Hunter Shea's Blog, page 14
April 3, 2018
Must Have Horror Podcasts – INSIDE THE EXORCIST & INSIDE PSYCHO
As a shameless podcast junkie, I’m always looking for well produced limited run series. I feel like I struck a vein of Texas tea with a couple of amazing podcasts from Wondery. INSIDE THE EXORCIST and INSIDE PSYCHO are deep dives into not just the making of both movies, but the real life stories that inspired them. At only 25 minutes an episode and 6 or 7 episodes, you can devour them like M&Ms. Hats off to host and narrator Mark Ramsey for creating two absolute gems that will inform as much as they will disturb you.
My favorite is INSIDE THE EXORCIST because the truth is almost as creepy as the fiction. Taking us from the real life exorcism that sparked the idea to highly strange troubles on the set, the creep factor is high and the rare background information priceless. I’ve heard that it took months to just do the research, and several more months to record and perfect each episode. The power of Christ compels you to listen!
My favorite episode of INSIDE PSYCHO is actually the one about “cannibal killer” Ed Gein. If you have a weak ticker, you may want to fast forward through parts. The insight into what Hitchcock had to go through to get the movie made is fascinating. Psycho broke a lot of boundaries and is still being copied today.
So treat your earholes and seek both podcasts out. They’re available on just about every platform where you can find podcasts. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish my bowl of pea soup before I take a nice, hot shower.
March 29, 2018
Book Recommendation : RETURN TO DYATLOV PASS by J.H. Moncrieff
If you’re looking for one hell of a read that is grounded in a real life mystery, J.H. Moncrieff’s lates, RETURN TO DYATLOV PASS is a can’t miss. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek so I could provide a blurb. It’s a creepy tale filled with enough facts to make you wonder as an icy finger trails down your spine. I highly suggest you also read up on the real Dyatlov Pass incident, then go watch the horror movie, The Devil’s Pass. Fully immerse yourself in one of the strangest mysteries of the 20th century.
About the book:
In 1959, nine Russian students set off on a skiing expedition in the Ural Mountains. Their mutilated bodies were discovered weeks later. Their bizarre and unexplained deaths are one of the most enduring true mysteries of our time.
Nearly sixty years later, podcast host Nat McPherson ventures into the same mountains with her team, determined to finally solve the mystery of the Dyatlov Pass incident. Her plans are thwarted on the first night, when two trackers from her group are brutally slaughtered.
The team’s guide, a superstitious man from a neighboring village, blames the killings on yetis, but no one believes him. As members of Nat’s team die one by one, she must figure out if there’s a murderer in their midst—or something even worse—before history repeats itself and her group becomes another casualty of the infamous Dead Mountain.
Available in ebook and trade paperback.
CLICK HERE TO BUY RETURN TO DYATLOV PASS!
March 26, 2018
Missing The Video Store
As convenient as all of the streaming options are, I still miss my weekend visits to the video store. I miss the sights and smells, the community and the free popcorn. I miss holding a potential rental in my hand, that tactile connection you made as you browsed the aisles. I miss staff picks from people I knew (as opposed to algorithms today).
I have a sneaking suspicion I’m not alone.
If you’re like me, you might get a kick out of my latest Video Visions post over at Cemetery Dance. Sure, I miss video stores. But I’m one of the arrows that pierced their hearts and stole their souls. To find out why, you can read I KILLED THE VIDEO STORE, right here.
If reading’s not your thing, not to worry! The Monster Men dedicated a whole episode to browsing those video store aisles way back in 2013. The sentiment has only gotten stronger with the passing of the years. And I still have that bucket hat.
Do you feel the same? What do you miss the most? Let’s all have a communal love-in about our favorite video stores.
March 22, 2018
A Dinosaur Adventure : MONSTERS IN THE CLOUDS by Russell James
I have a special treat this week. Russell James is one of the best horror writers around, and he’s joined the Severed Press family, penning some incredible adventure novels. His latest, MONSTERS IN THE CLOUDS, is chock full o’ dinosaur madness. Russell explains why we can’t get enough dinosaur fiction. Take it away buddy!
Dinosaurs. Who doesn’t love them?
It seems that every kid goes through a dinosaur phase. Not singing along with Barney, that purple monstrosity, but a fascination with the actual creatures that ruled the Earth a few hundred million years ago.
My obsession started when I was about eight years old. (I’ll let you know when it ends.) I drained the library of dinosaur books. I had the coolest 3D Viewmaster reels of dinosaurs locked in mortal combat. I watched the original King Kong movie a hundred times and always rooted for the T-Rex to beat the ape. A high point of that time was when my parents took me in to the American Museum of Natural History to see ACTUAL fossils. Coolest. Thing. Ever.
So after my novel Cavern of the Damned released, I needed a new adventure for the main character, Grant Coleman. Why not let him do what I’d always wanted to do, see real life dinosaurs? So I put him on a plane and sent him to Brazil, a beautiful country I’d visited twice.
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Grant gets to encounter an Ankylosaurus, a C list dino compared to the stars of Jurassic Park. I always loved this creature. Broad and squat, it had armor like an Abrams battle tank across its back and head. But that passive defense wasn’t enough, so it had a big bony club at the end of its tail. So while a predator futilely chomped at its back, it could knock the assailant unconscious with its tail. It was an herbivore, which isn’t that scary, so I switched it to carnivore and blamed evolution.
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The isolated butte they explore also has pterosaurs, winged lizards with long, pointed heads. These were carnivores. A lot about this creature remains conjecture. Did it have feathers? Did it fly or glide? Did it walk or climb? I read all the research I could find and made them as terrifying as I could.
There are some other creatures they encounter, but I don’t want to spoil any surprises by detailing them here. But they are all based on real animals, and that fact may be scarier than any fiction I’ve spun.
So if you’re up for an adventure and a battle with untamed dinosaurs, Monsters in the Clouds will be just what you need. And it’s safe for family reading, no language, no sex, and monster-movie-type violence. I just realized I think that people being eaten by dinosaurs constitutes “family reading.” I may have issues.
Book blurb:
Paleontologist Grant Coleman and activist Janaina Silva are recruited by Thana Katsoros for a top secret expedition, one in search of a live Apatosaurus on a plateau deep in the Amazonian rain forest.
But their plane crashes short of their destination, and the entire group faces a terrifying fight for survival. This isolated area hosts unknown animals more fearsome than they’d expected, including giant ants and flesh-eating pterosaurs.
Even worse, Katsoros’ agenda has more to it than meets the eye, and Grant soon fears that it doesn’t include all of them getting back alive. Will any expedition members survive to be rescued, or will they be devoured by the creatures indigenous peoples call the monsters in the clouds?
BUY THE BOOK HERE
Bio:
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Russell R. James was raised on Long Island, New York and spent too much time watching Chiller, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and Dark Shadows, despite his parents’ warnings. Bookshelves full of Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe didn’t make things better. He graduated from Cornell University and the University of Central Florida.
After a tour flying helicopters with the U.S. Army, he now spins twisted tales best read in daylight. He has written the paranormal thrillers “Dark Inspiration”, “Sacrifice”, “Black Magic”, “Dark Vengeance”, “Dreamwalker”, and “Q Island”, the collections “Tales from Beyond”, “Deeper into Darkness”, “Outer Rim”, and “Forever Out of Time”.
His wife reads what he writes, rolls her eyes, and says “There is something seriously wrong with you.”
Visit his website at http://www.russellrjames.com and read some free short stories.
March 19, 2018
Hounds of Horror on SLACK
I finally did it. I started a Slack channel called Hounds of Horror. It’s a private, invitation-only space where like-minded maniacs can have a no holds barred discussion about all things horror and beyond. I created two threads so far (one dedicated to 2018 horror movies, the other to horror books) and there will be many more to come.
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Think of a miserable day at the office or home. Now, dip into Hounds of Horror and talk with fiends…I mean friends…about the things you love most. What uplifts the spirits more than debating the merits of Jason over Michael Myers or discussing Stephen King’s latest book?
So, if you want in, email me at huntershea1@gmail.com and I’ll get you on the invite list. And please check any political correctness at the door. This is a safe space for unsafe people. 
March 13, 2018
All 3 Mail Order Massacres Now In Print!
That’s right, all 3 novellas in the Mail Order Massacres series – JUST ADD WATER, OPTICAL DELUSION & MONEY BACK GUARANTEE, are now in one collection, aptly titled MAIL ORDER MASSACRES. It’s is officially available today in both ebook and print.
Sea monkeys. 3-D specs. Hypno-coins. Ant farms. Kryptonite rocks. Miniature submarines made from cardboard. All available for a buck or less from the back page of comic books. And we blew our weekly allowance on these rip-offs, only to be disappointed when they turned out to be total crap.
But what if these bogus products had side effects not advertised? In horror master Hunter Shea’s MAIL ORDER MASSACRE, sometimes you do get more than you paid for . . .
JUST ADD WATER
It’s been years since David and Patrick flushed away the dead Sea Serpents they got in the mail. After thriving in the toxic stew of pollution, strange, slimy creatures now rise from the sewers. Once the screaming starts, David and Patrick realize that their childhood pets really did come to life. With a vengeance. They’re massive monsters. . . and ravenous for human flesh!
OPTICAL DELUSION
Martin punishes his son for wasting his allowance on a pair of cardboard X-ray specs. But when Martin tries them on, he’s stunned to see through walls and clothes. But the novelty becomes a waking nightmare when the glasses burn into his face and he starts seeing horrifying apocalyptic visions no mortal man was ever meant to see. Images that turn him from a husband and father to a bloodthirsty homicidal maniac . . .
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
With her son’s heart set on piloting his own nuclear submarine, Rosemary orders the craft advertised on the back of a comic book. But when her son nearly drowns in the swimming pool, an enraged Rosemary complains to the Better Business Bureau. The company’s customer service center retaliates with threatening phone calls. Then her son and husband disappear. Now it’s all-out war and Rosemary wants her $5.00 back!
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!
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March 7, 2018
I Need Comic Book Suggestions!
I need your help! Please tell me what to read. Let me explain…
It amazes me that with the proliferation of comic book movies, actual comic books, especially ones about superheroes, are not experiencing the same boom. You would think that there would be a comic book shop on every corner, what with Black Panther, a minor Marvel character at best, raking in half a billion dollars. It’s quite the opposite. In the past three years, I’ve seen comic book shops close left and right.
Kids may love to go to the movies, but it sure as heck doesn’t look like they enjoy reading about Batman and Captain America. The average age of the patrons in the comic book shop I go to is about 40. I know reading isn’t perceived as fun for young folks, but reading comics used to be something we all looked forward to. Times are changing.
So are my tastes. I grew up devouring X-Men and Fantastic Four, but now as a man of a certain age, I tend to look beyond the men and women in tights. I want adult stories, horror, compelling scifi.
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What I’m looking for are suggestions of what to read. The titles I’ve loved over the past year are HARROW COUNTY, BITCH PLANET, THE CAPE, THE WOODS and SAUCER COUNTY. What books are you reading and highly recommend? Keep in mind, I stick to buying the trade paperbacks. I need to support my local store, so help me fill my shopping cart!
As an added bonus, I’ll select several random people who reply to this post and send them a free ebook. So bring it on, comic lovers!
February 19, 2018
Hear The Carnage! MAIL ORDER MASSACRES Trilogy Now An Audiobook
Once again, the folks at Graphic Audio have knocked it out of the park. The’ve gathered all three of my Mail Order Massacres novellas (JUST ADD WATER, OPTICAL DELUSION & MONEY BACK GUARANTEE) into one absolutely wild audiobook, complete with an astounding cast, monster sound effects and chilling music.
If you click over to Graphic Audio, you’ll get to hear a sample of JUST ADD WATER and hear the ravenous sea serpents begin their assault on the people of Virginia Avenue. This is an audiobook like no other. Listen to it with headphones on at night and I promise it will freak you out!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO A SAMPLE AND GET YOUR COPY TODAY!
February 12, 2018
THE DOVER DEMON Is Back!
Severed Press has just brought THE DOVER DEMON back to life. Originally published by Samhain Publishing in 2015, the book was left in limbo when Samhain closed its doors. This little beastie has returned with a kick ass new cover!
Back in 2014, I was at the International Cryptozoology Museum for a book signing on my tour for The Montauk Monster. The museum’s owner is Loren Coleman, one of the most revered cryptozoologists in the world. Loren and I struck up a conversation and I asked him what cryptid I should write about next. He didn’t hesitate in urging me to look into the famous Dover Demon case, one that still baffles everyone associated with it 40 years later.
Over the course of two nights in 1977 during spring break in the affluent town of Dover, Massachusetts, six teenagers spotted a bizarre, bipedal creature scuttling along the dark roads. It appears that all saw the very same being, one of them (Bill Bartlett) drawing a sketch of the anomaly for the police.
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Today, a lot of people would say, “Oh, that’s one of those gray alien things.” But you have to remember, this creature was spotted before the iconic image of gray aliens was a thing. Hell, Close Encounters of the Third Kind hadn’t even come out yet. Loren Coleman was called to Dover and was the one to give it its name. Cryptozoologists are still puzzled by what the teenagers saw. They look at it in terms of being a terrestrial animal. UFOologists look to the case as an early example of the grays making themselves known.
A cryptid AND an alien? I couldn’t turn down the challenge. THE DOVER DEMON is both one of my most personal and strangest books to date. So, if you care to take a trip to Dover, the gates are once again open. Beware, you might never be the same!
A little bit of trivia : The man character is a man named Sam Brogna. I named him after a New York Mets short-lived first baseman, Rico Brogna. The man’s career was cut short due to injury, but he lives on in The Dover Demon. Well, sort of.
The Dover Demon is real…and it has returned.
In 1977, Sam Brogna and his friends came upon a terrifying, alien creature on a deserted country road. What they witnessed was so bizarre, so chilling, they swore their silence. But their lives were changed forever. Decades later, the town of Dover has been hit by a massive blizzard. Sam’s son, Nicky, is drawn to search for the infamous cryptid, only to disappear into the bowels of a secret underground lair. The Dover Demon is far deadlier than anyone could have believed. And there are many of them. Can Sam and his reunited friends rescue Nicky and battle a race of creatures so powerful, so sinister, that history itself has been shaped by their secretive presence?
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK!
January 29, 2018
Cover Reveal – CREATURE
As my old friend from England would say, I’m quite chuffed to give you all a feast for the old eyeballs. Coming this fall from Flame Tree Press is my descent into fear and unbridled terror, CREATURE…
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I’m thrilled to join the likes of Ramsey Campbell, Jonathan Janz, Tim Waggoner and more with Flame Tree’s debut horror line. CREATURE will be available in hardcover, trade paperback and ebook. Keep checking in for more details as they become available.
What do you think of the cover?
