Tag: Evil Dead

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: CM Saunders

megHan

Meghan: Hey, Chris. Welcome back to Meghan’s HAUNTED House of Books. Thank you for once again taking part in our annual Halloween Extravaganza. Tell us about this new release I’ve been hearing about.

Chris: That would be X5. As the title suggests, it’s my fifth collection of short fiction. Most of the stories have appeared in magazines or anthologies before, and it’s a great feeling to package them up together and give them a new lease of life.

Meghan: What’s your favorite story in X5 and why?

Chris: You know how some people say you should love all your kids the same? Well, that’s bullshit, we all have favourites, and the same applies to stories. There’s one called Subject #270374, which I wrote about doing a drug trial in London making the story an (un)healthy mix of fact and fiction. It was a very weird experience, and fully merited having a horror story written about it. It first appeared in the anthology DOA3 on Bloodbound Books.

Meghan: What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Chris: I have a tradition where I stay up all night and watch horror movies. It doesn’t matter whether I’m alone or with someone else. That’s what I’ve always done, and that’s what I will continue to do. It can be a problem if I have work the next day!

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Chris: Only by centipedes and beautiful women.

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

Chris: I remember watching the original Evil Dead as a teenager and being absolutely terrified. The whole concept of being the only survivor in the middle of nowhere having to overcome so many unnatural horrors  having just seen all your friends get either killed or possessed is just grim.

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

Chris: I don’t really find horror movies disturbing. It’s just a movie, right? Right?

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

Chris: Unfortunately not.

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

Chris: Without a doubt, Lost Boys. Come on, it was the eighties. That movie struck the perfect balance between style, substance and cheese. It made vampires cool before they were cool.

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

Chris: Probably Jason Vorhees, because he just keeps on trucking.

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

Chris: Werewolf. Can you imagine having a friend who was a werewolf? I think, depending on the nature of your relationship, every full moon it would would cease to be scary and start being hilarious. The level of banter would be unprecedented.

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

Chris: Anything from the Disintegration album by the Cure. It’s brilliant, but so bleak and atmospheric. If dying sounds like anything, it probably sounds like that. It would also be the perfect soundtrack to anything remotely scary.

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Chris: The Troop by Nick Cutter. If you’ve read it, you’ll know why.

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

Chris: I once woke up with scratches on my back in places I couldn’t reach, all in sets of three. I concluded that I had been the victim of a demonic attack, and thanked my lucky stars I’d been asleep when it happened because I don’t want to see that shit.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Chris: There are so many. For a species that’s supposed to be intelligent, people leave a lot of questions unanswered; Jack the Ripper, Dyatlov Pass, the Bermuda Triangle, the JonBenet Ramsey murder, the 411 disappearances, and whatever is going down at the Winchester Mystery House. Top of the pile, though, is WTH happened to Flight MH370. I’ve read a couple of books on it, and they all agree there was a lot going on behind the scenes. Those poor people might just have been collateral damage.

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

Chris: It would be easy to say some sort of assault rifle or machine gun, or even a sniper’s rifle enabling you to take zombies out from distance? But what happens when you run out of bullets? Then you would be in a world of hurt. For that reason, maybe a sword would be better, especially up close. One good swipe could take out a whole family of rotters.

Meghan: Okay, let’s have some fun… Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Chris: Vampire, because then I could party all night, sleep all day, and live forever (or until someone rams a wooden stakes through my heart). I know they say that if you’re bitten by a werewolf you turn into one at the next full moon, but most of the werewolf victims I see in movies just get torn to pieces. That’s no fun. No fun at all.

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Chris: Zombies. Aliens are more likely to exist, but they’re an unknown quantity. They might be capable of anything. You know where you are with a horde of zombies so theoretically you’re more likely to come through.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Chris: Zombie juice, please. It sounds like a Halloween cocktail. We can always put some vodka in it to give it a bit of a kick.

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

Chris: Ooh, Amityville! I was greatly affected by the original Amityville Horror and it looks like a beautiful house. The poltergeist house is suburbia personified. Boring.

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Chris: I love chilies! I think the maggot-infested would depend on the maggots. There’s an Italian cheese called Casu martzu which has live maggots in it. Google it. I am a huge fan of cheese, but that’s gross. I have a line.

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs?

Chris: Dunno. What’s in the cauldron? Is it all eye of newt and toe of frog, etc? If so, I’ll go with that. I lived in China for ten years and I ate all that stuff anyway. One day a friend of mine told me she was coming over to cook a ‘special’ meal, and then she turned up with a pig’s snout.

Boo-graphy: Christian Saunders, a constant reader who writes fiction as C.M. Saunders, is a freelance journalist and editor from south Wales. His work has appeared in almost 100 magazines, ezines and anthologies worldwide including Fortean Times, the Literary Hatchet, ParABnormal, Fantastic Horror, Haunted MTL, Feverish Fiction and Crimson Streets, and he has held staff positions at several leading UK magazines ranging from Staff Writer to Associate Editor. His books have been both traditionally and independently published.

The fifth volume in my X series featuring ten (X, geddit?) slices of twisted horror and dark fiction plucked from the blood-soaked pages of ParABnormal magazine, Demonic Tome, Haunted MTL, Fantasia Diversity, and industry-defining anthologies including 100 Word Horrors, The Corona Book of Ghost Stories, DOA 3, and Trigger Warning: Body Horror.

Meet the local reporter on an assignment which takes him far beyond the realms of reality, join the fishing trip that goes sideways when a fish unlike any other is hooked, and find out the hidden cost of human trafficking in China. Along the way, meet the hiker who stumbles across something unexpected in the woods, the office worker who’s life is inexorably changed after a medical drug trial goes wrong, and many more.

Also features extensive notes, and original artwork by Stoker award-winning Greg Chapman.

Table of Contents:
Demon Tree
Revenge of the Toothfish
Surzhai
The Sharpest Tool
Something Bad
Down the Road
Coming Around
Where a Town Once Stood
The Last Night Shift
Subject #270374
Afterword

X X2 X3 X4 X5

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: M Ennenbach

megHan

Meghan: Hey, Mike! Welcome back to our annual Halloween Extravaganza. Thanks for joining us on this very special day, birthday boy! What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Mike: My favorite part is promise of winter carried on the cool breeze. Where the beauty in nature falling comes out in colorful leaves ground into the mud.

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Mike: Not scared, but I am always anxious. Electrified bees stinging.

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

Mike: I am a fan of hint but don’t show. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is probably my favorite with that raining bell and the promise of horror.

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

Mike: I don’t know if it is the most disturbing, but when the man is cut into pieces that slowly fall apart in Cube, that stayed with me.

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

Mike: No, but the ads for Blair Witch promised something they didn’t manage. I was too ready to be screaming.

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

Mike: Nightbreed. I would find my place in Mideon among the monsters in the graveyard.

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

Mike: How do you not pick Ash from Evil Dead? He knew no fear because he had no sense. And always managed to prevail despite himself.

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

Mike: I adore Baba Yaga. The hut with chicken legs. She is a culmination of different terrors.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Mike: Remembering being excited for my birthday, when it was a special day. The anticipation. For a moment, remembering when the world was at our fingertips.

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

Mike: Right now it is Dead Skin Mask by Slayer, a sweet song about Ed Gein. Code Blue by The Damned is another classic.

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Mike: The first half of Heart Shaped Box. The tension and fear were cranked up. It lost it all in the back half, but the beginning was amazing.

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

Mike: I was watching Hereditary for the first time and right when the infamous car scene happened, someone banged on my door. I nearly needed to change.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Mike: What happened at Roanoke to all those people?

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

Mike: My friend, Lin, and I would listen to Art Bell every Halloween for the Ghost to Ghost show and every now and then a caller would believe their story so much you couldn’t help but feel it.

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

Mike: Solitude. I would just vanish.

Meghan: Let’s have some fun – Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Mike: Werewolf

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Mike: Zombies. Man has always been most proficient at killing one another. Aliens would have to have tech we couldn’t fathom.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Mike: Eat dead bodies.

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

Mike: Amityville. I’ve been by it, middle of a populated neighborhood with access to the water.

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Mike: I’d take either. The cheese is supposed to be a delicacy.

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs?

Mike: Spider webs. Who knows what’s been in that cauldron.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jonathan Janz

megHan

Meghan: Welcome back, Jonathan. This has become so much of a tradition, you and me, that I can’t imagine Halloween without you. Thanks for joining us again this year. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Jonathan: Cheesy answer here, but I love taking my kids trick-or-treating. My oldest is a junior now, and my middle child is a freshman, so they do things with their friends now, but my youngest (Peach) is still all-in for trick-or treating. I love going with her!

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Jonathan: Yes. I have a deliriously overactive imagination, so I get scared pretty frequently. The things I’m most scared of involve something happening to my loved ones, but I guess most people worry about that. Some more obscure things that scare me are waking in the middle of the night and worrying someone is going to seize my hand. I’m also creeped out when I’m in the school alone (where I teach). Schools can be really eerie places.

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

Jonathan: My favorite horror movie is Jaws, but the scariest? I don’t know which one wins, but there are some that genuinely freak me out: The Taking of Deborah Logan, Lake Mungo, Hell House LLC, Smile, Gondjiam: Haunted Asylum, Host, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, and Hereditary.

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

Jonathan: You know one that really bothered me? I think it fit the movie, but it really hit me hard. In Summer of ’84, there’s a death near the end that really stunned me. I still can’t quite believe they went there, but I do think it was the right decision.

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

Jonathan: Naw. If the commercials were scary, I’d be there. The only ones I don’t watch are ones I just know I wouldn’t dig from the stuff I’ve heard. Cannibal Holocaust and A Serbian Film come to mind. I’m not against them or anything. I just don’t have any interest in them.

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

Jonathan: Weeellll, I guess I’d choose one from which I could escape? One that would be a lot of fun? So that being said, maybe Slaxx or Psycho Goreman? Or Love & Monsters, which I enjoyed quite a bit.

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

Jonathan: If survival were the goal, I’d have to choose a pretty resourceful one, so I’d say… Ash from the Evil Dead series.

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

Jonathan: Wow, great question. I love both vampires (when they’re ferocious) and werewolves, but if I HAD to pick one, it’d be the werewolf. I just love that concept.

Meghan:What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Jonathan: My birthday is right around Halloween (the 27th), so it’s always fun to celebrate both around the same time. I get to have my family with me even more than usual!

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

Jonathan: I love “This is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s just perfect.

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Jonathan: Hmmm… for that one, let’s go with Ghost Story. I’ve been re-reading it for an upcoming podcast and remembering all the ways it freaked me out. Straub made something permanent there.

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

Jonathan: I sleepwalked a great deal as a kid, so I woke up in some scary places. I remember waking up in a friend’s new house where they’d just moved in, and I was stuck in a pitch-black room in a maze of boxes for a good twenty minutes before I felt my way out. It felt like twenty hours.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Jonathan: The stuff with alien abductions fascinates me. I’m sure most accounts aren’t true, but what if? Also, I’m really taken with the notion of ghosts, so any haunting piques my interest.

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

Jonathan: I’ll go way back for this one. The Signal-Man by Charles Dickens scared the hell out of me as a little kid. My mom brought in home on album from the Delphi Public Library. It had sound effects, the creepiest music, and a really good narrator. I still get chills thinking about it.

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

Jonathan: Got to be the crossbow (after I mastered it, of course). Or a sword. I’ve watched too much Walking Dead, obviously.

Meghan: Okay, let’s have some fun. Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Jonathan: Werewolf. You don’t HAVE to kill to survive. I’d have my family lock me up as a precaution. Then again, if they were MY kind of werewolves (who changed because of a strong negative emotion), I might be a danger to my family. So let me think about it some more!

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Jonathan: It would depend on the nature of the aliens, but I’d lean toward the former because the latter seems more invincible.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Jonathan: Yikes! I guess the latter if they were seasoned properly *shivers*

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

Jonathan: Amityville. The Poltergeist held too many terrors. Although I don’t like the way the Amityville House made him turn on his family.

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Jonathan: Yikes again! The former. No question at all. I’m not a maggot fan.

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spiderwebs?

Jonathan: Is that code for something? I’m gonna assume no and go with the former.

Boo-graphy: Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels. He is represented for Film & TV by Ryan Lewis (executive producer of Bird Box). His work has been championed by authors like Josh Malerman, Caroline Kepnes, Stephen Graham Jones, Joe R. Lansdale, and Brian Keene. His ghost story The Siren &the Specter was selected as a Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Horror. Additionally, his novels Children of the Dark and The Dark Game were chosen by Booklist and Library Journal as Top Ten Horror Books of the Year. He also teaches high school Film Literature, Creative Writing, and English. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children. You can sign up for his newsletter, and you can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, and Goodreads.

The Raven 2: Blood Country —
Three years ago the world ended when a group of rogue scientists unleashed a virus that awakened long-dormant strands of human DNA. They awakened the bestial side of humankind: werewolves, satyrs, and all manner of bloodthirsty creatures. Within months, nearly every man, woman, or child was transformed into a monster…or slaughtered by one.

A rare survivor without special powers, Dez McClane has been fighting for his life since mankind fell, including a tense barfight that ended in a cataclysmic inferno. Dez would never have survived the battle without Iris, a woman he’s falling for but can never be with because of the monster inside her. Now Dez’s ex-girlfriend and Iris’s young daughter have been taken hostage by an even greater evil, the dominant species in this hellish new world:

Vampires.

The bloodthirsty creatures have transformed a four-story school building into their fortress, and they’re holding Dez’s ex-girlfriend and Iris’s young daughter captive. To save them, Dez and his friends must risk everything. They must infiltrate the vampires’ stronghold and face unspeakable terrors.

Because death awaits them in the fortress. Or something far worse.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tommy B Smith

megHan

Meghan: Hey, Tommy. Welcome back. Thank you for joining us here today. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Tommy: People are apt to exercise their imaginations during the Halloween season, whether inclined toward the zany, macabre, or otherwise, expressing it by costume, decoration, or a visit to a local haunted house or attraction. For a while, horror is more widely recognized than in other times of the year, and marathons of horror films ensue, enjoyable if I have the time to watch. I also enjoy the distinctive autumn weather, when it occurs.

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Tommy: Not really.

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

Tommy: Not an easy answer. I’ve gone through massive lists of supposed scariest movies ever and couldn’t find a single one that actually frightened me, though I love horror, but there are quite a few I’ve found to be an intense viewing experience, and that’s what I enjoy. I’ve mentioned John Carpenter’s Halloween as a favorite many times, though, and as far as horror films go, consider it top-tier in the way of atmosphere and tension.

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

Tommy: The gory murders are fun to watch, but it’s the tragic ends that tend to impact me more. Think of the wife from The Vanishing. It’s an end that occurs off-screen. We are given an answer, ultimately, but it leaves the details to the viewer’s imagination.

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

Tommy: Never for that reason. If I’ve avoided a horror movie because of advertisements or previews, it’s likely because I didn’t find the idea or scenes interesting.

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

Tommy: One where I had a fighting chance. A zombie movie, maybe, with slow zombies. Night of the Living Dead?

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

Tommy: Though it’s been a while since I’ve watched it, I remember the action-driven horror movie Feast having some solid protagonists. I think of Ash from the Evil Dead films as well, though I wouldn’t want to lose an arm, even if he is well-equipped despite that. If I’m going to battle a horrific menace, I want weapons.

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

Tommy: I have a few favorites. On past occasions, I’ve mentioned human beings to be some of my favorite monsters. I find Frankenstein’s monster to be an interesting study which I appreciate more within the pages of Mary Shelley’s original tale than in any of the resulting films.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Tommy: Decorating, perhaps, though I don’t do as much of that these days. Savoring the weather with a tasty beverage is always nice, though it isn’t necessarily a Halloween tradition but an autumnal one—pumpkin ales come to mind.

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

Tommy: Some top choices include King Diamond’s Halloween, Helloween’s epic Halloween from the first Keeper of the Seven Keys album, and of course, Type O Negative’s Black No. 1, but I could compile entire albums of Halloween-influenced music I enjoy.

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Tommy: Some of the most unsettling fiction I’ve enjoyed has arrived in the form of short stories. I think of Clive Barker’s Books of Blood and The Hellbound Heart, but these embody short story collections and a novella.

Others I’ve read more recently include Things Left Behind by Brian Keene and Mary SanGiovanni, Picking the Bones by Brian Hodge, and Bridgett Nelson’s A Bouquet of Viscera, all phenomenal reads, but again, collections, so I digress.

Speaking strictly of linear novels, I have always found Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House to be an immersive, atmospheric, and interesting trip down an unsettling path.

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

Tommy: Discovering I’m not actually alone. There were occasions in which I’ve managed to get away for a moment of solitude only to discover someone standing in the dark, hidden in part, staring in silence. While I may not frighten easily, these instances can be startling and yes, creepy.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Tommy: Some years ago, as archaeologists explored the Great Pyramid of Giza, a robotics team developed a robot designed to explore one of the pyramids shafts, drill a hole through a door at its end, and record what lay beyond. The results were as mysterious as the initial discovery, as the door led into another shaft with yet another door that could not be bypassed. It’s but one tiny aspect of the whole mystery of the pyramids, but one that springs to immediate memory. I find the history, design, and speculations surrounding the ancient pyramids interesting.

Early history involving the cradle of early civilization, the lore and history of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the vanished civilization of the Norte Chico has always interested me. The latter of these inspired my 2018 horror novel, The Mourner’s Cradle.

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

Tommy: The one about the malicious ghost who enters a writer’s home and deletes unfinished manuscripts from the computer, as well as backup files. Absolutely terrifying.

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

Tommy: 9mm semi-automatic.

Meghan: Okay Tommy, let’s have some fun… Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Tommy: Vampire.

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Tommy: Zombies.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Tommy: A choice between dead bodily tissue or dead bodily tissue juice? I guess I would go with the juice. At least it’s quicker that way, because I wouldn’t have to chew anything.

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

Tommy: Amityville.

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Tommy: Bitter melon with chilies. I’ve never been partial to maggot-infested cheeses.

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs?

Tommy: Spider web cotton candy. Spider’s webs are woven with protein for the most part, whereas a witch’s cauldron might contain any number of unknown ingredients, depending on the witch who mixed it.

Boo-graphy:
Tommy B Smith is a writer of horror and dark fiction, award-winning author of The Mourner’s Cradle, Poisonous, and the forthcoming Black Carmenia series. His presence currently infests Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he resides with his wife and cats.

Black Carmenia 1:
New Era
Insomnia. Headaches. Fear.

It drove Marjorie down, cost her a career, and almost destroyed her marriage. When she and her husband Terry escaped to the quiet green countryside west of the Mississippi River, their new home, it seemed too good to last.

The snake-ridden adjoining property, bordered by a row of maple trees, hosts a deadly secret. There the blood of fields and innocents stain the crumbling ruins of an old farmhouse, a decaying testament to a web of treachery and murder stretching back to distant times.

The horror in the ruins watches in wait. Marjorie fears the end, and the end is coming.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jeff Parsons

megHan

Meghan: Hey, Jeff. I decided to wait and have your day as the last one in this year’s Halloween Extravaganza, so it’s been a wait, but I’m glad you’re here today. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Jeff: I loved taking my young girls out for Trick or Treating. The fresh mystery of experiencing this unique adventure through their eyes, well, it reminded me of my youth. It was a joy dressing up in costumes, visiting stranger’s Halloween-bedecked houses, and asking for candy.

[Spoiler alert] Nowadays, I like watching the interesting variety of movies that come out on television during the Halloween season. I’ll sometimes also deep dive into my personal stock of scary movies.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Jeff: As you know, I like watching scary movies, but along with that, I like splurging on a accompanying buffet of finger food, ice cream, and candy. Essentially anything contraband that violates common sense, my diet, and long-term health. Just sayin’, this includes chicken wings and home-made candy apples.

I haven’t done this yet, but I think going to haunted house events would be fun. I appreciate great acting and stage work.

Meghan: If Halloween is your favorite holiday (or even second favorite holiday), why?

Jeff: As a child, Halloween was second best, right behind Arbor Day Eve. Just joking, we didn’t worship trees. Much. The idea of getting Halloween candy was mind blowing for a kid. I’d run from house to house, carrying a shopping bag in each hand, nearing exhaustion but determined (can’t stop now). When I made it home, my loot was cross-examined by a board of family experts (hmmm, that large candy bar looks unsafe, we’d better eat it for you). After that, I was free to gorge myself silly into a weeks-long sugar frenzy.

Meghan: What are you superstitious about?

Jeff: Black cats, ladders, step on a crack, nope, nope, nope, no superstition.

I really don’t think I’m superstitious about anything, but I’m very interested in seemingly unconnected patterns in the way things turn out. There are too many coincidences beyond direct cause and effect. It’s almost as if we’re tapped into a greater connectivity, aren’t fully aware of it, but it keeps reminding us from time to time. Resorting to a thermodynamics explanation, our planet is essentially a closed system, so everything affects everything else in various degrees of effect.

Meghan: What/who is your favorite horror monster or villain?

Jeff: I think Clive Barker’s Hellraiser Cenobites are interesting. They were once ordinary people. Turned into demons, their real selves were trapped inside, undoubtedly in a state of perpetual torment. Kind of like working in a dead-end job? All this happened because they were insatiably curious about something best left alone. How often does the voice in our head warn us about things like that for no real discernable reason? Maybe we should listen to it more? Ya know, like, take a pass on solving extradimensional puzzle boxes?

Dexter on Showtime is fascinating. He protects the innocent by killing evil murderers. Despite being a monster, lacking in many emotions, he does care about people in his own way, and he’s shocked at the depth of evil in this world. Essentially, he’s dealing with a great chasm of emptiness inside him. When he was young, he was troubled about feeling nothing. This apparently can be just as bad as feeling too much. That is the path he has chosen – seeking a way to be emotionally connected to others.

Meghan: Which unsolved murder fascinates you the most?

Jeff: The original unsolved case – Jack the Ripper. The killer terrorized the dark alleys of Victorian England, wielding medical instruments with great precision… crazy, dangerous, and unstoppable. It was the modern genesis of pure, unspeakable evil. What sickness would drive someone to do that?

Meghan: Which urban legend scares you the most?

Jeff: This is more like a rural legend – the Night Hag – this scares me the most. The legend is part of my Newfoundland heritage. Hearing about it firsthand made it personal to me. Imagine a creature that attacks you when you’re most vulnerable: asleep, paralyzed, and helpless, but aware of everything happening to you.

Meghan: Who is your favorite serial killer and why?

Jeff: I don’t idolize serial killers. I’m fairly sure they don’t idolize me either. Well, maybe they could idolize my lifestyle, thinking, “Wow, I wish I could be boring too, maybe if I cut back on the killing, get myself into a good 12-step program.” But, all that said, I do find serial killers to be interesting. Evolution probably required sociopaths who could be fearless and unemotional. Good for dealing with sabre tooth tigers, telemarketers, and such.

For me, the most intriguing serial killer is John Wayne Gacy. He was an upstanding citizen in his community, yet he held such a horrible secret life. It’s frightening to know that we live alongside so many crazy people. Googled it – guesstimates ranged from 1 in 7 to 1 in 100 sociopaths amongst us. It’s quite likely you passed by one when you were at work, out and about, shopping, walking the dog… Hmm, might be a good idea to try your best to get along with people lest you anger the wrong one.

Meghan: How old were you when you saw your first horror movie? How old were you when you read your first horror book?

Jeff: First movie: Wizard of Oz. That’s uncut street-grade horror for a 5 year old. Flying monkeys. Haunted forest. Wicked Witch. Shiver.

When I was about 9, I started reading horror comics, but it took me until 13ish before I read my first horror book. To date myself, it was a short story anthology edited by Karl Edward Wagner. The pace of the stories was slower back then. That allowed for a bigger buildup of suspense that didn’t seem rushed or artificial. All the better to intrigue me…

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Jeff: City Infernal by Edward Lee. To actually experience what hell would be like is as disturbing as it is interesting. It’s like watching a slow train wreck – you can’t pull your eyes away from the overwhelming tragedy.

For cosmic level horror, most H.P. Lovecraft stories give me a lasting chill.

Meghan: Which horror movie scarred you for life?

Jeff: The Exorcist. I’m spiritual, so anything intensely supernatural can have a lasting effect on me. I do watch many supernatural movies, sometimes out of curiosity or a face-my-fears kind of challenge.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween costume?

Jeff: I never did this, but they have realistic skull faced masks now. Sold by King Trends. When going Trick or Treating, I’d wear a simple, black hooded cloak for simplicity, and keep my face hidden until greeting someone (then, the full skull face reveal). Of course, not in front of kids – don’t want to traumatize anyone.

Remember the clown frenzy a few years ago? Online, it almost appeared to be a supernatural manifestation. Think about this… If something evil wanted to appear to be harmless, a silly clown outfit would do the trick. Fodder for nightmares.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween-themed song?

Jeff: Disney’s Haunted Mansion CD of sound bytes. It brings back fond memories of Disneyland. For truly scary, the classical Night On Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky is thought provoking.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween candy or treat? What is your most disappointing?

Jeff: White chocolate covered Reeses are the bomb. The worst comes from the past – wax bottle candy, liquid sugar-fueled shots, instant manic energy with a subsequent crash and burn quicker than a paralyzed falcon falling from the sky.

Meghan: Thanks again for stopping by. Before you go, what are your go-to Halloween movies?

Jeff:
Evil Dead, old and new
The Thing, old and new
Poltergeist
The Aliens series
The Witch
Sleepy Hollow
Hellraiser
Demon Knight

Family movies:
Hocus Pocus
The Addams Family series
The Haunted Mansion

Boo-graphy:
In addition to his two short story books, The Captivating Flames of Madness and Algorithm of Nightmares, Jeff Parsons is published in The Horror Zine, The Horror Zine’s Book of Ghost Stories, Aphelion Webzine, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volume 4, Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine, Chilling Ghost Short Stories, Dystopia Utopia Short Stories, Wax & Wane: A Coven of Witch Tales, Thinking Through Our Fingers, The Moving Finger Writes, Golden Prose & Poetry, Our Dance With Words, The Voices Within, Fireburst: The Inner Circle Writers’ Group, Second Flash Fiction Anthology 2018, SNM Horror Magazine, and Bonded by Blood IV/ V.

The Captivating Flames of Madness —
This book’s title comes from the reality that – like a moth to the flame – we’re all just one event, mishap, or decision away from things that could change our lives forever.

What would you do if fate led you astray into a grim world where you encountered vengeful ghosts, homicidal maniacs, ancient gods, apocalyptic nightmares, dark magic, deadly space aliens, and more?

If you dare, why not find out?

Read for yourself the twenty-two gloriously provocative tales that dwell within this book – but be warned, some of my dear readers have experienced lasting nightmares…