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Post by Shrink Proof on Mar 6, 2021 14:05:34 GMT
Kicking off with "The Scarlet Lady" by Keith Roberts. A mechanic's brother buys a gas-guzzler - an ancient luxury vehicle that seems a nightmare from the word go, because it's incredibly difficult to get spare parts for it. But gradually it becomes a real nightmare. It develops a tendency to swerve off the tarmac to flatten dogs, then cats, then cows and finally humans. A neat twist is that while all this is going on the mechanic's brother gradually becomes weirder too, creepily sneaking out to the garage at night to lovingly polish the car and stare at it...
I'm sure there are loads of other auto-related tales of misery. Any takers?
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Post by andydecker on Mar 6, 2021 14:39:04 GMT
Aiming for the painfully obvious:
Stephen King - Christine (Viking, 1983)
Dennis Shryak & Michael Butler - The Car (Dell, 1977)
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Post by humgoo on Mar 6, 2021 15:17:59 GMT
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Post by Dr Strange on Mar 6, 2021 17:19:35 GMT
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Mar 6, 2021 22:11:27 GMT
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Post by bluetomb on Mar 6, 2021 22:25:11 GMT
If automobile parts horror is allowed, Stephen Laws' Junk is pretty splendid. Junkyard man fulfils increasingly morbid requests from a mysterious stranger until he can take no more, and then his problems are just beginning. I remember reading this at school one lunchtime, possibly in The Giant Book of Horror that seemed to come after (or possibly before) the Mammoth anthologies.
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Post by dem bones on Mar 7, 2021 10:03:04 GMT
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Post by helrunar on Mar 7, 2021 16:30:58 GMT
One William Abney--who may have been identical with an actor of the same name, but I have no idea if this was the case (it seems doubtful to me)--is credited with the story "Poor Butterfly," which was dramatized in Hammer Studio's 1968 television series Journey to the Unknown. The episode, according to BFI, was also part of a feature film Journey to Midnight which had a theatrical release sometime in '68 or '69.
I saw this a couple of times several years ago. Sporty Chad Everett plays a man who acquires some classic 1920s roadster. He takes it out for a spin and time travels to a house party in the Roaring 20s... tragedy ensues.
H.
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Post by Dr Strange on Mar 7, 2021 17:12:35 GMT
There's an Elizabeth Jane Howard short story called Mr Wrong (1975) that I have to admit I've never read, but I remembered someone here saying it was the basis for a cult New Zealand horror film from the 80s. I've never seen the film either, but I did see this trailer made for a 2009 film festival -
Apparently the "haunted" (if that's what it is) car in the original story is an MG, not a Jag.
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Post by Swampirella on Mar 13, 2021 12:27:44 GMT
I just noticed this, currently free at Smashwords:
Page blurb:
Shift your fear into top gear. Set your pulse racing with this collection of automotive horror that fires on all cylinders. This bad boy comes fully-optioned with fifteen tales of classic cars and motorcycles behaving badly; and the star-studded lineup is sure to provide all the nightmare fuel you can handle. Strap in and hold on, because it's blood-soaked horror or bust, and we stop for nothing.
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Post by andydecker on Mar 25, 2021 10:25:43 GMT
Frederick Cowles - Out of the Darkness
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Post by Dr Strange on Jul 25, 2021 0:09:59 GMT
If automobile parts horror is allowed, Stephen Laws' Junk is pretty splendid. Junkyard man fulfils increasingly morbid requests from a mysterious stranger until he can take no more, and then his problems are just beginning. I remember reading this at school one lunchtime, possibly in The Giant Book of Horror that seemed to come after (or possibly before) the Mammoth anthologies. Recently read this here (Grafton, 1991), it's probably the best story in the collection -  |
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