This publicity article, from the 21 November 1944 MilwaukeeJournal, shows much of the humor that Bloch brought to horror. He is missed. The article, which can be read in its entirety (click here), speaks of his recent creation: Lefty Feep, the Goon from Ragoon, a wildly popular franchise. Bloch at the time was doing speech writing to make a creative living. He also stated that watching The Phantom of the Opera stunned him into writing horror.
No not “gore” although critics may disagree. After Robert E. Howard single-handedly created the “sword and sorcery” genre (with due apologies to John Carter of Mars and Tarzan) it vanished for a while upon his sad and untimely death. A few picked up on the theme, and they did so-so, until L Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter had a brainstorm. Why not bring it back with a vengeance and reinvigorate the fantasy genre. It was temporarily, though grudgingly, adopted into the then popular science-fiction umbrella. It was ‘savagely’ popular with eventually Lin Carter, de Camp, John Jakes (later North and South), Bjorn Nynorg, Karl Edward Wagner, and others jumping in to lesser or greater success.
However, in 1966, a literary curiosity appeared. Totally smashing the popular and growing women’s liberation movement, John Norman created an alternate world story wherein even James Bond might have blushed at the male chauvinist hedonism. Combining fantasy, science-fiction, magic, myth, and male-hormone-pumping eroticism no one had seen anything this soft-porn and yet well-written. Tarnsman of Gor transmitted an ordinary person to another world and in that world the man had to fight like Conan, experience alienness like John Carter of Mars, and romanced better than the best Sean-Connery-James-Bond. Oh, and did we mention the constant belittlement of women who when not parading about harem-naked, quickly submitted to any and all male whims while only lightly protesting.
Such a horrible story line could never be popular.
Could it?
Writers, never give up!
Twenty-nine installments have ensued with multi-million dollar paperback sales. It was later revealed that this was the creation of a Princeton philosophy professor, John Lange (b. 1931) who pulled together every ancient lore and myth to create a panoply of flora, fauna, beasty – and hot babe – one could imagine.
Lovecraft claimed to his friends that the Necronomicon was a made up book, just a means to an end in a few stories to move the horror along. Others are not so sure. In a more reflective monet, Lovecraft wrote a history of the Necronomicon which read in part, “Composed by Abdul Alhazred, a mad poet of Sanaá, in Yemen, who is said to have flourished during the period of the Ommiade caliphs, circa 700 A.D.”
You be the judge!
Below is a recitation by a self-claimed satanist, Winter Laake. The incantation of ‘ The Watcher’.
Disclaimer! We do not advocate evil, nor harm to anyone. It is our one desire that all people live in peace and harmony. Horror should only exist on the pages of books, or spoken aloud in a nice ghost story around a fire where you can clutch close to your loved ones.
This October 7th, 8th and 9th, the Seattle Art Museum will be hosting lively discussions, cinematic interpretations, and an art show curated by David Verba in honor of weird fiction author HP Lovecraft.
GUESTS
FILMS
Friday, October 7th
Saturday, October 8th
Sunday, October 9th
TICKETS
Summer Sale at Bloodletting Books:
From now until Friday June 10th all in stock books will be 30% off when you use coupon code “summer30″ at checkout.
Only advance orders are excluded from this sale. All in stock book qualifies for the 30% discount including, limited, lettered, trade hardcovers and paperbacks.
We are also having a similar sale at our Miskatonic Bookstore. Everything in stock is 30% off if you use coupon code “summer303″
Please note that these are two separate stores at Horror Mall and you will need to enter both coupon codes separately. To enter coupon code go to “view shopping cart”, at the bottom of the page you will see “Redeem a discount coupon section” you will see a place to enter your coupon code. If you are ordering books from both Bloodletting Books and Miskatonic books in the same order you will need to enter each of the coupon codes separately i.e. type in the first coupon code and hit submit and then type in the second coupon code and hit submit.
These coupon codes are only good at Bloodletting Books and Miskatonic Books they are not good on products from other shops in Horror Mall.
For the ocean there was at that time navigable; for in front of the mouth {of} ‘the pillars of Heracles,’ there lay an island which was larger than Libya and Asia together; and it was possible for the travelers of that time to cross from it to the other islands, and from the islands to the whole of the continent over against them which encompasses that veritable ocean. … Now in this island of Atlantis there existed a confederation of kings, of great and marvelous power, which held sway over all the island, and over many other islands also and parts of the continent. Plato, Timaeus and Critias (c. 360 BCE)
The nightmare corpse-city of R’lyeh…was built in measureless eons behind history by the vast, loathsome shapes that seeped down from the dark stars.Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn – H P Lovecraft.
From Plato, to Robert E. Howard, to L Sprague de Camp, to Lovecraft’s R’lyeh, people have been looking for Atlantis. Maybe it has been found:
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — A U.S. led research team may have finally located Atlantis, the legendary metropolis believed swamped by a tsunami thousands of years ago, in the mud flats in southern Spain.
To solve the age-old mystery, the team analyzed satellite imagery of a suspected submerged city just north of Cadiz, Spain. There, buried in the vast marshlands, they believe that they pinpointed the ancient, multiringed dominion known as Atlantis. They used a combination of deep-ground radar, digital mapping and underwater technology to survey the site after finding in central Spain a strange series of “memorial cities,” built in Atlantis’ image by its refugees after the city’s likely destruction by a tsunami. Atlantean residents who did not die in the tsunami fled inland and built new cities there, he added. …More
Below, Donavan gives a rendition of his Atlantis with a seemingly very stoned-out audience. The Smothers-Brothers were no doubt delighted, but CBS probably freaked.
Read by the amazing Morgan Scorpion.
Watch for rare images of Tesla.
Wilum Pugmire talks about his copy of SOME UNKNOWN GULF OF NIGHT
One of the bookstores that ordered the hardcover limited edition went out of business so we have a couple copies of this title left for sale again. We don’t expect for these two remaining copies to last long so reserve your copy SOON! Click the cover art below for ordering information
A murder mystery dating back to 1879 was finally resolved – a skull unearthed in BBC legend David Attenborough’s garden was formally recognised as that of a woman murdered by her maid 132 years ago – according to a new online report.
Sketch of Julia Martha Thomas
Julia Martha Thomas was a wealthy widow (then aged 55) and was killed by her (then 29-year-old) housekeeper Kate Webster in well-to-do Richmond. Her head was never found.
Sketch of Kate Webster - Convicted of Murder
The case became known as the ‘Barnes Mystery’.
Webster was convicted as a thief and for murder, chopped up Thomas with an axe, boiled the remains and gave the dripping to local children to eat.
A box with remains of the victim was found in the River Thames
The head was never found – assumed destroyed – until it was unearthed in October by workmen building an extension at the home of Attenborough. The garden – where the skull was found – used to be the site of a pub favored by the killer.
Click on original 1879 article below to see larger image. More details can be found here.
Written by Seregil of Rhiminee
Saturday, 09 July 2011
The Light is the Darkness is a fantastically written story about occultism, secret projects, family secrets and blood sport. It can be categorized as literary horror, dark fantasy and weird fiction, because it contains several different elements.
Here’s some information about the plot:
The protagonist, Conrad, is a modern day gladiator, who’s looking for his missing sister, Imogene. Imogene disappeared mysteriously while she was searching for the brilliant, but sinister Dr. Drake, who may have possibly murdered their brother Ezra (Imogene suspected that Dr. Drake murdered him and used him in horrible experiments). As the story begins to unfold and secrets are revealed, Conrad finds out several disturbing things about his family, especially about his father. He also learns that he may be changing into something non-human. The reader will also find out what kind of a man Conrad is and what has been done to him.
Laird Barron is a master of beautiful and nuanced prose. This novella is a perfect example of his writing skills and masterful storytelling, because he has created a multilayered and complex plot, which hooks the reader immediately. In my opinion this novella is an irresistible combination of literary horror and dark fantasy. It’s almost like a one man’s incredible odyssey from light to darkness, but it’s also much more than that, because the protagonist undergoes a physical change and is born again as a new being.
To read the rest of the review you can go here REVIEW
