Whenever I run across a book with a jack-o-lantern on the cover, there's a really good chance I will buy it. That pretty much sums up how I got my hands on the 1992 horror novel Hell-O-Ween by David Robbins.

When I write reviews, I typically do a little research on the authors if I'm not already familiar with their writings. To my shock, I learned David Robbins has written many westerns under several pen names, including Ralph Compton, David Thompson, and Jon Sharpe. More than likely I have probably read one or two of his westerns. David has always written several other horror novels, including Prank Night and The Wraith.

Hell-O-Ween centers around eight high school students going into the "Caverna del Diablo" (a.k.a. The Cavern of the Devil) late at night to play a cruel trick on the class nerd. However, things go horribly wrong and six of the eight teenagers are murdered by 7' tall nude demons.

Final Thoughts

I have a bad habit of buying Dean Koontz thrillers each and every time I stumble across one at a thrift store, which has resulted in me accumulating many duplicates. Strangely, I have only read two or three Koontz novels over the years. That's why I wanted to read The Bad Place as one of the 13 Reads of Horror! because at least I'll have had read at least one book from my Koontz collection in 2019.

Originally published in 1990, The Bad Place centers around Frank Pollard, a man who's deeply afraid of falling asleep because if he does, he will wake up the next morning somewhere else with no clue of how he got there. And, there's a twist - he always finds something weird, such as blood on his hands. Could it get any weirder?

To solve his nighttime activities, Frank hires Bobby and Julie Dakota, a husband and wife security duo, to follow him around at night to unravel the mystery. Sounds simple enough. Right?

Final Thoughts

The big-budget "live-action" remake of the classic Disney animated film The Lion King landed on Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD +Digital) last wek and I was lucky to receive a copy to review right here on this very blog you're currently reading.

Directed by Jon Favreu (Iron Man 1 & 2, The Jungle Book), The Lion King (PG; 118 minutes) features the voice-cast of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and James Earl Jones.

Set in the Pride Lands of Africa, the movie tells the story of Simba, the son of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, who runs away after blaming himself for his father's death. Being a cub alone in the jungle can be dangerous so it's good thing he found two friends to protect him - Timon (a meerkat) and Pumbaa (a warthog).

Unknowingly to Simba, his evil uncle Scar has taken over his father's kingdom. Only after he has entered adulthood does he learn about Scar's treachery, which leads him to return to his homeland to claim his father's thrown.

Blu-ray and Digital Special Features include:

• The Journey to “The Lion King”
• The Music - Go inside the studio with the cast and crew as they work to honor and elevate The Lion King’s beloved music.
• The Magic - Discover how the filmmakers blended the traditional filmmaking techniques with virtual reality technology to create amazing movie magic.
• The Timeless Tale - Filmmakers and cast reflect on the story that has moved generations and share how this Lion King carries a proud legacy forward.
• More to Be Scene - Recording studio and layer-by-layer progressions of some of most iconic moments in “The Lion King.”
• “Circle of Life” – Peel back the layers of effects and go behind the scenes of this iconic musical moment from the film
• “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” – See all the effects, talent and fun that went into creating this vibrant version of “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” for the movie
• “Hakuna Matata” – Join Donald Glover (Simba), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa) and Billy Eichner (Timon) in the studio for the making of this memorable scene.
• Music Videos 
• “Never Too Late” (lyric video) by Elton John
• “Spirit” performed by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
• Filmmaker Introduction 
• Audio Commentary by Director Jon Favreau.
• Song Selection 
• “Circle of Life”
• “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” 
• “Be Prepared”
• “Hakuna Matata” 
• “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
• “Spirit”
• “Never Too Late”
• Protect the Pride –Director Jon Favreau, the Lion Recovery Fund and conservationists highlight efforts to protect the majestic lions and their home.
•  (Digital Exclusive) - Pride Lands Pedia --Dung beetle shares the importance of his “roll” in the African Savanna in a fun, bug’s eye view of the land and its inhabitants.

Final Thoughts

After living through the scorching summer, I was looking forward to the cool autumn weather but, unfortunately, that did not occur. It seems Jack Frost himself has taken over the weather from Mother Nature as temperatures are currently in the 30s and all the local meteorologist now have snow in their forecasts for Halloween!!!

From the looks at things, it's going to be an early, long winter and I, for one, need to get myself prepared for the cold weather by dragging my coats out of the closet and getting them cleaned. I did have a set of flannel sheets but they didn't make if through their final wash last winter and ended up being trashed. While flannel sheets are great way to stay warm during the cold nights, I'm not a big fan of them. The last set I owned gave my skin the willies. I don't know.. there's just something about the materials used that my skin doesn't like very much.

I believe my best option would be an electric mattress pad or blanket. I've been looking at a Micro Flannel Quilted Electric Blanket and the Micro Flannel Heated Mattress Pad on Cozy Winters, a web store that has tons of winter related items, such as heated pet beds, heated doghouse, heated vest, foot warmers, heated hoodie, electric glove, snow removal products, and winter sports equipment. And, of course, they have household items, such as heated blankets and mattress pads, like I already mentioned about.

I'm always a little skeptical when ordering bedding or clothing from online store as most of the time what I believe is the correct size happens to be wrong size for that particular item. Plus, ordering from a new website for the first time can be a little scary for any customer. The good news there's a page on this store's website just for Cozy Winters reviews, which are written by real customers and these reviews seem to be mostly positive. 😀

Is everyone else already prepared for the early winter weather?

I don't have a clue how long I have owned an old paperback copy of The Pet by the late author Charles L. Grant but I have had it quite a long time, and I'm going to take a wild guess I'd probably bought it at a thrift store.

The Pet (pub. 1986) centers around Donald "Don" Boyd, a seventeen-year-old who would rather be spending his time with animals than doing typical teenage stuff, such as playing football. His father (Norm) is the principal at the local Ashford, New Jersey high school and he's always giving Don slack about not having a girlfriend and questing  his choice of wanting to attend a veterinarian school. To make matters even worse, Norm is frustrated with the teachers' contract negotiations and takes out all of his anger on Don. Add in some bulling from a few football jocks, I guess you can say Don's life isn't exactly perfect.

Late one autumn night, Don runs into the serial the killer "The Howler" and barely survives the encounter. The Howler is later found dead in a park. The authorities come to the conclusion that Don killed The Howler in self-defense, which leads to everyone calling the boy a hero. The truth is Don is not even close to being a hero.

It seems a black horse, which looks oddly similar to the horse in a poster on Don's bedroom wall, was the one that saved him that night. And this is no normal horse! The horse is supernatural and will attack anyone who threatens Don's well being.

Final Thoughts

What Am I Currently Reading?

Starting early tomorrow morning, I'll be reading The Bad Place by Dean Koontz and I'll be posting the review for it sometime in the evening hours as the 11th book in my 13 Reads of Halloween! event, which involves me reading & reviewing 13 horror books in 13 days. The 12th and 13th titles are Hell-O-Ween by David Robins and Halloween II by Jack Martin.

I've been starring at my computer screen for several minutes pondering whether or not I bought Joe Hill's Stranger Weather last year or early this year at my local library for $2. I guess the older I get the more my memory starts to disappear. Or I might just need some more sleep!

Stranger Weather contains four short novels by Joe Hill (a.k.a. Stephen King's son) - Snapshot, Loaded, Aloft, and Rain.

Set in 1988, Snapshot centers around Michael Figlione, a kid who finds himself crossing paths with the "The Phoenician" who uses a Polaroid Instant Camera to erase his victim's memories.

Loaded centers around a mall security guard named Kellaway, a racist who's down on his luck. Then one morning a shooting incident occurs at the mall that will change his life forever.

Aloft centers around a group of friends going skydiving. After something goes wrong with their plane, they have to jump out sooner than expected, which leads to a bizarre trip through the clouds.

Rain takes place in Boulder, Colorado and centers around a storm that rains splinters (or needles).

Final Thoughts