Review: 'Eulogies III' edited by Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta and Tony Tremblay

Eulogies III edited by Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta and Tony Tremblay
HW Press (May 2015)
264 pages; paperback $12.99; ebook $4.99
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

EulogiesIIIFirst there was Eulogies: A Horror World Yearbook 2005, then, two years ago, HW Press gave us Eulogies II: Tales From the Cellar, and now comes Eulogies III from editors Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta and Tony Tremblay.

The effort here is to shy away from the common tropes used in horror. There are no zombies, no vampires or werewolves, in this new anthology, just a wide variety of stories to make you think and perhaps to haunt your dreams.Continue Reading

Paper Cuts: Found Footage and the Ever-Evolving Campfire Tale

PaperCuts-web

Paper (n): material manufactured in thin sheets from the pulp of wood or other fibrous substances, used for writing, drawing, or printing on
 

Cut (v): make (a movie) into a coherent whole by removing parts or placing them in a different order.

Found Footage and the Ever-Evolving Campfire Tale

Blair_Witch_ProjectWhy are so many horror fans so damn conservative? And no, I don’t mean politically conservative, but that would probably be an interesting piece if someone else wanted to write it.

No, I mean why are they conservative when it comes to matters of genre? You’ll frequently hear the statement “everything Hollywood gives us is remakes and found footage these days!” accompanying crotchety diatribes about the “dismal” state of the genre. And to preempt anyone saying this is a straw man argument, I heard a permutation of this from multiple people last month at Scares That Care.

I understand the feelings of resentment towards remakes, on an ideological level. But I don’t share the opinion that remakes are the refuge of the creatively bankrupt.Continue Reading

Review: 'Andersonville' by Edward M. Erdelac

Andersonville by Edward M. Erdelac
Hydra Press (August 2015)
340 pages; ebook $5.12
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

AndersonvilleEdward M. Erdelac is a member of the Horror Writers Association and the author of six novels (including the weird western series Merkbah Rider) and several short stories. He is also an independent filmmaker, an award-winning screenwriter, and sometimes Star Wars contributor. Born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, he resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife, children, and cats.

In Andersonville, Erdelac has taken the story of the Civil War’s most infamous prison camp and added a supernatural storyline that threatens to change the course of the war. Continue Reading

Review: 'Expiration Date' edited by Nancy Kilpatrick

Expiration Date edited by Nancy Kilpatrick
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing (April 2015)
288 pages; paperback $11.93; ebook $5.99
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

ExpirationDateNancy Kilpatrick is a writer and editor. She has published 18 novels, 1 non-fiction book, over 200 short stories, 5 collections of stories, and has edited 12 anthologies.

Her latest is Expiration Date, an anthology of brilliant stories that examine all sorts of expirations, but mainly the ones that are personal, because those are the demises that matter most to us. The collection of stories is broken into 3 parts; Negotiating Oblivion (trying to reason with death); Resisting Extinction (trying to avoid death); and Best Before/Best After (a group of stories tied to death).Continue Reading

Joyland by Stephen King ILLUSTRATED Hardcover Edition!

Joyland by Stephen King
Brand New ILLUSTRATED Hardcover Edition!
“I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts.” — Stephen King

Hi Folks!

Don’t forget, we’ll be receiving copies of the new special illustrated hardcover edition of Joyland by Stephen King, which features a brand new cover painting by Glen Orbik, a map of the Joyland amusement park illustrated iby Susan Hunt Yule, and more than twenty interior illustrations by acclaimed artists Robert McGinnis, Mark Summers, and Pat Kinsella.

Joyland Illustrated EditionAside from certain extremely limited editions published for collectors a few years ago, no trade hardcover edition of the book for the general public has ever been published and no others are planned at this time!

About the Book:
Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

Add A Special Exclusive Slipcase To Your Order To Protect Your Book!

Even though Joyland by Stephen King is being published by another publisher, we will be producing one of our popular custom-made slipcase for this title like we have for the last few Stephen King books!

The easiest way to add a slipcase to your purchase is by selecting the “Trade Hardcover Edition with Exclusive Slipcase!” option above — you’ll also save on shipping by ordering this way! (You can order just the slipcase by itself on the Joyland Illustrated Edition custom slipcase product page.)

Don’t know what a slipcase is? That’s okay! You can see some sample images of other slipcases we’ve made below. We’re using the same high-quality materials we have used for our previous Stephen King cases, with one color hot foil stamping. The company who makes these for us is the best in the business and you won’t find a better way to protect your investment! (If you are new to collecting, you can read more about slipcases on our Book FAQ page.)

We’re selling these special slipcases for just $24.95, making them an extremely affordable way to protect your book.  These cases will be produced after the book is published because we need a real copy of the book to get the sizing just right. Your book and slipcase will ship together to save you on shipping. It takes approximately twelve weeks for the cases to made and we think our collectors will be very pleased with what we have in mind for this production, so don’t wait to place your order!

Sample Slipcase Photo:
Sample Photos

Place your order today so you don’t miss out!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Publishers Weekly reviews Dark Screams: Volume Five

Publishers Weekly reviews Dark Screams: Volume Five

Hi Folks!

Publishers Weekly has chimed in with a review of Dark Screams: Volume Five and they had a lot of positive things to say:

“Freeman and Chizmar’s fifth horror anthology runs the gamut from throwback horror to lyrical and heartbreaking tales… The crown jewel is Kealan Patrick Burke’s luminous ‘The Land of Sunshine,’ about a husband guilty of infidelity who gives the ultimate gift to win his wife’s forgiveness. Another standout is Mick Garris’s gonzo ‘Everything You’ve Always Wanted,’ a gory, darkly funny tale about a has-been movie director who meets the woman of his dreams at a horror convention, with disastrous results… Loosely tied together with themes of broken hearts and wayward love, this collection will satisfy most horror fans.”

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Dark Screams 5

An Interview with Chris Morey: Staring into the 'ABYSS'

An Interview with Chris Morey:
Staring into the ABYSS

AbyssArtDark Regions Press has been a staple of the dark fiction publishing scene for 30 years, releasing works from authors such as Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, Rick Hautala, Tim Waggoner, and many more. Owner/publisher Chris Morey takes great pains to lead his team in not only finding great stories, but in presenting those stories in impeccably designed editions. His latest project is I AM THE ABYSS, an anthology featuring ten novellas focused on the afterlife. Recently, Morey took a few moments away from preparing for the launch of the book’s Kickstarter campaign to talk to Cemetery Dance Online.
Continue Reading

News from the Dead Zone review: 'The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film'

News From the Dead Zone Banner

Featured review: The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film

The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film
The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film

I don’t make a habit of reviewing books that I’m involved with. However, I’ll make an exception in the case of The Shining: Studies in the Horror Film. My essay takes up only about 2% of the book’s 750 pages. Full disclosure, though: I know the book’s editor, Danel Olson, personally. He lives a couple of miles from me, we’ve gone to see movies together and I’ve spoken to his college classes on a couple of occasions.

Having gotten all of that out of the way, this is the sort of book I wish I’d had access to when I was writing my essay, which is called “The Genius Fallacy: The Shining’s ‘Hidden’ Meanings.” Continue Reading

Dark Screams: Volume Five Featuring Mick Garris, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, J. Kenner, and Bentley Little!

Dark Screams: Volume Five
Featuring Mick Garris, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, J. Kenner, and Bentley Little!

Just $2.99 and Available For Preorder Now!

Hi Folks!

As you might remember, Richard Chizmar and Brian James Freeman of Cemetery Dance Publications have joined forces with the cutting edge team at Hydra, a division of Random House, to launch a series of horror eBook anthologies called Dark Screams that features the best horror authors working in the business today!

Dark Screams: Volume Five is now available for preorder and we hope you’ll check it out! (Dark Screams: Volume One, Dark Screams: Volume Two, Dark Screams: Volume Three, and Dark Screams: Volume Four are also still available for immediate download!)

Dark Screams 5About Volume Five:
Mick Garris, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, J. Kenner, and Bentley Little pry open a sarcophagus of horror and dread in Dark Screams: Volume Five, from Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar of the esteemed Cemetery Dance Publications.

EVERYTHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED by Mick Garris
It was supposed to be the night of his life: a celebration of his one hit slasher flick. But the price of admission is higher than this has-been filmmaker ever could have imagined.

THE LAND OF SUNSHINE by Kealan Patrick Burke
Although she was mute long before the affair that nearly wrecked their marriage, her silence has tortured her husband ever since. Now he will seek out what he has lost—or be driven mad by remorse.

MECHANICAL GRATITUDE by Del James
Arnold loves his ’68 Camaro almost as much as he loves his wife, and he’s willing to do anything to protect them both—especially after hearing strange noises coming from his garage.

THE ONE AND ONLY by J. Kenner
When he was seven, Will Underwood’s nanny told him she had The Sight. Years later, a broken heart sends him to New Orleans… but it’s fate that leads him to Madame Darkling’s Voodoo Emporium.

THE PLAYHOUSE by Bentley Little
A real-estate agent is drawn into a children’s playhouse behind an abandoned property she’s trying to sell—and finds herself strangely reluctant to leave.

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Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

What I Learned from Stephen King: An Introduction

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“If the horror story is our rehearsal for death, then its strict moralities make it also a reaffirmation of life and good will and simple imagination – just one more pipeline to the infinite.” – Stephen King, Danse Macabre  

skpic2Wisdom can be found in the most unlikely of places, and it is often within the greatest darkness that we find the greatest light.

Alright, alright. I’ll admit they’re clichés – but like most clichés, they also happen to be true. Anyone with a modicum of introspection and a rear view mirror will tell you that it’s the tough times in life we seem to learn and grow from the most. It is the darkness that makes us reach for the light and propels us to examine the human spirit and reevaluate our place and priorities in the world.

If there is anything I learned from Stephen King’s first foray into non-fiction, Danse Macabre, it is that those of us who love a good fright flick or scary read are attracted to the darkness for a wide variety of reasons – many of which leave us with a greater awareness of our inner fears, a questioning of our own mortality, and an increased appreciation that all of our limbs are still intact – or at the very least that our ankles aren’t being hobbled today.   Continue Reading

Review: 'Tortures of the Damned' by Hunter Shea

Tortures of the Damned by Hunter Shea
Pinnacle Books (July 2015)
439 pages, paperback $6.02, ebook $5.99
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

TorturesHunter Shea lives in New York with his family and one vindictive cat. Aside from writing horror he’s been involved in real life exploration of the paranormal, he interviews exorcists, and has been involved in other things that would keep normal people up at night.

Tortures of the Damned manages to avoid many of the clichés found in the typical apocalyptic horror novel and the result is a terrifying read that left me wanting more. Continue Reading