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Post by dem bones on Jul 29, 2015 17:14:24 GMT
Great memories of this one with all the contributors playing at the top of the game. Lord P.s swishtastic opener is a kinky classic. Elsewhere, sex with the dead, an internet spat gets personal, and my all-time favourite Black Book story. If you've not read a Black Book and you're wondering where to start, this volume is a great entry point.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jul 30, 2015 11:05:56 GMT
Steve Lockley – Imaginary Friends
Loved this one. Completely wrong-footed me, and 'Mr Bobo' is one of the creepiest creations I've had the displeasure to meet in a book recently.
R. B. Russell – An Unconventional Exorcism
More fab fun - families, funerals, prosthetic legs and spiritualism.
Paul Finch – The Doom
Mr Finch hits the bullseye once again. The ending flabbergasted me. Superbly entertaining, educational and thought-provoking.
Gary Fry – Keeping It In The Family
I'm afraid I struggled with this one, but enjoyed the Whitby setting.
Craig Herbertson – Spanish Suite
A long slow build up yields prime EC madness. Euw!
Reggie Oliver – Mr. Pigsny
Hysterical! Glancing at Mr Oliver's bio he seems to have had quite a Toff upbringing, but went to Oxford not Cambridge, so the prof in this story might be as much of a parody as the East End badoes, Den 'n' Reg. This culture clash is riotous, and then there's another funeral, a diminutive flute-playing arch mischief-maker, Greek tragedy, images of Hell and a tip of the titfer to Hutson rather than M R James with some ghastly slugs turning up, (along with red herring The Hoxton Strangler) it's a real pleasure - although I found the finale a little disappointing - it kind of had to be,with what went before.
Alex Langley – The Red Stone
Short sharp Pan shocker, with a disgraceful ending. I mean really.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jul 30, 2015 19:10:26 GMT
Stephen Bacon – Room Above The Shop
Oh, Mr Bacon! How could you? Pathos is an emotion that I truly loathe, but the ending of RATS was so heart-rending, I felt a real sense of helplessness and loss. Vol 6 is certainly playing havoc with my emotions. The early fifties is an interesting time to set the story, and the main character's dislocation from family sets us up for the creepy happenings. Damn fine.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jul 31, 2015 13:34:33 GMT
David A. Riley – Their Cramped Dark World
It's all very well breaking into a local haunted house with plenty of vodka and coke, but be careful of who you do it with, let alone what's in there. Skin-crawlingly nasty.
Mick Lewis – Gnomes
Barking drug-induced paranoia. But that doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Aug 4, 2015 20:22:05 GMT
Anna Taborska – Bagpuss
Oh crikey. AT does quiet horror - with a vengeance. Reminiscent of The Creaking in that the story is inexorable and the ending inevitable. You just have to sit there watching it unfold, and there's nothing you can do about it. Almost a foil to Mr Bacon's tragedy (apologies but I'm trying to lighten the atmos - I found Bagpuss morbidly draining.) A young girl's family is wrenched apart by the departure of the father. Still, she has a faithful feline companion and her mum, who's a bit partial to valium. A move from the city to the countryside gives the moggy a chance to explore the great outdoors, spending more time away from his worried owner. And mum keeps looking at a certain taxi driver's 'phone number. Surely they wouldn't leave her in the lurch. too?
David Williamson – The Switch
Oddly, Bagpuss seems set in the US, and so is The Switch. Escaped convict can't believe his luck when a crash gives him a get out of jail free, and this is compounded by a hiker blundering along just as our protagonist is wondering how to get rid of his bright orange prison clothing. After battering the rambler our hiker is a bit surprised by his victim's resemblance to...himself. Some dodgy folks out looking for the rambler aren't....at first.
Mark Samuels – Keeping Your Mouth Shut
Superb finish. Controversial (?) and criticised as not being up to MS' high standards, I thought this terrific, bang on targets re writing and obsession. The final image is a disgraceful horror cliche, but also a metaphorical two finger salute to those who find this kind of thing beneath them.
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Post by dem bones on Aug 5, 2015 7:29:44 GMT
There's a slightly extended version of Bagpuss (added morbidity) included in Anna's extraordinary For Those Who Dream Monsters, a début collection so good it inspired two threads ( Here and Here). Truly that young woman has more than a touch of the Charles Birkin's about her. Mark's story is equally dark - on first reading, it depressed the hell out of me, but that probably had a lot to do with the "controversy" (let's not even go there). I didn't realise Keeping Your Mouth Shut is/ was not "up to MS' high standards," but his superb Cannibal Kings Of Horror certainly attracted similar criticism. A prophet is never accepted in his own time, land, etc.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Aug 5, 2015 10:29:24 GMT
So there's a director's cut/extended 12" dub version of Bagpuss? I don't think I could take any more of that - the poor little mite struggling in the river etc. The final image of that story is very powerful.
Perhaps I'm being unfair to Mr S - I just noticed a couple of comments here and there - I need to seek out some more of his weird stuff, like Regina vs Zoskia in Vol 1. That ending though - anyone would think he's trying to be Richard Staines. Bbbbrrrrrr!!!!
Whilst awaiting Vol 8, I'm off to check out some Terror Tales...
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Post by dem bones on Aug 6, 2015 18:34:48 GMT
So there's a director's cut/extended 12" dub version of Bagpuss? I don't think I could take any more of that - the poor little mite struggling in the river etc. The final image of that story is very powerful. Perhaps I'm being unfair to Mr S - I just noticed a couple of comments here and there - I need to seek out some more of his weird stuff, like Regina vs Zoskia in Vol 1. That ending though - anyone would think he's trying to be Richard Staines. Bbbbrrrrrr!!!! Yep, the extended remix, aka "the Mortbury masterpiece", is further enhanced by a gorgeous Reggie Oliver illustration. Mark's story. I'm not so sure how much of the criticism was a case of certain parties playing the man, not the ball, but I liked it. Whilst awaiting Vol 8, I'm off to check out some Terror Tales... You're on a roll!
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