RIP Jack Ketchum (1946-2018)

Sad news: renowned horror writer Jack Ketchum (pseudonym of Dallas Mayr) has died today at age 71. Two of his novels, Off Season (1981) and The Girl Next Door (1989), remain two of the most effective examples of the genre I can imagine. He remained prolific and gained quite a reputation in the 21st century as his novels reached a larger audience and movies were adapted from his works. The horror community mourns the loss, as he was generous with his time and advice to fellow horror writers and his fans. One of the best ways to remember him is to read his books...

Fangoria Nightmare Library Reviews, February 1988

Another installment of Fangoria mag's vintage book reviews, thanks to TMHF reader Patrick B. Authors should be familiar to horror fans: Joe Lansdale, Whitley Strieber, Michael Talbot, Rex Miller, and Thomas Monteleone. And I myself have reviewed three of these titles: Lansdale's Nightrunners, Talbot's Bog, and Miller's Slob.

Fangoria Nightmare Library Reviews, March 1987

The Fangoria vaults have been opened once again, this time thanks to reader Patrick B., who sent me a treasure trove of Nightmare Library review scans from the golden era of '80s horror fiction. Behold this particular cache, as it features reviews of some of our favorites... 

John Farris Fangoria Interview, 1987

And one more terrific Fangoria magazine interview with a prominent 1980s horror writer, this time John Farris (issue 67, Sept 1987). Thanks again to TMHF reader Peter F. for sharing these scans with me. Hope you've enjoyed them, I know I did!

 

Ramsey Campbell Fangoria Interview, 1986

Continuing this little excavation of old Fangoria mags by TMHF reader Peter F., here is an interview with horror giant Ramsey Campbell, from the June 1986 issue of the magazine.

James Herbert Fangoria Interview, Jan 1984

From the Fangoria vaults courtesy of TMHF reader Peter F., another vintage interview with an '80s horror legend, James Herbert (1943-2013). Enjoy!

Michael McDowell Fangoria Interview, 1984

Thanks to TMHF reader Peter F. for sending me this terrific interview with Michael McDowell (1950-1999), published in Fangoria #40, December 1984. Peter graciously emailed me several other Fango interviews with other '80s horror greats, and I will be posting them in days to come. Hope you dig these behind-the-pages looks into some of our fave writers of the era....

Meet Grady Hendrix and Me Tonight at Powell's Books in Beaverton, OR!

This is it everyone! Grady and I will meet for the first time face-to-face and discuss our book Paperbacks from Hell, out now from Quirk Books. Starts at 7:00pm at Powell's at Cedar Hills just outside Portland. We'll be talking about all those great vintage paperbacks you know and love and signing copies of ours. If you're in the area it'd be great to meet you!

Meanwhile I am working on a new review of a '70s occult paperback and reading an '80s novel about an insane undertaker. But of course.

Paperbacks from Hell is Here

Today is the day that Paperbacks from Hell hits bookstore shelves everywhere! My and Grady Hendrix's trade paperback from Quirk Books, it's a loving tribute to the 1970s and '80s horror paperbacks we all know and love. Crammed full of terrifying cover art, novel synopses, author and artist bios, as well as an in-depth look at the trends and themes and behind-the-scenes intrigue that kept drugstore racks spinning and bookstore clerks groaning at having to shelve all those books, it's a coffee-table-sized glossy-paged masterpiece if I do say so myself. I also contributed an Afterword of Recommended Reading.

Stellar reviews are pouring in from all over! The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Esquire, The AV Club, Bloody Disgusting, Pulp Curry, Forces of Geek, Horror Fiction Review, and Syfy. More, even. Amazon has us at #1 in 20th Century Literary Criticism. Listen to Grady and me talking about the book on last week's Know Fear podcast. It's thrilling!Beyond my expectations! If you're in the Portland, Oregon area, come see us:

All readers of TMHF should avail themselves of Paperbacks from Hell posthaste. You will love your time in Hell.

My and Grady Hendrix's Paperbacks from Hell Oregon Appearance, Oct 12, 2017!

It's happening! Grady and I will be appearing together at Powell's Books in Beaverton, OR (only a few miles outside of Portland) at their Cedars Hills Crossing location. From Grady's site:

Will Errickson & Grady Hendrix Talk Your Ears Off 

at Powell's Books

Thursday, October 12 @ 7pm

Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, Beaverton, OR

Paperbacks from Hell didn't magically pop out of my pants. I was assisted every step of the way by the evil genius, Will Errickson, of Too Much Horror Fiction fame. Will is a man who owns too many books, a man whose head is stuffed with too many facts, and a man whose name contains too man R's. Come hear us talk horror paperbacks until the crowd cries out for mercy. And we shall reply, "Never!"

Coming September 2017: Paperbacks from Hell!

For some years I've had TMHF readers asking if I was going to write a book about paperback horror fiction, and I've always shied away from the idea; I feel I write as a fan and amateur, not as any kind of professional critic. One day last spring, I received a message from author Grady Hendrix asking me if I'd be interested in working on a big project with him. I was intrigued; Grady and I had tag-teamed the Summer of Sleaze and Bloody Books of Halloween series in 2014 and then the Evil Eighties in 2015 over at Tor.com, offering up reviews of some terrific lesser-known horror novels and writers on an unsuspecting readership. This time, however, Grady had a bigger idea: what about an entire book, complete with cover art and stepbacks, on the vintage era of horror fiction? How about that? And would I be interested in co-writing it with him and supplying covers from my own library? Would I?!

For the next few months we spoke on the phone discussing all aspects of the genre, the titles and the authors and the cover artists, the publishers, the themes and ideas and fads and how they all spoke to generational concerns of those long ago yet still beloved decades of the 1970s and 1980s. I don't remember how we decided on the title; that may have been the publisher, Quirk Books (one working title was The Books That Screamed). I spent hours scanning the covers of what must have been more than half of my collection. Using my Google-fu skills I scoured all the internets for artists' names, peered at barely-legible artist signatures with a jeweler's eye, ever eager to discover who was responsible for covers like Satan Sleuth, Crooked Tree, Ancient Rage, and Horrorscope.

Social media has shown me that the advanced reading copies available at book expos/conventions have been incredibly well-received, and other folks have posted their anticipation for the book. Quirk Books has produced a lovely coffee-table style book filled to the brim with paperback covers, and Grady has written a funny, thorough, insightful, affectionate tribute/critique of the genre we all love so much. His appetite for this stuff is almost more voracious than mine! I'm honored to be part of Paperbacks from Hell... and I do hope you will buy a copy when it is published in September.

RIP William Hjortsberg (1941-2017)

Sad news for lovers of good writers: author William Hjortsberg has died. His 1978 crime-horror novel Falling Angel is a favorite of mine, and should be one of yours as well.