Guy N. Smith - Tales From The Graveyard

[dem bones]

Guy N. Smith - Tales From The Graveyard (Sinister Horror Company, 2020)

Matthew Morris

Guy N. Smith - Introduction

The Shooting on the Moss
The Ghouls
The Lurkers
The Executioner
Cannibal Island
Mr. Strange's Christmas Dream
The Case of the Ostrich Slasher
The Werewolf Legend
The Howling on the Moors
Hounds from Hades
I Couldn't Care Less
Sabat: The Robber's Grave

Gallery

Blurb:

This is a collection of horror stories originally published in 'Graveyard Rendezvous,' the Guy N. Smith fanzine, from 1992-2012. They feature mayhem and murder, cannibals, zombies and spectral beings which lurk in deserted graveyards during the hours of darkness, and numerous other blood-curdling stories.

This collection also features a brand new story 'Sabat: The Robber's Grave.'

Guy N. Smith has written over 70 horror novels since 1975 as well as numerous short stories in this genre. He continues to publish books every year.

Blurb not strictly accurate in that some stories had seen prior publication. The Gallery, reproducing sample Graveyard Rendezvous cover art, is adorable, or, at least, it is to me. #16 was a "Lionel Fanthorpe Special issue."

The Shooting on the Moss: (Graveyard Rendezvous #1, 1992). "If it wasnae for the mountains in the way, ye'd be able to see Loch Ness from the Moss!" The ancient shepherd refuses to show two London businessmen out onto bogland feared locally as the haunt of a man-eating monster. Sore that 'the glorious twelfth' has proved anything but, Charles and Peter ignore the credulous old fool.

The Ghouls: (Graveyard Rendezvous #2, 1992). Professor Granger adopts desperate measures to deny two graverobbers their next fresh corpse. Up until now, he's cheerfully purchased their merchandise to supply the research centre, but tonight the bastards have gone too far.

The Executioner: (Frighteners #3, Sept. 1991; Graveyard Rendezvous #6, 1995). Lech Wolskel, scourge of Nazi war criminals, must move fast or be cheated of his top target by rival assassin, the Hawk. From the final issue of a promising high street horror glossy, famously banned from WH Smith following complaints over a Graham Masterton story in the launch issue ....

[helrunar]

What a juicy collection! Pity the cover is the usual banal blur. Ah, our advanced, enlightened age...

Maybe I'm completely out of touch, as per usual, but I'd think the Guy N. Smith and Rev Fanthorpe fandoms would occupy opposite poles of whatever realm is the fannish homeland. Evidently I'm once again completely wrong about that.

Always such fun to see you commenting on Guy N. Smith! I think of Smith as the Patron Ghoul of the Vault of Evil.

cheers, Hel.

[dem bones]

Jul 10, 2023 17:40:56 GMT helrunar said:

Maybe I'm completely out of touch, as per usual, but I'd think the Guy N. Smith and Rev Fanthorpe fandoms would occupy opposite poles of whatever realm is the fannish homeland. Evidently I'm once again completely wrong about that.

Far as I recall, they were great friends, GNS even citing the Reverend as the author he most admired. Think they'd sometimes compete in "write a novel in half an hour" challenges, or some such? Night of the Crabs and, especially, The Slime Beast, read (to me) like sex and gore-enhanced Badger novels.

On the evidence of this slim collection, Mr. Smith's short fiction is especially easy on the brain.

The Lurkers: (Graveyard Rendezvous #4, 1992). Lycett, an investigative reporter, approaches a hack author to ghost-write a novel from his notes. When Lycett is murdered, the writer realises his work of fiction is in reality an exposé of top level corruption. The author is stalked by killers desperate to prevent his MS seeing print.

The Werewolf Legend: (Graveyard Rendezvous #19, 199?). Do they exist? 10-page article examining the man-beast in fact, 'fact' and legend.

Cannibal Island: (Our Boys, March 1992: Graveyard Rendezvous #9, 1995). A hurricane wrecks trawler The Seagull in shark infested waters. Captain Jack Dunn, and two crew, Skinny Jenkins and Big Tom Larkin, wash up on a small Pacific island, only to be captured by a fifty-strong tribe of cannibals ("it was useless to hope that people like these would be friendly."). The natives build a fire before their stone idol in readiness for a massive feast. All seems lost. The skipper rallies his pals, "show them how to die like good white men," when suddenly ...

GNS bibliographer Hal C F Astell writes that Our Boys was a Catholic story paper published by the Irish Christian Brothers. See his excellent Smithland. Cannibal Island reads like something you'd find in an Edwin Baird issue of Weird Tales.

Mr. Strange's Christmas Dream: (Phantoms Unlimited #12: Graveyard Rendezvous #14, 1996). The miser receives a visit from the third ghost, who warns; "you will be in your grave 'ere Christmas has passed!" Dismissing the episode as a bad dream, Mr. Strange braves a snow blizzard to attend Midnight Mass ....

GNS Convention, Black Hill, September 2010. Uncredited photo (by GNS?) scanned from Graveyard Rendezvous #36, Halloween 2010.

[helrunar]

Fascinating. Great photo!

cheers, Hel.

[dem bones]

The rest:

The Case of the Ostrich Slasher: (Graveyard Rendezvous #16, 1997). Is the mutilator of farmer Mason's big bird the same sick creep slicing up horses across the countryside? How does this latest outrage tie in with the theft of the Tiggelovend tiara in Amsterdam? Another complex assignment for Brook Street Detective Raymond Odell and his young assistant, Tommy Bourne!

The Howling on the Moors: (Graveyard Rendezvous #35, 2010). Odell and Bourne investigate reports of a ghost wolf prowling a stretch of Sussex coastline.

Hounds from Hades: (Graveyard Rendezvous Summer 2009). Deer poachers are unceremoniously routed by the Black Dogs of Devil's Peak.

I Couldn't Care Less: (Graveyard Rendezvous #40, Autumn 2011). "Good, and I hope my bloody head comes off, makes a right mess for you to clear up." With Capital punishment reinstated, Malcolm Palmer is sentanced to hang for his wife's murder. In truth, Paula's death was a tragic accident — she fell downstairs rushing to answer the phone — but Malcolm has no will to defend himself. He just wants to join his beloved in the grave. Convincingly bleak and far my pick of the stories.

Sabat: The Robber's Grave: Mark Sabat's last case before retirement sees him travel to Montgomery Graveyard, near Welshpool, where evil brother Quentin has revived the victim of a miscarriage of justice. John Davies, hanged in 1812, has returned to slay descendents of the three who wronged him. Either GNS was too pushed for space to provide an update, or Sabat's compulsive masturbation is a thing of the past.