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Post by dem on Sept 30, 2015 11:42:45 GMT
Speak of the devil. Just arrived from ghoul-infested Mortbury. What a brilliant way to see out a month! Charles Black (ed.) - The Eleventh Black Book Of Horror (Mortbury Press, Sept. 2015)  Paul Mudie
Edward Pearce - East Wickenden
Tom Johnstone - Slaughtered Lamb
John Llewellyn Probert - Forgive Us Not Our Trespasses
Stephen Bacon - Lord Of The Sand
Kate Farrell - Alma Mater
Stuart Young - Keeping The Romance Alive
Anna Taborska - Teatime
David A. Riley - Lem
Tony Earnshaw - Flies
David Williamson - And The Dead Shall Speak
Marion Pitman - Every Picture Tells A Story
Sam Dawson - The Weathervane
John Forth - Molli & Julli Blurb: 14 TALES OF TERROR Selected by Charles Black
DO YOU LIKE HORROR?
DO YOU LIKE TO BE FRIGHTENED?
" .... I suddenly felt a chill go up my back, as though a spider had dropped inside my shirt and was creeping towards my neck."
Two Five Seven
OR PERHAPS, REVEL IN SADISTIC GLEE?
"As soon as the needle pierces your skin, you'll feel a stinging, then, as the drain cleaner enters your vein, it will start to burn. The burning will make you want to tear apart your flesh and dig into your own veins to relieve the pain...”
Teatime
DO YOU TAKE A GHOULISH DELIGHT IN THE GROTESQUE?
"His eyes were gone, the sockets filled with flies that crawled and buzzed. His mouth, open and lipless, was a black hole of moving shapes. The odour was overwhelming."
Flies
AH, YES, THAT SMELL ...
"...the pungent, nauseating reek of putrefaction."
Slaughtered Lamb
SICKENING, ISN'T IT?
AND YET, YOU CAN'T RESIST, CAN YOU‘?
DARE YOU?It is. I can't. I daren't! Well done Charlie & all the contributors. Hideous blow-by-blow commentary a very distinct possibility once I've got properly stuck in. |
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Post by David A. Riley on Sept 30, 2015 18:54:36 GMT
Nice to see some new names along with the old lags.  |
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Post by dem on Oct 1, 2015 6:48:53 GMT
Electric voice phenomena, Jamesian creepiness and a nightmare encounter with Shankhill Butcher chief Lenny Murphy. Volume 11 is up and running. Thana Niveau - Two Five Seven: Terrific start! Little Heather and parents are spending the summer at Granddad's country cottage. She won't be lonely as there's another little girl living in the king-size wireless! "Annie" mostly recites numbers, but sometimes she sings her sad little song and occasionally chokes out a few disjointed words. Gramps, who doesn't seem very happy at Heather's discovery, explains the phenomenon away as a "numbers station," quite common, according to him, though nobody knows what purpose they serve. But it's when Heather dismantles the wireless to rescue Annie's dolly that the old-timer really gets cross ... Edward Pearce - East Wickenden: "Certayne of the villagers were wont to invoke wicked spirits of the long dead before an idol, at a spot known as Bloodye Copse.". Paul Hendy's quest for the long-lost gold icon brings him to a sleepy village, where he takes a room at The Screaming Queen pub and writes disparaging comments about the landlord and the resident local history bore in his notebook. The local vicar unwittingly provides the lead that's eluded him when he relates the story of a mysterious cross his predecessor retrieved from nearby woodland to rebury in the churchyard. Paul steals out unnoticed for a spot of midnight metal-detecting. Success! The flat-faced, featureless icon gives him the creeps, but it must be worth a fortune. Hendy packs his backs and heads back to civilisation. But what's that huge thing bounding toward him across the fields ...? Tom Johnstone - Slaughtered Lamb: Properly horrible. During the late 'eighties, the Dole Players theatre group tour the Irish border with Kev Mulligan's controversial play about the Birmingham Pub Bombing and subsequent conviction of six innocent scapegoats. It's young Robert Benton's duty to string up the rotting sheep's carcass they use as audience-baiting prop. When the group travel north for a one-off performance at the Belfast Queen Elizabeth, Bob picks the wrong pub to go seeking a replacement for their ghastly mascot ... A truly frightening account of war crime from the driving force behind last years exceptional austerity horror anthology, Horror Uncut! (Anna Taborska, Stephen Bacon, John Forth, John Llewellyn Probert, and Thana Niveau, all present and correct in this volume, among the contributors). |
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Post by dem on Oct 1, 2015 17:02:28 GMT
John Llewellyn Probert - Forgive Us Not Our Trespasses: Begins like it means gynaecological ghastliness and never lets up. Alex Martin is bent on becoming a father and doesn't care what wife Laura has to endure to oblige him. An already dismal second honeymoon at Somerset's luxurious Gorton Court Hotel takes a turn for the irredeemable when Laura encounters a pathetic, twisted dwarf on the corridor who insists she's its mummy. Turns out the Hotel was built on the site of the Victorian hospital where the sainted philanthropist Dr. Bridsoe conducted hideous surgical experiments on deformed and unwanted infants. Our resident Sex God from Planet Heavy Metal at his most deliriously unpleasant. Stephen Bacon - Lord Of The Sand: Some years on from the Iraq conflict, Shaun 'Beaky' Adams organises a reunion night for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers at The Golden Plover near Hastings. To show he's prepared to let bygones be bygones, Shaun even invites his old tormentor, Sergeant Brad 'The Hog' Hoggard, who took it as his personal vocation to make poor old Beaky's army career a misery. Seems the Sarge can't hold his drink like he used to, as he's soon slumped over a table. Shaun, who hasn't touched a drop all night, selflessly volunteers to drive his old pal home. But first, a quick stop off at the flat to feed his pets ... Kate Farrell - Alma Mater: A creepy nun instant classic! Girls board school at the Convent of Stella Maris, nineteen sixties. Each break time, Louise, Barbara, Jennifer, Caroline and chubby little Geraldine who has to use an inhaler, shun healthy outdoor pursuits to skive in the Drying Room, there to drink pop and swap nun-themed horror stories. Funnily enough, the building is a reputed haunt of Sister Bernadette, whose blind ghost is said to wander its corridors screeching out the Ave Maria. As if!
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Post by dem on Oct 2, 2015 10:13:23 GMT
Stuart Young - Keeping The Romance Alive: Yesterday brought a creepy nun, today, a Slimy Glans contender! Malcolm and Wendy experiment with dressy-up role-playing to revive their flagging sex life (yes, they are married, funny you should ask). Malcolm opts for a Hammer Horror themed night of passion replete with improvised 'Satanic' altar and piecemeal demon-raising ritual. Trouble is, there's such a thing as getting too caught up in your character .... Cliff Richard and Fifty Shades Of Grey have much to answer for. **** Fellow fans of pop culture references will be thrilled to learn that there's no scrimping on same in Vol 11. To date we've had Kevin Turvey, Barry 'The Clones Cyclone' McGuigan, Cliff Richards, Hammer Horror, Chesney Hawkes, Colour Me Badd, Jesus Jones, In The Name Of The Father, Faceache, Rohypnol, the aforementioned 'Peter Pan of Pop' & Fifty Shades Of Grey, and who's-your-absolute-favourite-Beatle?
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Post by dem on Oct 10, 2015 13:32:07 GMT
Back from the sick bay, into a world of unremitting sadism, sorcery-enhanced claymation, and Flies, millions of them .....
Anna Taborska - Teatime: He particularly impressed his tutors when he expressed his intention to study the effects of fear on animal behaviour." That's Victor, our protagonist, and those same Oxford tutors, most notably, Dr. Gilby, were not to retain their enthusiasm for his ghastly research much longer, hence his now pursuing a career as door to door collector for the Cancer charity he founded in memory of his dear mother. The intervening years have done nothing to curb Victor's genius for sadistic cruelty as his several victims would attest if they were still capable of doing so. But finally, the police are wise to him, better he forgoes his passion until their interest cools off. And that's when Lucy falls into his life ....
Child-molestation, misogyny/ misandry, animal cruelty and torture. Welcome to Anna Taborska's academy of pain.
David A. Riley - Lem: New York. Coked-up bully boy Jake and his easily-led best pal Matt set out on a burglary. Matt is reluctant from the first. As frail as he is now, Old Samuel was a racketeer back in the day, and there's something very eerie about his squalid apartment. For once, Jake is right. Their victim is a pushover. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of his minder.
Tony Earnshaw - Flies: Short, foul, grisly and unutterably sad. Old Jim and his faithful mutt, Rufus, take their morning stroll through the old cemetery, one of few local beauty spots as yet spared by creeping redevelopment. "Walkies" will never be the same again .....
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Post by dem on Oct 11, 2015 9:29:04 GMT
David Williamson - And The Dead Shall Speak: Tina and Craig's attendance of Madame Orloff's seance coincides with the medium's first genuine communication from the spirit world. Much to her anguish, a foul-mouthed somebody is taking advantage of her entirely bogus psychic powers to expose a murderer! Suspicion falls on the surly, sceptical Craig, but, for all his mood swings and secretive ways, is he capable of so heinous a crime? Another macabre comedy, this one surely inspired by R. Chetwynd-Hayes?
Marion Pitman - Every Picture Tells A Story: .... many, like this one, Amicus unpleasant. Wetherby, whose gruesome paintings adorn the covers of several horror paperbacks, is commissioned to provide artwork for the latest Zombie Apocalypse cash-in. The three victims depicted in resulting masterpiece are thinly veiled caricatures of people he vehemently dislikes. No sooner has the canvas dried than his unwitting life models die in bizarre and hideous fashion ...
Have doubtless said the same about successive Black Books, but Vol. 11 just might be the best to date!
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Post by dem on Oct 11, 2015 15:31:19 GMT
Two absolute nightmares to end on. Sam Dawson - The Weathervane: Following the death of the school carpenter, his son, Thomas Piper, fifteen, receives the Headmaster's dispensation to continue his studies at St. Abchurch, a rare privilege for a non-fee payer. Thomas's ambition is to become a teacher, the very first of Abchurch's despised "charity boys" ever to do so. He doesn't stand a chance. The Headmaster sanctions the sixth form bully boys to introduce Thomas to those fine old barbaric school traditions, one of which involves climbing the church steeple. The "Garden minder," a mute, ancient cripple, tries to warn the boy of their intentions. It's all about knowing your place. I don't know if "like M. R. James meets Horror Uncut!" quite does it justice, but The Weathervane is one of the angriest stories I've read in a long while. Excellent. As is: John Forth - Molli & Julli: Tom Saddler, male slag about town, sets out for another Friday night's clubbing and shagging with the lads. A far-from-chance encounter with two grotesque, predatory Barbie's on the train sends his evening into a terrifying tail-spin. However often he changes bars and clubs, the chubby succubi are there to leer and flash their slimy orifices his way (crude as that reads, imagine being supernaturally persecuted by the Fat Slags). Don't mind admitting I found the ending - particularly Molli's one-word chant - particularly unnerving. Fourteen terror tales and, unusually, I loved every one. So when's The Twelfth Black Book coming out? !!! |
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Post by dem on Oct 24, 2015 7:33:42 GMT
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Post by dem on Oct 28, 2015 17:28:35 GMT
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Post by dem on Nov 3, 2015 9:10:16 GMT
'Bradford T&A' book of the month! |
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Post by dem on Nov 17, 2015 11:48:53 GMT
"Long live this hair-raising, delightful horror anthology series!"Finally discharged from the custody of Am*zon Uk, Eleventh Black Book Of Horror at last reaches the critics proper. Here's Mario Guslandi's verdict. Thirteen O'Clock
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Post by Dr Strange on Nov 17, 2015 15:18:58 GMT
I just got started on this last night, and have read the first four stories - very impressed, possibly the strongest start to any of the Black Books so far.
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Post by Dr Terror on Sept 5, 2016 19:56:56 GMT
If you enjoyed East Wickenden, Edward Pearce now has a collection of sixteen stories available as a Kindle e-book. Ghosts and OthersHis website features an additional story. |
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Post by fritzmaitland on Oct 15, 2020 21:28:08 GMT
15th. Desperately searching for anthologies, I was delighted to turn up the 11th Black Book Of Horror. A sobering reminder of the irreplaceable loss of Chas, but a testament to his taste and perseverance. Looking down the contents, who to choose? Then - inspiration! All my selections this month have been written by men - so....bring on les girls! Erm...patronising sexism aside, I knew three of the names, and every story of theirs I'd read was a winner - plus there was a fourth lady - bonus! Let's go!
Thana Niveau - Two Five Seven
Young Heather is on holiday with mum and dad, at Grandpa's. Goldie the dog is there too. Grandpa's radio sometimes seems to work even if it's not turned on. She can hear the voice of a young girl like herself. The girl seems to recite numbers, and sing snatches of a song.It's almost as though the girl is actually in the radio itself. Heather gets to work trying to decipher the numbers, but the closer she gets to solving this mystery the more danger she is in...brrrrr! Horrible!
Kate Farrell - Alma Mater.A group of young girls in a 1960s convent school find a great place to hang out during winter breaks, 'the drying room', a small space containing hot water pipes. It's great for telling horror stories, until they're discovered and in trouble. After giving the place a wide berth for a while, they gradually creep back, even asthmatic Geraldine, who's too afraid to join in the story-telling (the subject matter has now mutated to nuns) but unknown to her pals is writing down the stories. A school fire drill interrupts one session. Late at night Geraldine realises she's lost her inhaler...probably in the drying room...good grief.
Anna Taborska - Tea Time
A longer tale than the previous two, with space for a very nasty character study. A horrible opening (reminiscent of Thana's ending) before concentrating on the loathsome Victor, who's interest in the psychology of fear in animals is taken to extremes, resulting in his expulsion from Uni. His mother's health worsens, and she inevitably dies. Victor knows who's responsible, and extracts a terrible revenge. He then transfers his studies from animals to humans and starts his own Cancer Research Charity, going door to door with a strange questionnaire. If an elderly lady answers the door, no problem, but woe betide the attractive younger female. The police are on the serial killer's trail, despite some sleight of hand by Victor in setting up someone else. And there's another, more shadowy figure following Victor...
Three rather excellent tales. The first two involving younger girl's perspective, the third taking a different POV for most of it's length, and then doubling back.
Every Picture Tells A Story - Marion Pitman
And finally...Marion has a male artist painting a harrowing picture of zombie apocalypse, to adorn the cover of a horror novel. Although his work is well received, he feels the printers toned his vision down a little. Pity as he'd really gone for it, and some of the figures meeting horribly gory ends in the picture are some of the less favoured people in his life. When he hears that that one of these people has actually died, in real life, in a manner very similar to that which he'd painted, he starts to wonder...
Great stuff!
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