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Post by Calenture on May 3, 2008 14:09:55 GMT
Johnny - is he the same Francis King who wrote a number of factual black magic titles for Nel in the 'seventies and gave evidence as the prosecutions expert witness at a rather infamous 'witch trial' in '74? Thanks. Either way, I think this would be a good time for me to remove the reference to him being 'late' from the earlier post!  Later Nope, definitely not the same Francis King. The one I'm thinking of died in 1994! Glad to see you're back, Dem.  I've obviously been confusing two Francis Kings, too. I'm wondering now if the same one wrote A Scent of Mimosa in The Times Anthology of Ghost Stories and the introduction to C A Dawson Scott's The Haunting, etc. Possibly the author of all those black magic essays wrote only those? Later: Francis King poet, novelist and short story writer: Francis KingFrancis X King occult essayist: Francis X King 1939 - 1994 |
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Post by dem bones on May 3, 2008 16:57:42 GMT
Francis X. King was the occultist I was thinking of. Our Francis King contributed to the early Fontana Horrors ( Mess, The Doll, The Puppets) as well as the Pans, and A Scent of Mimosa is his, too. Not sure which of them wrote the intro to your Dawson book, though! I'm trying to figure out what part of your arm that actually is, Dem. In fact, I'm trying to figure out if it really IS part of your arm and not some other part of your anatomy! Apologies for the crazy mix-up, Caroline! This is my arm. The earlier photo was from my private collection and never intended for public viewing.  |
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Post by Calenture on May 3, 2008 17:56:53 GMT
Francis X. King was the occultist I was thinking of... Not sure which of them wrote the intro to your Dawson book, though! I don't think I've ever seen that 'X' in the name printed on those magic books. It's a fair bet that the other author did that introduction. Apologies for the crazy mix-up, Caroline! This is my arm. The earlier photo was from my private collection and never intended for public viewing. I don't know what Caroline thinks. but looking at that earlier photo... my god, man, you must have been through hell!  |
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Post by eddempster on May 4, 2008 7:23:16 GMT
I was wondering how on earth you had the time to read all these books, Dem, but seeing that scar tells me you've probably been laid up for quite a while. What happened? Motorbike, car, industrial accident?
My uncle has a scar like that on his elbow from when he was a kid. His idea was to belt down this hill on his pushbike and then swing around the lamp post at the bottom, keeping enough of the downward momentum to help him back up the hill. The surgeons wanted to amputate, but my gran wouldn't let them.
It took a while, but he gradually gained back full use of his hand and his arm. As part of his physio, they introduced him to the potter's wheel. Now he's a millionaire, and his pots sell for hundreds of pounds a piece. Funny how things work out, sometimes, innit?
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Post by dem bones on May 4, 2008 7:45:52 GMT
I was wondering how on earth you had the time to read all these books, Dem, but seeing that scar tells me you've probably been laid up for quite a while. What happened? Motorbike, car, industrial accident? Oh, it was far more glamorous than any of the above, Ed! Either a patch of black ice or some uncouth bastard flobbed on the pavement. The indignity of it! Well done your uncle for turning what could've been a handicap to his advantage, and, perhaps even more, your aunt for stubbornly refusing to allow amputation. There's a lesson for us all in that. |
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Post by Craig Herbertson on May 4, 2008 8:27:30 GMT
That's MY arm!!!!
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Post by Dr Terror on May 5, 2008 11:37:02 GMT
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Post by franklinmarsh on May 14, 2008 8:11:19 GMT
We should use one of those pictures as a cover for the Vault Book Of Horror Stories.
Edwin Brown - Round Every Corner I'd read this one as well. Bleedin' obvious where it's going but a lovely EC grue ending.
Rosemary Timperley - Hell On Both Sides Of The Gate
An odd tale - one of those circular ones. Pretty horrible once you realise what the father's about.
Don't Go Down In The Woods - John Arthur
A good 'un. In hindsight very obvious, but well done.
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Post by franklinmarsh on May 15, 2008 11:32:42 GMT
The Victorian Conservatory - Alan Temperley
Very well written but the descriptiveness means it takes an age to get going. Blinding ending though, worth the wait.
The Lion's Cradle - Harry E Turner
Just a dollop of horror at the end, but I enjoyed the build up much more with this one. A nifty little thriller with lots to enjoy - Product Placement - Rolls Royce,Marlboro,Ambre Solaire.
The way it was - a newspaper mentions a Labour Government slapping a wealth tax on anyone worth £100,000 or more, and the Leyland car company has a workforce dispute, plus
Cultural references - The Rolling Stones' Jumpin' Jack Flash and the chance to meet the 'misunderstood' Ronald Biggs in Rio.
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Post by Calenture on May 21, 2008 12:50:33 GMT
Apologies for the crazy mix-up, Caroline! This is my arm. The earlier photo was from my private collection and never intended for public viewing. I just saw something on Flickr to put Dem's arm in the shade. Scar of Death! |
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Post by franklinmarsh on May 23, 2008 13:51:42 GMT
I actually read Vol 20 all the way through. In order. Really enjoyed it and looking forward to a few of the late teen/early 20s volumes. My brother and I must have given up around Vol 13. Read the first story in Vol 18. Oh dear.
PS Sorry for interrupting the 'my wound's bigger than yours' competition.
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Post by erebus on Feb 14, 2009 21:02:52 GMT
We've gone from mashed up face to mashed up arm. What next mashed ........ potatoes ?
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Post by erebus on Feb 26, 2015 13:59:18 GMT
Its been a long long time since anybody repaid a visit to number 20 judging by the date of the last post, a somewhat juvenile response to Dem's wound ( Has it healed by the way ? ) by myself
A quick read through of this over the past three nights hasn't really changed my views on this one, its just a basic later on down the road Pan. Although it does contain a belter in my opinion.
That being Carl Schiffman's A Fresh Smell of Paint. A superb story of an older couple moving into a detached property with a bad memory , and a history of death shrouds it. It could have turned into a basic Rosemary Timperley Ghosty yarn, but it takes an interesting twist when the poor old Hubby, who has suffered at the hands of his hospitalised wife, does a spot of wall paper stripping and uncovers a hidden cupboard door. And what awaits within. This for me is what a horror story should be about. Suitably creepy, with a downbeat ending.
The earlier mentioned Rosemary Timperley abandons her trusted ghost story roots and goes for a different angle with her Hell on Both sides of the Gate. Rather a bizarre title when you consider the story, but a good effort it is. A sinister aged father returns to his daughter after a long spell incarcerated in the psycho home for killing his wife. I will not spill any details, although I liked how the story had a re occuring cycle to it.
My second favourite story, however was A Country Tale. A great way to close the book. A visiting writer/reporter is in the local pub hearing the tales of the dreaded Grenvilles Copse. A place cursed with death and delirium for anyone who is brave enough to venture within. Some great yarns are told, only for the biggest twist to occur when our writer gets up to the bar to refill the old fellas pint. Great stuff this one.
Nods to Don't Go Down in the Woods and Round Every Corner. Although both are two of those stories in which you know exactly the ultimate outcome even after a page or so.
In Contents, by Norman Kaufman we get a tale of..... well you know what you're going to get, a bloke cut to pieces in some way or another. Interestingly though he says he is going to unstuff the villain of the piece in this . In fact he does nothing of the sort. More like de bone his arms and legs. His organs all stay within. Regardless of this its the most gruesome story in the book.
I scratched my head at The Lions Cradle. So he doesn't loose his hand, he hits the switch and prevents the oil boiling, but for some reason it rises and he drowns. My two issues are, Why does he drown ? does hitting the switch cause the oil to rise instead of boiling ? And if thats the case would'nt a better pay off to the story concern a hand lopping and boiling betrayal by the captor, rather than this quick and hasty wrap up of and outcome. Felt unfulfilled after this.
Alan Temperley adds yet another to the collection of Plants and green leafy thing vs humans stories to the Pan pantheon. A look through the archives reveals a great many of these type of stories.
The rest of the stories are neither here nor there. The clunker of the volume being School Crossing.
In summary a good collection. Two standouts for me and only one poor effort. I would though would have liked to have had Susanna's flesh peeled and then sprinkled with pepper in The Leather Ottoman. Ah well can't have it all.
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Post by ripper on Mar 10, 2015 9:24:25 GMT
Pan Horror 20 is the highest numbered volume in the series that I currently own. It's been quite a while since I read it, but I remember enjoying the Thomas Muirson story quite a bit. It reminded me somewhat of Guy N. Smith's 'The Wood'. I really should give it another going over as many of the tales have slipped my mind.
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Post by ripper on Mar 10, 2015 13:42:44 GMT
As it's been a while since I bought a Pan and I have nothing higher than number 20, I thought I would have a look and see what number 30 is going for...£999 on Amazon. Well, at prices like that the only way I shall hold number 30 in my hands is to win the lottery.
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