M.D.’s Comments (group member since Oct 05, 2014)

M.D.’s comments from the Net Work Book Club group.

Andrew wrote: "mrbooks wrote: "I can't say I have ever read anything that was really scary, but if you talk about watching the it would have to be the Evil Dead. It is about the only movie I have seen that got m..."

My Stories are not horror. I prefer twists and turns in otherwise ordinary circumstances ... unusual ghost stories and events which defy a logical explanation. I don't think you can go beyond M.R. James or Roald Dahl for that.

mrbooks wrote: "I can't say I have ever read anything that was really scary, but if you talk about watching the it would have to be the Evil Dead. It is about the only movie I have seen that got me jumping, I don..."

Maybe my use of 'Scary' in the original post was misplaced.

You are right ... It is the imagination which acts as a trigger.

Blood spattered screens, and things jumping out at victims 'shock' an instinctive, temporary fear rather than causing a lasting fear.
If the creature in Alien was seen in broad daylight in an open area, there would still be an element of fear arising from survival instinct. The fear is real, but when the danger departs, so does the fear.

In a good story, our imagination creates a horror no special effects team can hope to replicate. Whatever we conjure remains with us for a while and certain triggers can cause it to re-emerge from the shadows at any time.

Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) wrote: "Martin wrote: "It's good to hear from you, mrbooks.
The nice thing about a good ghost story, or supernatural tale is the emphasis it places on the imagination of the reader ... no two will react th..."

If you have a chance, you might enjoy the BBC Radio series 'Fear on Four' (The Man in Black). This dramatisation of short stories ran over four series, from 1989. You can get downloads, and certainly the first three series are exceptional.

It's good to hear from you, mrbooks.
The nice thing about a good ghost story, or supernatural tale is the emphasis it places on the imagination of the reader ... no two will react the same. A really good story – M.R. James was particularly good at this – has the capacity to lurk in the reader's mind long after the book has been closed.

This has just been posted on the website: Donovan's Bookshelf as 'Pick of the Month.' I hope you like it ... I certainly did, and I'm sure S.P. will be tickled!

"It's very clear what influences M.D. Hall has cultivated in the course of producing Mystery and Misadventure - An Old Acquaintance: from a chatty introduction and ending by a wry narrator who duly warns readers of the quiet atmospheres of horror to come to short stories that excel in taking ordinary events and plain people and infusing growing horror into their experiences, this is Twilight Zone style at its best, plain and simple.
M.D. Hall is a master at building this kind of atmosphere, and if Twilight Zone were in production today, would likely become one of its chief writers.
Twilight Zone may be long gone, but its spirit lives on in these diverse and hard-hitting scenarios: so sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. But don't get too comfortable. Just when you thought it was safe to delve into a short story collection revolving around ordinary lives, incongruous circumstances rise up with a bite of the unexpected. Such is the grip and delight of this exceptional collection!"

My book, 'Mystery and Misadventure – An Old Acquaintance' is an anthology of thirteen stories, ranging from brushes with the supernatural, and ghost-stories through to strange encounters, with unfortunate consequences.
It follows on from my original collection, 'Mystery and Misadventure', comprising seven slightly shorter tales.
The one thing both volumes have in common is an old man who introduces the stories and signs off at the end.
In the original collection, he – or something belonging to him – appears in each of the stories. However, in 'An Old Acquaintance' the old man's involvement expands, with his story arc pollinating each and every tale. My intention? To encourage the reader to enquire into the nature of the old man ... Is he good? ... Is he evil? ... Is he an observer?
A couple of days ago, I bumped into a neighbour, who has read both collections. He wanted to know whether there would be a third volume, because he had grown to be as interested in the old man as he was in the individual stories.
I will tell you what I told him ... Yes!

Hi,
My book, 'Mystery and Misadventure – An Old Acquaintance' is an anthology of thirteen stories ranging from brushes with the supernatural, and ghost-stories through to strange encounters, with unfortunate consequences.
It follows on from my original collection, 'Mystery and Misadventure', comprising seven slightly shorter tales.
The one thing both volumes have in common is an old man who introduces the stories and signs off at the end.
In the original collection, he – or something belonging to him – appears in each of the stories. However, in 'An Old Acquaintance' the old man's involvement expands, with his story arc pollinating each and every tale. My intention? To encourage the reader to enquire into the nature of the old man ... Is he good? ... Is he evil? ... Is he an observer?
A couple of days ago, I bumped into a neighbour, who has read both collections. He wanted to know whether there would be a third volume, because he had grown to be as interested in the old man as he was in the individual stories.
I will tell you what I told him ... Yes!

Many of us like scary stories. But when do we like to read them? All Hallows' Eve, when we expect to be scared? I think it's Christmas, especially when in the company of friends and family.
The lighting is subdued. Perhaps there's a welcoming a fire in the hearth, and even if you don't have a hearth, it's still cosy. You may have had a drink — not too much, but enough to let your guard down. In such surroundings you can't possibly become frightened by a story, after all, it is just a story.
You finish the tale and put the book down, but snatches of it come to you unbidden ... What if ...? That couldn't possibly happen ...! The fleeting shadow I just noticed was probably just a floater in my eye ...
Then, the day is over and you go to bed. It has been long but wonderful, although you do wonder where you are going to store all those socks, and you must remember to wear that yellow scarf when you next visit your aunt.
You'll sleep well tonight. You close your eyes, and you're on a dark windswept moor, with only a single road cutting through it.
You open your eyes. That was a story ... You've finished with it, and the unfortunate who watched as headlights approached along that lonely road. But now, even with your eyes open, you are that poor man and, unlike him, you know what horror lurks behind the headlights.
You try to run away from the road, but something keeps you rooted to the spot!
The bedside light! You switch it on, and the shadows flee, but only as far as the hallway, beyond the light. Hidden in the darkness they wait ... patiently ... because eventually, you will fall asleep.

Aren't you glad it was just a story?

Hi,
I've just released a new ebook on Amazon: 'Mystery and Misadventure – An Old Acquaintance.' It was actually uploaded in early September but I wanted a few reviews that people could read, to get the flavour of it.
Warning: Readers of romance, of any kind, should avoid reading it ... well maybe that isn't quite right, if you include the lengths a man might go to in order to win back the woman he cast aside when he was alive ... she's also dead by the way. But that's it, other than that example, there is no romance at all ... Alright, there is the rose grower who falls head over heels when his roses are smitten by black spot – again!
Fair enough, there's bit of romance going on, but only on the periphery of ghostly/supernatural goings on, and in only about four of the thirteen tales.
Why thirteen? Well, we are approaching All Hallows' Eve, and it just seemed right.
The car in the cover? A 1948 Morris Minor. It belongs to an ever present occupant of the tales ... Samuel Prite. Ever present, but not persistent. His fingerprints are everywhere, but sometimes you have to look closely ... Not too closely, I have a distinct feeling he wouldn't welcome over zealous scrutiny.
Me? I go by the pen name M.D. Hall, but you can call me Martin, and I welcome questions. You can even ask me about Samuel ... I won't tell you who or what he is, but I can promise to tease you!

Better than cocoa!

Many of us like scary stories. But when do we like to read them? All Hallows' Eve, when we expect to be scared? I think it's Christmas, especially when in the company of friends and family.
The lighting is subdued. Perhaps there's a welcoming a fire in the hearth, and even if you don't have a hearth, it's still cosy. You may have had a drink — not too much, but enough to let your guard down. In such surroundings you can't possibly become frightened by a story, after all, it is just a story.
You finish the tale and put the book down, but snatches of it come to you unbidden ... What if? ... That couldn't possibly happen! ... The fleeting shadow I just noticed was probably just a floater in my eye ...
Then, the day is over and you go to bed. It has been long but wonderful, although you do wonder where you are going to store all those socks, and you must remember to wear that yellow scarf when you next visit your aunt.
You'll sleep well tonight. You close your eyes, and you're on a dark windswept moor, with only a single road cutting through it.
You open your eyes. That was a story ... You've finished with it, and the unfortunate who watched as headlights approached along that lonely road. But now, even with your eyes open, you are that poor man and, unlike him, you know what horror lurks behind the headlights.
You try to run away from the road, but something keeps you rooted to the spot!
The bedside light! You switch it on, and the shadows flee, but only as far as the hallway, beyond the light. Hidden in the darkness they wait ... patiently ... because eventually, you will fall asleep.

Aren't you glad it was just a story?