Why I Love Halloween...

 ...the John Carpenter classic and iconic 1978 horror film. I do love the autumnal holiday (I mean, duh, I write horror and All Hallows Eve is my Xmas), but for my money and since I was in my early 20s, the simply yet perfectly made slasher flick has been my all time favorite horror movie. 

Horror has been a big part of my life since then, but I wasn't always a horror fan. At least with books, anyway. I'd written about this to a degree in previous blog posts, but that darkly magical attraction/addiction began when I was 18, in 1985-86, when I bought my first Stephen King novel PET SEMATARY and devoured it (followed by PHANTOMS by Dean Koontz or Dean R. Koontz as he went by back then, when he had the balding pate and mustache). I'd found my genre to read and write and was hooked for life. 

As a kid growing up in Southwestern coastal Florida, I loved the Saturday morning Creature Feature show on Channel 44 WTOG hosted by the legendary Dr. Paul Bearer, which showed many old classic horror films, from the early black & whites to those in garish Technicolor. Looking back now, it seemed I was destined to discover my beloved spooky-scary genre eventually.

But my love for the Halloween (and ultimately, the entire film franchise) began, ironically, right around when Halloween 4 came out. I'd seen that one in the theater along with Halloween 5 when it came out. But while I'd been aware of the first film, I'd totally became enraptured with it on Halloween night 1987. I was dating my first serious girlfriend back then. We'd visited with her aunt and helped put up cheap Halloween decorations and generally just goofing around trying to spook out one another. Then she and I came back to my parents' house and relaxed in the living room watching the original Halloween movie. I loved it and have seen it dozens of times since then. I'd also become complete fan of John Carpenter's oeuvre of horror. From his scifi horror remake THE THING to THE FOG and PRINCE OF DARKNESS, along with his other films, there's no better creator of iconic 80s horror cinema.

However, it all started with that first movie. Arguably, the reigning king of what became known as the slasher film. Granted, and rightly so, many would claim the Hitchcock's classic PSYCHO was the first true slasher film, but I contend that it really began in the late 70s and exploded in the 1980s. And Halloween was and is the best and most original, enduring for decades and has even seen a resurgence with the pseudo-rebooted franchise (and admittedly, just a bit annoying to completely discount everything as canon after the first movie, but I understand why the new film producers/writers/directors did that. I still love the franchise living on and drawing in newer younger fans). 

The decade of decadence saw a glut of slasher flicks from the Friday the 13th series to nightmarish Freddy Krueger with his finger blade glove, the psycho-doll Chucky, among others. Cannibalistic inbred rednecks with revving chainsaws and irradiated kill-crazy bloodthirsty mutants, oh my!

No other horror film villain compares to the silent and unstoppable menace of The Shape aka Michael Myers. In my opinion. What started out as a low budget film with the title THE BABYSITTER MURDERS, once the film producer suggested changing it to HALLOWEEN (setting it of course on that night), a movie horror icon was born. 

So why do I believe the original Halloween film & Michael Myers is the best ever? Firstly, the fact that the movie takes place on All Hallows Eve is solely reason enough. It's the perfect setting for a horror movie. The concept of Michael Myers, the rather common even bland name, which soon would become synonymous with teenage 80s horror. The plain mask, courtesy of Capt Kirk, with the bleached-out white rubber face, was pure brilliance if necessary for a low budget film. (If you haven't, Google how the film was made or catch the numerous YouTube videos or documentaries. Much of what was done, particularly the opening scene was groundbreaking for its time). And if you look into the highly collectible (and expensive) paperback novelization by Curtis Richards, published shortly after the film was released, you'll find a lot of added history and more of a supernatural explanation to why the child Michael Myers became the knife-wielding killer who murdered his older sister on Halloween night. The horror website Bloody Disgusting published a cool, in depth article on this a few years ago:

https://bloody-disgusting.com/books/3529811/revisiting-novelization-john-carpenters-halloween-fascinating-michael-myers-origin-story/

However, it wasn't until the inevitable sequel, HALLOWEEN II, that the idea of making the Final Girl, Laurie Strode, Michael's sister and the reason for his obsessively murderous intent, that things became very intriguing. This was even taken a step further in 4 and 5 with Laurie's daughter (and Michael's niece), Jamie, becoming The Shape's newest target. In 4, it was briefly explained that Strode died in a supposed car accident, leaving young Jamie motherless (this was written into the script since Jamie Lee Curtis didn't want to do another sequel). The character's name was an homage of sorts to the actress. Of course many fans wanted Ms Strode back and got their wish eventually in HALLOWEEN H20 and to a lesser degree, HALLOWEEN RESURRECTION (my least favorite franchise film). Even HALLOWEEN 6 THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS had its moments, mostly bringing back Tommy Doyle (played by a young Paul Rudd) and a deadly Celtic cult tied to Myers, which interestingly ties loosely into the original film's novelization. 

I'll be honest with you. And I didn't always feel this way, but the older I've gotten and the numerous times I've watched these films, the more I think they could've just avoided the somewhat implausible familial connection as an explanation for his relentless bloodlust. Why as such an uber Halloween fan do I say this? Because in 1963, when 6 years old Myers inexplicably kills his teenage sister in her room on Halloween night, his parents did...what exactly? In their grief and loss, decide to have another child right away? Think about it. Then in 1978, 15 years later when Halloween the movie begins and we're introduced to Laurie, the slightly shy and bookish high school student. The timing is a little off, if I'm being honest. Or did Michael's parents divorce after the horrible tragedy in '63, one or both remarry and either another child is conceived soon or they gain a very young stepdaughter? It's just one of those loose ends that's never really explained after the sister angle reveal in the sequel. Personally, they could've just skipped the sister connection altogether and kept Laurie as the "one who got away" or survived Michael's night of terror, the original Final Girl, if you will...and thus, spurring his undying bloodlust. 

With 2018's self-titled reboot of sorts, given the thumbs up from Carpenter as creative consultant, we see everything after the first film discarded, including the sister connection. HALLOWEEN KILLS, delayed til October 2021 due to the pandemic, and the final film, HALLOWEEN ENDS, will be anxiously awaited by us die-hard fans, for sure. I'd be remiss in not mentioning the Rob Zombie remake of the first two films. As a fan of both his music and films, I enjoyed his revisionist take and more psychological approach, though brutally violent...which given it was an RZ flick was to be expected. And seeing a much older Danielle Harris, who played Jamie in 4 and 5, portraying Annie, was a nice touch. However the followup wasn't as good, even with the always amazing Malcolm McDowell playing Dr Sam Loomis. 

Which leads me to my last argument or point concerning why HALLOWEEN rocks, has stood the test of time as one of horror's greatest most iconic movies, and has been my personal alltime favorite: Sam Loomis.

 Dr Loomis with his indefatigable and dogged pursuit of his psychopathic young patient of 15 years, the ever present tan trench coat (and his legally registered handgun), makes the perfect addition to this classic slasher horror triumvirate. While he's sorely missed in the latest installment (he'd be much too old anyway, let alone still living), Loomis was the penultimate boy (or man, in this case) who cried wolf. No one listened to him until it was too late. And he has some of the best dialogue or memorable lines in horror film history, most notably his conversation with Sheriff Brackett while they search the Myers' house. Dr Loomis tells the sheriff, "He had the blackest eyes...the Devil's eyes." That line gives me chills almost every single time. 

Speaking of goosebumps, has their ever been a more recognizable and chillingly brilliant theme music than what John Carpenter composed himself for his movie all those years ago? I don't think so. 

I'd also be remiss in not mentioning the influence this film series has had on horror and horror films. For example, when it seemed like horror in general had been in a rut during the mid 90s, along came a new slasher film called SCREAM from Wes Craven. Part homage, part darkly funny but certainly bloody, SCREAM elevated what a good slasher flick could really be. It exploded, revitalized public interest in horror and slashers, spawned several sequels and is rumored to return in the near future with a new feature film installment. In the original film, during the infamous party sequence, a tv can be seen playing HALLOWEEN, the director's nod to this groundbreaking low budget slasher film.

So that's it, folks. There's been a wealth of HALLOWEEN gruesome goodness over the years to keep us die-hard fans happy, from collectible merchandise, clothing (my favorite sites for those are Fright Rags, Terror Threads and Gutter Garb...quality product with great customer service!), and several books such as anthology fan fiction to the sometimes pricey out of print novelizations and more! Long live HALLOWEEN...

P.S. for those interested, I wrote a short piece of HALLOWEEN fan fiction called "Halloween: The Beginning" and posted it on my blog many years ago. You can find it here:

http://horrorgasms.blogspot.com/2015/10/halloween-beginning.html?m=1

2020 and Beyond!

Needless to say, in most respects, this year has sucked. We all know why, and while I hope this pandemic that has affected all of us in one way or another begins to lessen its spread, with schools reopening (fuck what the supposed experts think...this is the worst idea largely pushed forward by pure political BS, but I digress...), Covid-19 is unfortunately going to be around for the foreseeable future and beyond. Vaccines will take a while to be approved after lots of testing and then distributing, well, you get it. 

I've been thinking about the foreseeable future and beyond with my professional writing. My latest self published release (see my blog's previous post for details), Night of the Pumpkin God, had been delayed from its early 2020 release to just last month (mainly due to issues related to the pandemic and everyone's crazy hectic schedule, myself included). Normally, I'm working on a first draft of a new book, and sometimes editing/revising another book. I've got several things planned and thought I'd list them here for anyone interested. Most will be self published horror books (ebook and trade paperback), but one will hopefully be published with an indie horror publisher.

So here goes...

The Ravening -- the novel mentioned above that I'd love to see published by one of the horror genre's many fantastic independent publishers. It's a scifi horror novel set on the Florida gulf coast at an island beach resort. A deadly organism of alien origin surfaces and is inadvertently brought ashore, turning ordinary, everyday people into ravenous killers. A hurricane is bearing down on the area and a handful of people have a slim chance of thwarting it from spreading. Final draft completed. Full novel length.

Bloodletting -- the sequel to my horror novella Roseblood. Rose Valentine runs The Thorny Rose, an semi-upscale stripclub just outside of the rural North Central Florida town of Tuckton. Rose runs a tight ship and is very protective of her girls and staff. And the townspeople leave her alone. Mason Kreel grew up in Tuckton, and returns home after his ailing mother passed away. Both Rose and Mason harbor dark secrets, but they converge one night when a sadistic psycho sexual killer arrives in town. First draft completed. Short novel length. 

No Laughing Matter -- a short story collection, bringing together my first two self published ebook shorts, Clowning Around and The Last Chord, along with 4 new stories involving a supernatural being known as Tricksy the Clown (or Mister Tricks) and his other sinister identity, Mister Black. The longest story explains this demonic entity's origin and concludes with a final climactic story...or does it? First draft completed. 

Island of Devils -- this is currently a WIP. Sequel or more of a followup to The Ravening because while it's a totally different story, it involves several characters from the aforementioned. The special ops group known as UMBRA is being shut down after their director suddenly dies. Intel has reached them that may provide them valuable clues as to where The Collective (a clandestine organization made up of alien/human hybrids that has infiltrated human society with nefarious intent) has made their base of operations. Dane Frost, former Navy Seal and interim director at UMBRA, goes rogue with a ragtag team made up of operators and former Collective members to find this secret base. And destroy the hideous mastermind known as The One. But can they reach the mysterious island off the coast of Northeastern South American in time? Do they even have a chance of stopping the horrors running amok on what some call Isla de Los Demonios? Full length novel planned.

Bloodlust -- the third and final book in what I'll call the Roseblood trilogy. In the Afterword of the novella, I share how Roseblood was originally a short story called "Roseblood," and was my first published horror story. Upon completing the first draft of Bloodletting, I kept thinking about a potential third story, novella or short novel, and soon came up with a rough idea and jotted down notes. Mason Kreel will play a part, along with more of the shadowy group he works for known as The Organization. Someone affiliated with them discovers who Rose might be, after what transpired in the previous book, and wants to not just find her, but to take her against her will. And there will lots of bloodshed and death! Novella or short novel planned.

Well, that's what I've got on tap to keep me busy for the duration of 2020, into 2021 and beyond. 

You can find my ebooks and trade paperbacks at bn.com here, and my ebooks on Amazon here. I always appreciate the support and honest reviews. Also, I welcome requests from horror book bloggers and reviewers for digital review copies, so hit me up via social media or my author email flahorrorwriter67@gmail.com.

Night of the Pumpkin God

Since I've ventured into self publishing my work over the past few years, my Halloween horror novellette MISTER JACK has had the most sales and positive reviews. 

To be honest, I didn't intend on writing a sequel to it. It was my homage to all things Halloween. But so many readers/reviewers expressed a desire for more that it got me thinking about it, especially with the way I ended that tale. I began to formulate an idea to pick up the story where it left off, with Misty Wilkes, and also bringing back characters like Tully and Maddie, as well as introducing new characters. But it soon became pretty apparent that I didn't want to write a MISTER JACK sequel so much as a followup novel. And thus was born NIGHT OF THE PUMPKIN GOD. There's plenty from the previous story to hopefully please my fans, but I really wanted this longer book to explore something new, with still a definite connection to the first one. 

Hopefully, you all will dig this new book as much as MISTER JACK. It was a total blast to write. The ebook is available on bn.com and Amazon, and the trade paperback exclusively on bn.com (coming soon). 

You can find all my ebooks and trade paperbacks on bn.com here. And ebooks on Amazon here.

Thanks again for your support. It's always much appreciated! 

I Want My...80s Horror!

Has there ever been a more rich and colorful period to grow up as a teenager with the MTV Generation and the absolute glut of mass market paperback horror? Not withstanding the absolute dominance by the King of Horror Fiction Stephen King, among a few others, but the good (and some not so good) horror knockoffs that filled the shelves of bookstores and used bookstores was a veritable delight of dark treasures to discover.

None were more prevalent back then than the original king of monsters...the vampire. Stephen King made us fall in love with the iconic Dracula story in his classic novel of small town vampire horror, Salem's Lot. Many copy cats were to follow. Anne Rice took a unique spin in her take on the sympathetic views of those glorious children of the night and their eons old bloody back history.

And in films, certainly. While John Carpenter brought us the teenage slasher film Halloween and the scifi horror remake The Thing, the 80s had plenty of bloodsucker classics like Fright Night, Near Dark, and some others. But for me, it was The Lost Boys. The cool young up and coming cast, the look and feel, and the soundtrack was pure 80s cheese and that's a good thing.

Chris: Glenn, your latest novel UNTIL SUMMER COMES AROUND clearly takes an intended page (and sort of homage) to that movie, but it's also so much more. Especially with it's unlikely teenage protagonist, Rocky. What inspired you to write this novel?

Glenn: It’s like you said, man, the 80s offered so much for kids and teens. It was loud and colorful, neon and new. Even late-70s movies like Star Wars, Alien, and Jaws were still relatively new (or recent). MTV led a youth movement and brought rock stars into homes daily, hell, hourly.  I knew I wanted to go back to that period in time and weave my own adventure in the midst of all that magic.
The vampire love story is nothing new, but I knew my story of Rocky and November would stand out if I made a few altercations to the vampire lore and placed it in the best beach town in the best era.

Also, I remember watching so much Unsolved Mysteries and 20/20 with my mom growing up that I had to use some of that paranoia in here. Those two shows more than any other really opened eyes to the amount of evil that lurks out there.  I was able to tie some of that into the antagonist’s doings. I think that definitely gave the adults in the book another level of realness, which is what really digs you into the story.

Chris: One of the things I loved about this book was lots of 80s drops and references sprinkled quite liberally throughout. That must have been a lot of fun. Also, the location of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, is place you know well, I take it?

Glenn: Anyone that has read my books knows that I love pop culture references. It’s definitely a part of my voice. I need a soundtrack, I need my readers nodding along when they see, say, Duran, Duran, pop up before their eyes. 😉  It’s part of making YOU feel invested in what’s happening. That said, I often wonder if my references might alienate some of the younger horror readers out there. Lucky for us, the 80s seem pretty cool to kids right now.

As for OOB, man, that is my happy place. I don’t get there as much as I wish I could. I told my wife we’re retiring there and she says no, but I have a couple more decades to work on her.  😊  I know quite a bit about the it, but I did additional research for the book. I made up plenty of places, but there are quite a few accurate streets and areas. If you’ve never been there, make it your next (non-Covid) destination.

Chris: Having grown up in the 80s as a teen myself, you really captured what it was like being a teenager in that time. I found the young female love interest for Rocky rather intriguing. Where did you come up with the name November?

Glenn: November was the girl that lived next door to me when I was 5 or 6. She was my best friend and I remember thinking she was sooooo cool all the time. Probably had a crush on her, as much as a little kid can, but her name and that memory of her awesomeness has stuck with me my entire life. I wrote a song called “The Record Store” and the girl in that song was November. “She said her name was November, that’s a name I will always remember” and there’s a line a bit later that says, “Now I can’t get this girl out of my blood”  A sly reference of what this girl might be.  I certainly had USCA brewing in my head percolating in my brain well before I finally sat down to write it.

Chris: Finally, I've never been one of those who bashed the success of the teen heartthrob vampire series, Twilight (but have never read the books). You keep an element of young "coming of age" romance and make it both sweet and realistic, but keep the vampire element scary and original at the same time (leaving out spoilers). Was it a deliberate and conscious decision to add in a unique spin on a type of story that's been, pardon the pun, done to un-death?

Glenn: Not really. I never read the Twilight books, but I did see all the movies. They were very CW and I do remember one seen in the last movie where they have all these big characters getting killed, and I recall sitting up in my seat at the theater and thinking holy shit, that’s actually awesome….turns out it was just a character seeing a possible future. I thought, damn, that was the best scene from any of the flicks and they totally dropped the ball. Oh well. 

It’s possible that moment might have been luring in my mind, too, but I never set out to correct some error. I only know how to write like me, so I just follow my brain where it wants to go. I did a bit of the sweet and innocent mixed with really horror in my last book (The Window), and I definitely went way dark on the horror in that one. While I love the book, it was a bit hard for some readers, so if anything, I know going into this one I did decide to put a soft cap on how hard the horror went. That said, I think it came out really well. By doing that “soft cap” I hope I opened the story up to any reader of any genre out there to enjoy.  As a horror lover, I love how it turned out. It still has plenty of… bite.

Chris: Thanks, Glenn, for taking the time to answer these questions. Now everyone who hasn't yet, go grab this perfect summertime (or anytime) horror beach read! You can find his latest at bn.com and Amazon, available in hardcover, trade paperback and ebook from FlameTree Press. His previous books like THE WINDOW, THE HAUNTED HALLS, BECOMING, BLOOD AND RAIN, among others, come highly recommended! Go #GetRolfed!