AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Brian Asman

Meghan: Hey Brian. Thanks for agreeing to join us here on Meghan’s Haunted House of Books, New Year’s Day Edition. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Brian: All of it? If I had to pick one, it’s seeing “normal” people get into spooky stuff for a night. It’s cool watching everyone briefly care about the things I care most about!

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Brian: Yes. I got so freaked out answering these interview questions I had to turn a light on. I suspect most horror writers scare pretty easily.

Meghan: What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen and why?

Brian: As a kid, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, which is also the first horror movie I ever saw. As an adult, probably Aterrados, it’s so incredibly frightening.

Meghan: Which horror movie murder did you find the most disturbing?

Brian: Weirdly, the most disturbing murders I’ve seen have not been in horror films (Tig’s daughter in Sons of Anarchy or Andrea in Breaking Bad, anyone?) If we’re going strictly horror, I’ll say something like The Strangers.

Meghan: Is there a horror movie you refused to watch because the commercials scared you too much?

Brian: I put off watching The Ring because of the commercials. Don’t think I ever caught up with that one, actually. Shoot.

Meghan: If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose?

Brian: Killer Klowns. I know their weakness—those big honkin’ red noses. I’m coming for YOU, clowns!

Meghan: If you were stuck as the protagonist in any horror movie, which would you choose?

Brian: Ash in Army of Darkness. Chainsaw/boomstick action in medieval times would be one hell of a party.

Meghan: What is your all-time favorite scary monster or creature of the night?

Brian: So many! I’ll keep it simple and go with the Monster from Frankenstein, though, hard to top!

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Brian: I’ve got a bunch of seasonal rewatches I do every year—Trick ‘R Treat, Tales of Halloween, Hell House LLC, Garfield’s Halloween Adventure, WNUF Halloween Special, Season of the Witch, and Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers. Between those and the new movies, it’s a busy month!

Meghan: What is your favorite horror or Halloween-themed song?

Brian: So many good ones! I’ll go with “October Sky” by Murderland though.

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Brian: Probably The Haunted by Bentley Little.

Meghan: What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened while you were alone?

Brian: Heard footsteps in my college dorm room. My roommate was in bed asleep.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Brian: The Black Dahlia, been obsessed with that since I was a kid.

Meghan: What is the spookiest ghost story that you have ever heard?

Brian: The girl with the green ribbon always unsettled me. That or any variation on the ghost hitchhiker.

Meghan: In a zombie apocalypse, what is your weapon of choice?

Brian: Gonna keep it simple and go shotgun. It’d be fun to come up with something ridiculous, but two barrels of buckshot seems like the most practical way to survive.

Meghan: Okay, Brian. Let’s have some fun… Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf? Werewolf, I love the sun too much

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion? Zombies, at least you’ve got a chance of outsmarting them. Any alien invasion would end rather quickly at this stage in our technological advancement.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard? I’ll go with the non-reanimated dead body, if I must.

Meghan: Would you rather stay at the Poltergeist house or the Amityville house for a week? Poltergeist house.

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese? Bitter melon, for sure.

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs? Witch’s cauldron, cool shit might happen!

Boo-graphy: Brian Asman is a writer, actor, director, and producer from San Diego, CA. He’s the author of the hit indie novella Man, Fuck This House (recently optioned by a major streaming service). His other books include I’m Not Supposed to Be Here Today from Eraserhead Press and Neo Arcana, Nunchuck City, and Jailbroke from Mutated Media, as well as the recently released Return of the Living Elves. He’s recently published short stories in Pulp Modern, Kelp, Welcome to the Splatter Club, and Lost Films, and comics in Tales of Horrorgasm.

A film he co-wrote and produced, A Haunting in Ravenwood, is available now on DVD and VOD. His short Reel Trouble won Best Short Film at Gen Con 2022 and Best Horror Short at the Indie Gathering, and is currently schedule to screen at several other festivals.

Brian holds an MFA from UCR-Palm Desert. He’s represented by Dunham Literary, Inc. Max Booth III is his hype man.

Find him on social media (@thebrianasman) or his website.

Man, Fuck This House —
Sabrina Haskins and her family have just moved into their dream home, a gorgeous Craftsman in the rapidly-growing Southwestern city of Jackson Hill. Sabrina’s a bored and disillusioned home-maker, Hal a reverse mortgage salesman with a penchant for ill-timed sports analogies. Their two children, Damien and Michaela, are bright and precocious.

At first glance, the house is perfect. But things aren’t what they seem.

Sabrina’s hearing odd noises, seeing strange visions. Their neighbors are odd or absent. And Sabrina’s already-fraught relationship with her son is about to be tested in a way no parent could ever imagine.

Because while the Haskins family might be the newest owners of 4596 James Circle, they’re far from its only residents…

Return of the Living Elves —
When Christmas supply warehouse manager Jimmy tries to help new employee Tommy find a last-minute gift for his girlfriend, they accidentally unleash a long-forgotten and very seasonal genetic experiment with a taste for human flesh. As elf-zombie hybrids take over the small town of Pine Canyon, California, Jimmy fights to survive alongside a Christpunk named Landfill, and a mysterious, PTSD-stricken soldier. Hold onto your stockings because the goddamn elves are back, baby!