SFFWorld Countdown to Halloween 2015

[Hobbit]

For the last few years here at SFFWorld, it's become a bit of a tradition that in October we countdown to the 31st by highlighting items of interest to get you ready for what should be a genre highlight of the year.

(Last year's summary is HERE, by the way.)

Up to the plate once again has stepped Forum member Randy M., who puts forward books and other items that may be of interest.

We hope you find it useful: personally I find something new every year!

But we want your input too: what are you planning to do or read this year? Let us know here.

Though it is 30 days or so away, we hope you have a good year: Happy Hallowe'en, everyone.

And now, over to Randy....

 

[DJ94122]

Where's Randy?

Randy?? RRAAANNDYYY!!

He's gone. It's a tragedy too great for words. Yet, I will try anyway.

Randy was a gentle soul. Beloved by everyone, even KatG. His tastes always ran a bit more to the horror side of things, but I think most of us can forgive him that small weakness. Ahhh.... it's - it's too much. I can't continue. RIP, Randy.

 

[Michael Stone]

This thread sounds interesting. I will read some of last year's stuff to understand what it's all about. Halloween has always been my favourite holiday. From the Great Pumpkin to Frankenstein, the tv fare is wonderful.

 

[Hobbit]

Where's Randy?

Randy will appear, honest! At the moment he's in the crypt at Hobbit Towers, making sure that this year's selection are ready to be unearthed. There's also the fact that we work in an alternate time zone, which can make etherial connections tricky with the outside world. For now, though, feel free to start by resurrecting last year's selections (or even the years before that.) There's enough there to get started with....

 

[Randy M.]

The Ghost of Randy Past has arrived!
(I wonder, does that translate oddly in British English?)

No, no, what you hear isn’t sneezing, it’s the sound of clanking chains.
(Question to Mark: Hobbit Towers doesn’t have a vacuum cleaner?? C’mon man, even the ghouls are complaining.)

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. It's hard to believe we're here again, entering October, celebrating the harvest of apples and pumpkins, the changing colors of the leaves, the cooler days and a slowing pace from the hectic summer. Some of us also celebrate the dragging foot scraping the cobblestones, the tentacles reaching out from the puddle, the fangs that bite, the claws that shred and the distant howling beneath the full moon.

Which is to say, we turn our taste in fiction to stories spiced with scary. In the past I’ve tried to apply loose themes to a list of potential reading for October. This year’s theme is looser: Stuff I didn’t get to read last year. (Or the year before. Or …) Still, my reading has tended toward hauntings (four, maybe five if we’re not too strict in our definitions), two entries concerning the fiction and influence of H.P. Lovecraft, and an assortment of things that bite and things that claw and … other … things.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I’ll post to the forum. As always, if you catch me in a faux pas, a mistake or just poor thinking, call me on it, and anyone with something to contribute is welcome to join in. The more the merrier.

And let’s add a new wrinkle this year: Websites like Gaslight.com, Project Gutenberg and UNZ.com offer access to great old fiction. So I’ll build an anthology of links: Throughout October I’ll offer up links to stories I’ve enjoyed. In the interests of full disclosure, I haven’t read some of these stories in years, so many of them are on my rereading list for the month, but the list is more ambitious than I’m likely to make it through so if I comment at all, it’ll usually be brief. And if you decide to read the story, I invite comment; let us know what you think. Here’s the first,


An Anthology of Links 1:
From the heyday of pulp, a cornerstone story in the transition from the antiquarian horror of M.R. James and H. P. Lovecraft to a contemporary (1940s) noir style and approach.

Pre-Psycho Murderer: “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” by Robert Bloch


Randy M.

 

[Randy M.]

THE RIDGE by Michael Koryta (2011; Back Bay Books)

“Which would you rather have: a homicide or a suicide?

… ”I wanted to know if there was any difference in the way you’d investigate,” the man said, his words clearer now, less of the bourbon speaking for him. “Do you pursue the root causes of a suicide in the same manner that you would a homicide?”

… ”I pursue the truth.”​

--from The Ridge ​

Wyatt French has been a small thorn in the side of Sawyer County Sheriff Kevin Kimble. Besides his bouts of public intoxication, French built a lighthouse in the woods in the hills outside Whitman, Kentucky, its light a nuisance to the owners of the new big cat preserve, disturbing the animals at night. So when Kimble receives a call from French on his personal phone while driving to the Women’s penitentiary to interview the woman who shot him eight years earlier, he’s not inclined to be receptive and friendly. Until French’s ramblings begin to sound dangerous, possibly to others and more probably to himself. But French’s reassurances soothe Kimble and, mired in his personal problem, he dismisses the call.

French also calls Roy Darmus, a reporter for the recently defunct Sawyer County Sentinel. Darmus had covered the lighthouse when French first built it and had not treated it as a joke. After a similar ramble French hangs up. Darmus, disturbed by the tenor of the conversation, travels to the lighthouse and finds French dead, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot.

Now Kimble and Darmus face the mystery of when a suicide isn’t a suicide, why a drunkard would build a lighthouse far away from a coast, and how that drunkard and hermit could afford to equip it not just with the usual lighthouse light but also apparently a battery of infra-red lights. And why? Why a lighthouse? What is in these hills that needed to be lighted? And why the pictures pinned to the walls of the lighthouse, among them several people who died in that section of the Kentucky hills, people like Darmus’ parents, but also one who didn’t die, the woman who shot Kimble eight years earlier?

Joining them is Audrey Clark, recently widowed, and the proud caretaker of the only black panther known to exist, so rare experts question its reality even after seeing it. And Audrey and her expert caretaker wonder at its intelligence. When it escapes, easily jumping the fenced space it had allowed them to put it in and kills a deputy, a hunt for the cat ensues. But there is something else out there, too. And it might be more dangerous.

The Ridge is a fine example of a supernatural thriller, joining apparently separate strands from its characters lives to provide clues to the truth of what has visited the region and which Koryta gradually unveils through a logical progression of event and incident. The mapping and gradual understanding of those incidents by Kimble and Darmus is believable which leads to a quality of the novel I truly appreciate: Koryta’s characters do not spend a lot of time disbelieving. Of course they do at first, but when the evidence they acquire points to the other worldly, they accept that they are facing something beyond their experience and try to find ways to contend with it. I found The Ridge well-written and well-thought out, an altogether entertaining thriller.



Other spooky novels:
Night has a Thousand Eyes by Cornell Woolrich
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
lost boy lost girl by Peter Straub



Small town life:
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon
Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge

 

[RedMage]

I finally picked up Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes and I'm thoroughly enjoying it, though I'm not too far yet. I can really see just how much the book is from a different era; the language and sentence structure itself is so different than what is commonly seen in books published today or, at least, in the more recent books that I read. Bradbury really was a master of language. As a writer, I am totally taking notes.

 

[Randy M.]

I don't think Something... is quite like any other Bradbury I've read, though The Halloween Tree comes close. It's like Bradbury invested himself in a child-like view of the world and found the language to express that joy and some of the fear that comes with it.

I don't think it's an entirely successful novel, but it is so engaging, so exuberant and looks so closely into the minds of young boys and the fears of an aging man, that I've read it more times than many novels I think more successful.


Randy M.

 

[Hobbit]

And we're off! Thank you, Randy: as ever, it looks like a fun ride! And having links this year means that you can read as we go along!

The Ghost of Randy Past has arrived!
(I wonder, does that translate oddly in British English?)

LOL! No, that REALLY doesn't translate well in British/English! But it did make me laugh...

RM: there's a new luxury edition of Something Wicked due out this year from PS Publishing - I'm hoping to see a copy by the end of the month. It is perhaps my favourite Bradbury and certainly my favourite Bradbury novel - generally I much prefer his short stories. (I do like the Dark Carnival/October Country stories, too.)

Must admit, I'm quite excited that I've just got my interview back from Lovecraft aficionado ST Joshi. His answers are, quick frankly, brilliant, though I expected nothing less from one of the world's experts on Horror and Lovecraft. Should appear at the weekend.

I'm currently working on a pile of Titan Books stuff for Halloween. I've got two ST Joshi edited collections, The Madness of Cthulhu Volumes 1 & 2 which I'm enjoying. I've got a Kim Newman pastiche on old school schoolbook stories, The Secrets of Drearcliffe Grange School, which I'm looking forward to (even if last year's An English Ghost Story disappointed.) There's a new illustrated edition of Stephen King's Joyland due as well, so I'm looking forward to seeing that one.

I'm also hoping that by the end of the month I'll have a big collection from Head of Zeus, named Ghost, edited by Louise Welch. 800+ pages, 100 stories from 'Hilary Mantel, William Faulkner, Kate Atkinson, Henry James, Kazuo Ishiguro, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Franz Kafka, Ruth Rendell, Edgar Allan Poe, William Trevor, Helen Simpson, Haruki Murakami, Dylan Thomas, Bram Stoker, H.P Lovecraft, Lydia Davis, Sir Walter Scott, Annie Proulx, Bram Stoker, Angela Carter and Stephen King.' (LINK) Probably my main read for the occasion this year.

And then there's all the usual culprits, the one I return to year on year, mentioned in previous Countdown yearly threads. Not to mention the ones that Randy points out every year that I've never read...

Love October!

 

[RedMage]

@Randy M. and @Hobbit -- thanks for the info. That's all good to know about Something Wicked. Perhaps some of what Randy said explains what I'm seeing in the book. Though, as I said, I'm not too far yet, only about 60 pages and around chapter 10, I think. I'm interested to see how it turns out

 

[Randy M.]

ANTHOLOGY OF LINKS 2:

Pre-Pre-Psycho Murderer: “The Hands of Mr. Ottermole” by Thomas Burke

I first read this in high school in 101 Years' Entertainment ed. by Ellery Queen, which might well be to the mystery/crime story what Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural has been to the ghost/horror story. Even when I've forgotten the particulars of the story, the tone of it, the atmosphere created, the evaluation of the mind of a murderer stuck with me.

I haven't read a lot of Burke's stories, only dipping into a couple of collections of his work, much of which centered in the Limehouse district of London in the late 19th, early 20th century and written from the point of view of the Asians, mainly Chinese I think, who lived there. Burke is no longer well-known, but I believe this story if no other should live on.


Randy M.

 

[Randy M.]

RM: there's a new luxury edition of Something Wicked due out this year from PS Publishing - I'm hoping to see a copy by the end of the month. It is perhaps my favourite Bradbury and certainly my favourite Bradbury novel - generally I much prefer his short stories. (I do like the Dark Carnival/October Country stories, too.)

That sounds very nice. I'll be interested in hearing more about it when you see it.

Must admit, I'm quite excited that I've just got my interview back from Lovecraft aficionado ST Joshi. His answers are, quick frankly, brilliant, though I expected nothing less from one of the world's experts on Horror and Lovecraft. Should appear at the weekend.

If August Derleth kept H.P. Lovecraft visible (with an assist from Donald Wandrei and a war-time paperback collection), it was Joshi who made him academically relevant, his serious study supplanting the brush-off HPL received from Edmund Wilson and broadening the audience. (And, of course, there were other influences pushing in that direction, like a few movies based on Lovecraft's work.)

I'm currently working on a pile of Titan Books stuff for Halloween. I've got two ST Joshi edited collections, The Madness of Cthulhu Volumes 1 & 2 which I'm enjoying.

I look forward to your review. I had it in mind to dive into the first of Joshi's Black Wings anthologies in 2015 but that hasn't t happened so far, darn it.

I've got a Kim Newman pastiche on old school schoolbook stories, The Secrets of Drearcliffe Grange School, which I'm looking forward to (even if last year's An English Ghost Story disappointed.) There's a new illustrated edition of Stephen King's Joyland due as well, so I'm looking forward to seeing that one.

I'm also hoping that by the end of the month I'll have a big collection from Head of Zeus, named Ghost, edited by Louise Welch. 800+ pages, 100 stories from 'Hilary Mantel, William Faulkner, Kate Atkinson, Henry James, Kazuo Ishiguro, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Franz Kafka, Ruth Rendell, Edgar Allan Poe, William Trevor, Helen Simpson, Haruki Murakami, Dylan Thomas, Bram Stoker, H.P Lovecraft, Lydia Davis, Sir Walter Scott, Annie Proulx, Bram Stoker, Angela Carter and Stephen King.' (LINK) Probably my main read for the occasion this year.

Nice. All of those sound like fun, especially Ghost.

By the way, Welch's first novel, The Cutting Room is excellent and if not exactly a horror story, it has moments and images that are horrific and a poor schlep of a protagonist in over his head and fighting hard to understand what he's gotten himself into.

And then there's all the usual culprits, the one I return to year on year, mentioned in previous Countdown yearly threads. Not to mention the ones that Randy points out every year that I've never read...

Love October!

Me, too, except for it's nearness to February. (If you'd experience last year's New York state winter, that would make more sense.)

Randy M.

 

[Hobbit]

That sounds very nice. I'll be interested in hearing more about it when you see it.

Here's the latest on that PS Publishing edition. It's not cheap at £60 (erm: $100?), but there's an even more eye-watering edition signed by Ray at £595. (Erm: $1000?) Thinking about the £60 edition...

Me, too, except for it's nearness to February. (If you'd experience last year's New York state winter, that would make more sense.)

I've got an idea.. Rob Bedford showed me pictures!

 

[Randy M.]

Since the weekend is nearly here ...

ANTHOLOGY OF LINKS 3
Another Handful: “The Beast with Five Fingers” by W. F. Harvey

This one is on my list to reread -- I recall liking it and little more. What I can say is that it inspired one of the better horror movies of the 1940s appropriately titled, The Beast With Five Fingers and starring Peter Lorre, J. Carroll Nash and Robert Alda. The ending differs from the story, and is not an improvement, but up to that point script writer Curt Siodmak and director Robert Florey do a good job of creating an atmosphere of imminent danger. If you like 1940s, black and white movies, it's worth a viewing.


ANTHOLOGY OF LINKS 4
That Little Voice in Your Ear: “Enoch” by Robert Bloch

“Have you ever felt the tread of little feet walking across the top of your skull? Footsteps on your skull, back and forth, back and forth?”

Even before I read "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" I read this one. Too easy to tip off too much, so I'll leave it at, it's one of my favorite Robert Bloch stories.


Randy M.

 

[Randy M.]

Here's the latest on that PS Publishing edition. It's not cheap at £60 (erm: $100?), but there's an even more eye-watering edition signed by Ray at £595. (Erm: $1000?) Thinking about the £60 edition...

Beautiful.

I've got an idea.. Rob Bedford showed me pictures!

Ah, that should have given you a shiver!


Randy M.

 

[Hobbit]

One I bought today:

Includes The Woman in Black, Dolly, Printer's Devil's Court, The Man in the Picture and The Small Hand. Lovely hardback edition I got for less than £10.

 

[Julialynn]

Countdown to Halloween, YAY! Not really coincidentally, I decided weeks ago that this month I was going to read The Halloween Tree and Something Wicked This Way Comes. The former I read when I was around 12 and remember absolutely loving it. It will be interesting to see what I think of it all these decades later. I don't believe I've ever read the latter. I remember watching the '80s movie on cable several times and really enjoying that (even though I see now on wikipedia that the movie was a box office flop).

As for other October reading for myself, I had been thinking of re-reading Gaiman's Coraline which I think I last read upon it's release (or was it the release of the movie? Either way it's been awhile). I also thought I might revisit some Poe. Now with this handy thread, I might have to venture out further and try some stuff I've never heard of.

Thanks Randy M. for the info you'll be providing this month!

 

[RedMage]

Countdown to Halloween, YAY! Not really coincidentally, I decided weeks ago that this month I was going to read The Halloween Tree and Something Wicked This Way Comes. The former I read when I was around 12 and remember absolutely loving it. It will be interesting to see what I think of it all these decades later. I don't believe I've ever read the latter. I remember watching the '80s movie on cable several times and really enjoying that (even though I see now on wikipedia that the movie was a box office flop).

We'll have to compare notes on what we each think of Something Wicked This Way Comes! Though, I'm having a bit of trouble getting to it right now as my own writing (and the various projects therein) are taking precedence.

 

[Julialynn]

We'll have to compare notes on what we each think of Something Wicked This Way Comes! Though, I'm having a bit of trouble getting to it right now as my own writing (and the various projects therein) are taking precedence.

Comparing notes sounds like fun. I haven't actually started the book yet, so I can definitely wait on the discussion. Your own writing projects should definitely take precedence. Good luck!

 

[Hobbit]

Hi Julia. Yes, the thread's about thoughts of Halloween and sharing/joining in, so it'll be great to read what you think about the Bradbury, even if it's "Ugh..."

Randy's always got some great suggestions, and we're trying links this year so that people can read along. Thoughts on Randy's suggestions will, of course, also be welcome.

Here I've just read Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell. It's short but good fun - very English, and very much in a Phil Rickman/Merrilly Watkins kind-of style. Review to follow.

M.