Halloween

A more astute cliché has never been uttered: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. It is as true in blogging as it is in the real world. I intended to write a post about the horror films I watched in October. I intended to write a review about a horror novel, or, at least, a short story. But I didn’t. In fact, I have nothing.

With one exception, and I hope you enjoy it. My wife and I discovered a little town—I use the word loosely—not far from the Utah-Nevada border when we first moved to Southern Utah. It appears to be an old railroad town that has nearly dried up and blown away. It is approximately one square block, with only a handful of the buildings occupied. The rest is a damn good example of a ghost town.

The town is called Modena, and it is located about nine miles east of the Nevada border—on the Utah side—on SR 56. It is a spooky place that is fitting for a Halloween journey; we visited again yesterday. It is the type of place where you can feel the history and decay flattened into a picture of broken dreams and heartache. It is desolate, lonely, and really, really cool.

Imagine coasting into town at dusk, a rattle in your engine and nothing for miles. Now imagine you hear a noise; see a flicker of movement; a baby cry; an old woman mumble. In the distance you can hear coyotes calling the night. The slither and rattle of snakes. The whimper of rodents.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Reading

This is a post that went live in October 2007. It is far from a complete list, but I still really like the novels and authors I chose to include. If I were to do it over I would also include a few other authors / books that have brought a nasty bit of entertaining fright and horror since I wrote this. A few—Cage of Night by Ed Gorman; Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson; Terminal by Brian Keene; and Afraid by Jack Kilborn.

Also, the numbering next to the authors name means absolutely nothing. It is simply a means to separate the authors into their own tidy category.

The end of October is in sight, and that means one thing: Halloween. Halloween is a favorite holiday of mine, and as it approaches I find myself filled with an unexplainable sense of excitement—it is the twelve year-old boy in me craving a past that no longer exists, but it is also more than that. It is the excitement of autumn—the days are shrinking, the shadows are lengthening, and nights are deepening. I love the cool crisp air, the idea of coming winter, but mostly the spooky chill that is Halloween.

So in honor of Halloween I’m going to list a few of my favorite horror writers—five to be exact. The only rule in this selection of authors is: there are no rules.

1. Jack Ketchum. The work of Jack Ketchum is truly frightening. He generally doesn’t employ the horror norms of demons, goblins, and poltergeists, but instead he creates truly frightening evil in the form of humanity. He shows us the worst elements that can exist in us all, and then unleashes it on the characters of his stories. If you haven’t tried Ketchum, do it soon.

My favorite Jack Ketchum novels are: The Girl Next Door, Off Season, Red, and his short story collection Peaceable Kingdom.

2. Richard Laymon. I discovered Richard Laymon in the autumn of 2000, and I quickly found and read every novel that was available in the United States for less than the price of a small automobile, which at the time was about sixteen of them. His work can be gross, violent, and very nearly pornographic in places, but somehow—especially in his better novels—he lightens it with humor, and adolescent innocence.

My favorite Laymon novels are: In the Dark, The Traveling Vampire Show, One Rainy Night, Night Show, Into the Fire, and Among the Missing.

3. Stephen King. This is a writer who truly needs no introduction, but I’m going to give him one anyway. Mr. King writes with a power that few modern writers have—he creates working class characters so real and vibrant that when he eases mysticism and fantasy into the stories it doesn’t feel forced or unreal. It is simply part of the story, and very believable.

My favorite King novels—specifically aimed at Halloween are: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Stand, ‘Salem’s Lot, and his short story collection Skeleton Crew. I have never read a Stephen King novel I didn’t like, but the aforementioned titles are spooky enough for any Halloween.

4. Douglas Clegg. Mr. Clegg probably has more raw talent than any other horror writer currently producing mainstream horror. His voice is strong, clear, and very frightening. His work runs from chilling ghost stories to vampires, to the more cinematic and gory. I have yet to find a Clegg novel I didn’t like.

My favorite Douglas Clegg novels are: The Infinite, The Attraction, The Hour Before Dark, and Nightmare House.

5. Dean Koontz. Mr. Koontz is another writer who needs no introduction. His work is difficult to categorize because he is able to mix and match genre elements with ease. His early work was mainly in the science fiction genre, but he also wrote in the suspense, horror, romance, and mystery genres—now all of these genres can be found in his work. I especially enjoy his work from the 1980s, but I really haven’t found a Koontz book I didn’t enjoy.

My favorite Dean Koontz novels--with a Halloween twist--are: Lightning, Midnight, The Bad Place, Twilight Eyes, and The Face of Fear.

An additional word on Dean Koontz. I have read several Dean Koontz novels in 2009, and with each reading I gain more and more respect for his work. He is the master of the big suspense novel. His style and ability allows him to write a large and complex novel without losing the intimacy of a smaller voice novel. He truly is the voice of modern suspense and his work, at least parts of it, should survive his and my generation. At least I hope it does.

2008 Halloween Film Festival

October is winding down. The days are shortening, the shadows are lengthening, the temperatures cooling and the leaves are changing from green life to the dashing colors of death. And, best of all, Halloween is quickly approaching. A holiday that I treasure as much as any holiday—it is part sentimental and part adult anticipation. It is the unofficial end—at my house anyway—of the summer season and the beginning of the season of hibernation.

As I mentioned in a previous post my wife and I watch a horror movie each Sunday in October to celebrate the coming of Halloween. There is no real preparation for the films other than selecting a broad array of horror films from the library and video stores to choose from and then simply picking one and watching it Sunday evening.

This October has been the season of Richard Matheson. Of the six films—we slipped a few extra into the schedule—three have been based on novels by Mr Matheson. And all three were pretty good; I have my favorite, but none were complete bums. The films represent the modern-era of Hollywood. The oldest was released in 1964 and the latest was released in 2006.

October 4. We watched the recent release BUG. It was a modern tale of paranoia and fear. It was a well made film that shouted low budget. It was filmed in one small place—a cheap and decaying motel room. It was enjoyable and thought provoking, but at moments felt a little flat. I wrote a review of this one earlier in the month. Click Here.

October 10—this is one of the extras. It was a chilly Saturday night and we decided to cheat and watch an old horror film instead of going out. We made the right decision. Last Man On Earth was released in 1964. It stars Vincent Price, was directed by Ubaldo Ragona, and based on Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend. Of the three films made from I Am Legend, Last Man on Earth is the most faithful to the story and spirit of the novel.

Vincent Price admirably brings the protagonist Robert Neville to life—for some reason his name is changed to Robert Morgan in the film. He is alone in his home. His wife and child are gone, and the marauding vampires call his name at night as they circle and try to get through the walls of the building. His days are lonely and long, until he discovers he is not the last man.

Last Man on Earth is a great film with more meaning than is expected from an old low budget black and white from the 1960s. Very much recommended.

October 11. This was a two film night. The first was a short slasher movie titled The Descent. It was probably the weakest of our Halloween films. The opening thirty minutes felt like a Richard Laymon novel—a diverse group of women get together once a year for an adventure. They are smart-alecky, attractive, brave and scared. I really enjoyed the opening, but the film devolved into mindless violence and gore.

It was written and directed by Neil Marshall. I don’t know this, but it felt like a foreign film aimed directly at an American audience. It was released in 2005.

The second horror special of the night was “Sounds Like” from Masters of Horror. This is the best episode from the uneven Showtime series I’ve seen. It was written and directed by Brad Anderson. It first aired in 2006. If you haven’t seen this one, you should. I wrote a detailed review last year. Click Here.

October 18. We watched the second of three films based on Richard Matheson’s work. Stir of Echoes is an updated adaptation of the novel by the same name. Kevin Bacon plays the role of Tom Wallace—again the protagonists name is changed to Tom Witzky in the film. The adaptation is loose, but faithful to the ideal and concept of the novel. There are a few startling and chilling moments; the climax is predictable, but fun.

Stir of Echoes was adapted and directed by David Koepp. It’s an enjoyable film that, if you leave your expectations at the door, is enjoyable, quick and a little unsettling. It was released in 1999.

October 25. The Legend of Hell House. This is one of the films that I really anticipated watching this October. It is based on the novel by Richard Matheson and also adapted by Mr Matheson. It was originally released in 1973. It is a traditional ghost story with a twist of modern technology thrown in. As I watched the film—I have yet to read the novel—I was struck by how closely it resembles several more recent ghost stories, the most notable Stephen King’s Rose Red.

The Legend of Hell House is the story of four people who are hired to enter an old mansion that is proven to be haunted; a scientist and his wife and two mediums. They are paid a large sum to stay for four days and interpret what they see. It is a well made film that doesn’t feel its age, or even of the 1970s. There is nothing overly gothic about it and there are even a few legitimate scares. It is very probably my favorite film of the Halloween 2008 Film Festival.

October has been a great month, and I can’t wait to see what is on tap for the evening itself. Here is to a wonderful and eventful—the good kind of events—Halloween at your house too.

BUG

We have an annual Halloween tradition at my house. We choose a different horror film to watch each Sunday evening in October. There are no rules. The films range from slasher to quiet to psychological, and from old titles to recent releases. The films can be television originals, small budget independent films, or big budget Hollywood releases. Anything goes.

We usually enter October with a pool of several possible titles and wait to make the actual selections each Sunday evening. This past Sunday we watched William Friedkin’s paranoid film BUG. It is a film that I have mixed feelings about. It went in a direction I wasn’t expecting, but at times it felt overwrought and a little tight. The majority of the film took place in a dingy old motel room; a room that successfully gave me a vague feeling of claustrophobia and as the film moved forward the director, subtly at first and then more overtly as the climax approached, turned into a raw slash of paranoia.

I enjoyed BUG, but there were a few moments when it stalled and it took Friedkin too long to get it restarted. The motives of the characters were successfully portrayed and Ashley Judd did a great job as a lonely and sad woman susceptible to a visiting paranoia. It is an uneven film that is more about ideas than horror—it can be seen as a denouncement of the Iraq War and the War on Terrorism, specifically the paranoia that was generated by certain (unnamed) governments for self benefit.

The description over at Yahoo!Movies reads:

A lonely waitress with a tragic past, Agnes rooms in a run-down motel, living in fear of her abusive, recently paroled ex-husband. But when Agnes begins a tentative romance with Peter, an eccentric, nervous drifter, she starts to feel hopeful again--until the first bugs arrive.

And here’s the trailer…

Five Writers for Halloween

The end of October is in sight, and that means one thing: Halloween. Halloween is a favorite holiday of mine, and as it approaches I find myself filled with an unexplainable sense of excitement—it is the twelve year-old boy in me craving a past that no longer exists, but somehow it is also more than that. It is the excitement of autumn—the days are shrinking, the shadows are lengthening, and nights are deepening. I love the cool crisp air, the idea of coming winter, but mostly the spooky chill that is Halloween.

So in honor of Halloween I’m going to list a few of my favorite horror writers—five to be exact. The only rule in this selection of authors is: there are no rules.

1. Jack Ketchum. The work of Jack Ketchum is truly frightening. He generally doesn’t employ the horror norms of demons, goblins, and poltergeists, but instead he creates truly frightening evil in the form of humanity. He shows us the worst elements that can exist in us all, and then unleashes it on the characters of his stories. If you haven’t tried Ketchum, do it soon.

My favorite Jack Ketchum novels are: The Girl Next Door, Off Season, Red, and his short story collection Peaceable Kingdom.

2. Richard Laymon. I discovered Richard Laymon in the autumn of 2000, and I quickly found and read every novel that was available in the United States for less than the price of a small automobile, which at the time was about sixteen of them. His work can be gross, violent, and very nearly pornographic in places, but somehow—especially in his better novels—he lightens it with humor, and adolescent innocence.

My favorite Laymon novels are: In the Dark, The Traveling Vampire Show, One Rainy Night, Night Show, Into the Fire, and Among the Missing.

3. Stephen King. This is a writer who truly needs no introduction, but I’m going to give him one anyway. Mr. King writes with a power that few modern writers have—he creates working class characters so real and vibrant that when he eases mysticism and fantasy into the stories it doesn’t feel forced or unreal. It is simply part of the story, and very believable.

My favorite King novels—specifically aimed at Halloween are: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Stand, ‘Salem’s Lot, and his short story collection Skeleton Crew. I have never read a Stephen King novel I didn’t like, but the aforementioned titles are spooky enough for any Halloween.

4. Douglas Clegg. Mr. Clegg probably has more raw talent than any other horror writer currently producing mainstream horror. His voice is strong, clear, and very frightening. His work runs from chilling ghost stories to vampires, to the more cinematic and gory. I have yet to find a Clegg novel I didn’t like.

My favorite Douglas Clegg novels are: The Infinite, The Attraction, The Hour Before Dark, and Nightmare House.

5. Dean Koontz. Mr. Koontz is another writer who needs no introduction. His work is difficult to categorize because he is able to mix and match genre elements with ease. His early work was mainly in the science fiction genre, but he also wrote in the suspense, horror, romance, and mystery genres—now all of these genres can be found in his work. I especially enjoy his work from the 1980s, but I really haven’t found a Koontz book I didn’t enjoy.

My favorite Dean Koontz novels—with a Halloween twist—are: Lightning, Midnight, The Bad Place, and Face of Fear.

A few honorable mentions: The Night Class by Tom Piccirilli, The Manitou by Graham Masterton, Cage of Night by Ed Gorman, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, Curtains of Blood by Robert J. Randisi, and…so many more that I’m forgetting.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween—I know I will.