31 Days of Horror: Day 1-- Welcome and An Introduction

Cake by Pastries So Tasty
She made this cake too.

Well here we are again.  It is the 3rd Annual 31 Days of Horror Blog-a-Thon here on RA for All Horror.

For those of you who are new, click here to access the Features Archive where I have updated the links to go directly to the 2011 and 2012 editions of this special celebration of all things creepy.

First, some background.  The horror world unites during October to embrace the rest of the world's 31 day obsession with the occult. Of course, we horror mavens live with the ghouls, demons, and monsters all year long, but know that the vast majority of people out there save their attention to terror until right about now.

For libraries specifically, from Septemebr 15th until November 15th, "scary" books are at their point of highest demand. I have tried to use the 31 Days of Horror feature to help the librarians out there, who are less well versed in horror, and those who are just plain scared of it, to help ease you through the haunting season.

In 2011, I focused mostly on my book (which was in final draft stage) and basic resources. The purpose of the event that year was to lay the groundwork for an introduction to horror.

In 2012, I asked horror writers to write to you librarians directly about why they love horror. The idea was for them to share their love to give you all a better understanding of why your horror fans find pleasure in being scared.

So as not to repeat myself, this year I have a new angle to explore.

In 2013, for the next 31 days, I have asked my colleagues in the library world to share a favorite "scary" story with all of you. I have left it open ended because what is frightening to one person is not necessarily going to terrorize someone else.  I have also asked people regardless of whether or not they are a horror fan themselves; thus, I will have a wide range of examples of what people find scary.

What I hope the overall result will be for you, the reader of this blog, a a wide angle view of what you can suggest to readers who are looking for something scary this Halloween season.

Along with these guest posts, you should also expect a few giveaways, reviews of horror books by me, and fresh resources.

If you would like to share your favorite scary book, I would love for you to email it to me [zombiegrl75 at gmail dot com], rather than leaving a comment so that I can compile the very best into a post toward the end of the month. Leave a comment too if you want, but the best way for me to save the suggestions to the 31 Days of Horror Archive is for it to be included in a post.

Okay, let's begin....

For the first few days, I want to set the stage for horror as it is right now.  So I will have links to various articles to that effect

But let's start with a primer.  Here is the article I wrote breaking down the basic appeal of horror for NoveList in 2011.

Be back tomorrow...

The Keys To a Great Ghost Story

With Tuesday's post on the release of Dr. Sleep, I thought this article by Dr. Michael R. Collings on the key elements that make a great ghost story would be of interest.

Dr. Collings is an extremely well respected member of the horror community as a writer of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction about horror.  He is currently the Senior Publications Editor at JournalStone.

Point being, he knows what he is talking about.

Collings writes regularly about how to write horror here.

Happy Dr. Sleep Day and Place of Horror in Literature

Whether you are still a huge Stephen King fan, or you got bored with him years ago, everyone has to admit that today's release of Dr. Sleep is a big deal.

While The Stand is still King's best work ever, at over 1,000 pages, it is not the place most people begin to read this American storytelling master.  Rather it is with The Shining that people new to King most often (and should) begin.

The Shining is still the best example of a modern (post 1970) ghost story.  It has set the bar for all haunted house stories since, and it established that King was not a fluke. With The Shining the world took notice of King's talent, and he has rarely disappointed us in the three and a half decades since.

King is also a very popular choice with advanced readers, and with its young protagonist (Danny), The Shining is also popular with teen readers.

All of this being said, after 36 years of waiting, there are millions of people who want to see what has become of Danny in the years since he battled both his father and the ghouls at the Overlook Hotel.

So, it came as no surprise to me that on Sunday, the New York Times Book Review ran Dr. Sleep as their front page review.  But what did come as a happy surprise was that the fabulous and intelligent Margaret Atwood wrote the review.

Look, even if you don't think you need to read the review as a librarian because you already know who likes King at your library and you already know it will be in huge demand, you still need to click through and read this review because she goes into a longer discussion of King's place in the history of American literature AND talks about horror's importance in general.

From the second page:

Some may look skeptically at “horror” as a subliterary genre, but in fact horror is one of the most literary of all forms. Its practitioners read widely and well — King being a pre-eminent example — since horror stories are made from other horror stories: you can’t find a real-life example of the Overlook Hotel. People do “see” some of the things King’s characters see (for a companion volume, try Oliver Sacks’s “Hallucinations”), but it is one of the functions of “horror” writing to question the reality of unreality and the unreality of reality: what exactly do we mean by “see”?

That is just a taste; there is more here.  Thank you Margaret Atwood.  I already loved you, but it is nice to have you join my fight.

Even if you don't plan to read Dr. Sleep, read this review. I promise, you will learn a lot about the appeal of horror. And, that information can only help you to help your patrons, especially as Halloween draws near.

A Little Friday the 13th Reading

Happy Friday the 13th. I find the celebration of this day on the calendar a bit cheesey myself, but I also know many a librarian who claims that the patrons act funky on full moons and Friday the 13ths.

But Friday the 13th is a great day for some horror B-Movie appreciation and I have the perfect book to suggest to you if you are looking for a fun way to celebrate.  Crab Monsters, Teenage Caveman, and Candy Stripe Nurses is a new book by Chris Nashawaty that celebrates on the of the kings of B Movies.  From the book jacket:

Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses is an outrageously rollicking account of the life and career of Roger Corman—one of the most prolific and successful independent producers, directors, and writers of all time, and self-proclaimed king of the B movie. As told by Corman himself and graduates of “The Corman Film School,” including Peter Bogdanovich, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, and Martin Scorsese, this comprehensive oral history takes readers behind the scenes of more than six decades of American cinema, as now-legendary directors and actors candidly unspool recollections of working with Corman, continually one-upping one another with tales of the years before their big breaks.

Crab Monsters is supplemented with dozens of full-color reproductions of classic Corman movie posters; behind-the-scenes photographs and ephemera (many taken from Corman’s personal archive); and critical essays on Corman’s most daring films—including The Intruder, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Big Doll House— that make the case for Corman as an artist like no other.

My local library has a copy on order.  I have a hold already placed and will be back with a review during my 31 Days of Horror.

Happy Friday the 13th!

31 Days of Horror 2013: Planning

It is hard to believe that October 1st is now less than a month away.  But, I am already deep into the planning of this year's 31 Days of Horror celebration.

While last year's event focused on authors trying to explain why they love to write horror, this year, I am asking librarians to share their favorite scary books.

I will also have many reviews and updates on other resources you should check out throughout the month.

As I gear up to October, look for more activity here on the horror arm of RA for All, leading up to the daily posts...all 31 days, even weekends... beginning 10/1.

It should be a terrifyingly good time.

If you work in a library, bookstore, or for a publisher and are interested in sharing your favorite horror story with me, please contact me at zombiegrl75[at]gmail[dot]com.

I cannot promise in advance to include unsolicited guest posts, but I will consider them and get back to you.

New Book for a Great Cause

One of the missions of RA for All:Horror is to highlight YA and adult horror that is best suggested in a public library atmosphere.

I love to alert librarians to good, new, under the radar horror titles.  I am even happier to promote these books when the author is one of us. Today I want to talk about The Tormentors by Jack Phoenix

Jack Phoenix is a librarian in Ohio who described how I feel sometimes when he wrote to me:

"Not a lot of my coworkers read horror, and sometimes it can be a challenge to connect the right horror-reader with the right horror book, so I will be sharing this [RA for All: Horror]  with my colleagues."

I know Jack. It is tough out there in the library world for us horror lovers. It is my goal to change that. I am not going to make librarians love horror, but I can make them better able to assist horror patrons. [Hint: Buy the book and use the coupon code.]

Jack got in touch with me because he has a new horror novel out with Damnation Books, a publisher I like and respect in the genre.  It is entitled, The Tormentors. Again from Jack:

"The Tormentors tells the story of a prosperous family man whose mind and life unravel as he is hounded by three hellish women only he can see. While everyone around him believes him to be going mad, it is up to his wife Elizabeth to uncover the dark secrets of Roderick’s past that could save his sanity…or secure his punishment."

I have not read Jack's book myself...yet, but I am alerting you all to it for two reasons.  First, he is one of us...a librarian.  But more importantly, he is donating the royalties from the book to women's shelters and to the Ohio Domestic Violence Network.  Click here for more details. Also, some people have read it already and enjoyed it.  Click here to see what they have to say.

I for one am ordering a copy for our library. I am not only impressed that he is using the book to help out a good cause, but a librarian who writes ABOUT horror, I appreciate having some back-up within the profession.

Random House Zombie Poster

Looking for a good zombie book?  The Random House Library Marketing Team has a poster with suggestions.  Click here for details. 

I have downloaded one for us to post here at the BPL.