Supernatural Tales

If you like monster movies and truly dreadful puns, the spoof film posters at this site will probably tickle your tickleable regions. Seriously, sometimes I think incessant punning should be either a criminal offence or a notifiable disease. But I know a lot of people love 'em, so... (There's a film called the Hudsucker Proxy. You're welcome.) Now that is quite funny. Very niche market, but I'm sold.

At the BBC Media Centre you can read all about it, but here are a few bits. BBC One has commissioned Dracula from the co-creators of multi-award-winning hit BBC drama Sherlock. It will be produced by Hartswood Films and is a co-production between BBC One and Netflix.  The 3x90’ mini-series is written and created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss and inspired by Bram Stoker’s classic novel. Three feature length episodes will re-introduce the world to Dracula, the vampire who made evil sexy. In Transylvania in 1897, the blood-drinking Count is drawing his plans against Victorian London. And be warned: the dead travel fast. I thought the vampire who made evil sexy was Carmilla, but that's press releases for you. The series will premiere on BBC One in the UK and on Netflix outside of the UK, and China where the service is not available. BBC Studios Distribution, who brokered the deal with Netflix for Hartswood Films, is the international distributor. Interesting times. Who will...

The next issue of ST should be out next month, with a bit of luck. I'm aiming for the 'sweet slot' between Hallowe'en and Christmas, when ghostly manifestations are in everyone's mind. As well as shopping. I think it's an excellent issue (of course) not least because of the sheer number of new writers. Only two have appeared in ST before! Most, however, are recognised as rising or established talents on this or the other side of the pond. So, without further ado, here are the contributors, plus first sentences to tickle the readerly palate. 'I heard this story on a night flight back from Dubai.' 'A Tiny Mirror' by Eloise C.C. Shepherd  'The bastard pulled the dump-her-in-a-restaurant trick, a coward's way out. 'A Family Affair' by Margaret Karmazin 'They knocked on his door at ten of ten.' 'Burnt Heart, Bound Feet' by Danielle Davis 'Fifteen years later, on the bus, I ran into a girl who...

Over at Dangerous Minds you can see  some peculiar old photos. Like this one. Yes, it's a bunch of women posing with skeletons. And some of the ladies are in a start of undress. According to the article: Some of these pictures were intended as, well, shall we say, “educational erotica” giving the viewer a frisson of arousal while at the same time battering them on the head with the salutary warning that the wrong kind of boner could lead to disease and death. Something those Decadent artists used to bang (ahem) on about in their paintings. Fair enough, but some just seem to be a bit kinky, to be honest.

I've been watching not one but two critically-acclaimed comedies involving the afterlife. What this says about me, I'm not sure. What it says about our society, well, a lot of things I suppose. But first, the facts! And, needless to say, some massive, honking great spoilers. The Good Place is an NBC series, available in the UK via Netflix (I got a gift subscription). The premise of the series is simple. Here, let the trailer explain it: Yes, Ted Danson is in charge. As Michael, an angelic being, he is responsible for keeping The Good Place running smoothly. The arrival of Eleanor (Kristin Bell) messes things up because her bad vibes destabilise everything. Eleanor attempts to correct her moral flaws by getting actual lessons in ethics from Chidi, a former professor of moral philosophy. But things only seem to get worse. And then a series of revelations occurs that overturns everything Eleanor thought she knew. The Good Place is a chirpy, smart comedy with a very tight s...

The title says it all - or at least, tells most of it. This is a collection of folk horror tales edited by noted M.R. James expert Ro Pardoe. Published by Sarob Press , it represents one of those collector's items that comes along rather infrequently. The first half of the book (roughly speaking) consists of stories previously published, while the second contains entirely new fiction. This makes for an interesting range of authors, styles, and ingredients. There is also an introduction in which the editor points out that, though it's definitely out there, folk horror is hard to define. She also lists those ghost stories by James that fit the folk horror definition. It's a long list. The first story Michael Chislett's 'Meeting Mr. Ketchum'. This is a good start, as it's a tale with a contemporary setting and believably modern characters. When a young couple on holiday venture into a field containing a mysterious mound, they encounter a man who seems a ...