Mike Thorn's Blog, page 6
November 21, 2023
Mike Thorn reviews Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving for In Review Online
“What sets Eli Roth apart from other contemporary American horror directors is his unique braiding of current issues with high genre literacy. This holds true for his latest effort, Thanksgiving, an anti-consumerist holiday giallo that traffics openly in reflexivity.”
Read the full review.
Read the full review.
November 6, 2023
Mike Thorn’s 3 favorite reads of the year
Shepherd asked 949 authors and super readers to select their three favorite reads of 2023. Read Mike Thorn’s thoughts on his choices here.
October 13, 2023
Mike Thorn's 100 favorite horror books (2023 edition)
A new annual tradition. Chronologically organized, with externally and/or posthumously edited collections/anthologies at the end.
Vathek, an Arabian Tale; or, the History of the Caliph Vatek, by William Beckford (1786)
The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe (1794)
The Monk: A Romance, by Matthew Gregory Lewis (1796)
Zofloya; or, the Moor, by Charlotte Dacre (1806)
Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley (1818)
Melmoth the Wanderer, by Charles Robert Maturin (1820)
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, by James Hogg (1824)
The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)
Carmilla, by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1872)
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)
The Great God Pan, by Arthur Machen (1890)
The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde (1890)
The Damned, by Joris-Karl Huysmans (1891)
The Beetle, by Richard Marsh (1897)
Dracula, by Bram Stoker (1897)
The Invisible Man, by H. G. Wells (1897)
The House on the Borderland, by William Hope Hodgson (1908)
The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka (1915)
The Breaking Point, by Daphne Du Maurier (1922)
Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier (1938)
The Subjugated Beast, by R. R. Ryan (1938)
Conjure Wife, by Fritz Leiber (1943)
The Hounds of Tindalos, by Frank Belknap Long (1946)
The Scarf, by Robert Bloch (1947 / 1966)
Hangsaman, by Shirley Jackson (1951)
The Unnamable, by Samuel Beckett (1953)
The Bird’s Nest, by Shirley Jackson (1954)
I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson (1954)
Cape Fear, by John D. MacDonald (1957)
The Sundial, by Shirley Jackson (1958)
The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (1959)
Shock!, by Richard Matheson (1961)
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury (1962)
The Collector, by John Fowles (1963)
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, by Yukio Mishima (1963)
New Stories from the Twilight Zone, by Rod Serling (1965)
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream, by Harlan Ellison (1967)
Rosemary’s Baby, by Ira Levin (1967)
Last Summer, by Evan Hunter (1968)
The Obscene Bird of Night, by José Donoso (1970)
The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty (1971)
The Room, by Hubert Selby Jr. (1971)
The Other, by Thomas Tryon (1971)
The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin (1972)
Child of God, by Cormac McCarthy (1973)
Starling Street, by Dinah Palmtag (1973)
Carrie, by Stephen King (1974)
‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King (1975)
Julia, by Peter Straub (1975)
The Demon, by Hubert Selby Jr. (1976)
Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice (1976)
Long After Midnight, by Ray Bradbury (1976)
The Shining, by Stephen King (1977)
The House Next Door, by Anne Rivers Siddons (1978)
Blood Secrets, by Craig Jones (1978)
Ghost Story, by Peter Straub (1979)
Books of Blood: Volume One, by Clive Barker (1984)
The Ceremonies, by T. E. D. Klein (1984)
Hawksmoor, by Peter Ackroyd (1985)
The Damnation Game, by Clive Barker (1985)
The Juniper Tree, by Barbara Comyns (1985)
Songs of a Dead Dreamer, by Thomas Ligotti (1985)
Toplin, by Michael McDowell, (1985)
The Hungry Moon, by Ramsey Campbell (1986)
It, by Stephen King (1986)
Beloved, by Toni Morrison (1987)
The Nightrunners, by Joe R. Lansdale (1987)
Why Not You and I?, by Karl Edward Wagner (1987)
The Fifth Child, by Doris Lessing (1988)
The Girl Next Door, by Jack Ketchum (1989)
The Pines, by Robert Dunbar (1989)
Boundaries, by T. M. Wright (1990)
American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis (1991)
The Cipher, by Kathe Koja (1991)
Grimscribe: His Lives and Works, by Thomas Ligotti (1991)
Prodigal, by Melanie Tem (1991)
Something Stirs, by Charles L. Grant (1991)
Specters, by J. M. Dillard (1991)
Summer of Night, by Dan Simmons (1991)
Bad Brains, by Kathe Koja (1992)
Lost Futures, by Lisa Tuttle (1992)
Skin, by Kathe Koja (1993)
The Between, by Tananarive Due (1995)
Zombie, by Joyce Carol Oates (1995)
You Can’t Catch Me, by Joyce Carol Oates [as Rosamond Smith] (1995)
Exquisite Corpse, by Poppy Z. Brite (1996)
Traplines, by Eden Robinson (1996)
Lunar Park, by Bret Easton Ellis (2005)
A Dark Matter, by Peter Straub (2010)
Tender is the Flesh, by Agustina Bazterrica (2017)
Everything That’s Underneath, by Kristi DeMeester (2017)
And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, by Gwendolyn Kiste (2017)
Strange is the Night, by S. P. Miskowski (2017)
The Seventh Mansion, by Maryse Meijer (2020)
Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, by Edgar Allan Poe (1956) [edited by Edward H. Davidson]
Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood, by Algernon Blackwood (1973) [edited by E. F. Bleiler]
The Haunted Dolls’ House and Other Ghost Stories, by M. R. James (2006) [edited by S. T. Joshi]
Tales of H. P. Lovecraft, by H. P. Lovecraft (2007) [edited by Joyce Carol Oates]
Ghost Stories of Henry James, by Henry James (2008) [edited by Martin Schofield]
The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies, by Clark Ashton Smith (2014) [edited by S. T. Joshi]
Vathek, an Arabian Tale; or, the History of the Caliph Vatek, by William Beckford (1786)
The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe (1794)
The Monk: A Romance, by Matthew Gregory Lewis (1796)
Zofloya; or, the Moor, by Charlotte Dacre (1806)
Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley (1818)
Melmoth the Wanderer, by Charles Robert Maturin (1820)
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, by James Hogg (1824)
The House of the Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)
Carmilla, by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (1872)
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)
The Great God Pan, by Arthur Machen (1890)
The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde (1890)
The Damned, by Joris-Karl Huysmans (1891)
The Beetle, by Richard Marsh (1897)
Dracula, by Bram Stoker (1897)
The Invisible Man, by H. G. Wells (1897)
The House on the Borderland, by William Hope Hodgson (1908)
The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka (1915)
The Breaking Point, by Daphne Du Maurier (1922)
Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier (1938)
The Subjugated Beast, by R. R. Ryan (1938)
Conjure Wife, by Fritz Leiber (1943)
The Hounds of Tindalos, by Frank Belknap Long (1946)
The Scarf, by Robert Bloch (1947 / 1966)
Hangsaman, by Shirley Jackson (1951)
The Unnamable, by Samuel Beckett (1953)
The Bird’s Nest, by Shirley Jackson (1954)
I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson (1954)
Cape Fear, by John D. MacDonald (1957)
The Sundial, by Shirley Jackson (1958)
The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (1959)
Shock!, by Richard Matheson (1961)
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury (1962)
The Collector, by John Fowles (1963)
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, by Yukio Mishima (1963)
New Stories from the Twilight Zone, by Rod Serling (1965)
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream, by Harlan Ellison (1967)
Rosemary’s Baby, by Ira Levin (1967)
Last Summer, by Evan Hunter (1968)
The Obscene Bird of Night, by José Donoso (1970)
The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty (1971)
The Room, by Hubert Selby Jr. (1971)
The Other, by Thomas Tryon (1971)
The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin (1972)
Child of God, by Cormac McCarthy (1973)
Starling Street, by Dinah Palmtag (1973)
Carrie, by Stephen King (1974)
‘Salem’s Lot, by Stephen King (1975)
Julia, by Peter Straub (1975)
The Demon, by Hubert Selby Jr. (1976)
Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice (1976)
Long After Midnight, by Ray Bradbury (1976)
The Shining, by Stephen King (1977)
The House Next Door, by Anne Rivers Siddons (1978)
Blood Secrets, by Craig Jones (1978)
Ghost Story, by Peter Straub (1979)
Books of Blood: Volume One, by Clive Barker (1984)
The Ceremonies, by T. E. D. Klein (1984)
Hawksmoor, by Peter Ackroyd (1985)
The Damnation Game, by Clive Barker (1985)
The Juniper Tree, by Barbara Comyns (1985)
Songs of a Dead Dreamer, by Thomas Ligotti (1985)
Toplin, by Michael McDowell, (1985)
The Hungry Moon, by Ramsey Campbell (1986)
It, by Stephen King (1986)
Beloved, by Toni Morrison (1987)
The Nightrunners, by Joe R. Lansdale (1987)
Why Not You and I?, by Karl Edward Wagner (1987)
The Fifth Child, by Doris Lessing (1988)
The Girl Next Door, by Jack Ketchum (1989)
The Pines, by Robert Dunbar (1989)
Boundaries, by T. M. Wright (1990)
American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis (1991)
The Cipher, by Kathe Koja (1991)
Grimscribe: His Lives and Works, by Thomas Ligotti (1991)
Prodigal, by Melanie Tem (1991)
Something Stirs, by Charles L. Grant (1991)
Specters, by J. M. Dillard (1991)
Summer of Night, by Dan Simmons (1991)
Bad Brains, by Kathe Koja (1992)
Lost Futures, by Lisa Tuttle (1992)
Skin, by Kathe Koja (1993)
The Between, by Tananarive Due (1995)
Zombie, by Joyce Carol Oates (1995)
You Can’t Catch Me, by Joyce Carol Oates [as Rosamond Smith] (1995)
Exquisite Corpse, by Poppy Z. Brite (1996)
Traplines, by Eden Robinson (1996)
Lunar Park, by Bret Easton Ellis (2005)
A Dark Matter, by Peter Straub (2010)
Tender is the Flesh, by Agustina Bazterrica (2017)
Everything That’s Underneath, by Kristi DeMeester (2017)
And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, by Gwendolyn Kiste (2017)
Strange is the Night, by S. P. Miskowski (2017)
The Seventh Mansion, by Maryse Meijer (2020)
Selected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, by Edgar Allan Poe (1956) [edited by Edward H. Davidson]
Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood, by Algernon Blackwood (1973) [edited by E. F. Bleiler]
The Haunted Dolls’ House and Other Ghost Stories, by M. R. James (2006) [edited by S. T. Joshi]
Tales of H. P. Lovecraft, by H. P. Lovecraft (2007) [edited by Joyce Carol Oates]
Ghost Stories of Henry James, by Henry James (2008) [edited by Martin Schofield]
The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies, by Clark Ashton Smith (2014) [edited by S. T. Joshi]
October 10, 2023
New Mike Thorn story, “The Shape of Our Damnation”, coming soon on Tales to Terrify
Mike Thorn's story "The Shape of Our Damnation" will soon appear on Tales to Terrify.
The podcast has released two of Thorn's stories in the past. Listen to "@GorgoYama2013" and "Erosion".
The podcast has released two of Thorn's stories in the past. Listen to "@GorgoYama2013" and "Erosion".
October 9, 2023
New Mike Thorn story “Solstice Grinsztad” to be included in Solstice in Purgatory (coming November 7 from The Seventh Terrace)
“The Winter Solstice. It’s dark, it’s cold, it’s the most wonderful time of year. And it’s full of f*cking monsters. Don’t act like you don’t know. You’ve heard the cracking ice, seen tracks in the snow, smelled the bloody breath, and felt the rumbling Ho-ho-ho deep in your guts. We celebrate because we’re terrified of the dark outside our door.
Winter is an eternity, particularly in Purgatory. So, no matter which Terrace you call home, we invite you to while away the long, frozen nights with this curated collection of short tales from some of the most deliciously demented minds in horror. Some will make you laugh, some will make you shiver, and some…well, let’s just say nothing is sacred here. Enjoy, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll live to see the Equinox.”
Click here for more info and full table of contents.
Winter is an eternity, particularly in Purgatory. So, no matter which Terrace you call home, we invite you to while away the long, frozen nights with this curated collection of short tales from some of the most deliciously demented minds in horror. Some will make you laugh, some will make you shiver, and some…well, let’s just say nothing is sacred here. Enjoy, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll live to see the Equinox.”
Click here for more info and full table of contents.
September 14, 2023
María Teresa Morín reviews Un Refugio para los Condenados (Spanish translation of Shelter for the Damned)
“Sheds, nightmares, violence, family, friendship, addictions, sacrifices… A Shelter for the Damned, by Mike Thorn is a book with a frenetic pace that keeps you reading non-stop. That shows us the hells that the most perfect families can hide. That even hides a first love story between its pages. Which brings us three very different teenagers who will be involved in a nightmare from which it seems impossible to escape and which breaks our hearts. If you are looking for a horror reading that shocks you with its rawness, you have to give it a try.”
Read the full review.
Read the full review.
September 6, 2023
August 22, 2023
Mike Thorn interviewed on the Dead Body Bathtub podcast
“The inaugural episode of THE BRAIN DRAIN—the ghoulish DBBT aftershow—finds a guest in the tub! Author and critic Mike Thorn joins us to discuss horror, the creative process, the new audiobook edition of his first novel Shelter for the Damned, and his tub pick—SICK (2022), John Hyams’ taut and clever COVID-set slasher. We dissect screenwriter Kevin Williamson’s social diagnosis, Hyams’ dynamic camera, and the engagement of pandemic-as-horror.”
Listen here.
Listen here.
August 2, 2023
Mike Thorn reviews Satan Wants You for In Review Online
“Satan Wants You wisely elides ridiculing the era it depicts, instead level-headedly examining the factors that gave birth to Smith and Pazder’s book and its ensuing cultural hysteria.”
Read the full review.
Read the full review.
July 29, 2023
Mike Thorn reviews Sympathy for the Devil (In Review Online)
“Sympathy for the Devil works best when viewed purely as a vehicle (no pun intended) for Cage.”
Read the full review.
Read the full review.
