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Post by schlockers on Mar 3, 2016 4:35:38 GMT
Greetings! I'm a new ghoul in town and wondered if you could help me identify the titles or publications of two old horror stories I heard about at school from a lad in my class. I never got a chance to read them but still had to sleep with the light on! They date back to around 1979/1980 but could be earlier. I don't know if they are American pulp comic stories, urban legends or what are now called 'creepy pastas'. Maybe you can shed some light on them? ![]() The first story may be called 'The Night of the Black Weasel' or 'Black Night of the weasel'. It's about a backpacker travelling on a remote forest road who encounters a stranger along the route. The backpacker is alarmed to see the stranger has no whites in his eyes, only jet black eyes and weasel like features. The demonic figure keeps appearing in the distance and approaching again and again as the backpacker continues his journey along the route until the backpacker starts to panic. My memory of what words are exchanged between the two characters is pretty vague but I do remember it culminates in a chase and attack, resulting in the backpacker impaling his hatchet in the head of the malevolent stranger, who then vanishes right before the backpacker's eyes. The backpacker runs in terror but is decapitated by the demon eyed figure who reappears at a bend or banked curve in the road. The missing backpacker's head is eventually found with the hatchet embedded in it. On closer scrutiny the words "Beware the Night of the Black Weasel" are found engraved on the blade of the hatchet!  The mystery of this elusive story
and the search for its origins continues.
 The Weasel,with his soulless eyes,
as black as night!Does this story ring any bells? I've been looking at back catalogues of old horror compilations from the 60's, 70's and 80's, including authors such as Ramsey Campbell, Richard Matheson, Robert Block but so far have drawn a blank. Can't seem to find it amongst Corgi, Panther, Pan or Fontana publications either. The second story concerns a series of gruesome murders at an amusement park. Someone or something is beheading the passengers of a ghost train dark ride! When the ride is investigated nothing can be found amongst the mechanical monsters to suggest who or what is responsible. Eventually, it transpires a lunatic circus trapeze artist has been hanging upside down from the rafters of the ghost train and dispatching the riders with a sword as their train passes underneath.
Another elusive horror story
featuring a dark ride to terror!
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Post by dem bones on Mar 3, 2016 12:19:30 GMT
Sorry, absolutely stumped. I so hope somebody can help because these sound terrific. I think you are right to pursue the urban myth angle. Thanks for registering and good luck !  Midsummer Murders, Sword Of Guillaume |
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Post by schlockers on Mar 3, 2016 19:32:27 GMT
Hi demonik, many thanks for your reply. Yes, I agree, I think I'm going to take this down the urban myths route and maybe try some of the associated American and Canadian websites as the setting for Black Eyed Weasel could easily be one of those vast forests in the States or British Columbia. Thanks for posting the gruesome piccy too. It certainly sets the scene for the carnival dark ride story!
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Post by dem bones on Mar 3, 2016 20:31:20 GMT
Hi demonik, many thanks for your reply. Yes, I agree, I think I'm going to take this down the urban myths route and maybe try some of the associated American and Canadian websites as the setting for Black Eyed Weasel could easily be one of those vast forests in the States or British Columbia. Please let us know how you get on. Both stories sound marvellous, and there is a lot of love for railway & ghost train fiction on here. |
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Post by doomovertheworld on Mar 3, 2016 20:47:57 GMT
It might be worth getting in touch with Will Errickson of the excellent blog Too Much Horror Fiction to try and track down what those two stories are (that second one sounds awesome BTW). He has a section called Horror Fiction Help which is an attempt, via the readers of the blog, to try and identify forgotten horror books/short stories. |
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Post by schlockers on Mar 4, 2016 11:38:01 GMT
Will do. Have received a helpful link to the toomuchhorrorfiction.blogspot.com website so I'm going to try that as well as the American and Canadian links ;-)»
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Post by schlockers on Mar 4, 2016 11:42:56 GMT
Hi doomovertheworld Many thanks for your link to toomuchhorrorfiction.blogspot.com website. I will definitely give it a go ;-)»
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