My Review (4 stars out of 5) Amid lots of twists and turns this book reads like a mix of horror, fantasy and paranormal, with the narrative going off in different directions every five minutes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – but for me it made the plot a little hard to follow…
Category: Horror
‘Rosemary’s Baby’ by Ira Levin
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Rosemary and actor-husband, Guy, are desperate to move out of their one-room bachelor pad when they hear about an apartment in the Bramford. The old New York City building might have a worrying reputation and a tenant list that seems only to include ‘mature’ residents, but the couple…
‘Captain Clive’s Dreamworld’ by Jon Bassoff
**** NB This post first appeared as part of the Blog Tour for ‘Captain Clive’s Dreamworld’ via Emma at Damppebbles. Suspected of being involved in the death of a woman, Deputy Sam Hardy is sent to take over as Deputy of Angels and Hope, a town which boasts an amusement park known as Captain Clive’s…
‘Ghost Story’ by Peter Straub
***** The elderly members of The Chowder Society meet regularly to tell each other stories, but after one of their number dies, the stories become more ghoulish in nature. More disturbingly, each of the remaining members begins to experience similar, nightmarish, dreams. Contacting the nephew of their dead friend, they find he also has something…
‘The Demonologist’ by Gerald Brittle
*** Thought by some to be experts on demonology and exorcism, Ed and Lorraine Warren have many thousands of investigations to their credit. With several movies (such as The Conjuring) based on the Warrens’ experiences, this should be a fascinating book. However. It’s certainly true to say there are some chilling stories in The Demonologist,…
‘Stranger Still’ by Michaelbrent Collings
***** Legion has a purpose – to teach, to avenge and to murder. Witnessing a married couple kidnapped at the side of the road, he follows them, knowing he’ll have to make choices about his actions—who to save, who to kill. But with a Russian crime syndicate involved, there are a lot of decisions to…
‘The Exorcist’ by William Peter Blatty
The Exorcist It begins with noises in the attic, strange odours, a sickly child. Then the bed starts jumping around, furniture moves by itself and a man is found dead with his head turned completely around. Movie actor Chris MacNeil is concerned for her daughter…
‘Her Demonic Angel’ by Joy Mutter
Her Demonic Angel Having read six of Joy Mutter’s novels, it was interesting to go back to this early example of her work to see how it compares. In this collection of fourteen short stories, the author explores themes that will be…
‘On Writing Horror’ by Mort Castle
On Writing Horror Revised edition of the handbook with contributions from Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Joyce Carol Oates and many others. Exploring everything from what horror is, to how to avoid falling into the trap of rehashing old tropes, there’s something here for everyone. I originally bought the paperback version of this, but due to…
‘The Hellbound Heart’ by Clive Barker
The Hellbound Heart Clive Barker’s superlative novella tells a gruesome tale of greed, love and desire, as the hedonistic Frank determines to explore the intricacies of a strange and magical box. Given that the book prompted a great movie series (Hellraiser et al) which Barker also directed, I’m puzzled that it’s taken me this long…
