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Dr. Krusadian’s Method: An Appreciation of Ray Garton
On April 21, 2024, the horror community lost another revered member. Ray Garton was a respected and beloved writer whose upbringing played an important role in his choice of genre. An adopted child, he was sent to religious schools and brought up in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Sermons about the apocalypse instilled in him a fear that segued into exploring horror fiction and films as an outlet: a facing of fears in a comfortable and removed setting. He indicated that it wasn’t his intent to write horror but accepted it was highly compatible with his history and sensibilities. In essence, Garton related aspects of his life under a genre umbrella.…
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Late Night with the Devil
Recently, I went to the multiplex to see the horror film Stopmotion. It is wonderfully artistic, has some excellent performances, and an intriguing premise concerning an adult daughter being controlled by her celebrity filmmaker mother. The narcissistic mother suffers from acute arthritis in her hands which makes her unable to finish what will likely be her last stop motion film. She therefore requires her daughter to be literally hands on to complete the film, but satisfying a demanding artiste proves demoralizing and untenable. Those intense interpersonal dynamics and gripping stop motion visuals appeared to be laying the groundwork for potentially riveting psychological horror. Unfortunately, the movie veers into the standard clichés…
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Diavola
“French Provincial” and “Southern Gothic” are well known geographically inspired terms. “Toxic Tuscan” will no doubt be added to the list by those who read Diavola. Jennifer Thorne’s gripping horror novel is predominantly set in Tuscany but the toxicity in the relationships between the protagonist, her parents and two siblings has no borders. Central character Anna Pace is in her mid-thirties. An underachiever who suppresses her obvious talent as an artist, Anna opts instead for the steady but uninspiring security of creating visuals for a New York city ad agency. She is acerbically observant regarding ambience and demeanor, and therefore has no illusions about the prospect of sharing a rental…
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The Wolfe at the Door
There comes a time in a reviewer’s life to rectify some wrongs. Gaps in one’s readings and viewings abound and should be addressed. One of my gaps concerns the writings of Gene Wolfe (1921-2019.) I was aware of the author’s respect within the community. Renowned speculative fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin famously pronounced, “Wolfe is our Melville.” He has also been compared to other icons of literature and the arts. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to score the recent Tor publication The Wolfe at the Door I jumped at the chance. The bulk of the stories can be classified as fantasy and/or speculative fiction; Wolfe was best known for…
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A Tribute to David J. Skal
It was with great sadness that I read of David J. Skal’s passing. I had a fan girl admiration of the fan boy who became a knowledgeable and esteemed author of non-fiction books that examined horror through a historical and cultural lens. To honor his memory, I dug out my copy Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of “Dracula” from Novel to Stage and Screen. As soon as I opened the book, I felt my eyes well up with tears. Before even getting into the introduction, Skal had set a tone with a quote that was guaranteed to go straight to a genre lover’s heart: “Don’t have any picture shows here,…
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Poor Things
Holiday malaise is common, and we search for antidotes. Or just anything that begins with “anti.” For those of us with a perverse sense of humor, the film Poor Things is the perfect way to celebrate the end of the season. The movie is provocative, ribald, wry, wise, feminist, and satiric. Emma Stone attains giddy new heights portraying Bella, a creature that would warm the heart of Mary Shelley. Not coincidentally, Bella’s creator/father figure (played with surgical precision by Willem Dafoe) is named Godwin: the surname of Mary Shelley’s father. But enough (God)winking at clever literary references. Let’s get to the meat on those reconstructed reanimated bones. Poor Things is based on the…
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An Interview with Paul F. Olson
Despite Cemetery Dance’s hot-off-the-press trade paper and e-book editions of his 1989 novel The Night Prophets, it took a bit of coaxing to get author Paul F. Olson to agree to an interview. Paul, like many writers, is self-effacing and a trifle leery of the spotlight. He is justifiably proud of his brilliant novella “Bloodybones” having been nominated for the 2017 World Fantasy Award. But in general, this rather quiet Midwesterner doesn’t sound his own trumpet. He obligingly answered my questions, and I am most grateful. For more about Paul and his writing, visit his website: https://paulfolson.com How would you distill the plot of The Night Prophets in twenty-five words or less? Starting with…
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Knock Knock, Open Wide
Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson is set in Ireland. A beguiling backdrop, to be sure. ‘Tis a place filled with folklore galore and accents that melt the heart. Though author Sharpson reminds the reader that the brogue may not always be appealing: “The voice had a Dublin accent as thick as tar, deep as a well filled with old plastic bags and empty cans. It sounded like cigarette smoke and varnish and stout the color of old rivers. Phlegm and gravel.” With a narrative that features an abundance of such evocative descriptions, I thought at the outset that this novel would rank as one of the best I’ve recently…
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Red Rabbit
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein begs the question: Is it a horror or a science fiction novel? The second question is why it should be an either/or? Genre hybrids are a part of the history of horror fiction, and it’s grand when a melding does justice to the genres that are embraced. In the novel Red Rabbit, author Alex Grecian seamlessly stiches together a fable that incorporates supernatural horror with established elements of the Western genre. Demons coexist with dust devils in this hugely engaging narrative. Set in Kansas in the years following the Civil War, the story begins with a burial. There is speculation that the young woman who died was cursed by Sadie Grace,…
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Schrader’s Chord
The allure of reading a first novel is irresistible. There’s the possibility of discovering a blazing new talent. Scott Leeds, the author of Schrader’s Chord, displays a facility for understanding complex family dynamics. Indeed, Leeds’s narrative seizes on a “sins of the fathers” motif. The suicide of a father reunites his progeny, which consists of two daughters and an estranged son. Dad owned a lionized record store that he bequeathed to the son. Supernatural horror comes home to roost as part of the inheritance. The father had pursued an urban legend concerning a set of recordings that purportedly open a gateway between the living and the dead. He unearthed the four…
