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Post by dem bones on Dec 6, 2013 21:34:27 GMT
I'm with David and Thana on Clarke's tale. Poor nun, indeed. I recently read Thomson's story in the "King of Pop" edition of Only by Daylight, and that chant of "too fat . . . too fat" has lingered in my memory. My original thought was to run Flavia's aforementioned, downright sadistic Behind The Yellow Door, but that particular shocker has already been anthologised on a number of occasions and besides, "slobbering in senile amusement" is something of a Vault speciality. I'm very glad The Poor Nun of Burtisford attracted comment. It is amazing how many Vault contributors have a Ghosts & Scholars connection, either as contributors to the magazine, the newsletters, the Book Of Shadows, or readers and fans of same.
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Thana Niveau
Devils Coach Horse
We who walk here walk alone.
Posts: 109
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Post by Thana Niveau on Dec 7, 2013 6:25:01 GMT
I quite liked the scenic route of "Behind the Blinds". Too many stories are in a hurry to get to "the good bits". Definitely not as good or as gruesome as "Behind the Yellow Door" but still a squirmer!
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Dec 7, 2013 7:08:17 GMT
As usual the advent calander gets opened so fast I miss bits. Just read A V. Harding - The Underbody - what a thing of beauty. Classic story, great idea. Would definitely like to read more of her work.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 7, 2013 8:27:32 GMT
Margaret Brundage Virtually every one of the Neville Spearman 'weird tales'-interest hard cover collections were recycled by Panther as two or three volume paperbacks, but not, as far as I'm aware, Dr. David H. Keller's Tales From Underwood, a great shame, as it's a delightfully varied selection of his best SF, Fantasy and, of course, some first rate horror stories. I've a confession to make in relation to this one. Was three pages into typing it out when i discovered that Project Gutenberg had beaten me to it. pushed for time, and trusting to their proof-reading skills way about my own, it made sense to use their text, so any pleasure that you may derive from today's proto-shudder pulp, it is all thanks to Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the team! And remember. The show isn't over until the embittered, hypersensitive diva sings - and you'll applaud like crazy if you know what's good for you ... Attachments:Tiger Cat.pdf (306.68 KB)
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Post by mcannon on Dec 7, 2013 9:33:00 GMT
As usual the advent calander gets opened so fast I miss bits. Just read A V. Harding - The Underbody - what a thing of beauty. Classic story, great idea. Would definitely like to read more of her work. This isn't exactly an original comment, but I remain perplexed that after all these years, there's still hasn't been an Alison V Harding collection. She may not have been the greatest writer Weird Tales ever produced but I've always enjoyed her work, and it seems sufficiently varied in theme to have some broad interest among WT and pulp fans (sadly, I don't think we'll ever see a "Great Brain-Transplant Tales of Bassett Morgan"). I gather "Harding" only died around 2004; perhaps she actually didn't want any such collection? Whatever the reason, with around 36 WT appearances to her credit some sort of volume - even an ebook - is surely long overdue. Mark PS -the Calendar continues to be wonderful!
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Dec 7, 2013 10:55:45 GMT
"Too fat..." Another little gem. And Behind the Blinds - Unfortunately, didn't descend into utter depravity but very good in the first two thirds.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Dec 7, 2013 16:41:31 GMT
This isn't exactly an original comment, but I remain perplexed that after all these years, there's still hasn't been an Alison V Harding collection. She may not have been the greatest writer Weird Tales ever produced but I've always enjoyed her work, and it seems sufficiently varied in theme to have some broad interest among WT and pulp fans (sadly, I don't think we'll ever see a "Great Brain-Transplant Tales of Bassett Morgan"). I gather "Harding" only died around 2004; perhaps she actually didn't want any such collection? Whatever the reason, with around 36 WT appearances to her credit some sort of volume - even an ebook - is surely long overdue. I doubt that the market for a Harding collection would be large, but with the rise of high-quality print-on-demand publishers that have printed works by other, similarly obscure writers, it seems as though somebody ought to be able do it. I wonder whether Fender Tucker and John Pelan at Ramble House or Gregory Luce at Armchair Fiction could be persuaded to publish at least a "best of," if not the complete works. By the way, I would totally buy The Great Brain-Transplant Tales of Bassett Morgan.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 8, 2013 0:53:54 GMT
By the way, I would totally buy The Great Brain-Transplant Tales of Bassett Morgan. Valancourt are playing a blinder at the moment. Just saying ...... I'm really not sure how often Theodore Francis Powys (1875 – 1953) tried his hand at horror fiction. Dennis Wheatley selected The House With The Echo for A Century Of Horror (1935), 'Jeremy Scott' found room for No Room in The Mandrake Root (1946), while John Gawsworth' served up A Suet Pudding in the bookshelf collapsing Thrills, Crimes & Mysteries, (1935). Mike Ashley also mentions something called The Two Thieves - maybe he authored enough nasty shorts to warrant a collection? This next is arguably his best known (and best) contribution to the genre, the tragic tale of Mr Walter Gidden, the vicar of East Dodder, whose intolerance of cruelty culminates in a terrible event which sees him fleeing the peaceful village of East Dodder as The Hunted Beast .... This has all been by way of a - I hope, enjoyable appetiser for the main course, i.e., the 4th annual Vault & friends talent show, starting .... tomorrow. In previous years I've been begging material as late as December 23rd, but, such is the the entirely misguided generosity of certain members of the horror community, if we don't introduce our contemporary masters & mistresses of the macabre now, there won't be enough space to to fit everybody in! No smiley, your kindness is very much appreciated, you know! Attachments:The Hunted Beast.pdf (91.86 KB)
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Post by mcannon on Dec 8, 2013 6:45:07 GMT
By the way, I would totally buy The Great Brain-Transplant Tales of Bassett Morgan. [/quote] Right, that's two of us - Kickstarter campaign, anyone? Mark
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Post by dem bones on Dec 9, 2013 9:32:00 GMT
Chrissie Demant We begin phase II with stories by three of Britain's most influential and respected anthology editors. Introducing the following grim tale of campus black sorcery, another Vault legend, Hugh Lamb, remarked: "Few people have done more to promote fantasy fiction over the past few years than David A. Sutton." Thirty-seven years on, with the relaunch off Shadow Publications, that still holds true. David will shortly be receiving the dreaded 'Vault attempted bibliography' treatment, but in the meantime, click here to find out what our friend has been up to of late. And now, meet .... Attachments:the fetch.pdf (44.25 KB)
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Dec 9, 2013 21:34:52 GMT
The Hunted Beast - sadistic, cruel with a random hunchback thrown in for good measure. Can it get any better? Yes it can. Excellent story by David Sutton.
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Post by dem bones on Dec 10, 2013 11:04:59 GMT
Jack Partington The second of our superb anthologists - admittedly, he does plenty more besides! - is our dear friend and colleague Ramsey Campbell, another fellow who has kindly made it his mission in life to scare us all witless! I once tried to compile a personal top 20 'best' of Ramsey's short stories, gave up when it became clear that "OK, best make that thirty ... forty ... I dunno. Fifty? ...." If what passes for sanity around here had not prevailed, I'd likely still be at it. It was David A. Riley who first alerted me to the devilish delights of The Childish Fear, and as soon as I saw the words "haunted" "cinema" and "ghouls," I knew I had to read it. Ramsey tells us, "The Capitol is an amalgam of various Essoldo cinemas, favourite haunts of mine in the sixties." This story, which first appeared in Charles Partington and Harry Nadler's Alien Worlds, 1966, was resurrected as one of Mr. Campbell's Inconsequential Tales. Naturally, it's nothing of the sort ....
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Post by Craig Herbertson on Dec 10, 2013 11:34:19 GMT
Top class, as one would expect, by Mr Ramsay.
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Post by David A. Riley on Dec 10, 2013 11:42:23 GMT
This was possibly the first of Ramsey's stories I ever read - and is still one of my favourites. It reminded me so much of the old Oswaldtwistle (Ossy) Palladium, which used to let me in aged 12 to watch horror films. It was where I first saw such gems as The Revenge of Frankenstein and Curse of the Werewolf. The building still stands but it's been derelict for decades. I only ever went upstairs to the balcony - never the stalls. It may have been because, if you read Ramsey's story - I already had "childish fears"...
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Post by mattofthespurs on Dec 10, 2013 14:02:02 GMT
Cracking stories so far. I've been printing them off and reading them when the chance (often a train ride) strikes. Makes it worth getting up each morning. Thanks Dem!
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