Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …
“Monsters aren’t real.” That’s what sixteen-year-old Lucy Brannigan has always believed, until, broke and desperate, she and her father move to an isolated farmhouse in the small Scottish town of Helsbridge. It’s their last chance, and they have to make it work.
For Lucy, life appears to be over. With no friends, and surrounded by miles of thick woodland, there’s nothing to do. But why did the previous occupants leave their belongings behind? And why is their new home surrounded by dozens of scarecrows? And worst of all… what is the cause of the horrifying screams that wake her in the night?
This summer, Lucy will be forced to learn the dark secret of Helsbridge. And as the bodies pile up, and the blood flows in rivers, she makes a shocking discovery that will change the course of her life forever. Monsters are real … and no amount of flesh can sate their diabolical hunger. Summer of the Monsters is a tender and brutal coming-of-age horror story from the savage mind of David Sodergren, author of Maggie’s Grave and The Haar. Available for pre-order now in eBook, with other editions to follow, you can guarantee your copy here.
Twenty years have passed since the town of Newport was terrorized by the infamous Black Heart Killer. The horrific murders that left the woods stained with blood and hearts torn from chests are now a dark memory—one best forgotten. But some secrets refuse to stay buried.
When fifteen-year-old Howie Burke and his friends decide to break the town’s cardinal rule and venture into the cursed woods, they have no idea they’re about to awaken a sinister force that has lain dormant for decades. Armed with a camcorder and a sense of youthful invincibility, the group sets out to film a horror movie. But their playful antics turn to terror when they uncover a mysterious grave linked to the Black Heart Killer.
As the chilling legacy of the killer reveals itself, Howie and his friends are thrust into a nightmarish struggle against an ancient evil. They must confront their deepest fears and unravel the dark occult secrets buried in their town’s past. What they once thought were mere stories become a terrifying reality as they learn what it truly means to be cursed. Available today in eBook and paperback, you can pick up your copy here.
Winter Haunts returns for a third day of ghost stories and gothic fiction
Writing Magazine and Alex Davis Events will be presenting a third running of Winter Haunts on the 16th November, offering a range of workshops, interviews and panels with an exciting line-up of authors and speakers.
The event interview and panel thread gives the opportunity to hear from and ask your questions to a superb array of writing talent, while Winter Haunts’ workshop thread will be serving up writing advice, techniques and exercises. To see the full lineup and to get your tickets, check out the event on Eventbrite here.
At the heart of the dream city of Engelstadt stand the tall storys of an ancient apartment block, home to a nightmare labyrinth of corridors and secrets. Christmas is coming, but the mysterious disappearance of one of its tenants causes a cast of characters (or suspects?) to be assembled before us. An elderly aristocratic widow plays the piano; a young mother disciplines her hallucinating son; a photographer pursues creative experiments under the magnetic spell of the moon. And meanwhile, as a dark cloud threatens to envelop the city, and caped crusaders (or marauders) wander its park, there is a film screening to attend. The eccentric Professor will surely solve the enigma on Christmas Eve . . . or will he? A Pan-European Pandora’s Box of narrative Russian dolls and Chinese boxes, Edifice builds into an Expressionist graphic vision of our archetypal, metamorphic shadows. Whether or not “an allegory of some sort” (as one of these characters claims), Andrzej Klimowski’s masterpiece of symbolic form is certainly one of the strangest Christmas stories you will ever read. “If you look carefully, you will see it.” Available to pre-order now in paperback, you can guarantee your copy here.
In 1984, a new vision of horror was unleashed upon terrified moviegoers-a razor-gloved bogeyman who slashed his way through the children of those who had murdered him years before. In doing so, this cinematic monster would not just invade the dreams of his victims but give those watching a brand-new nightmare to fear forever.His name was Freddy Krueger, and the man who created him was master of horror Wes Craven.
Since its release decades ago, A Nightmare on Elm Street has become synonymous with archetypical genre cinema. Now, go deeper than anyone ever has inside the making of this groundbreaking classic. Exclusive cast and crew interviews with those who survived the blood, sweat, and tears will take you through incredible behind-the-scenes triumphs, struggles, and controversies as they worked to bring Craven’s vision to life.
No one would have imagined that the in-the-shadows, rancorous killer would become a global pop-culture phenomenon and the star of a franchise that would scare up nearly half a billion dollars at the box office. Firmly rooted in the mainstream, it has become clear that Freddy Krueger may never rest in peace.
Including rare and never-before-seen material, this extensively researched, comprehensive look back is the definitive account of the film that began what many have called the best, most frightening, and imaginative horror franchise in motion picture history. Available for pre-order now in eBook, paperback and hardcover editions, you can guarantee your copy here.
KEV HARRISON