Category: Features

Black Static and its importance to women horror writers

  • June 17, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

The first copy of The Third Alternative (as it then was) that I ever bought was Issue 19, Spring 1999. I was in the Oxford Circus branch of Borders (now sadly defunct), looking for magazines of new horror fiction, not knowing if such a thing even existed. Keep on reading…

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/black-static-importance-women-horror-writers/

Black Static: The Horror Magazine

  • June 14, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

There was a time when the horror genre wasn’t healthy, a time when the general public had grown weary of stories laden with gore and giant monsters that didn’t reflect their lives or their fears. The horror genre was dying, slowly and painfully, asphyxiating on the poorly stocked shelves of mainstream bookshops. Keep on reading…

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/black-static-horror-magazine/

Chop, Chop, Chop

  • June 13, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

Hey, This Is Horror. It’s been awhile. I love what you’ve done with the place in my absence. The blood splatter matches the drapes nicely. Hope life’s been treating you all well, with fingers and toes intact and loved ones accounted for… even if they’re locked in the basement. Hey, tough love is still love, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/chop-chop-chop/

After Fight Club, Part I

  • June 12, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

Imagine the last time you were really excited to see a new film. Maybe it was the genre, maybe the cast, maybe the general plot that caught your interest – whatever it was, there was just something about it. And when the movie trailer started playing in theatres and on TV, you watched it that first …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/fight-club-part/

Facebook’s Witch Hunt: Horror, social media, and bullying.

  • June 9, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

Recent events played out on Facebook that have the potential to change the face of social media marketing for publishers and writers of horror. As they say on reality TV, this could change the game forever. Keep on reading…

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/facebooks-witch-hunt-horror-social-media-bullying/

The history of the ghost story and what makes a great tale

  • June 6, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

As many of you will know by now, my day job is running a small publishing imprint called Spectral Press. Furthermore, as its name implies, it concentrates (mostly) on fiction of the supernatural or ghostly kind (although, to be fair, as the press has expanded so has its remit, something which will continue as it …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/history-ghost-story-great-tale/

Ghost-hunting in Australia (aka Oh Crap! What was that noise?) Part One

  • May 31, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

From Friday 17 May to Sunday 19 May, my wife and I stayed in an abandoned and haunted lunatic asylum. Advertised as an ‘investigation weekend’, it included nearly thirty guests and three paranormal investigation groups. The guests could take part in ongoing paranormal investigations from the Friday until the Sunday. Keep on reading…

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/ghosthunting-australia-aka-crap-noise-part/

The Abominable Mr Burton

  • May 31, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

I begin this column having just learned that Tim Burton is going to remake The Abominable Dr Phibes. Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear. Keep on reading…

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/abominable-burton/

Filthy Habits – Writing and Routine

  • May 29, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

I heard a fantastic piece of advice at a This Is Horror Live Event in Manchester last year. This was one of the events where I didn’t tear out the throats of my fellow authors. If that clip left you a little squeamish gentle reader, please don’t be alarmed. Think of it as a purely …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/filthy-habits-writing-routine/

The Dark Romance of Ann Radcliffe

  • May 28, 2013

  • 1 mins to read

Of all the early Gothic writers, one woman in particular had a considerable impact on the genre. The ‘Great Enchantress’ of her age, Ann Radcliffe established many of the tropes of the Gothic, as well as providing literary weight to a genre that was regarded by many as mere sensationalist fiction. In fact, Sir Walter …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/dark-romance-ann-radcliffe/