Something About Understanding Horror Fiction

O horror, horror, horror!

Something About Lafcadio Hearn

Big in Japan.

Something About John Bellair

Down to the letter.

Something About Pages of Chemical Degradation

Heaven scent.

Something About Illustrating Edith Wharton

As black as ink.

Something About Usborne’s Supernatural World

Nightmare fuel.

Something About the Hot Zone

Bad Knight.

Something About Cotton Balls

From our "not what we thought it was" file.

Something About Treehorn

Shrinking for distress.

A History Of The Horror Genre

Two things about author Brian Keene that you learn from his website are:

1. he writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money, and
2. his 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies.

Keene gave the keynote speech at the 2011 Anthocon in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (the first Anthocon, held last month - November 11-13) and shared some of his thoughts on the "history of the horror genre":

The Boy Who Could Enter Paintings

New commentary on the Herb Valen book from 1968, whose illustrations by Susan Perl reminded the reviewer of Edward Gorey and Mercer Mayer (and from one picture, look kin to Jonathan and Lewis Barnavelt):

Commenting on 'The Tilting House'

Jennifer, the librarian of the Jean Little Library, had some misgivings about the back-of-the-book promotions on Tom Llewellyn's The Tilting House:

Something About the Twelve Terrors of Christmas

Sarah Janet at the I Have Good Book blog has a few comments on John Updike's The Twelve Terrors of Christmas:

To Dim His Hand of Glory

We once read that someone became interested in the works of John L. Stoddard after reading The House with a Clock in its Walls. That made us wonder how much of John’s work has inspired younger readers to explore the works of the different authors that John (and later Brad) mentions throughout his fiction.

The August Derleth Centenary

The Sauk Prairie (Wisconsin) Eagle reports that on February 2, Governor Jim Doyle signed a proclamation declaring February 24 August Derleth Day in honor of what would've been the prolific author's 100th birthday."We approached the Governor and asked if we could have this declared and he said absolutely," said Kay Price, Executive Secretary of the August Derleth Society. "It's quite an honor."

Whoever Removes These Things Does So at Her Own Peril....

Jenny had “heard some good things about John Bellairs” but when she tried one of his books, she didn’t finish it because she wasn’t in love with it. But now, as Jenny says, “if you like John Bellairs, you may profit from my guilt.”

Something About Jamesian Inspirations

Knowing Bellairs was fond of the ghost stories of M. R. James has led a few people to send us their recommendations for similar tales.  What's your verdict?

Unfortunate Children Who Find Weird Stuff In Their Walls

We assume you can probably figure out which one of John’s books is discussed from this wonderfully-worded title.  Thus, here's Kate working in a northwest Philadelphia library with her thoughts.

The Art of Suspense

by Nathaniel (Jan. 15, 2008)

(Originally published at MadLord Innovations)

48 Years for an Autograph?

This is easily one of the strangest stories about John that we’ve heard: someone uses the checkout card from the back of a library book (presumably owned at one point by the University of Chicago) as a bookmark and finds John Bellairs checked the book out on November 10, 1959 – 48 years ago yesterday.

 
Adding to the mystique is that it was an Algernon Blackwood anthology, something we can easily see John enjoying (our favorite of his tales is Secret Worship - we do recommend it, just not after midnight...).