Lawrence Frightingale Presents ....

[vaultadventcalendar]

The smart thing would be to hold this back in case we do another calendar, but this is Vault and, besides, having read it, I couldn't resist. Thank you so much for Steve/ helruner for forwarding (and providing the introductory note), and, of course, to author Curt for sharing. Love it!

This short-short story is the work of my buddy who writes under the pen name Debussy Ladnier (which does sound like the name of someone who would have written for WEIRD TALES back in the 1930s, doesn't it?). This little shocker is a promo for a story about a horror host and his partner (a Cabaret performer) who solve mysteries together-available here:

Lawrence & Myrna Mysteries: Lawrence Frightengale Investigates

My friend is working on a whole series of Lawrence and Myrna mysteries. He writes these stories with his real-life wife.

"Balancing the Books" struck me as the kind of thing one might have found in one of the horror comics of the 1950s-such as CHAMBER OF CHILLS. The story is also noteworthy for a number of sly in-jokes and references to an actual horror serial produced for North America television (in Ottawa, Canada of all places), STRANGE PARADISE. No direct reference in the plot of that TV show, but he slipped in a number of bits that had me chuckling-both my friend and I are fanatical fans of that old show (which was produced in 1969-70 and was syndicated all over North America and eventually dubbed into Spanish for Latin America, as well). When last I checked, all the surviving episodes of STRANGE PARADISE were on Youtube. That show is often described as Canada's answer to DARK SHADOWS.

Cheers!

Helrunar

Attachments:

TERROR TIME Balancing the Books.pdf (297.49 KB)

[frightengale]

Thanks so much for hosting my story here in the Vault, and for your positive feedback!  It's very much appreciated. 

BTW, if anyone is interested, I'll email a free copy of my book Lawrence Frightengale Investigates to the first 5 people who write to me at [e-mail] and put Vault of Evil in the subject line.

Cheers!
Curt

[frightengale]

I still have a few free promo copies of my book Lawrence Frightengale Investigates available, if anyone wants to sample the exploits of my horror host turned reluctant sleuth.



Just drop me a line at [e-mail] and put Vault of Evil in the subject line.