Tag: horror rewind

Horror Rewind #11 – “Classics of the Supernatural” (ed. Peter Haining) (1995)

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The book's subtitle puts it better: Ghost Movies. But even that's deceptive. In this 260-page anthology, editor Peter Haining (whose many other spooky collections were familiar to me as a teenager) traces the history of the ghost story onscreen through the works of fiction that inspired such classic films as Night of the Demon, Don't … Continue reading Horror Rewind #11 – “Classics of the Supernatural” (ed. Peter Haining) (1995)

Horror Rewind special: James Herbert! (part two)

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Read Part One The mid-1980s saw a change in Herbert's work, of which Moon (1985) although it contains many similar elements to The Jonah, is the first example. The hero of this transitional novel in Herbert's oeuvre has a "softer" name than his usual heroes - Childes - which reflects his vulnerability. He's a teacher … Continue reading Horror Rewind special: James Herbert! (part two)

Horror Rewind special: James Herbert! (part one)

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"Politically the UK was still in turmoil, economically the country was very much in the doldrums, and culturally we were still living in the sixties, albeit without any of the verve, and certainly none of the optimism...power cuts and the three-day week...endless public sector strikes, IRA bombings and apparent industrial collapse...it wasn't exactly a dystopian … Continue reading Horror Rewind special: James Herbert! (part one)

Horror Rewind #9 – ‘Spawn’ by Shaun Hutson (1983)

Spawn by Shaun Hutson
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Stephen King famously wrote in Danse Macabre, his 1981 study of the horror genre, "I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the … Continue reading Horror Rewind #9 – ‘Spawn’ by Shaun Hutson (1983)

Horror Rewind #8 – ‘The Ghoul’ by Mark Ronson (1980)

The Ghoul by Mark Ronson
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No, not that Mark Ronson. Not Uptown Funk Mark Ronson. The Ghoul is an odd one. A bit like The Pet, it’s a book clearly marketed by the publishers as a pulp horror but which turns out upon reading to be a much more thoughtful, intelligently-written piece of fiction than the “pulp” label generally implies. … Continue reading Horror Rewind #8 – ‘The Ghoul’ by Mark Ronson (1980)

Horror rewind #7 – ‘Skeleton Crew’ magazine, July 1990

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Books last. Okay, some books last. Some books are hailed upon publication and instantly attain 'classic' status; the reputation of others grows only slowly; still others appear and just as quickly vanish. Reputations, too. In the 'Horror Rewind' series I've looked at a selection of horror fiction from the 70s and 80s to examine how … Continue reading Horror rewind #7 – ‘Skeleton Crew’ magazine, July 1990

Horror Rewind #6 – ‘The Cleanup’ by John Skipp & Craig Spector (1987)

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'Splatterpunk' was a short-lived tag applied to a generation of younger horror writers who appeared in the mid-80s and took the levels of explicit gore pioneered in the late 70s to new levels. John Skipp and Craig Spector were twenty-something US horror authors at the forefront of the movement. In an interview with them in … Continue reading Horror Rewind #6 – ‘The Cleanup’ by John Skipp & Craig Spector (1987)

Horror Rewind #5 – “The Pet” by Charles L. Grant (1986)

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Here's a book I misjudged by its cover. I bought it in the expectation of something enjoyably trashy: maybe a family pet gone psycho, like Cujo? Or at least animals on the rampage like The Rats, Crabs, Slugs, etc.? Not quite. It's the story of Don Boyd, seventeen and trapped in a house with parents … Continue reading Horror Rewind #5 – “The Pet” by Charles L. Grant (1986)

Horror Rewind #4 – “Prime Evil” (ed. Douglas E. Winter) (1988)

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Or should that be "Anti-Horror Rewind"? American lawyer Douglas E. Winter made his literary name with one of the first book-length studies of Stephen King's work (The Art of Darkness), and in 2001 wrote the authorised biography of Clive Barker (The Dark Fantastic). In between, he edited (although curated may be a more appropriate term) … Continue reading Horror Rewind #4 – “Prime Evil” (ed. Douglas E. Winter) (1988)

Horror Rewind #3 – Robert Aickman’s “Cold Hand In Mine” (1975)

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I'm cheating on two counts here. I'd intended 'Horror Rewind' to be a look back at works of fiction from the Horror Boom of the late 70s to early 90s, and in their original (or at least a contemporary) edition. Cold Hand In Mine is a 2014 reissue from Faber (a lovely thing, as all … Continue reading Horror Rewind #3 – Robert Aickman’s “Cold Hand In Mine” (1975)