Showing posts with label 13 Days of Halloween. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 13 Days of Halloween. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: HALLOWEEN: A Fan's Retrospective





While most kids were watching cartoons in 1988, I was a seven-year-old sitting in the floor directly in front of my grandparent's old television set watching Jamie Lee Curtis being stalked by a psychopath wearing a William Shatner mask. 

Yeah, you shouldn't let a seven-year-old watch a slasher film, but my grandmother did. Thanks, Grandma! 

I believe I was probably pestering my grandmother, so she played a movie in the VHS player for me to watch. Don't worry, the movie was edited. She had recorded Halloween I, II, and III onto a VHS tape off of television the previous year. I would say she played the movie just to get me to leave her alone. Whatever the reason, it was the first time I watched Halloween, which would become my favorite movie.

While Halloween wasn't my venture into the world of horror (Midnight Hour (1985) gets that honor!), it was my very first slasher flick, which kicked off my lifetime love for the Halloween franchise. (Yes, that even includes the godawful Halloween Resurrection!)

I can't explain why my favorite movie is about a masked killer stalking a babysitter on Halloween Night. It might have something to do with the film's Gothic-like atmosphere or it might have something to with the little fact that my first crush was on Jamie Lee Curtis! 

My mother thought I was crazy for liking a slasher film and thought there was something mentally wrong with me. I'm not joking, she really thought there was something wrong with me. Through my eyes Halloween was just a movie. I knew the difference between make-believe and reality, so I never saw the harm in watching the movie.

I believe I still have my grandmother's VHS tape, but for the life of me I couldn't find it before I started writing this. I believe it is stored in a box somewhere. 

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Halloween: The Official Movie Novelization


Titan; 384 pages; Amazon
It's been a long, long day for me, but here I am determined to write this review for Halloween: The Official Movie Novelization by John Passarella, which is based on the screenplay by Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride, and David Gordon Green.

The original Halloween (1978) happens to my favorite movie (more on that topic tomorrow), so I guess you can say I have been really excited about the new reboot sequel that was released on October 19th. Yes, you would think I would be one of the first people in line to see the film, but the only theater near me only has one screen and it takes them forever to get a new movie. I highly doubt if they will ever get Halloween. I have no problem waiting for the film to arrive on Blu-ray; especially since I have already read the novelization.

Halloween ignores all the original sequels and the Rob Zombie's movies. It's a direct sequel to the 1978 classic. The novel begins with two true-crime podcasters visiting Smith's Grove Rehabilitation Hospital to interview Michael Myers, which makes little sense as he never talks. Michael and a few other patients are being transported on a prison bus on Halloween Eve to another facility when an unknown accident occurs that allows Michael to escape. 

For the last forty years, Laurie Strode has been haunted by the events of Halloween 1978, when three of her friends were murdered by Michael Myers. She's has developed PTSD and has prepared herself if Michael would ever come after her again. She has a collection of guns that she has been trained to use and she has fortified her house.

After learning Michael has escaped, Laurie goes on the hunt to kill him on Halloween Night, but she's too late as Michael has already gone on a killing spree in Haddonfield. With her daughter, Karen, and granddaughter, Allyson, in Michael's pathway, Laurie will do anything she can to protect them from the boogeyman.



Monday, October 29, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Goosebumps SlappyWorld: The Ghost of Slappy


Scholastic; 160 pagers; Amazon
I could never have a Halloween event without featuring one Goosebumps title! 

I've been reading and collecting Goosebumps books since the very first book was released back in 1992! The latest spinoff series is titled Goosebumps SlappyWorld, which features the #1 Goosebumps villain Slappy as the host of each and every tale. 

The newest entry "The Ghost of Slappy" centers around Shep Mooney, who's scared of anything supernatural related, especially ghosts! Shep thinks that his basement is haunted by a ghost named Annalee, but neither his parents nor his younger sister, Patti, believes him. 

Maybe a camping trip will make Shep forget about the ghost. His class is having a sleepover in the woods. Sounds like fun, right?

Think again!

His teacher, Mr. Hanson, has brought along a very special gift for the trip - a ventriloquist dummy named Slappy! It seems Mr. Hanson had found the dummy in an attic and thought it would be fun to bring it for the campout. Mr. Hanson is aware about the curse that was put on the dummy and tells the story to Shep and classmates. 

After the camping trip is over, Slappy decides to stalk Shep and his family, but the boy is one step ahead of the dummy. However, Shep doesn't know that Slappy has a few new tricks up his sleeve!


Sunday, October 28, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: The House With a Clock in Its Walls


Puffin; 185 pages; Walmart
This will probably sound a bit weird to some of you, but I had never heard of the late author John Bellairs until this summer when I stumbled upon The House with a Clock in it's Walls at a Barnes & Nobles. The book was republished to tie-in with the feature film of the same name that was released in September starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett. I almost purchased it, but decided not to at the last second. A few days later, I found the book at my local Walmart at a slightly cheaper price, so I bought it. 

First published in 1973, the young adult Gothic mystery centers around Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan who is sent to New Zebedee, Michigan to live with his uncle, Jonathan Barnavelt. Not long after arriving, the boy learns that magic really does exist. Uncle Jonathan is a warlock and his next door neighbor, Florence Zimmermann, is a witch!

To make things even stranger for Lewis, he also learns that his uncle's house was once owned by Isaac and Selenna Izard, a couple who practiced black magic. Before Isaac's death, the man had hid a clock somewhere within the walls of the house. The ticking clock slowly pulls the world into the magical realm.

At school, Lewis befriends Tarby Corrigan, who's the complete opposite of him. In fear that Tarby will lose interests with him, Lewis shows off his own magic skills by raising the dead in a local cemetery on Halloween, which includes Selenna Izard.

There are a total of 12 books in the Lewis Barnavelt series, which only the first three titles were written by John Bellairs. Brad Strickland took over writing the series after Bellair's death, though three of the later titles were based on Bellair's unfinished writings and notes.



Saturday, October 27, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Monsterland Reanimated


WordFire Press; pages; Amazon

I don't know why horror novels and movies appeal to me so much. I don't believe it has anything to do with the them being scary, as there has only been a few books and films that have actually frightened me. Maybe I just like things that go bump in the night!

Today, I'm reviewing Monsterland: Reanimated by Michael Okon. It's a sequel to the young adult horror novel Monsterland, which I had reviewed on this very blog in 2015 (read the review here). The first book was original written under the name Michael Phillip Cash.

Monsterland centered around Wyatt Baldwin, a teenager obsessed with anything horror and that includes Monsterland, a theme park full of vampires, werewolves, and vampires. The kid is thrilled when he gets an invitation to the grand opening, which he drags his two friends with him.

Sound like fun, right?

Not really! In this world, there was an outbreak and all the infected was saved by Dr. Vincent Konrad. Where are the infected?

Take a wild guess! They're the attractions in Monsterland!

The sequel picks up shortly after events of Monsterland, where the infected have escaped into the real world. Thousands of people are dead, along with the Present of the United States and other world leaders. Governments are starting to shut down as the world falls into complete chaos.

To save his town, Wyatt and his pals must go on a journey to reestablish communication with whatever is left of the government in the hopes of warning them about a new threat. However, his quest isn't going to be an easy one as he must battle more supernatural creatures, including a blob-like thing called The Glob, a reanimated Behemoth, and a few mummies.



Friday, October 26, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Scream and Scream Again!


Harper; 410 pages; Amazon
Reading a good old fashioned ghost story always gets me in the mood for Halloween, which is one of two reasons why I wanted to read the anthology Scream and Scream Again!. The second reason is because the book is edited by one of my favorite authors - R.L.Stine.

The anthology features twenty young adult short stories from the Mystery Writers Of America. The stories are:


  • The Best Revenge by R.L. Stine
  • Raw Head and Bloody Bones by Bruce Hale
  • Bricks and Bones by Emily Laybourne
  • Ring and Run by Steve Hockensmith
  • The Unknown Patriot by Chris Grabenstein
  • Summer of Sharks by Lisa Morton
  • Rule Seven by Ray Daniel
  • Cat Got Your Tongue by Wendy Corsi Staub
  • The I Scream Truck by Beth Fantaskey
  • The Witch of Bryon's Bayou by Heather Graham
  • Bloodstone by Phil Matthews
  • Area Code 666 by Carter Wilson
  • The Trouble with Squirrels by Doug Levin
  • The Necklace and the Monster by Jeff Soloway
  • The Only Child by Joseph S. Walker
  • Kamikaze Iguanas by Alison McMahan
  • The Nightmare Express by Daniel Palmer
  • The Girl in the Window by Tonya Hurley
  • Feed the Birds by Stephen Ross
  • The Platform by Peter Lerangis

Thursday, October 25, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Hocus Pocus & the All-New Sequel


Freeform Books; 528 pages; Amazon
Go ahead an admit it! You have watched Hocus Pocus at least one time! 

I'm not for sure when the tradition started, but Freeform (formerly ABC Family) airs the 1993 film dozens of times throughout the month of October every year; resulting in it becoming a cult classic. Since I'm a bit older than the typical Freeform viewer, I was quite aware that Hocus Pocus existed long before it became popular. I remember seeing it in theaters when I was a 12-years-old and later watching it countless times on VHS; so I was a big fan before everyone else started appreciating the little horror-comedy. 

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film, Disney published Hocus Pocus & the All-New Sequel written by A. W. Jantha, which is actually two books in one. The first 200 pages is the novelization of the original film and the rest of the book is the long awaited sequel.

I'm not going to go into a detailed description of the novelization's plot, as by now practically everyone in the world has seen the movie. However, I will mentioned about the differences in novelization. For instance, the beginning of the movie that was set in 1693 is split up in the book in flashbacks, which are intertwined in several chapters with the 1993 setting. There's a few new scenes with Max prior to going to school and he's given a backstory about his life prior to moving to Salem. Also, there's a few additional scenes expanding his relationship with Allison. Then there's the ending, which has been completely reconned with the Sanderson's spell book disappearing.

Set 25 years later, the sequel centers on Max and Allison's seventeen-year-old daughter Poppy, her best friend  Travis, and her new friend Isabella breaking into the Sanderson sister's home to play an Ouija board-like game. Isabella just happens to have found the spell book that very same day and with the game they accidentally recite a spell that transports Max, Allison, and Dani into Hell. To make matters even worse, the spell brings back the Sanderson sisters!


Wednesday, October 24, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Echoes in the Walls by V.C. Andrews


Pocket Books; 400 pages; Amazon

When I hear the author's name V.C. Andrews, I think of the word "Gothic," as her original Flower in the Attic and sequels had the perfect Gothic-vibe to them. However, when it comes to the ghostwritten titles written by Andrew Neiderman, the Gothic touch that I loved so much seems to have completely vanished. The once well-plotted novels have been replaced with generic young adult stories.

Like most V.C. Andrews' fans, I've been very critical of the last batch of ghostwritten titles, all of which were badly written with one-dimensional characters. Just when I was about to give up on all future V.C. Andrews books, I read House of Secrets and I didn't hate it. (Read my review here!). Yes, it had some writing issues, but the plot and characters were a major improvement.

Here I am today writing my review for the sequel Echoes in the Walls, which was published on August 28th. Pocket Books has sent an ARC copy a few weeks prior to the release date, but I held off reading it, just so I could feature it during this year's Halloween event!

It's a little difficult for me to explain the actual plot of the sequel without giving away the ending of House of Secrets. WARNING - THERE WILL BE SPOLIERS!

House of Secrets centered around Fern, a teenager who has lived her entire life at the Wyndemere mansion with her mother, who worked as a maid for the Davenport family. While Fern isn't supposed to have anything to do with the Davenport children, she has developed a close relationship with Ryder Davenport, who she has romantic feelings for. To make a long story short, towards the ending of the book Fern learns that Mr. Davenport is her real father and Ryder is her half-brother.

After barely surviving a boat accident, Ryder now has selective memory and he doesn't remember that Fern is his half-sister. Most of the time in Echoes in the Walls, Ryder has no clue who Fern is and has long forgotten his sexual feelings for her. Actually, the character has very little to do in the sequel. He's either shut inside his room or spending time at the hospital.

The majority of the sequel centers on Fern's relationship with her new boyfriend, Dillon, which is full of the typical teenage romance cliches. When she's not with Dillon, Fern has her mind on the upcoming school production of Dracula.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Return To Fear Street: The Wrong Girl


Harper Teen; 330 pages; Amazon
If you read yesterday's review for Return To Fear Street: You May Now Kill The Bride, then you would know I have been a fan of R.L. Stine's Fear Street series since I was a kid. No, the Fear Street books weren't my first introduction to the world of horror, as I had first watched the slasher classic Halloween when I was seven-years-old. (There will be more on that topic on Oct. 31st.). As you can probably imagine, I was more than thrilled when I heard about the new Return To Fear Street books.

The second book in the Return To Fear Street series, titled The Wrong Girl, was published last month by Harper Teen. The plot centers around Poppy Miller, a teenager who loves to write poetry and dreams of receiving a scholarship to the drama department at Carnegie Mellon. She's pretty much your typical teen who is into all the normal teenage stuff. She has a boyfriend named Keith, who she doesn't really like, but she keeps him around anyway. Ivy Tanner is her BFF, who is currently dating Jeremy Klavan. And then there's Manny, the musical genius of the group, who happens to be allergic to just about everything.

Poppy's life takes a sudden turn into the danger zone after becoming friends with the new Shadyside High student, Jack Saber, who is quickly accepted into the group. Jack is a wild child with a taste for fear. He insists they all start doing dangerous things, such as causing a car accident while they are filming it on their cell phones. Then they would put the video on YouTube, so they can become famous.

Things turn to the dark side after they play a prank on Poppy while they are attempting to rob a store. Poppy swears she will get revenge on them all!

Monday, October 22, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Return To Fear Street: You May Now Kill The Bride


Harper Teen; 346 pages; Amazon

I have always wondered why a movie studio has never attempted to adapt any of the Fear Street books into a horror film series. There's was some talk a year or two ago about a film company making back-to-back Fear Street films, but nothing has ever officially been announced. Until such a day comes about, I will keep rereading the old Fear Street books, as well as the newer entries.

As you can tell by the title of this post, today I'm reviewing Return to Fear Street: You May Now Kill The Bride by R.L. Stine, who is one of my favorite authors. The book was published by Harper Teen during the summer and I kept the book back just so can I review it for near Halloween.

The book takes place during two different timelines - 1923 and 2018. In 1923, the plot centers around sisters Rebecca and Ruth-Ann Fear. Rebecca is the spoiled of the two and always gets what she wants, even if it means betraying her sister. Ruth-Ann isn't someone to mess with. She had stumbled upon a few books of witchcraft that were hidden in their family's home, and she has learned a few tricks, but her powers might not be strong enough to stop the "curse" that has been haunting their family for many generations.

Fast Forward to the present, where we meet two other sisters - Marissa and Harmony Fear. Coincidentally, Marissa is soon to be married at the exact same resort where Rebecca's wedding ending in disaster all those years ago. Just like Ruth-Ann, Harmony has a taste of for witchcraft, which her powers will be put to the test when Marissa is kidnapped. 

Harmony must find a way stop the family's curse forever!


Sunday, October 21, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Campfire by Shawn Sarles


Jimmy Patterson; 296 pages; Amazon
Does you remember the Point Horror young adult books that were published in the late 1980s and throughout the early 1990s?

Well, I stumbled upon the Point Horror book shortly after I started reading the Goosebumps franchise in 1992! While a few of the books got lost over the years, I still have a pretty decent size collection. Once in awhile, I will find a Point Horror title at a thrift store and add it to my collection.

The young adult horror novel Campfire by Shawn Sarles was released during the summer through Jimmy Patterson (Little, Brown, and Company). Let me just say this book was a difficult for me to find. I looked at three Walmart stores and a Barnes & Noble store and none of them had the book in stock. I ended up ordering it!

I can't put my finger on it, but Campfire's art cover looks very familiar. I could of sworn I've seen a similar cover on an old Point Horror novel. Does anyone else agree with me?

Campfire is a fictional slasher tale with three separate short stories included in it - "Beware When The Fair Comes To Town," "Red Raven," and "The Mountain People." No, the book isn't an  anthology.

The plot centers around sixteen-year-old Maddie Daveport, her family, her best friend Chelsea, and a few friends going on a camping trip in the mountains. To kill off the time during the nights, they gather around the campfire and tell scary stories (the three stories I have already mentioned about).

"They say that stories told under a full moon come true," Caleb said.

To make a long story short, let's just say one of the stories becomes real. Now Maddie, her family, and friends are being hunted down one by one, and they must find a way to survive.



Saturday, October 20, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco


Jimmy Patterson; 440 pages; Amazon
Reading 900 pages in two days can put a bit of strain on a reader's eyes, but nevertheless, I have pushed through it and "Voila!"

Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco is the third novel in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series, though it should be called the Audrey Rose series instead. Stalking Jack the Ripper was the title of the first book, followed by Hunting Prince Dracula, which I just reviewed yesterday. Since Jack the Ripper was only in the first novel, why would the series be named after the first book? Yes, I'm nitpicking!

Anyway, the ending of Hunting Prince Dracula had Audrey Rose Wadsworth, her love interest Thomas Cresswell, and her chaperone Mrs. Harvey being detoured from returning to London in favor of America. Since this is set 1889, the only way of traveling to the United States is by sea, and in their case, they're traveling aboard the luxurious RMS Eturia.  

You would think traveling on an ocean liner would be relaxing, especially after catching two serial killers in a row, but that isn't the case for Audrey Rose and Thomas, who are once again tossed into a murder mystery when a young woman is murdered. The duo must use their forensic skills to hunt down the murderer.

Friday, October 19, 2018

13 Days of Halloween: Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco


Jimmy Patterson; 448 pages; Amazon
To celebrate Halloween this year, I will be featuring 13 horror themed posts. (Hint: They're mostly books!)

Today, I'm reviewing Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco, which is the sequel to Stalking Jack the Ripper (you can read my review here). 

Picking up shortly after the events of the first novel, Audrey Rose Wadsworth, her friend Mr. Thomas Cresswell, and her chaperone Mrs. Harvey are traveling on an orient express headed to the Academy of Forensic Medicine and Science (Institutului National De Criminalistica Si Mecicina Legala), which happens to be located at the Bran Castle in Romania. She's there to enroll as the first female student in Europe's most famous forensics school. However, things don't go as planned, which is something she is sorta used to by now.

One of the former owners of Bran Castle was Vlad the Impaler, or otherwise known as Prince Dracula, which gives the place a very eerie vibe. 

Audrey Rose and Thomas once again gets tossed into a manhunt when a series of strange murders occur around Bran Castle. Due to the way the victims were killed, people start to believe that Prince Dracula has returned to wreck havoc.

Are vampires real?

That the exact same question Audrey Rose and Thomas want to answer as they search for clues that will lead them to the real killer.


Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Retrospective - The Midnight Hour


For the past twenty-seven years, one of my annual Halloween watches is the little known horror comedy The Midnight Hour. It first aired on ABC on November 1, 1985 (Yep, one day after Halloween and two days after Garfield's Halloween Adventure aired on CBS) when I was a four-year-old. At the time my parents and I lived in a two-story farmhouse in the country (which was also haunted) and my parents recorded it onto a VHS tape. I would pester my mother into letting me watch The Midnight Hour, even though The Elf would always freak me out.

The Midnight Hour is set on Halloween in the small town of  Pitchford Cove, New England. Five high school seniors, Phil (Lee Montgomery), Mary (Dedee Pfeiffer), Mitch (Peter DeLuise), Vinnie (LeVar Burton), and Melissa (Shari Belafonte), break into the town's museum. They steal (or should I saw "borrow") a few costumes and an old trunk. They open the trunk at the local cemetery, in which they find a mysterious scroll. Melissa reads the scroll aloud, unleashing a horrible curse.

A few minutes after the kids leave the cemetery, the undead rise from their graves. The undead's leader is Melissa's own ancestor, Lucinda Cavender, who was put to death over 300 hundred years ago for being a vampire.

Monday, October 29, 2012

13 Days of Halloween: Matt Cunningham's Top 10 Picks of Horror Movie Scores




When Billy asked me to do a guest post I was extremely excited to ramble on about several things Halloweenie. I was going to tell the world about the history of Trick-or-Treating but then Wikipedia had that in spades - along with several other websites. I couldn't rehash the same old knowledge on this wonderful blog. It's much more deserving of that. Then I thought, what about a brief history of a few famous scary monsters? Unfortunately that became a research intensive monster itself. I found I wanted to tell way too much while hoping to keep your attention (if I haven't lost you already).

But then it dawned on me as I was listening to the movie score of Cabin in the Woods by David Julyan. Why not write about something I love with all my monsterly being! Movie scores. But not just any movie scores, my top 10 picks of horror movie scores that really fit into the frame work of Halloween and what I listen to every year around this time. Honestly, I listen to them all the time but this is for those of you that might want something spooky to listen to while carving pumpkins, or writing that short horror story you always meant to get to, or play in your haunted house or while you're driving to work in your Michael Myers costume.

So dim the lights and open your mind to a realm of frightening sounds...

Saturday, October 27, 2012

13 Days of Halloween: Horror Fan Swag Giveaway!



:

Giveaway Details:


*The Undead postcard
*Tales of Horror postcard
*Halloween (1978) decal
*Laurie Strode decal
*Halloween 4 decal
*Halloween 5 decal

Thursday, October 25, 2012

13 Days of Halloween: Horror Movies, Scary Books and Ghosts



SCARY MOVIES AND BOOKS
by KC Hilton

When it comes to horror movies and books, I stay clear of them. I’m a regular scaredy-cat! I even sleep with a nightlight! Ohhh, but there are reasons for my fear, but I’ll get to that in just a moment. Recently, I’ve tried to break the scary feelings and have read a few books. I’ve always wondered how a person could read a scary/horror book without shutting their eyes, lol. I started with reading Graveminder by Melissa Marr. OK, this was a great book and I got through it, without any permanent damage, so I decided to read another book, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. I made it through the Twilight series, so I thought I could handle this book. OK, it was a great book! I seriously loved it, but let me just say, it took me four days to read it and the first two nights I was scared to go to bed, lol. When I did finally go to bed, I pulled the covers nearly over my head! With all the facts woven into a Vampire story, well… It had me believing in Vampires! Yeah, it took me a while to get over it but I’m still here. Now, I want to see the movie! I’m not sure how that’s going to go, but I’m willing to give it a try.

On television, there is a channel that has a series about Ghost Stories. Now, I can watch those during the day, but not in the evening. Why? Because it’ll be the last thing on my mind when I go to bed! Needless to say, I wouldn’t get much sleep.

But why am I so afraid of scary books and movies? It goes back to my childhood. I blame it all on my father. It’s true! It’s funny really, but it seeded something in my mind and I can’t break it. When I was a young girl the horror movies like, Halloween (Michael Myers), Friday the 13th (Jason) and Nightmare on Elm St. (Freddy Krueger) were big hits. My brother and I had an early bedtime, like most kids do, but the problem was, my bedroom wall shared with the living room wall. In fact, my headboard was on that same wall. My father would watch the scary movies at night, thinking it was fine because the kids were in bed. I heard all the scary music, which usually lead up to the horrible screams. I started sleeping with a nightlight!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

13 Days of Halloween: Q&A with author John Peel


What or whom inspired you to become a writer?

JOHN: When I was young, I had anemia, so I wasn’t allowed to do sports. Instead, I stayed inside and read. When I ran out of stories in my favorite series, I started making up my own. After that, I couldn’t sop making up stories.

What was your first book/story published?

JOHN: My first book was “The Official Doctor Who And The Daleks Book”, about the English TV show. As a result of that, I got to write a “Doctor Who” novel, “The Chase”. Then I sold my first original book, “Uptime, Downtime”. That was my own version of a time travel story.

You have written media tie-ins, fantasy, science-fiction, and horror. What is your favorite genre to write about?

JOHN: I just like writing, so I don’t really mind what genre. I think my favorite, though, is fantasy. I love being able to make up whole worlds and situations. But I’ll write anything at all as long as it sounds interesting to me.


One of my favorite books growing up was Shockers: Grave Doubts. How did you come up with the reincarnation plot?

JOHN: By accident! What happened was that I went in to my editor, Craig Walker, about writing “Shockers”. I thought he wanted three books in the series initially, so I had three really good ideas – “Night Wings”, “Blood Wolf” and “Alien Prey” (horror, fantasy and science fiction). Then he said, “And what about the fourth book?” I hadn’t realized he’d wanted four, so on the spur of the moment I said: “Grave Doubts”. He loved the title, and asked me what it was about. So I told him I’d let him know just as soon as I decided! So then I went home and thought about it. Since I’d invented a title, I realized I had to do something set about a cemetery, and “doubts” suggested confusion. So I thought that it should be about somebody everybody thought was dead… and then I thought, no, it would be better if it was about somebody who *was* dead. And then the whole story fell into place.