Virtual Fools

Time was (even just a few years ago) when virtually the best way to stay connected to the world of horror film was to hit the newsstands. Back in the days of Tower Records, I used to regularly check film and music magazines and subscribed to more than a few. My interest in horror films always meant that I spent the most time reading up on obscure, shocking, and otherwise impolite movies.

Horror/monster mags have seen better days, because the rises in postage and the high overheads for profitable distribution mean that so many niche publications have become untenable. Thankfully, the people who publish these are passionate and have stuck to their guns. My current favorite–one that all should support–is Shock Cinema Magazine, which along with the similarly excellent Video Watchdog, could be glimpsed briefly in a scene in Death Proof (2007). Taratino knows and loves these magazines, and much of his seemingly inexhaustible knowledge of brilliant old horror films comes from them. Watchdog just celebrated its milestone anniversary, while Shock Cinema just published its first issue in many months. Both are highly worth seeking out!

Two other favorites include the recently revitalized Scarlet: The Film Magazine (I wrote, once for its precursor Scarlet Street magazine). The magazine has always had a passionate staff, and the longer essays are great gateways into a specific subgenre or creative icon in the field. One of the most long-lived magazines is published by somebody who managed to trademark their alternative, movie-reviewing persona: The Phantom of the Movies’ Videoscope has been plugging away for years. I also highly recommend his book, which does thematic clusters and has a depth that similar genre guides seem to lack.

Though my taste tends to run counter, you’ve still got Famous Monsters of Filmland (albeit in a different form), Fangoria (I’ve always felt too well adjusted and pleasant to read this magazine…), and Asian Cult Cinema.

For the more scholarly minded, check out the journal Gothic Studies, the soon-to-be-launched (though this has been the case for several years, now) Horror Studies, or the always lively Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies. The IJGHS is free and online. I’ve contributed to them and they turn out a really thoughtful product.

The recession has hit hard, there is no denying it. Though some aspects of this Halloween season might be more lean this year–bite-sized Milky Way bits instead of fun-sized bars, for example–a general air of poverty should not prevent one from enjoying the season. There are several essentials for this time of year: pumpkin ales (and pumpkin pie), nutmeg and cinnamon spiked beverages of all sorts, cheesy tapes with wolf howls and ghoul growls on loop. And horror stories, both print and projected.

I can’t help with free consumables, but I can point you to some resources for enjoying foundational horror literature FOR FREE. Think of this as a mini-guide to your Halloween media.

Edgar Allan Poe: A man inseparable from the season. His melancholia was to be the shivery delight of millions. Check out a selection of his stories, care of the Poe Museum in Richmond, VA. Includes “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

Albrecht Durer, Melencolia I, 1514

Speaking of melancholia, why not read bits of Robert Burton’s brilliant assemblage of 1654, The Anatomy of Melancholy (includes thoughts dark and dreary) .

Three Giants of the Gothic: Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764) is a key work of unsettling Gothic spaces. Walpole was so committed to the idea that he built his own “Gothic Revival” house. Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1764) should be spoon-fed as a suitable substitute for those who are Twilight crazed. A foundational romance, it blends forbidden love and terror to strong effect. Matthew Gregory Lewis left us The Monk (1796), where the Gothic impulse met up with black magic, The Devil, and all that jazz.

Two Gods of the Gruesome: If you have not read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (get the 1818 version) since school, you owe it to yourself to give it another shot. Worth every bit of adulation that it has garnered. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) remains epistolary brilliance. Of course, Stoker’s The Lair of the White Worm (1911) is equally interesting, if un-PC and a bit strange. Ken Russell made an amazing film of it–better than the book!–and writer John Kenneth Muir recently wrote a piece about said film for my book.

Vampires!: While on the subject, Dr. John Polidori, friend to Lord Byron, wrote The Vampyre in 1819. Fans will want to check out Melinda K. Hayes and her excellent resource Vampiri Europeana, an extensive bibliography of representations of the bloodsuckers. Want films? Try watching Count Dracula and His Vampire Bride (1970), Vampire’s Night Orgy (1970), Vampire’s Kiss (1988, starring Nick Cage!!), and The Vampire Bat (1933) for free!!

Other Kings of the Scary Short: H.P. Lovecraft has legions of devoted fans–check out his approach to horror via Supernatural Horror in Literature (1927, though changed a bit in the 1930s). M.R. James, generally unsung in the United States, has some powerful supernatural tales, especially in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1904).

If you can spare a dime…: On the cheap and in your mailbox in a matter of days are Stephen King’s Danse Macabre (1987), a wonderful, personalized guide to his horror views and influences. Jenny Uglow’s The Vintage Book of Ghosts (1997) is one of the best anthologies on apparitions that I know. For the little ones, try the works of John Bellairs–an absolutely formative author of my youth–now mostly available for the cost of postage.

Read (and watch) yourself silly before the big day.

Without really meaning to be, I’m on a bit of an advertising or marketing kick. For whatever reason, I seem to be noticing how things get bought and sold a bit more than before–call it becoming an adult?

Since I recently published a book, I’ve become quite interested in ways that authors/editors get the word out on their latest work. The traditional avenues still remain: print ads in venues where the subject will play well, reviews in publications (even lukewarm ones–at one level, there is no such thing as bad publicity!), and personal appearances for talks, signings, and panels. The author’s presence and interest in the “afterlife” of a book often make it work.

Anyway, this is mostly in recognition of a book and short film by Kevin Jackson. A few months ago, I somehow noticed that the author of several books I had on many disparate topics–let’s say a biography of British filmmaker Humphrey Jennings, a book of interviews with Iain Sinclair, The Oxford Book of Money, and a book on the moose, to scratch the surface–was, in fact, one and the same person.

A simple Google search turned up his latest project, Bite: A Vampire Handbook (published earlier this month by Portabello Books). I haven’t had a chance to get/look at the book yet, but it seems a timely Halloween read. While they’ve arguably been all the rage for the last 100 or so years, vampires really have been all the rage as of late. With Twilight (2008) and Let the Right One In (2008) pock-marking people’s taste before they’ve had a chance to even explain, vampires are in vogue above and beyond their 1990s heyday during the age of Buffy. My personal preference skews toward the goofy vampire movies of the 1970s–Blacula (1972), The Vampire Lovers (1970), Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), Vampyres (1974)–and the foundational vampire lit. But I’m sure the book will contain something, if even in passing, for everyone.

But back to marketing. Jackson made a short film–which works on its own as a terror scenario, but just happens to rightfully promote the book–and is using that, in addition to the obvious promotional channels listed above.

But wait! Horror author Sarah Langan’s recently released Audrey’s Door has an attached short film by friend of VF J.T. Petty.  Again, we’ve got the just promotion of a book mixed with concrete, creepy images!