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I started Compulsory Games by Aickman last night and while I've only had a chance to read the first short story it's already wormed it's way well into my brain. I've not read any of his work before but it seems like it might be My poo poo.
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Oct 5, 2020 20:15
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hey has anyone read an old horror short story or novella that was called something like "the house that jack built?" the plot is something like this dude runs out of gas or breaks down and knocks on the door to this house for help but the house is a living evil being and traps him inside to somehow feed off of him or make him do repairs and stuff? he eventually is able to figure out a way to redirect a stream and it starts to die and then he escapes, or i can't remember maybe he instead dies victorious. If you don't wanna read the spoiler the only character is the protagonist, as far as i remember. It's not like that serial killer one at all. I think it's maybe from weird tales? I dunno. I'd post in that thread but it seems to be dyin' I wonder if there's a way to read it online
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Oct 6, 2020 03:39
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How about some modern horror anthology recommendations? Maybe some stuff off the beaten path, so not King or Barker (though of course both do their best work in this medium). Always looking for more. Some I've read in the last month or so because it's lockdown and I'm reading too much: Wounds by Nathan Ballingrud - Read on the recommendations of the thread. Good stuff. Maybe I'll ready NALM sometime soon though it seems less like what I'm feeling right now Seeing Red by David Schow - Kinda wandered off in the middle of this one because I wasn't feeling it. May circle back. It felt well realized but an older style than I was looking for at the time. Splatterpunk Fights back by Various - Some real weird ones but I liked a few of the stories a lot, especially around the middle of the book. Times of Trouble by Various - Probably my fav recently and not strictly horror, but all stories of time travel gone bad. A couple big misses (for me) in here but some real big winners as well. Loved "A Tornado in Time" Grimoire Diabolique by Edward Lee -  Don't read this. It's all poo, and not in a metaphorical sense. I skipped most of these part-way through and only mention it because a couple of the stories not focused on poop or sex crimes were alright. Good luck finding them without stepping on a landmine full of poop or rape or poop-rape though. I am now wary of the person who recommended this to meIn the End, Only Darkness by Monica O'Rourke - Definitely on the extreme horror side, but a good undercurrent of black comedy keeps it just light enough to be readable, and a couple of the stories clicked with me pretty well I've definitely been dipping my toes in the more extreme/weirder side of the genre recently but always looking for more recommendations or just hearing about the weird poo poo you're reading.
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Oct 6, 2020 04:57
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Good Citizen posted:How about some modern horror anthology recommendations? Maybe some stuff off the beaten path, so not King or Barker (though of course both do their best work in this medium). Always looking for more. Bluegrass Symphony by Lisa L. Hannett - horror/dark fantasy with a western setting and an all timer vampire short
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Oct 6, 2020 09:37
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Modern horror anthologies? Can't go wrong with Lost Films and Lost Signals, both edited by Max Booth III and Ellen Datlow. Films is horror revolving around lost films, haunted tv shows, gruesome film festivals, etc. Signals deals with audio horror. Both are excellent.
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Oct 6, 2020 09:43
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Untrustable posted:Modern horror anthologies? Can't go wrong with Lost Films and Lost Signals, both edited by Max Booth III and Ellen Datlow. Ellen Datlow didn't edit those, Lori Michelle did with Max. And good news, there's gonna be a 3rd, titled Lost Contact.
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Oct 6, 2020 10:31
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ravenkult posted:Ellen Datlow didn't edit those, Lori Michelle did with Max. Oops. Datlow just seems to be everywhere. My bad. Yes, I submitted a story for Lost Contact.
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Oct 6, 2020 10:36
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Untrustable posted:Oops. Datlow just seems to be everywhere. My bad. Yes, I submitted a story for Lost Contact. I think Datlow has one that's similar, something about Hollywood and movies? It's called Final Cut.
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Oct 6, 2020 10:41
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ravenkult posted:I think Datlow has one that's similar, something about Hollywood and movies? It's called Final Cut. Also her name is in my head because she's one of the first acknowledgements at the end of The Only Good Indians. She also edited that awful ocean-themed anthology, The Devil And The Deep.
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Oct 6, 2020 11:15
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e: Misread, these aren't really modern so feel free to skip Can't go wrong with The Weird edited by Jeff Vandermeer, it covers more than a century of weird horror with names from Lord Dunsay to China Meiville and plenty of more obscure authors in between. A great way to discover new writers. If you like classic ghost stories, Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories is excellent. They're not very scary for the most part, but they're all solid and obscure enough that you won't find them elsewhere.
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Oct 6, 2020 13:00
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mapping the interior haunts me more than just about any horror story i've ever read
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Oct 6, 2020 21:20
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ravenkult posted:I have bad news, friend. Reading Richard Laymon, you can always tell that he really enjoyed writing that stuff and didn't feel any need to hide the fact.
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Oct 6, 2020 21:32
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I'm reading Devolution by Max Brooks, and it sure is a book written by Max Brooks. It's yuppies in the forest getting attacked by Sasquatches. But despite my own preferences, I kind of like it? Like, it's dumber than a bag of hair but it goes down pretty smooth. I ate through 100 or so pages only stopping when my wine glass was empty or cause I needed to turn on a light cause it got dark. Obviously no real judgement until I actually finish it, but so far it's surprisingly good in a turn your brain off and read something dumb kind of way?
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Oct 7, 2020 01:35
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I was only like 15 when I read World War Z but I remember it being cool. Just a neat book with an overarching narrative told through news stories and journal entries. I have Devolution on my Amazon Books wishlist and was hoping it was more of the same style. Maybe I should re-read WWZ to see if I still like his writing.
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Oct 7, 2020 07:10
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It's got a similarly kind-of epistolary but I guess that's not the correct word but I don't know a correct-er thing going, and well, yuppies vs. Bigfoot. It's supposed to be a diary inter-stitched with stuff from a journalist investigating what happened. Not exactly gonna be rooting for it to get a Hugo or something, but it's fun in a "what the gently caress is this dumb bullshit haha o my god" way. As of now, and you shouldn't trust my valuation until I finish it, I wouldn't say you need to desperately go out and buy a copy, but if there was a copy on a slow, rainy October day you should definitely give it a shot.
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Oct 7, 2020 14:23
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I'll await your thoughts. I bought North American Lake Monsters. I'm three stories in and this is just really bleak stuff. It's horror, all right.
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Oct 7, 2020 16:34
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NALM is like some art poo poo. It's so very, very good but you need to be in the right headspace to process it. Like Schindler's List is a great movie but maaaaaaybe not what you want after a long day at work and you just want to chill. Speaking of : killed Devolution and my opinion on it remains the same. It's an enjoyable little popcorn book that's engaging but is miles away from something NALM because it's just trying to be trash that makes you want to keep reading. It's got one plot point that's kind of ??????? but is otherwise pretty tight, and while it's dumb I did finish it in less than 24 hours while being super busy. I'd call it a solid "if you see it in your price range and want something to do for a bit, pick it up, but keep in mind this is Evil Dead not Suspiria". (And I love both, just they're different and if you wanted the one and got the other you'd be disappointed.)
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Oct 8, 2020 02:35
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Xiahou Dun posted:NALM is like some art poo poo. It's so very, very good but you need to be in the right headspace to process it. Like Schindler's List is a great movie but maaaaaaybe not what you want after a long day at work and you just want to chill. You already sold me with “Group of Bigfoot go ham on...” Gonna pick this up on my next day off.
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Oct 8, 2020 02:44
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It's a very fun read. Get whatever your preferred beverage is and sit on like a porch or something and binge it. Ain't high art but it's like 300 pages of serotonin. Which is exactly what I wanted.
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Oct 8, 2020 03:26
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Xiahou Dun posted:It's a very fun read. Get whatever your preferred beverage is and sit on like a porch or something and binge it. Ain't high art but it's like 300 pages of serotonin. Which is exactly what I wanted. Kind of what I need right now actually. Blasted thru NALM over the past 2 days. Plus I’m a sucker for all things Sasquatch; I legit love listening to eyewitness accounts on YouTube & such.
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Oct 8, 2020 03:38
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I have never given even a tenth of a poo poo about Sasquatch and I ate it right up. It's totally like airport fiction/beach-reading levels but sometimes you need that. With that understood, it's a hardy recommend. I absolutely love NALM and my beloved John Langan books, but those make you like contemplate poo poo and stuff. This is pure AH IT'S APE MONSTER O MY GOD.
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Oct 8, 2020 03:55
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This beer I was drinking last night was giving me some serious Devils Creek vibes.
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Oct 10, 2020 13:59
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ravenkult posted:I think Datlow has one that's similar, something about Hollywood and movies? It's called Final Cut. I bought Final Cut earlier. It's like 4 bucks. Should get some entertainment out of it.
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Oct 10, 2020 14:02
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I started John Langan's Children of the Fang and other Genealogies last night, and the first story is very good. It has a stronger weird fiction vibe than his prior collection, with more unresolved mystery than straight up monsters. It seems like it would fit nicely in with Ballingrud's Wounds collection.
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Oct 12, 2020 15:48
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Is everything still set in the exact same region of Upstate New York with the serial numbers filed off? Uh huh. "Huguenot". I know you mean New Paltz, Johnny. (My copy's in shipping.)
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Oct 12, 2020 15:58
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Has anyone in here read Night Film by Marisha Pessl? I'm 40% into it and enjoying it a lot, but the whole "reporter goes into a place he shouldn't be at and tries to fake it for information" is actually waking up my social anxiety. I'm hoping to find someone who's read it and who can PM me with some specific spoilers about this Oubilette club place so I can keep reading it.
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Oct 13, 2020 20:42
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Sure thing. Just shoot me a message with your specific triggers/what you're worried about.
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Oct 13, 2020 20:47
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Xiahou Dun posted:Sure thing. Awesome, thanks! Sent a PM.
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Oct 13, 2020 21:29
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Any clear "Haunted Woods" books/anthologies? For kinda what I am looking for I loved the 1st half of The Ritual and The Only Good Indians
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Oct 15, 2020 00:44
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NinjaPete posted:Any clear "Haunted Woods" books/anthologies? For kinda what I am looking for I loved the 1st half of The Ritual and The Only Good Indians A lot of Laird Barron fits this, stuff like The Men from Porlock jumps to mind immediately, but there isn't a collection that just puts all the woodsy stuff together. The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All has at least a couple that fit the theme, though.
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Oct 15, 2020 02:37
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I know there are some published authors in here. Scumbag publisher Shane Staley, previously of Delirium Books, previously of DarkFuse, is trying to re-enter the publishing world as Staley and Associates and Indie Muse. Avoid this mother fucker. He ripped off a lot of people, both authors and customers.
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Oct 15, 2020 16:24
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Ornamented Death posted:I know there are some published authors in here. Scumbag publisher Shane Staley, previously of Delirium Books, previously of DarkFuse, is trying to re-enter the publishing world as Staley and Associates and Indie Muse. Are there any articles out there about this? Quick google doesn't pull up anything.
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Oct 16, 2020 03:44
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Flaggy posted:Are there any articles out there about this? Quick google doesn't pull up anything. Ed Lorn has written about it, and it's my understanding that Brian Keene plans to as well. https://edwardlorn.wordpress.com/
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Oct 16, 2020 11:26
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Ornamented Death posted:Ed Lorn has written about it, and it's my understanding that Brian Keene plans to as well. Rad. Thank you for this.
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Oct 17, 2020 01:18
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Brian Keene has also posted a statement, though his is a little more generic as Keene didn't personally have any bad dealings with Staley.
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Oct 17, 2020 01:23
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a foolish pianist posted:I started John Langan's Children of the Fang and other Genealogies last night, and the first story is very good. It has a stronger weird fiction vibe than his prior collection, with more unresolved mystery than straight up monsters. It seems like it would fit nicely in with Ballingrud's Wounds collection. I'm further along in this collection, and I'm kinda running out of steam. The first story (about a young actress caught up in a strange occult film) was pretty good, but the rest feel kinda like factory seconds from other authors - there's even a bad sequel to Laird Barron's Hallucigenia. I've still got about 20% of the book to go, but the collection has been pretty weak.
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Oct 19, 2020 16:43
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a foolish pianist posted:I'm further along in this collection, and I'm kinda running out of steam. The first story (about a young actress caught up in a strange occult film) was pretty good, but the rest feel kinda like factory seconds from other authors - there's even a bad sequel to Laird Barron's Hallucigenia. I've still got about 20% of the book to go, but the collection has been pretty weak. That's too bad, but unfortunately feels a bit like my general experience with Langan. He's got a few really killer stories, but a lot more stuff that's okay at best by comparison. And it's not like he's the only horror/weird fiction writer out there like that or anything, but somehow his stuff that isn't very good is bland in a way that a lot of similar writers aren't. Like even Barron's worst stories still have his style, so if you're there for hardboiled men drinking whiskey and going mad after seeing edgy eldritch abominations, you'll probably enjoy even some of his worst stuff. Not sure I'd say the same for Langan.
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Oct 19, 2020 17:12
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I guess I just am super biased by being an Upstate New York boy ; like my dad and I bothered to find the creek from The Fisherman and hike it and half the time he's talking about local landmarks. Maybe it's like the spacial-version of nostalgia, but his stuff really vibes with me.
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Oct 19, 2020 17:45
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a foolish pianist posted:I'm further along in this collection, and I'm kinda running out of steam. The first story (about a young actress caught up in a strange occult film) was pretty good, but the rest feel kinda like factory seconds from other authors - there's even a bad sequel to Laird Barron's Hallucigenia. I've still got about 20% of the book to go, but the collection has been pretty weak. That's my favorite Barron story and by the sound of it I'm not gonna bother with the collection, so I'd love to hear about this one if you care to tell. 
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Oct 19, 2020 18:02
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a foolish pianist posted:I'm further along in this collection, and I'm kinda running out of steam. The first story (about a young actress caught up in a strange occult film) was pretty good, but the rest feel kinda like factory seconds from other authors - there's even a bad sequel to Laird Barron's Hallucigenia. I've still got about 20% of the book to go, but the collection has been pretty weak. Does he awkwardly shoehorn his thoughts on 9/11 into any of them
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Oct 23, 2020 00:05
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