Darkness on the PAGE (part two)
November 17th 2006 03:21
Fiction. Prose. Stories. Tales. Once upon a time …
The most horror fiction I read was during my Stephen King phase which began after purchasing a dog-eared second hand copy of Carrie at Ferret Bookshop in Wellington, NZ, more than twenty years ago. I devoured it ferociously, loving every mock authentic aspect of it (from The Shadow Exploded pg 64, from My Name is Susan Snell pg 45, faxed police and coroner’s reports, etc). It was a brilliantly sustained first novel.
This was followed by Salem’s Lot which I bought at an American airport and provided me with a trans-Atlantic undead chill. Then The Dead Zone which I borrowed from my local library, and still regard as one of his most affecting novels. Soon after, I bought a paperback of The Stand, which left me, reeling in the epic aisles.
Then it was back to the second hand bookshop, where I found the Different Seasons novellas. Back to the library, where I borrowed Firestarter and Cujo (‘tis a shame the film versions of both of these are so lame). Then a voracious King friend of mine lent me her hardback copies of Pet Sematary and Christine which had only recently been published. I was in King heaven with those two!
For some reason The Shining had eluded me. But I got to it eventually. Whew! Nightmares abound. I engulfed the short story collection Night Shift as well. But then inexplicably my King predilection dissipated. Despite both It and Misery receiving huge critical acclaim, I didn’t read them until many years later. After those novels I lost all interest in King’s work, until this month when I started The Dark Half written over fifteen years ago. It’s bringing back fond memories of late night snacks and telling myself “Just one more chapter, then I’ll turn the light out …”
During university I consumed Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Initially I found the style of prose a little difficult, being written mostly in letter format and with its old fashioned command of the English language (it was first published in 1897). But the tales’ trajectory is brilliant, a sublime conjuring of nightmarish, haunting moments. I’ll never forget the passage where Jonathon Harker glances out one of the upper castle windows and happens to catch Dracula flapping his way down the side of the castle wall. I swear I could hear the image Stoker described.
Around the same time as reading King’s novels I indulged in some of Britain’s answer to King; James Herbert. I read his epic rodent tales; The Rats, Lair, and Domain, as well as his tales of urban disaster and evil chaos The Fog and The Dark. All were solidly horrific I remember. A year or so ago I bought Herbert’s latest, Once ..., which turned out to be a thoroughly gripping and fantastic adult tale of faeries and demons. It would make a great erotic horror movie.
Two significant 70s novels (both of which were made into very successful films), which aren’t traditional horror fare, but capture much of the mood, structure and tone of horror, are James Dickey’s Deliverance and William Goldman’s Magic. Deliverance plays on all your worst fears of being out of your depth. It’s a powerhouse read of fear and courage, its morality pared back to reveal humankind at its most base and instinctual. Magic also plays on fear and confronting demons, its morals dark and sinister. Both books are superbly concise nightmares, beautifully written.
I received Mark Z. Danieleswki’s monstrous House of Leaves for my birthday several years ago and it blew my mind. This is an extraordinary novel that challenges everything we know about prose. It is also one hell of a brilliant horror story. Brett Easton Ellis described it as “Thrillingly alive, sublimely creepy, distressingly scary, breathtakingly intelligent”. Yes, indeed. In a nutshell it follows the plight of a family, the documenter patriarch, and one supremely haunted house; a portal to somewhere very, very Dark.
Lunar Park is Ellis’s homage to Stephen King. And one can see why in the style, imagery and ideas evoked in his novel approach to a semi-autobiography; a fluid and evocative peeling back of his own trials and tribulations as a successful author and the nasty demons in his closet. It has many startling scenes of genuine horror, as well as a dark wit.
I finally got around to reading a novel many horror authors regard as the finest vampire tale since Dracula; Richard Matheson’s I am Legend, the story of the last man on earth. The Omega Man, as one of the filmed versions calls itself. Written in the mid-50s, it bellows along in a gruff, matter-of-fact fashion, conjuring up a desolate, apocalyptic future where the undead litter the streets taunting sole survivor Robert Neville. Or perhaps he’s not alone. I am Legend is one of those highly intelligent novels where the end looms closer and closer and finally in the last few paragraphs captures the story’s essence in a most profound, and yet entirely appropriate dénouement.
* the images on this page were taken from the following wikipedia pages:
Christine, House of Leaves,
I am Legend
They are licensed from the GNU Free Document License
The most horror fiction I read was during my Stephen King phase which began after purchasing a dog-eared second hand copy of Carrie at Ferret Bookshop in Wellington, NZ, more than twenty years ago. I devoured it ferociously, loving every mock authentic aspect of it (from The Shadow Exploded pg 64, from My Name is Susan Snell pg 45, faxed police and coroner’s reports, etc). It was a brilliantly sustained first novel.
This was followed by Salem’s Lot which I bought at an American airport and provided me with a trans-Atlantic undead chill. Then The Dead Zone which I borrowed from my local library, and still regard as one of his most affecting novels. Soon after, I bought a paperback of The Stand, which left me, reeling in the epic aisles.
For some reason The Shining had eluded me. But I got to it eventually. Whew! Nightmares abound. I engulfed the short story collection Night Shift as well. But then inexplicably my King predilection dissipated. Despite both It and Misery receiving huge critical acclaim, I didn’t read them until many years later. After those novels I lost all interest in King’s work, until this month when I started The Dark Half written over fifteen years ago. It’s bringing back fond memories of late night snacks and telling myself “Just one more chapter, then I’ll turn the light out …”
During university I consumed Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Initially I found the style of prose a little difficult, being written mostly in letter format and with its old fashioned command of the English language (it was first published in 1897). But the tales’ trajectory is brilliant, a sublime conjuring of nightmarish, haunting moments. I’ll never forget the passage where Jonathon Harker glances out one of the upper castle windows and happens to catch Dracula flapping his way down the side of the castle wall. I swear I could hear the image Stoker described.
Around the same time as reading King’s novels I indulged in some of Britain’s answer to King; James Herbert. I read his epic rodent tales; The Rats, Lair, and Domain, as well as his tales of urban disaster and evil chaos The Fog and The Dark. All were solidly horrific I remember. A year or so ago I bought Herbert’s latest, Once ..., which turned out to be a thoroughly gripping and fantastic adult tale of faeries and demons. It would make a great erotic horror movie.
Two significant 70s novels (both of which were made into very successful films), which aren’t traditional horror fare, but capture much of the mood, structure and tone of horror, are James Dickey’s Deliverance and William Goldman’s Magic. Deliverance plays on all your worst fears of being out of your depth. It’s a powerhouse read of fear and courage, its morality pared back to reveal humankind at its most base and instinctual. Magic also plays on fear and confronting demons, its morals dark and sinister. Both books are superbly concise nightmares, beautifully written.
Lunar Park is Ellis’s homage to Stephen King. And one can see why in the style, imagery and ideas evoked in his novel approach to a semi-autobiography; a fluid and evocative peeling back of his own trials and tribulations as a successful author and the nasty demons in his closet. It has many startling scenes of genuine horror, as well as a dark wit.
* the images on this page were taken from the following wikipedia pages:
Christine, House of Leaves,
I am Legend
They are licensed from the GNU Free Document License
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Comment by suitably*wounded
Eternal Days; Author: Illness, M.
Oooh, I'm glad you mentioned Magic! I hadn't thought of that movie in years, but it especially creeped me out as a kid and probably was an indirect cause of pushing me over the edge toward clown collection. Anthony Hopkins, pre-Clarice. ::: shudders :::
Having seen The Omega Man and enjoyed it, I'll have to track down the book its based on since you recommend it as a superior read. As you can tell, this particular theme resonates deeply with this reformed good girl facing the end of time. =)
Last of all, in keeping with the discussion, on my own I've just now discovered Jack Ketchum. He's pretty brutal, but his semi-biographical The Girl Next Door is based on the case of Sylvia Likens (which, by the way, is about to hit the big screen with Catherine Mary Stewart as the antagonist mother) is incredibly chilling. Off Season, his first offering and rather slim, is loosely about the Sawney Bean legend. And my favorite thus far, is called simply Red. In it an old man goes to extraordinary lengths to see justice done regarding his dog, who'd been murdered for no reason.
Whew. That's all I gotta say about that. Aren't you glad? =D
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
Health Focus
Poetry Lighthouse
MS Paint Art
Did Dracula give you indigestion, as you confess to consuming it. I guess it never quite passed out of your system
I don't read much fiction, aren't Stephen Kings books more for men than for women?
When I have a chance I'll get a horror book from the library. It will probably frighten me, but hopefully not to death.
katyzzz
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
on the contrary, you'd be surprised how many women read Stephen King.
if you're to read one of his then I'd recommend starting at the beginning with Carrie. it's not very long and isn't as dense as some of his latter work. it's also bloody good too. It's written as if all the events actually took place.
Comment by kellymommy
seems very different from the early, much more psychological. You should try "Bag of Bones" I hate
the title, but love the book, I guess i'd call it a romantic ghost story. I also love The Stand. It,
The Talisman, The Mist (a short) and Insomnia.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I appear to be sliding back into my early King phase for a revisitation .... I just bought second-hand paperback copies of both Christine and Pet Sematary at Bondi Beach markets ... ha!
The Mist is a sensational novella!!! yes!
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
I have read an occasional James Herbert, but honestly I don't remember which ones (just recall the name).
And I've never heard of I am Legend. I'm going to go out and find that book. I love a vampire novel.
Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
That is, your passion for your subject matter came out in it...
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Yeah, when I got round to reading The Shining, I thought it was brilliant. One of his best ever. The scene when Jack Torrence is locked in the pantry and trying to coax Danny into letting him out ... scary shit!
I appear to be slipping into a revisitation phase. I bought 2nd hand paperback copies of Christine and Pet Sematary on the weekend. Read them many moons ago, but remember both as being superlative King.
Adrian,
cheers for that comment. Yes indeed the passion runs deep. A deep gaping wound .... lol
Comment by K.L. Almeroth
Motherhood
To the Horror King (I mean you, Bryn, not Stephen),
I loved this post. My absolute favourite of yours...Brilliant!
Of course, I have to add that I, too, went through the Stephen craze. Read Carrie at 12....and Pet Semetary, and The Shining....
A couple I haven't read is The Stand and Desperation, although I have both on my shelves. Have to get round to reading them.
Reading Cell at the mo (as you know), and it is brilliant. It is classic King. Loving it!
Very gory.
If it wasn't for some of the iconic signatures in it (whatever the hell that means)....such as IPODS, and cell phones....you would think it was written in the eighties, in his classic stage.
You'll have to read it.
I will do a post on it, eventually...when I finish it!
Your horror pal,
The Romance Writer!! (Ha, ha, sounds so funny!)
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
thankyou so much for your kind words!
I am looking forward to Cell.
I haven't read Desperation.
The Stand is a huge work. Awesome. Such a shame George Romero and King couldn't pull off the movie version they so wanted to do.
Comment by K.L. Almeroth
Motherhood
Hi Bryn,
I'll have to finally do it - not IT, but The Stand...
Everyone raves about it...
So King has done movies with Romero? Or were they once thinking of it?
I'm sure you've probably replied to this question of mine before...is probably buried in one of your other posts somewhere...
K.L.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by K.L. Almeroth
Motherhood
Bryn,
Do you know if Cell is in the works? Romero sooo needs to do Cell!!!
K.L.
Comment by Hellvis
Earache Hotel
Am yet to start my Stephen King binge (I've read Night Shift, which I'm sure I've mentioned before) but want, nay, NEED, to read more.
One of my favourite horror authors who I have been revisiting lately is Clive Barker. I'm sure you've seen the movies Hellraiser, Nightbreed, Candyman, et al, but his writing is something else. He gets called a cross between Stephen King and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and while I wouldn't go that far, he certainly has a sense for the surreal that sets him apart from the pack. I'd start with his two-volume Books of Blood if you haven't read him. Great, gory stuff.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Yes, I'd like to read the Books of Blood, that's where The Hellbound Heart is from, right?
I've read Weaveworld, which I really enjoyed.
Comment by Hellvis
Earache Hotel
The story which Candyman was based on is in there though. It's called The Forbidden I think. Much better than the movie and its many sequels.
Cabal is pretty good too (once again, much better than the movie Nightbreed). Am yet to read Weaveworld.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Hellvis
Earache Hotel
Yeah, Hellraiser is awesome, although I still can't get over how utterly unnatractive the woman who was meant to be some ravishing beauty was.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I love the line in Hellbound: Hellraiser II ... "And to think I hesitated ..."