have to buy the book and see for yourself.
Alan Toner
www.alantoner.com
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How To Write A Horror Story
1. Try to be original – The more different you make your story, the more it will appeal to publishers and readers.
2. Plan your story in advance – There is nothing worse than coming to a dead end halfway through your story due to a sudden writer’s block.
3. Create strong, identifiable characters – Give them a goal and throw obstacle after obstacle at them. If you don’t care about your characters, your readers certainly won’t, and will discard your story with a weary yawn! There is nothing worse than shallow, cardboard characters in a story. Even Norman Bates, the crazed killer in Psycho, had a vulnerable human side to his character.
4. Read the masters of horror fiction to gain a good, broad idea of what works and what doesn’t – There are many outstanding horror writers you can study, artists who have mastered the craft, especially Stephen King, James Herbert and H.P. Lovecraft. And if you really want to master the essentials of writing a good ghost story, read the stories of M. R. James, who is, quite rightly, regarded as the master of the English ghost story.
5. Study the classic horror novels – Bram Stoker’s DRACULA and Mary Shelly’s FRANKENSTEIN are perfect examples of how good horror novels should be constructed. In the modern horror genre, James Herbert’s phenomenally successful debut novel, The Rats, is another great example of how a good, pacey, spine-chilling story should be presented.
6. Do your research thoroughly – If you are writing a vampire story, read EVERYTHING about them. If you are writing a ghost story, familiarise yourself with the work of paranormal investigators.
7. Do not rush your work as the urge to get published gets stronger – Remember, if your story is sloppy and rushed, your readers will soon notice it! So take your time to perfect everything before you submit your manuscript, from getting your character profiles right to creating the BEST ending you possible can.
8. Read, read, read EVERYTHING you can – Not just horror, but other books you like as well. The more you read, the more you will get a good feel and knowledge of how novels and short stories are put together. Remember: there is much more to horror fiction, you know, than just vampires and werewolves and masked killers. Sometimes romance, war, humour and other elements can be mixed in with a horror story to make it even more interesting and complex.
9. Try to pick a subject that scares you personally – If, say, spiders are your number one fear, then get all your emotions down on paper about them. Remember: the more emotional power you pack into your prose, the more the readers will become terrified with you. They will FEEL your horror as they absorb each terrifying word, and become scared to death with you!
10. Finally, make sure your masterpiece has no spelling mistakes or other grammatical failings which may dissuade a publisher or agent from taking your work on – You MUST make your story or novel as neatly and professionally presented as possible.
GOOD LUCK!
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April 18, 2017
Job Hunting Hell – My New Book
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I have just published a new Kindle book called Job Hunting Hell, in which I highlight all my bitter experiences in trying to find work.
From ignorant bosses who don’t reply to CVs to arrogant recruitment consultants, all the horrid and demoralising things common to most jobseekers are covered here in this book.
I became so utterly FED UP and ANGRY with all the negativity I have constantly encountered throughout my job searching that I thought it would be a good idea to write all about my experiences and put them in a book. As well as telling the story of my own job-seeking misfortunes, I thought I would give a voice to all the many thousands of other unemployed people who must surely be going through similar experiences to my own.
Job Hunting Hell will soon be available on Amazon Kindle Store. A paperback version will shortly follow.
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April 12, 2017
Dario Argento’s Dracula
Being a big fan of the Hammer Dracula films starring Christopher Lee (who, in my opinion, was the best Dracula ever), I always tend to view modern reboots of Stoker’s famous vampire lord with a certain degree of cynicism. For me, all the Dracula films since Christopher Lee’s have failed to recapture the magic and sheer entertainment value of the Hammer vampire, concentrating far too much on making the Count a sad, misunderstood, teen-appealing pinup boy rather than the traditionally terrifying, bloodsucking monster that we all come to expect. However, in regard to the latest take on the Dracula story – this time from Italian horror director Dario Argento – I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised, for it wasn’t a bad little movie at all. And I liked it that much that I am even keeping it my DVD collection, something I rarely do, especially in regard to modern vampire flicks.
Without giving too much away, I will say that Dario Argento’s spin on the Dracula saga is, for the most part, quite stunning and unique, for it includes certain elements (e.g. the way Dracula changes form and becomes not only the customary wolf but other animals too) which I have never seen before in a Dracula movie. There are also some quite sexy scenes in this movie too, which will raise quite a few eyebrows among those who are used to the tamer kind of vampire movie.
The photography, the costumes, the use of colors and the gothic set designs all combine beautifully to evoke great memories of the vampire movies of old. The fact that Argento made the storyline a little different to that of the Stoker novel did not at all detract from my general enjoyment of the movie, for it was quite interesting to see where the plot was going next, and after a couple of shocks I hadn’t seen coming (especially the one involving the village axeman), I even thought that maybe this story would not have the happy ending we have seen time and time again in a Dracula movie, with the vampire hunters staking Dracula in his coffin as the young hero rescues his captured fiancee from the Count’s clutches in the nick of time. It was such a dark, vicious, edgy movie that I even feared that Van Helsing himself might come to a grisly end at the hands of this monstrous, seemingly omnipotent vampire lord. Rutger Hauer – whom I loved in The Hitcher and who has played a vampire himself (in Dracula III Ascenscion and in the remake of Salem’s Lot) – is fantastic in the role of Van Helsing, and I was really on the edge of my seat at the climax of the movie when he confronts Dracula and tries to save Mina, whom Dracula has hypnotised into believing that she is his for the taking.
The awesome special effects in this movie – especially where the staked vampires dissolve into dust – were the icing on the cake, and whilst the actor who played Dracula (Thomas Kretschmann) did not really have the creepy, menacing look that Christopher Lee had, he certainly made up for this when he launched into his ferocious attacks and his stunning transformations, in which he dispatched his victims in the most bloody way imaginable.
All in all, Dario Argento’s Dracula is quite an impressive movie, and whilst I would not go as far as to say that it equals the brilliance of the Hammer Dracula films, it certainly is one I would highly recommend to any vampire fan to check out.
You can buy Dario Argento’s Dracula by clicking on the image link below.
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Curse of Chucky
I have just watched the new Child’s Play movie, Curse of Chucky, and thought it was brilliant. It was great to see a return to the good, serious horror of the first few movies, rather than a rehash of the lame humour that so ruined the later sequels.
Chucky is back to scary form in this new movie, and his menace is wonderfully compounded by the old dark house scenario of a constant thunderstorm and creepy, shadowy stairways and rooms. I also thought that the rat poison scene – which had you wondering just who was going to unwittingly consume the contaminated meal – was just as tense and suspenseful as any scene that Hitchcock ever created. And the way that Chucky stalks and brutally murders victim after victim is absolutely terrifying. I also thought that having the heroine as crippled in a wheelchair enhanced the lurking menace that Chucky brought to the house, as it made her struggle against the monstrous doll seem all the more exciting and gripping as you rooted for her throughout the whole film. The special effects are brilliant too, and really bring the character of the malevolent Chucky to life.
I must admit, when I first bought the DVD of Curse of Chucky, I did wonder if it would live up to the reputation of the first few movies in the franchise, mindful of how recent remakes and sequels of iconic horror characters have generally proved extremely mediocre. Fortunately, on this occasion, I am pleased to say that my money was not wasted, as Curse of Chucky proved to be every bit as good as its predecessors, if not even better.
If you enjoy a good demonic doll movie, then I strongly recommend Curse of Chucky. I guarantee you will be on the edge of your seat from start to finish. You can buy the movie by clicking on the image link below:
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