Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2013 20:39:27 GMT
I've chosen one for Best British Horror, and one from Black Books 10...
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Post by dem on Nov 24, 2013 20:36:09 GMT
"Are you the entertainment?"Recently squirmed through Mr. Campbell's The Winner in Best New Horror 17 - a stranger finds himself at the mercy of intimidating, tanked-up locals in a dockside pub - but this next is arguably even more disturbing. If you can imagine Robert Aickman's The Hospice relocated to the geriatric ward of a mental institution ..... The Entertainment really got to me. Horrible, horrible! RC is the only writer whose stories sometimes give me the creeps to such an extent that I half wish I hadn't read them. Which perversely is why I keep reading them... : (Al Sarrantonio [ed.], 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense, Avon, 1999). The horrors of dementia. Tom Shone, a Hackney Kindergarten teacher, finds himself at a loose end for a bed for the night. The guest houses are fully booked, and this latest has only the room reserved for tonight's cabaret. If Shone can perform daily before a class of unruly infants, he should be able to wing something for a roomful of doddery, obese geriatrics, so he agrees that yes, he is tonight's entertainment. After a scare in the bathroom and a surreal dining experience with the audience, he's shown to the television room, where a canvas stall has been readied in preparation for the show. Still reeling from his wife, 'Ruthless' Ruth's adultery with a younger man, Shone's hurt and frustration filter through to an improvised performance which culminates in the trashing of both booth and puppets. The crowd are very appreciative. Now it is their turn to entertain him.  Illustration: Chrissie Demant ♥ One to go. Our final destination: Funland .....
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Post by dem on Nov 25, 2013 7:07:50 GMT
Christopher Harman - Broken Summer: A bad dope experience for Philip as he awaits the exam results that will see him escape Blackpool (?) for University. His landlady, Mrs. Oliphant, who doubles as 'Madam Sospira: Palmist & Clairvoyant' warns against participating in the Gazette's 'Spot Miss Seaside and win £1000' contest, but Phil already has the old girl figured for a fraud whose messages from the other side can safely be ignored. Meanwhile, his fellow college students are prominent in local anti-fracking protests. Madam Sospira has it on the authority of her Indian spirit guide that it is not only the living who oppose the drilling.
The terminally jolly King Coal figure is abducted from the amusement park. On finding it in his room, Peter blames his slacker college pal and weed dealer, Shop, who denies all knowledge of the affair. Even when King Coal is returned, Philip is uncomfortably aware of its presence. This does nothing to help his increasing paranoia.
Matters come to a head when Philip spots Miss Seaside entering the tower.
And so ends our series of day-trips to Britain's creepy coastal resorts, another winning entry in a series which has fast become a personal favourite. We understand from the ad at back of the book that next on the agenda is Terror Tales Of Wales
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Post by paulfinch on Nov 25, 2013 11:14:36 GMT
That's correct, D.
TERROR TALES OF WALES is currently in production.
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Post by weirdmonger on Jan 22, 2014 7:23:55 GMT
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jan 10, 2017 11:54:36 GMT
Just obtained a copy of this and will throw up some thoughts when possible. It's worth checking out Des's comments for the wonderful photographs he's used to illustrate each comment. And thanks for Chrissie's postcard too.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jan 12, 2017 21:13:38 GMT
Reggie Oliver - Holiday From Hell
It's a double-edged sword when Reggie starts an anthology. You know it'll be good, but anything that follows has an incredibly high standard to match. (What's that you say? You don't have to read them in order? It's a book! Start at the start and keep going...) HFH doesn't disappoint. A brilliant collection of sinister old codgers who are so well drawn they could sustain a series of their own. The scene where our man returns to the hotel late at night and they're all sat in the drawing room, eyes glowing in the dark, breathing in unison...creepiness personified. Initially disappointed by the ending, but thinking about it, it's weirdly apposite, and reminiscent of the family at the end of Jess Franco's A Virgin Among The Living Dead. You know those folk who go back to the same place every year...
The Eerie Events At Castel Mare
Got really excited about this as it's not that long ago I visited Torquay, only to have hopes of a revisit dashed when it's revealed the place has been knocked down - years ago. Still the 'real life' stories can be as spooky as the fiction.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jan 18, 2017 20:23:03 GMT
Stephen Laws - The Causeway
Good old-fashioned spooker with great last line (knowing what we know). Hugh's sojourn in the Rescue Station is pretty harrowing.
The Kraken Wakes
It could all be true! In one out of ten cases.
Stephen Volk - The Magician Kelso Dennett
Like The Causeway, you have a feeling you know what's coming, but it's so well told and evocative, it doesn't matter in the slightest. Took me back to a trip down to Tower Bridge to see David Blaine in his glass box above the Thames (was it really him?)
Forces Of Evil
Puir witches!
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Post by dem on Jan 18, 2017 20:30:25 GMT
Stephen Volk - The Magician Kelso Dennett Like The Causeway, you have a feeling you know what's coming, but it's so well told and evocative, it doesn't matter in the slightest. Took me back to a trip down to Tower Bridge to see David Blaine in his glass box above the Thames (was it really him?) One of my all time top ten Terror Tales. Absolutely love it! |
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jan 18, 2017 20:49:11 GMT
He really captures the feel of a run down seaside town, as well as that of an egotistical modern media magician.
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Post by andydecker on Jan 18, 2017 21:19:02 GMT
Volk is an amazing writer. He would deserve a much bigger readership.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Jan 26, 2017 19:35:54 GMT
Joseph Freeman - A Prayer For The Morning
Happy family visit slighly older wife's former seaside destination where allegedly a whole town ended up in the sea. Little daughter sees a curiously pale figure which she claims came from the sea. After a love session, hubby decides to return to the cliffs for an evening stroll...this story didn't really do it for me, but the stroll in the woods is suitably creepy/
Hotel Of Horror - another good 'un, but once again the location has been razed. Chiz.
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Post by franklinmarsh on Feb 11, 2017 10:51:25 GMT
Sam Stone - The Jealous Sea
Is this THE Sam Stone? (nee Pagan?) Another superb invocation of the British Seaside Resort (I went to Rhyl once - it was closed). Or to go further, Britain today, with the closed down shops, seeing the same things in different places....almost Lovecraftian with the sea creatures. Lovely.
The Ghosts Of Goodwin Sands - not a lot here, but I was taken with the phosphorescent glowing spectral ship...Ghost Galleon, anyone?
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Post by dem on Feb 11, 2017 11:07:56 GMT
Sam Stone - The Jealous Sea Is this THE Sam Stone? (nee Pagan?) 'Paigan,' actually, but yes it is. |
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Post by franklinmarsh on Feb 12, 2017 21:36:06 GMT
Whoops! Just noticed your earlier comments...
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