A reading of a classic poem William Blake (1757-1827) wrote many great poems which remain widely read and studied. But ‘London’ is, along with ‘The Tyger’, possibly the most famous of all his poems. ‘London’ was first published in 1794 in his volume Songs of Experience, which was written to offer the flipside to the […]
via A Short Analysis of William Blake’s ‘London’ — Interesting Literature
If you have two dollars and even fewer brain cells, you may want to check out Horror Hotel: The Movie on Amazon. The film will surely appeal to your most basic instincts; so, it is definitely one that needs a certain type of viewer in a certain type of mindset going into it. This is an…
via Film Review: Horror Hotel: The Movie (2016) — Beneath the Underground
The Shining by Stephen King might not be a classic yet, but it probably will be. It was written in the 1970s, and people still read it today and it’s still relevent, so I’m guessing that people will still read it 50 years from now. Even though The Shining is a great book, it has […]
via Bad Sentences in Classic Literature: The Shining by Stephen King — Dysfunctional Literacy
If there’s one thing the world doesn’t need more of, it’s new James Patterson books. Patterson, the prolific author with lots of help (meaning “lots of co-authors”), put out at least 15 new books in 2016, and that’s just the start. Now he has a new line of co-authored novellas called Bookshots. Bookshots are short […]
via The Literary Rants: James Patterson’s Bookshots — Dysfunctional Literacy
While on the subject of quotations, another of my favorites is from The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor and stoic philosopher, who lived around 100 AD. Most people now know him as the aging emperor played by Richard Harris in the movie Gladiator or as quoted by Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. Besides the one quoted by Hannibal, one of my favorites is:
“The mind is like a sponge and becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.”
Again, great psychological insight centuries before the science of psychology was invented.
One of my favorite quotations, it says so much about human psychology, yet was written centuries before the science of psychology was conceived:
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..” Paradise Lost by John Milton
[from The Writer’s Home Companion, 1987].
“Edgar Allan Poe opted to self-publish Tamerlane and Other Poems. He was able to sell only forty copies and made less than a dollar after expenses. Ironically, a century later, one of his self-published copies sold at auction for over $11,000.”
I hope you have a merry Christmas and incredibly happy new year!
Let me know what books you receive as gifts and which you’ll be reading them before you open the other gifts and which you will be putting on the shelf in the next day or two.
In any writing genre it is important to have a distinct, clear voice. This is especially true in horror, where the desired effect the writer wishes to produce in the reader is greatly dependent upon setting a specific mood. Both Poe and Lovecraft had exceptionally distinct voices and their works are remembered 79 years after the death of Lovecraft and 167 after the death of Poe.
Today I am just toying with posting from my iPhone.
As you know, I like to delve into the history and development of the horror genre. I believe the greatest and most influential writers of horror since its origins as gothic literature are Poe, Lovecraft, King, and Barker. I think of these as the four horsemen of horror. I think the reasons for my selections are obvious (if you are familiar with the works of each) and today I have little time to expound on the reasons behind each, so I will leave it at that. I hope to write more on this topic at a later date
No, I haven’t read many of current horror writers. I am woefully behind in that. I definitely want to read Ramsey Campbell and Neil Gaiman at the first opportunity, but my reading list is quite extensive and, with my current schedule, I find it hard to sit down for very long.
Another great blast from the past from Paula Cappa!
A Strange Christmas Game by J.H. Riddell (1863)
Tuesday’s Tale of Terror December 20, 2016
There’s nothing more satisfying than reading ghost stories at Christmastime. Even when we read Dickens’ A Christmas Carol over and over again, we are still delighted. A Strange Christmas Game by J.H. Riddell is a mysterious little ghost story that you’ve probably not read at all, since Charlotte Riddell is one of those forgotten authors, but a popular one in her day.
John Lester and his sister Clare inherit a gloomy old estate in Bedfordshire. Family history here is not a long one, except for the fact that former owners of the estate Jeremy Lester went missing on Christmas Eve and was never found for 41 years. Until John and Clare stay at the dark castle on Christmas Eve. Do you like to visit haunted chambers? Try this 30-minute read for an…
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Interesting.
‘Don’t trust what they say’
Demon Tongue is a 2016 American supernatural horror film directed by Gavin Rapp (The Misgiving) from a screenplay by Vicky L. Neal (shorts: The Vampire Within; Money, Vampires & Weed; Blood Money).
Four paranormal research students are sent to an abandoned complex to conduct an investigation into strange occurrences that the locals feel are the results of demonic possessions.
The amateur ghost hunters get much more than they bargained for when the power goes out, they hear unearthly noises and discover demons lurking in a hidden basement deep beneath the cold, stone structure that now becomes their prison…
The film stars Jack Davis (Slaughter Drive; The Other Side; Bray Road), Debbie College, Seth Gontkovic (Slaughter Drive; Meltdown; Red Christmas), Jessica Long, Carrie Shoberg, Jeff Monahan and John W. Iwanonkiw.
How does everyone like the new look for the weblog? I have shortened the name and made it a more accurate reflection of the content, though I may be changing that even more soon. I have reorganized the tabs, so that readers can find the new magazine and information on the Farmington Writers Circle more easily. Most of the old pages still exist, but they are now under “The Chamber Magazine” page. I have also reorganized the sidebar, keeping most of what was there previously, and maybe adding one or two new items and omitting one or two old ones. I will also be adding a page for each of my works published on Amazon under the “Published Works” heading. That might be a day or two more before those are up.
If you have suggestions to make the site more user friendly or to facilitate finding information, please let me know via e-mail, comment, or through one of my social media (which I will also be increasing).
Behind “The Shattered Rose”
by Loren Rhoads
When I first moved to San Francisco, I lived in between the Castro neighborhood and Haight-Ashbury. The house, an old Victorian that survived the 1906 earthquake, became a focal point for a large group of friends.
Quite often we’d go wandering on weekend nights. Sometimes we’d hike over to Corona Heights, a former quarry turned into a park that had a spectacular view of the city. Other times we’d go to Buena Vista Park, where the rain gutters are lined with broken tombstones. When we were up for a longer hike, we’d walk to Golden Gate Park.
In the late 1980s, the Haight was no safer than it is now. Men would stroll the street, chanting, “Doses, doses” or “Kind bud” or “What do you need?” When the Dead were in town, kids slept in doorways, on the neighbors’ porches or under any…
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Scent is a 2016 American science fiction horror film directed by The Existentialist from a screenplay by Maria Adler. The film stars Di Billick, George Ginakakis, Stephanie Grote, Jeremy Pereira, M…
Source: Scent (2016)
Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher 