Now available from Fiery Seas Publishing is the young adult fantasy-horror At the End of Church Street by author Gregory L. Hall.



The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule for a Q&A about his debut novel.




When did you become interested in storytelling?

I’ve always loved telling tales, whether it was superheroes fighting Martians or a ghost that hid out by our trashcans at night. Of course, both of these were based off of fact, so my imagination didn’t have to go far. I still see the ghost out there on trash night.

What was your first book/story published?

My old high school magazine asked for tributes to Poe so I wrote a story called ‘When the Lightning Flashes’. I never retire any idea so I later did it on stage as part of a Halloween play, then as a short film, and finally got it published in a professional magazine. When I put out my short story collection, ‘Lightning’ was an obvious first choice. I still have to turn it into a musical. Possibly a sock puppet show as well.

What inspired you to write At the End of Church Street?

I had been a stand-up and improv comic for twenty-five years. I was burned out and didn’t want to be gone every weekend anymore. After sitting around the house for a couple weeks, my wife said “Oh no. You’re not going to shut down and stop being creative. Go write a novel.” I told her I was too tired to be funny and she suggested I switch to horror (because I’m such a fan). I didn’t want to write the same old monster shtick. The idea of a vampire story without an actual vampire in it challenged me. I used to know a group of Goth kids when I worked at a haunted house attraction in Orlando and thought they had such tragic personal stories. Of course they’d go to Burger King for lunch and flash fake fangs as they munched on a Whopper. Not selling the ‘I’m a real vampire’ gig very well. So I saw humor too. A story formed around them.

What character in At the End of Church Street is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

There’s an old man who takes care of the Goth kids named Renfield. He drools a lot and says things like ‘beedily bop’ as a nervous tick and keeps waiting for the Mother Ship. I think anyone who knows me can clearly see I wrote myself directly into the story.

What is your favorite part in At the End of Church Street?

St. Martin's Press; 276 pages; $18.99; Amazon

Once upon a time, there were young adult horror novels that didn't contain glittering vampires, dystopian worlds, or supernatural romances. Yep, back in the middle 1980s throughout the 1990s, there were a slew of YA horror novels, mostly published by Point Horror. Of course one of the most popular series at the time was Fear Street by R.L. Stine (who later created the Goosebumps series). Each novel played out like an 80s' slasher flick with the main character typically being a female teenager who is either being stalked by a killer or has stumbled into a supernatural plot involving the Fear family.

In 2014, R.L. Stine brought back the Fear Street series with Party Games. Now available from St. Martin's Press is the fifth installment in the relaunch series, titled The Dead Boyfriend: A Fear Street Novel.

Set in the fictional Shadyside, Ohio, the novel centers on a teenager named Caitlin, who is thrilled to be dating the new boy in town, Blade. Despite the objections of all her friends, she quickly falls in love with him. Sadly, Blade doesn't feel the same for Caitlin. After a brief public argument, Caitlin kills Blade in self-defense. With no witness in sight, she flees the crime scene, hoping she can get away with the murder.

Unfortunately, this is a horror story, so things don't go quite as easy as Caitlin thought it would be. It seemed Blade had another admirer - Deena Fear, a descendant of Simon Fier (Fear). The girl has never been popular in school, mostly thanks to her Gothic looks and cold-hearted attitude. Her obsession with Blade goes way beyond the grave when she uses a little bit of witchcraft to bring him back from the dead.

Halloween Night is just over a week away, and there's no better time than the present to order your last minute decorations for your yard, class Halloween party, or for whatever you are planning for Oct. 31st.

For me, I decorate the yard each and every hear with spooky decorations, such as foam tombstones, zombie ground breakers, plastic rats, plastic spiders, hanging ghouls, and air-blown characters (2 Frankenstein's monsters and 1 witch). The only thing that could make the scene even creepier would be a little bit of fog.

With so many different fog machines on the market, I was overwhelmed with which one I should try. Eventually, I went with the 1byone Halloween Fog Machine, which retails for $39.99. There are seven different sizes and styles of fog machines on www.1byone.com, but I thought the 400Watt Fog Machine would be the perfect fit for what I need for Halloween Night.

The fog machines measures 9.84 x 7.54 x 4.49 in. It uses a power source input of AC 120V 60Hz and uses a 5A, 125V fuse. The tank holds up to 300ml (0.079 gallons). (Only use water-based fog solutions). The fog output is 2000CFM (cubic ft per minute). It comes with a 6.5ft wired one-switch remote control.

The fog machine come nicely packed in a simple black box with the lettering and illustrations in white. The actual machine is tightly stored inside the box. The only assembly required is for the metal handle, which takes less than a minute to put together.

I highly recommend reading the instructions before testing the fog machine out. Like I already mentioned, make sure to use a water-based fog solution (or otherwise known as fog juice or liquid).


To use the machine, you need to untwist the tank cap and pour in whatever desired amount of fog juice that you want to use. Replace the cap, making sure it's tightly secure. Place the machine on a flat surface. Plug the AC cord into an outlet. The machine will take several minutes to heat up, up to five minutes.

Once the machine is ready, it will spray out a blast of fog from the nozzle. The it will stop and reheat before it will release any more fog will be released.

2. Enter the link to your terrifying tale in the haunting list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in a curse).

 

3. Visit other haunters in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new creeper.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
 

One of my hidden talents is cross stitching, so I would probably make bookmarks that features a jack-o-lantern with the words "Happy Halloween!" on them.

Linky List:

2. Enter the link to your terrifying tale in the haunting list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in a curse).

 

3. Visit other haunters in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new creeper.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
 

Yes, I would go into the library to get the book, but once I find it, I will be running out the building as fast I can.

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Ripley Publishing; 256 pages; $28.95

If you're looking to give your kids something a bit unusual this year for Halloween instead of sugary candy, then the recently released Ripley's Believe It or Not!: Unlock The Weird! would make a perfect gift.

Ripley Publishing has been releasing an annual book showcasing the weirdest and strangest facts from around the world along with hundreds of colorful photos

Unlock The Weird! marks the 13 volume in the series. As you can see by the cover art, it has three eyes popping practically popping out at you. The book has been named a Mom's Choice Awards winner.

Similar to the other releases, this edition kicks off with a two-page biography of Robert Ripley along with a few pictures. The rest of the book is divided into 10 chapters - Believe It!, World, Animals, Body, Pop Culture, Transport, Feats, Art, Food, and Beyond Believe.

Artist Eric Millikin used over 1,000 miniature bags of M&Ms to create this pop culture portrait of Count Chocula.

Has your house been BOO'D this month?

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but for the last several years there has been a new tradition of "Booing your Neighbor." It's also known as "Ghosting" and or "Boo-gramming."

The way the tradition goes, you make a little BOO bundle (a plastic candy bucket will work), fill it with treats (candies, stickers, Halloween DVD/Blu-rays, etc.), and leave the bundle on your neighbor's porch or doorsteps. You can also leave it on your co-worker's desk. Kids can also get involved with the tradition by leaving a BOO Bundle on a classmate's desk. Lastly, you need to encourage the recipients to BOO It Forward to others by leaving a BOO card explaining what to do. Then the recipient would have 48 hours to BOO It Forward to their neighbor or friends, creating a chain throughout your neighborhood.

This year Walmart and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have teamed up for the Ghostbusters themed "BOO It Forward" kits. All you have to do is visit Walmart.com/BooitForward to pick out a BOO bucket and treats for the kits. You can place your order right on the website and have it delivered to your home or you can pick it up at your local Walmart store. Also, you can view & print three different Boo cards for free!

PG-13; 117 mins (Theatrical) /134 mins (Extended); Walmart

Being released this week on 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray & Digital, and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the supernatural-comedy Ghostbusters: Answer The Call, the reboot of the 1984 classic Ghostbusters. Directed by Paul Feig, the film stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. There are cameos by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver.

The film centers on Physicists Abby Yates and Erin Gilbert, and engineer Jillian Holtzmann witnessing a ghost sighting in a New York library. Afterward the trio decide to start their own ghost hunting business called "Conductors of the Metaphysical Examination" above a Chinese restaurant.

Hotzmann builds ghost trapping equipment, while the Yates and Gilbert hire a dumb receptionist, Kevin Beckman. Eventually, they recruit Patty Tolan, a MTA worker, to join their team.

After learning that electronic devices have been placed throughout the city to summon ghosts, the Ghostbusters sets out to find out who is responsible. This all leads leads them to a mad scientist, Rowan North, who plans on releasing hundreds of ghosts upon the city.

Special Features on the Blu-ray are:

Hi all, my name is Melvin Rivers. I’m the author of a horror book on amazon.com called “Haven of Evil.” Well, I’m not here to pitch my book, but rather discuss movies that influenced my writing. As a huge fan of horror movies, books and of course Halloween. I took the liberty to list my all-time favorite horror films centered around Halloween.

• 10. Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)

When I first saw this movie, I was a bit disappointment. I expected the crazed masked killer, Michael Myers to be in it. But after watching this movie many years later, I found a new level of respect for it. The movie is during the Halloween season, and a doctor must find a way to stop evil Halloween masks from causing deadly circumstances.

• 9. Night of the Demons (1988)

Teenagers decide to party at an abandoned funeral parlor on Halloween night. Demonic spirits awakens, and turn the party into Hell on earth.

• 8. All Hallows’ Eve (2013)

VHS tape is found which features various sinister murders performed by an evil clown.

Rated R; 85 minutes; Amazon

If you grew up watching horror movies in the 1980s then you probably recall watching 1979's weird science-fiction horror flick Phantasm.

For me, my introduction into the franchise was with Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead back in early 1995. I was fourteen-year-old at the time and I stayed up late to watch the movie on Showtime after midnight on a Saturday. I later watched the first two films when they aired on TNT's Monstervision hosted by Joe Bob Briggs.

I had forgotten about the franchise until I had found Phantasm II on a 4 Movie Marathon DVD in 2011. Afterward, I had purchased the other films on DVD, which is where I first learned there was a fourth film - Phantasm: Oblivion (1998). Let's just say I didn't care much for the fourth installment, mostly due to the weak script.

Just like most Phantasm fans, I was surprised when a fifth film, Phantasm RaVager, was announced in 2014. Now over two years later, the movie has finally been released to limited screens and via digital HD.

Directed by David Hartman, Phantasm RaVager centers on an aging Reggie (played by Reggie Bannister) who is still on the hunt for The Tall Man (played Angus Scrimm in his final performance). As soon as Reggie retrieves his 1971 Plymouth Barracuda, The Tall Man sends out the spheres to kill him.

Similar to the original film, Phantasm RaVager jumps around to different realities. Reggie finds himself in a nursing home, where he is told by Mike (played by A. Michael Baldwin) that he has been diagnosed with early stage of dementia. In another reality, the world has been destroyed by The Tall Man's army, and Reggie must team up with Mike and a few lone survivors.

2. Enter the link to your terrifying tale in the haunting list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in a curse).

 

3. Visit other haunters in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new creeper.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
 

Stephen King's It! I always tell people that I had read the novel, but I only read a few pages of it. The 1990 "It" television mini-series scared me to death when I was a kid. At the time I only watched part 1 as I was too scared to watch the part 2. Later, during my teenager years I did finish watching it. The book is being remade into two feature films, so maybe I'll be attempt to the read the novel again.

Linky List:

Scholastic; 154 pages; $6.99; Amazon

I couldn't have a Halloween event on my blog without at least featuring one "Goosebumps" title. R.L. Stine has been scaring kids to death since the early 1990s with his Twilight Zone inspired book series. Each book is written from the point-of-view of a kid between the age 10-13, where he or she would have some sort of scary adventure. Typically, the books would have shocking endings.

The newest entry is titled Goosebumps Most Wanted: The Lizard of Oz (book 10 in the "Most Wanted" series). It begins with a quick introduction by R.L. Stine, who is showing the readers the Most Wanted poster of a lizard in the Goosebumps office. Then the story jumps to point-of-view of Kate Lipton, a twelve-year-old, with a very odd family, and, no, she isn't taking about her little brother, Freddy.

Out of nowhere, Kate's parents had decided to quit their jobs and start a miniature pony farm in Middle Village, Pennsylvania. After that plan failed, they tried to start a miniature pony petting farm, and you can probably guess that that idea didn't work either.

After borrowing money from relatives, the Lipton family travels to Australia. It seems her parents have always been obsessed with lizards, and that's exactly why they are in Australia - so they can get a rare lizard. After meeting a strange man named Dr. Gregg, her parents convinced him to let them buy a Tasmanian Cobra lizard egg to take back home.

Jimmy Patterson; 336; $18.99; Amazon

If a book is a bestseller, then eventually it will get a reprint, and some of those titles will also get a brand new cover art. Well, that was what was I thinking when I saw the cover to Cradle and All by James Patterson on Barnes & Nobles a few months ago. The original Cradle and All was published in 2000, and it was actually a rewritten novel called Virgin that was published in 1980. This year's release of Cradle and All with the baby stroller on the cover is in fact another rewritten version of Virgin, but this time Mr. Patterson has written the story for young adults under his children book label "Jimmy Patterson."

Cradle and All centers on a pregnant seventeen-year-old, Kathleen Beavier, in Boston who claims she's a virgin. During her pregnancy, the world is turned upside down with droughts, epidemics, floods, and epidemics.

The young girl's claim gets the attention of the Catholic Church, leading Cardinal Rooney to ask Anne Fitzgerald, a former nun who is now a private detective, to investigate the situation. Also sent in to help out in the case is Father Justin O'Carroll, who has had past relationship with Anne.

On the other side of the world, Father Nicholas Rosetti travels from Rome to Ireland in search of Colleen Deirdre Galaher, a sixteen-year-old pregnant virgin.

Are Kathleen and Colleen telling the truth? If so, is one of them carrying in The Second Coming? Or is one of the carrying Satan's child?

Future House Publishing; 262 pages; $14.98; Amazon

I've been a big fan of any film or novel that has a supernatural settings ever since I first saw the Ghostbusters on VHS when it originally came out in the mid 1980s. I might have been young (3 or 4 years old at time), but I clearly remembered watching the movie. Since then, any book or movie with the word "Ghost" in the title gets my automatic attention; which is one of the reasons why I wanted to read the newest middle-grade novel - "Ghostsitter" by Shelly Brown.

To be completely honest, I received an ARC copy several months ago (April or May), so I had to reread it before I wrote this review.

Ghostsitter centers on Tiffany Hart, a twelve-year-old who for some reason or another agreed to hop in a van with three of her classmates (Justin, Jessica, Mario) in the middle of the night. Oh, don't worry, Justin's older sister Kori is the one driving them.

Where are they going in the middle of the night?

Well, they're going to Gravity Hill to be ghost hunters. It seems there is a legend about an elementary school bus in the 1950s that slid off the road and overturned into the water. All the children on bus were supposedly killed. Over the years, people have claimed to have seen ghost children around the area.

Sadly, their night doesn't go as planned when Tiffany has a sudden asthma attack.

The Good News - Tiffany makes a quick a recovery and is able to return to Antioch Junior High School, where she is planning on running for student body president.

The Bad News - Three ghost children begin to haunt Tiffany!

Insidious
Director: James Wan
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey
Studio: Film District
Release Date: July 12, 2011
ASIN: B004LWZW24
Running Time: 102 minutes
Rating: PG-13

Review:

I love the horror films from the 1980s, but Hollywood has replaced them with mindless PG-13 kiddy movies that claim to be scarier, when I actually think the directors or screenwriters were either high during filming or they just lack a single ounce of creativity. I have purposely ignored most recent horror movies, such as the Paranormal Activity which was rated R, though I did watch Mama on HBO last week. To me there is too much CGI and not enough real scares. Insidious: Chapter 2 was released to theaters in September and has become a box-office success. Of course I have never seen the first movie before that is until I ran across the DVD in the five dollar bin at Walmart and I thought I would see what the hype is all about.

Insidious has Josh and Renai Lambert (played by Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne) and their three children moving into a new home. Their son Dalton sneaks into the attic to investigate some strange noises he heard. He attempts to climb a ladder to turn on the attic light, but he falls. His parents rush to his aid and inform him to stay out of the attic. The following morning, Josh and Renai find Dalton asleep in his bed and he won't wake up. He is in a coma!

After spending three months in the hospital, Dalton returns home, but he is still in a coma state. Bizarre occurrences begin to happen, like strange voices over the baby monitor, a bloody hand-print on Dalton's bed and a strange male figure in the baby's room.

Fright Night 2: New Blood
Director: Eduardo Rodriguez
Starring: Will Payne, Jaime Murray, Sean Power, Sacha Parkinson
Chris Waller
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 1, 2013
ASIN: B00DZH8H2S
Running Time: 88 minutes
Rated: Unrated

Review:

 The 1980s had a shockwave of horror movies, from slasher sequels to zombie flicks and of course there is the 1985 horror-comedy Fright Night starring William Ragsdale, Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowall and Amanda Bearse, followed by a 1987 sequel with McDowall and Ragasdale returning. Then came the 2011 3D remake starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell and David Tennant, which failed to impress critics and moviegoers, barley making a profit. Two years later, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment releases the direct-to-video sequel Fright Night 2: New Blood, which ignored the remake and is actually a new take on the original. Confused yet?

Charley Brewster, his best-friend "Evil" Ed Bates, and his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee are exchange students in Romania, where Charley happens to glance out his hotel window to see a woman biting the neck of another woman in the building across the street. At first he thought it was his imagination, but he soon learns the woman is his Romanian History professor, Gerri Dandridge, who he is starting to suspect is a vampire.

After a fellow classmate goes missing, Charley believes the professor has something to do with it. Later, Charley sees Gerri getting rid of what looks like a body. While she is gone, he sneaks into her apartment, but he has to hide as Gerri has returned. She is not alone as she brought a female prostitute with her, whom she drains and bathes in the prostitute's blood.

Bates Motel: Season One
Starring: Freddie Highmore, Vera Farmiga, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, 
Studio: Universal Home Entertainment
Release Date: September 17, 2013
ASIN: B00DNUSFZQ
Running Time: 7 hrs. 14 mins.
Rating: Not Rated

Review:

Anthony Perkins passed away shortly after filming Psycho IV: The Beginning. The franchise seemed to be dead until the 2008 remake, which was a critical and financial flop, putting the final nail in the franchise's coffin; that is until A&E aired Bates Motel (no, not the 1987 TV movie) last spring, breaking ratings for an original drama series on the cable channel.

Bates Motel is a modern day prequel to the original Psycho book and movie. After the death of his father, 17-year-old Norman Bates and his overly-protective mother, Norma, move to White Pine Bay, Oregon, where they buy a rundown hotel and house. Within hours of moving in, Norman meets a teenager, Bradley Martin, and he instantly has a crush on her.

Unknowingly, the previous owner, Keith Summers, wants his family's land back. He makes an unannounced visit late one night, leading to a deadly situation in which Norma kills him. With no other choice, Norma and Norman cleanup the murder scene and dump the body in the bay harbor. They seemed to have gotten away with murder, which is until Sheriff Alex Romero and Deputy Zack Shelby begin investigating Summers' disappearance.

Norman's half-brother, Dylan Masset, arrives looking for a place to stay as he has nowhere else to go. Norma doesn't have the best opinion of her oldest son and Dylan feelings are vice versa.

Halloween has been my favorite movie ever since I was laying in the floor of my grandparents' living room watching the edited version on a VHS. It’s the scariest movie ever made. Though I do like the majority of the sequels/reboots (even Halloween III), I still love the original best. 


This 1985 TV-movie seems to be completely forgotten by horror fans, but I have fond memories of watching it as a child (I was four when it first aired). It was briefly released to DVD several years ago, but it is out-of-print. I dubbed my parent's recorded VHS copy (from the original airing) onto a DVD a few years ago, and I watch the movie every year. I do wish it would get a proper DVD/Blu-Ray release. Read my post on the movie from last Halloween.

Let's face it, we all love lists. We want great lists of top movies, books, albums, and so on that we can check and compare to what we love and help us discover hidden gems that we may have never uncovered on our own. The other thing about these lists is that they are based on opinion and of course we all have them and sometimes you agree and completely disagree with the choices. What I'm hoping not to do with this list is give you the obvious choices. We all know about John Carpenter's Halloween score, the score to the Exorcist (Tubular Bells), and the theme music to Friday the 13th and how iconic they are and yes they are amazing and I love them dearly. But I don't want to give you the obvious, I'm hoping to open your ears to something perfect for not only the Halloween season, but those times when you may want to listen to something that truly holds up as music on its own. And they are five scores that I can't live without...



Not only is this one of my favorite horror films, it also ranks up there in my favorite films of all time. It is a great and beautiful movie. It is a love story, coming of age story and a horror story. It combines so many wonderful things that I can stand it. It is beautifully shot and what really makes it so amazing is the score. The composer, Johan Söderqvist, manages to capture such gut wrenching beauty in this music it elevates the movie (as if it needed the help). It takes you on the journey through its dark soundscape and melodies that transcend the average horror score. I listen to this one over and over and it inspires my writing.

Christopher Young, in my opinion, constantly delivers some of the best horror scores around. His Hellraiser score is a work of art. And if you listen to scores and collect them like I do, you better have Hellraiser in your collection or we can longer be friends. DMTH is one of those scores that comes at you like heavy dark ocean waves. It crashes down with great scope and then pulls back to subtle moments of haunting voices over a single droning note of violin. It is grand and haunting and one great aural ride.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

 

My favorite horror books are The Shining & Doctor Sleep by Stephen King and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

Linky List: