Powerful reading: A reading of a classic poem ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’ is probably the best-known villanelle in English poetry. If you’re not sure what a villanelle is, don’t worry – it’s not importan…
Source: A Short Analysis of Dylan Thomas’s ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’
‘A real American horror story’ Bethany is a 2017 American horror film produced and directed by James Cullen Bressack (Pernicious; Blood Lake; To Jennifer; 13/13/13; et al) from a screen…
Source: Bethany (2017)
Crepitus is a 2017 American horror film directed by Haynze Whitmore (Asylum of Secrets: Chapter 1; Street Cleaner; Wade) from a screenplay co-written with Eddie and Sarah Renner. It stars Bill Mose…
Source: Crepitus (2017)
by Sabrina Hicks When a sold sign went up at the house across the street, I imagined the wrap-around porch sealed the deal. It sat high, fanning out like a skirt mid-waist, laced in evening light. …
Source: The Distance Between Neighbors
A summary of a classic poem ‘Invictus’ is a famous poem, even to those who haven’t heard of it. This is because, although the title ‘Invictus’ may mean little to some (other than, perhaps, as the t…
Source: ‘I am the master of my fate’: A Short Analysis of William Ernest Henley’s ‘Invictus’
The Occult World of Phillippa Schuyler by James Goodridge The circumstance was the visit of my son and his girlfriend visiting for the holidays Christmas 2016 a brutal year in the world of …
Source: Guest Blog: The Occult World of Phillippa Schuyler by James Goodridge
The Farmington Writers Circle meets again on Thursday, March 9, in the Entertainmart (formerly Hardback) Café at 7:00 pm. The topic of the night will be how to grow a twitter presence using hashtags and by following other twitter users.
Everyone is invited. There is no charge and no membership requirements.
Preceding the meeting, starting at 6:30 pm, one of our members will be reading from his/her works. The reader and his/her works will be announced once finalized.
The Farmington Writers Circle is a group of local writers who are interested in exploring and developing new means of marketing and publicizing their works.
For more information, contact Phil Slattery at phil@philslattery.com or via @philslattery201 or via this website.
Interesting and ominous, foreboding.
If you walk along the corner where Northwoods Drive meets Northwoods Street in Lake Tahoe you will see the beginning of a trail. The trail is long and winding and it goes into the woods and ends above the lake which sits in stillness. Today a rabbit is on the trail. Frightened by cars it leaves the Northwoods corner and passes the boulders and goes by the tree with carvings and hops beyond the swing and throws itself into the lake. For a minute the lake seems disturbed but blink and you’ve missed it because it’s already still again.
Interesting perspective.
Last year was lean-times. Plentiful rain and warming sun nourished verdant fields of rice and millet and sugarcane. Herds of sacred cows and droves of goats grew fat with wheat and calf and kid. The farmers and their families feasted every night.
This season is better. Drought-boiled soil dries to dust, crops shrivel yellow and brown, streams run bare to bed. Starvation haunts the sacred beasts, their bodies withering to fly-swarmed leather and sun-bleached bone.
The vulture’s sharp eyes catch the stumble of another dying cow. He spreads his wings and swoops down to enjoy his breakfast.
‘It’s harvest time. They’re back with a vengeance.’ Rise of the Scarecrows: Hell on Earth is a 2017 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Geno McGahee (S…
‘Help wanted’ Besetment is a 2017 American horror film written, produced and directed by Brad Douglas (Flipped; Between the Trees). Desperate for a job, Amanda Millard (Abby Wathen) tak…
Source: Besetment (2017)
The Void is a bloodstained love letter to horror’s glory days of practical effects from the mad minds of Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski, who both wrote and directed the film. The duo h…
Source: Witness blood splattered perfection in the teaser for The Void
Originally, I started this site as a purely horror weblog, because that was my passion of the moment. However, long before I became interested in writing horror, I studied German, Russian, and English literature and occasionally some American literature of several genres. Now I am returning to my literary roots and my generally wide-ranging interests and this blog will begin to reflect that. I will still post mostly horror-related material for the foreseeable future, but I will also start to expand into wider realms of literature with postings on classic and modern literature, occasional scifi-related articles, and whatever else “piques my interest”.
As you have no doubt noticed, I sometimes stray from horror with articles on the art of writing or lessons from non-horror masters, because to me, horror is just as much literature as any other genre. It is all the art of the written word. Indeed, there are many lessons that the classics of mainstream literature can teach writers of horror.
I find it annoying, to say the least, that horror is usually considered second- or even third-rate compared to mainstream literature, when excellent horror can offer as much in plot, character development, and other aspects as any other literary work. Who can say that the works of Poe do not deserve to be in the canon of great American literature when they are included in university textbooks? As influential as Lovecraft has been on the horror of late twentieth and early twenty-first century culture, who can say that he will not eventually be taught as widely as Poe? Stephen King, one of the nation’s most prolific authors, certainly deserves much more respect than his works generally receive.
But I digress.
I will continue to post articles on the art of horror, as much of my interest still lies therein. You will start to see more articles on classic literature and writing and other genres as well. You will also start to see that I will post and re-post less non-fiction articles on the art of writing and movies in favor of actual short stories and flash fiction drawing on whatever sources I can. I will probably post more criticism, as I have begun learning how valuable good constructive criticism is planning one’s own works and developing one’s own style and techniques.
I hope you will continue to follow along with my journey into the world of literature and that you enjoy it as least as much as I.
The day had turned out to be really nice. It was late March, or early April, I don’t remember. Who cares about calendars when the sun warms your belly so pleasantly? I stretched and yawned. I…
Source: What’s the Buzz
To Inspire You Created by You I gave you my heart, but you were still hungry, love so have my liver too! #HorrorHaikuesday#horror#violetartcher#horrorfilmpic.twitter.com/JyXY8wmkOg — Violet Archer …
Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher 