Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …
In chasing devils, all roads lead to Hell.
1967: A brutal murder occurs at the Weston State Hospital in West Virginia. To amateur exorcist, Merle Blatty, this shocking story rings of the occult. Fueled by a desire to avenge the deaths of his wife and son, Merle investigates the case, unknowingly stepping into a sinister web spanning decades.
1997: It’s been three years since the Hill family left the nightmares of the farm behind them. Alice is off to college while Daniel and Nora are closer than ever, living in Ohio and raising their three-year-old daughter, Maren. Their high hopes for the future are quickly extinguished when they receive a call, learning of a plan by Adam, Daniel’s brother, to purchase the exorcist’s former property and stage an Amityville-inspired haunting to profit from the story. Available for pre-order now in eBook, with a paperback to follow soon, you can guarantee your copy here.
UK genre fiction convention, Edge-Lit returns for a tenth edition on 7 September
Edge-Lit, an event which celebrates the best in Horror, Thriller, Fantasy and Science-Fiction writing, will return to QUAD on Saturday 7 September 2024 from 10am-5pm. In this, its tenth edition, Edge-Lit will offer the same busy day of panels, workshops, readings, and interviews with an array of genre fiction talent from around the UK and beyond.
Attendees on the day will have access to a wide variety of activities, including a series of panel discussions, interviews and readings with the Guests of Honour, workshops, book sales offering a variety of books for independent presses and authors, and the ever-popular Edge-Lit raffle.
Authors appearing (subject to work commitments) include: Charlie Higson, Robin Ince, Isy Suttie, Stuart Neville, Sarah Pinborough, Mark Morris, Stephen Volk, Robert Shearman, Alison Moore, Tim Major, Johnny Mains, Conrad Williams, Zen Cho, Sean Hogan, Andrew David Barker, Tom Toner, Lesley Kelly, Dana Grigorcea, Charlotte Bond, Chris Farnell, Adam Simcox, Sarah Brooks, Simon Bestwick & Teika Marija Smits.
For full programme information and to buy tickets, visit the website, here.
A year ago Sophie Wickham stumbled into the isolated Lancashire village of Withered Hill, naked, alone and with no memory of who she is.
Surrounded by a thick ring of woodland, its inhabitants seem to be of another world, drenched in pagan, folklorish traditions.
As Sophie struggles to regain the memories of her life from before, she quickly realises she is a prisoner after multiple failed escape attempts. But is it the locals who keep her trapped, with smiles on their faces, or something else, lurking in the woods?
In London, Sophie leads a chaotic life, with too many drunken nights, inappropriate men and boring temp jobs. But things take a turn as she starts to be targeted by strange messages warning her that someone, or something, is coming for her.
With no idea who to trust, or where to turn for help, the messages become more insistent and more intimidating, urging Sophie to make her way to a place called Withered Hill… Available to pre-order in eBook and paperback editions, you can guarantee your copy here.
KEV HARRISON